Bhagavad Gita

It has great architecture

india is bad but it's not devastated, there's no need to be hyperbolic

You have to keep in mind that when that was written (300-100 CE), india was both an economical and intellectual powerhouse (a few hundred years earlier it was leading the west in development). Their downfall came centuries after this book. Definitely worth reading since its central to indian/hindu history.

But I do NOT suggest you read the version in your pic 'As it is' since its written by the ISKCON cultists (prabhupada et al) who have shilled hard to make it the defacto standard english version. Their translations are dubious and their commentary is really arbitrary. Look into the author before deciding a translation.

India isn't "devastated", it's just shit.

oops should have said 300 BCE - 100 CE*

The version in your pic is definitely not worth reading, but otherwise it's one of the best pieces of world literature.
Here:
gitasupersite.iitk.ac.in/srimad?language=dv&field_chapter_value=1&field_nsutra_value=1

It has the commentaries of Adi shankara, Ramanuja and Abhinavagupta in English. It's worth your time.

>literally unusable website unless you already know what you are looking for

You've gotta learn hindi if you want to read it. Not that hard, took me about 2 months.

>hindi
The Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit. Unless you're already familiar with an Indian language, learning enough Sanskrit to read the Bhagvad Gita will take atleast 4 years.

Just do it. Pretty short, you can read it in 2 days.

Thanks, the version I have (was a gift) is an "as it is" translation, I'll look into the differences.

It seems Easwaran is the most popular.
This one also looks interesting:
amazon.com/Living-Gita-Complete-Bhagavad-Commentary/dp/0932040276/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1521566943&sr=8-6&keywords=gita

if you really want to study the book in depth i would recommend chinamayanda's version. it is the bahagavd gita with in depth commentary on every verse and is really excellent.

as it is is a hack job and butchers many of the translations to fit their 'bhakti' agenda. the commentary is obviously biased which in my mind is acceptable as long as the biases are made aware. what is really ridiculous about the book is that the translation sections (which are supposed to be unbiased) reek of bhakti bias. don't read the book i think, because it butchers the subtlety of the bhagavad gita and leaves you with the wrong impression about its themes. this is from someone who has read the gita in sanskrit by the way.
easwaran is a decent translation, but little commentary, so you won't get everything out of it that you can if you got with chinmayas. off chinmayas is 1000 pages, but its always engaging.

also, the bhagavad gita is a chapter of the mahabharata epic poem. the mahabharata is 10x the size of the illiad and odyssey combined, and so the full unabridged translation is about 10 volumes, but if you are interested i recommend an abridged story version by krishna dharma. out of the 6 I've read that was the best with the best english prose.

i have the as it is and I didn't finish it. Felt like too much propaganda. Would like to read chinamayanda

You are judging the rich cultural history of Hinduism based off the shitty modern conditions of India today, which is unfair. Just go ahead, and read it. You have nothing to lose except an afternoon's worth of time. Like many anons suggested, don't read the "as it is" version, since it was written by Hare Krishnas, which many Hindus regard as a kooky cult. I would also avoid the Easwaran translation because, his teachings are pretty new agey. For a first time reading the Gita, I would read an academic translation, so that you aren't reading an interpretation of a specific Hindu school of thought, a cult, or new ageism.

Name one thing good about India that wasn't given to them by the British or prior Muslim invaders.

Name one.

>there's more than capitalism to capitalism, user
That's what the bourgeoisie wants you to think, idiot.
>subsumes knowledge as a schema of production

>Is this book worth reading?
Absolutely. It has some very interesting viewpoints, a lot of wisdom, and if nothing else, it's worth reading for its historical impact alone.

The reason you might see Hinduism as weak is because it's nowhere near as organized as Christianity or Islam. There are no set rules in Hinduism like in the Abrahamic religions. Hence, they have less of an overall presence, and their followers don't go on massive crusades in the name of their gods (as far as I know, correct me if I'm wrong)

I've read quite a few translations of the Gita, and while I'm very far from being any sort of expert on Hinduism, one translation I recommend is "Bhagavad Gita and Its Message" by Sri Aurobindo. Unlike the "as it is" version, which was translated by a cult leader trying to propagate his own message, Sri was more focused on having his translation be as unbiased as possible. As a result, the translation can be a bit iffy or archaic at times, but this is mainly because of how incredibly difficult it is to translate Sanskrit, and he provides very lengthy and in-depth notes throughout the book.

This is awesome, thank you, I've been meaning to find a good translation of the Mahabharata. Where did you learn Sanskrit? How difficult was it?

learnt when i was young with sunday classes. did about 3-4 years before i could read proficiently, but i think if i focused on it and studied it daily i would be in a good spot within a year for sure.

also if you want the unabridged english translation, look at bibek debroy's translation that was recently released. you can get the 10 volume paperback box set for a reasonable price on amazon and i'm only a few volumes in now, but I'm really enjoying it. i would recommend reading an abridged version first though, since its can get super confusing if you don't have a strong grasp on the overarching story.

>The Caste system, so everyone knows there place, and don't get uppity
>A religion one can't convert into, so converting heathens is not an excuse for conquest
>No existential angst about death because, reincarnation

South Indian temples are beautiful.

>Name one.

I've got nothing; absolutely zero

Is this the best translation?

Attached: 412ll5ysBzL._SX315_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg (317x499, 31K)

I always hesitate to speak about this book on Veeky Forums. But I feel like there are some very sincere knowledge seekers hidden among the crass and sarcastic.

I would say Alladi Mahadeva Sastri's 1897 translation of Adi Shankara's commentary on it.

archive.org/details/Bhagavad-Gita.with.the.Commentary.of.Sri.Shankaracharya

The music and spirituality

>Toilet in every home by 2020!

If india was so great, then it would have been the one to colonize the uk. But the way the eu is going, it might just happen... so probably read it. I expect it rewards long term goals rather than short ones.

white pypol.

No really, the english fucked their shit up then up and left them. ( no one seriously believes Britannia lost)

Islam is about as organised as Hinduism honestly. (Not at all)

I found it deeply touching, in a way that the bible only glimpses, and at the same time it actually attempts to put forth a cosmology to help you make sense of the universe, as opposed to hand-waving questions away with god's mysterious will, god's inscrutable plans, etc.