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The Bhagavad Gita
A text and commentary for students
| Jeaneane Fowler |
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| Jeaneane Fowler was
formerly Head of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University
of Wales, Newport, and later an Honorary Research Fellow. Her
publications include Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices
(Choice Outstanding Title, 1997); with
books in the same series on Humanism, Chinese Religions,
Tai Chi, Nichiren Daishonin: Buddhism in Wales,
and books on the Philosophy of Hinduism and the
Philosophy of Taoism.
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Jeaneane Fowler provides
a text and detailed commentary on this important Hindu scripture,
which is a dialogue between Arjuna the man and Krishna the God.
Major Hindu concepts are examined in depth, and the background to
the Gita is presented in a comprehensive introduction.
… Yoga is the key feature of the Gita but
it has its own interpretation of what that yoga should
be: thus, yoga features not only in each of the pathways
of knowledge, desireless action and devotion, but in the way in
which the divine is understood. The chapters of the Bhagavad
Gita therefore describe Arjuna’s despondency followed by The
Yoga of Sankhya, Action, Knowledge, Renunciation, Meditation,
Knowledge and Realization, the Imperishable Brahman, Royal Knowledge
and Royal Mystery, Manifestation, the Vision of the Universal Form,
Devotion, the Differentiation of the Kshetra and Kshetrajna,
the Differentiation of the Three Gunas, the Supreme Purusha,
the Differentiation of the Divine and the Demonic, the Differentiation
of the Threefold Shraddha and, finally, The Yoga of Liberation
and Renunciation. The book also contains detailed notes to the Gita
chapters, a Further Reading section, a combined Glossary and Index
of Sanskrit Terms, and an Index of English words.
The cover of the book is replete with symbolism. Krishna is always
represented as blue in colour, hence the colour of the hands in
the cover design. The chariot of Krishna and Arjuna is to be seen
in the motif at the base, while the triple motif symbolizes the
triple paths of the Gita – action without desire for results,
knowledge and devotion. There are also three strands that make up
all phenomena – light and radiance, energy, and inertia, as well
as three aspects of the divine in the Gita – the totally
transcendent Absolute, the manifest deity that is also the essence
of all things, and the personal God to whom devotion can be given.
The main image of Krishna is superimposed on the roots of the ashvattha
tree that features in chapter 15: its branches reach down into the
earth and its roots ascend upwards and it represents phenomenal
existence.
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Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction
Veda: knowledge
Vedic religion
Vedanta
The Bhagavad Gita
Nature of the text
Date and historicity
Authorship
Translators and commentators
Themes in the Gita:
The nature of God
The nature of the self: atman
Brahman-atman
The empirical self
The nature of the world
Means to God
Jnana-marga
Bhakti-marga
Karma-marga
Yoga
Moksha
The genealogical backdrop
1
Arjuna’s Despondency
2
The Yoga of Sankhya
3
The Yoga of Action
4
The Yoga of Knowledge
5
The Yoga of Renunciation
6
The Yoga of Meditation
7
The Yoga of Knowledge and Realization
8
The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman
9
The Yoga of Royal Knowledge and Royal Mystery
10
The Yoga of Manifestation
11
The Yoga of the Vision of the Universal Form
12
The Yoga of Devotion
13
The Yoga of the Differentiation of the Kshetra and
the Kshetrajna
14
The Yoga of the Differentiation of the Three Gunas
15
The Yoga of the Supreme Purusha
16
The Yoga of the Differentiation of the Divine and
the Demonic
17
The Yoga of the Differentiation of the Threefold
Shraddha
18
The Yoga of Liberation and Renunciation
Epilogue
Notes
Further Reading
Glossary and Index of Sanskrit Terms
Index of English Words
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Reviews to follow |
Publication Details
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Hardback ISBN: |
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978-1-84519-520-5 |
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Paperback ISBN: |
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978-1-84519-346-1 |
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Page Extent / Format: |
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336 pp. / 229 x 152 mm |
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Release Date: |
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February 2012 |
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Illustrated: |
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No |
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Hardback Price: |
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£60.00 / $94.95 |
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Paperback Price: |
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£25 / $39.95 |
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| This book can be ordered online or by telephone. |
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For the UK and Rest of the World:
Gazelle Book Services
tel. 44 (0)1524-68765 |
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For the United States:
International Specialized Book Services
tel. (1) 503 287-3093 or (800) 944-6190 |
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For Canada:
University of Toronto Distribution
tel. (1) 800-565-9523 |
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