The Bhagavad Gita: A Life-changing Conversation (H.B)

This book is not about any religious teaching, rather it’s a handbook of daily life lessons – Each line is an honest correspondence, interpreted in modern terms, to the shlokas – This book is an ideal companion for the young minds working with corporate giants, where they can find peace and purpose of life amidst the never-ending race that the 21st century has placed us in For most of us the Gita evokes an image of Krishna addressing Arjuna who is dutifully kneeling before him with folded hands, with a chariot and the battlefield as a backdrop. We have seen versions of this image on wall calendars, diaries, amateur paintings, and on walls of religious spaces. Year after year, our exposure to the Gita remains limited to these fleeting visual engagements as they become part of our muscle memory as we go about our chores. This book, as the title suggests, decodes life lessons from each section of the Gita, looking at this ancient text through a 21st century prism. Far from being a mere compilation of selected didactic verses, this narrative skillfully strings together 251 verses of the Gita. It deciphers each of them, and presents the takeaways as tools to face situations of modern-day distress, dilemma and inner conflict. Written from the perspective of a non-ritualistic individual, the book connects the teachings of the Gita with current concepts of life skills. It also reiterates the relevance of a text written thousands of years ago, and showcases its contemporary value by drawing parallels with our day-to-day existence today.

Vandana R Singh

An author, translator, and editor Vandana R Singh was given the Award of Recognition for Outstanding Contribution to Literature by the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi. Her literary translations from Hindi to English have been published earlier. She has authored several books on Communication Skills and ELT for Oxford University Press. She has been a consultant editor for several UN organisations and textbook developer for NCERT & NIOS. A PhD in Indian writings in English, she has been Associate Professor of English at GCG, Panjab University, and has worked as a bilingual teacher for the Manchester Education Committee, UK. A keen gardener and bonsai enthusiast, she views translation as a social responsibility contributing to building cross-cultural bridges. She is fascinated by words—their origin and evolution.