Which Gita translation should we read when there are conflicts between different translations?

Transcript

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Which Bhagavad Gita translation? So why I ask this? There are several available. However, there is a big conflict between the Gita Press, the so called original translation of Bhagavad Gita and then there is a Bhagavad Gita as it is by Srila Prabhupada ji and Srila Prabhupada translation.
The biggest question people talk about it, the Srila Prabhupada translation is very much flawed in terms of that it only focuses on the Bhakti part of it. And every translation is as per his interpretation. However, this is the most sold, most read Bhagavad Gita all over the world because of ISKCON.
Why one should read Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita and not the other Bhagavad Gita or the other translations or let’s say not even consider why but like which version is the one? Okay, yeah. See, first of all, the Bhagavad Gita is itself not a very big book. It is 700 verses and essentially those 700 verses we write down just on the front and the back pages of New York Times.
As many words come, that many words are there in the Bhagavad Gita. It’s at the core text. So, if we have a reasonable amount of familiarity with not just Sanskrit, even the translations, we can get a gist of what the Bhagavad Gita is saying.
So, I don’t think there is a huge amount of difference in the translations of the Gita. I have read many commentators of the Gita. Even before I was introduced to Srila Prabhupada’s Gita, I have read other Gitas and subsequently I also have read others.
So, I don’t think there is a major issue about translations. It is the commentaries. Now, when Srila Prabhupada gives his commentary, he titles his Bhagavad Gita as it is.
At the same time, as you rightly said, he explains the Bhagavad Gita from a Bhakti perspective. Now, he is very transparent in what he is doing. Transparent means that he will give the Sanskrit, he will give the English transliteration, he will give the word to a translation, then he will give the textual translation, then he will give his purport.
So, if at some places, say, he is translating Karma Yoga in a devotional way. So, now he is not hiding it. He is not removing the Sanskrit and he is giving the English alone so that people do not understand it.
So, the Bhagavad Gita has a flow. In the flow, if you see, the Bhagavad Gita itself moves in a hierarchy. So, if you see, one question can be answered.
If somebody asks, somebody is feeling feverish, they have lost their taste. So, why have you got this? You can say, it’s because you got COVID. Okay.
That’s one level of answer. You could say, why do we have this? Because this pandemic has spread all over the world. Why did I get this disease? Because, maybe we are interfering with the environment too much and we are dabbling with technology.
So, the same issue can be explained at different levels. So, similarly, Krishna himself in the Bhagavad Gita answers Arjuna’s question at different levels. So, let me complete what I am saying.
So, while answering at different levels, Krishna at the end of the Gita says, So, this is a clear bhakti conclusion. That whatever I have taught you till now, all the dharma that I have taught you, put it aside and focus on bhakti, focus on surrendering to me. So, what Vishal Prabhupada does is that whatever Krishna has given at the conclusion of the Gita, he gives throughout the Gita.
So, he is in that sense stressing the conclusion consistently throughout the Gita. But that the Bhagavad Gita also has sections on Karma Yoga, the Bhagavad Gita also has sections on Dhyana Yoga, the Bhagavad Gita also has sections on Gyana Yoga, that is not to be denied. That is also acknowledged.
The Sanskrit is there in his Gita also. So, I would say rather than getting into unnecessary conflict about which Gita to read, what we can do is, if we read the whole Gita in its flow, not just simply look at this verse and look at the translation. These two, where does it match, where does it not match? Every commentator who has tried to comment on the Gita, if you look at Bhaktivinand Swami Prabhupada, he comes in a tradition.
And he comes in a Gaudiya Vaishnav tradition and it’s not just he alone who has explained the Bhagavad Gita in a devotional way. There are predecessors, there is Vishwanath Chakravarthy Thakur, there is Baldev Vidya Bhushan, there are other commentators, Jeeva Goswami. Now these were acknowledged scholars at their times.
And they have also explained the Bhagavad Gita in a Bhakti way. So, what we could do is, we can just read the Bhagavad Gita and then we can look at the commentaries which commentary helps us understand the Bhagavad Gita in a way that adds value to our life. That helps us connect with the Gita.
So, I feel the Gita’s wisdom is multi-dimensional. It concludes categorically in Bhakti. But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have other perspectives.
So, we are all at different stages in our spiritual evolution and wherever we are, the Gita has something to speak to us. So, the way I phrase the Gita’s wisdom is from your place, at your pace, access God’s grace. From your place, at your pace, access God’s grace.