In the BHAGAVAD GITA the "dance" of divine love takes the form of a vibrant dialogue between Divinity and Devotee, in poetry, philosophy, and divine affection. This introduction to and new translation of the BHAGAVAD GITA will be coming out from Harper San Francisco / Harper Collins on May 1st, 2007.
“Graham Schweig's felicitous translation of the Gita deserves to be called a translational classic in its own right.”
---Arvind Sharma, Professor of Religion, McGill University
“Graham Schweig's new, beautiful, and accessible translation of the Gita, backed by his enormous knowledge and authoritative commentary, will remain the standard text of this marvelous Song for years to come, if indeed it is ever superseded.”
---Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions
“Graham Schweig's translation combines a subtle feel for the Sankrit text along with its distinct poetic rhythms and syntax, and a clear rendering of the text's difficult philosophical ideas---the English is crystal clear and eminently readable.”
---Ariel Glucklich, Professor of Theology (Hinduism), Georgetown University
THE BHAGAVAD GITA COMES TO US FROM SACRED INDIA. Its verses of ancient wisdom on the mysteries of human existence speak to us today as if they had just been spoken. The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most loved works among the collections of scriptural texts found within Hindu traditions. It also stands out among the holy books of the major world religions, for its flowing Sanskrit verses present a uniquely vivid portrait of the intimacy between humanity and divinity. Indeed, this divine intimacy is revealed in the form of a dialogue that takes the soul on an inward journey culminating in the ultimate state of yoga, in which souls unite with the heart of God.
Bhagavad Gita may be translated as “the song of the Beloved Lord,” which conveys a divine yearning. The word Bhagavad means “the Beloved Lord,” referring to Krishna, whose voice is prominent throughout the work. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna, perhaps the most loved of all manifestations of divinity in India, is identified as the ultimate and supreme Lord, from whom all other divine manifestations emanate. Gita means “song,” in this case one coming from Krishna or God. Clearly the text is a philosophical poem and not a song in the literal sense. At a deeper level, however, it is a song issuing forth from the heart of God. It is the secret call of the divinity for all souls to love him, to take the journey to him, to be blissfully united with him.
One who sees me everywhere
and sees all things in me,
To such a person I am never lost
nor is such a person ever lost to me.
----Bhagavad Gita 6.30
Even among all yogis,
one whose inner self
has come to me,
Who is full of faith,
who offers love to me-----
that one is considered by me
to be the most deeply
absorbed in yoga.
----Bhagavad Gita 6.47
Hear still further
the greatest secret of all,
my supreme message:
“You are so much loved by me!”
Therefore I shall speak
for your well-being.
----Bhagavad Gita 18.64
“The love between Radha and Krishna, the divine couple, becomes a song, as well as a dance, and the reader is invited to join in the celebration, along with the chorus of celestial singers. In fact, Caitanya himself inquires, “Among all songs, which song is the very essence of the soul?” Ramananda replies, “That which is about the loving encounters of Radha and Krishna – this is the inmost heart of all songs”. Thus, the Rasa story can truly be called the song of songs of India”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Graham M. Schweig, Ph.D. is the author of DANCE OF DIVINE LOVE: INDIA'S CLASSIC SACRED LOVE STORY, published by Princeton University Press (2005). This book contains his translation from the Sanskrit of the famous Rasa Lila of Krishna with his beloved milk-maidens, the Gopis. It is considered one of the most beautiful poems and expressions of divine love ever written. Graham began his study of this great love poem when pursuing his research for a doctoral dissertation at Harvard.
Graham's new forthcoming book, published by Harper San Francisco / Harper Collins (to be released in April 2007), is entitled BHAGAVAD GITA: THE BELOVED LORD'S SECRET LOVE SONG. There have been numerous translations of and introductions to the Bhagavad Gita over the past few centuries. But it is rare to find one that is both accurate and poetically sensitive to the original poetry of the text that also reveals its deepest message: “the supreme secret of yoga.”
Graham is a scholar of the history and philosophy of yoga, Sanskrit language and literature, Bhakti devotional traditions of India, and love mysticism in world religions. He did his graduate studies at both the University of Chicago and Harvard University, and received his doctorate from Harvard University in Comparative Religion. He is currently Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Indic Studies Program at Christopher Newport University on the Virginia peninsula, and also Visiting Associate Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Virginia. He began his teaching as a teaching fellow at Harvard, and has taught at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. Graham recently was a Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies of Oxford University and has been accepted as a Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall of Cambridge University.
Graham is both a professor in the study of religion and a long-time practitioner of various forms of meditational and devotional yoga under the guidance of traditional teachers. He regularly offers yoga workshops, lectures, and seminars. He has travelled to India seven times, once residing in India for a year, directing a Smithsonian Institution funded research grant for preserving ancient palm-leaf manuscripts.
For Graham's lecture and yoga workshop schedule, please visit his website at:
www.grahamschweig.com
Music
“Seeing lotus flowers bloom - and the perfect circle of the moon – beaming like the face of Rama, reddish as fresh kumkuma; Seeing the forest colored – by the moon’s gentle rays, he began to make sweet music, melting the hearts of fair maidens with beautiful eyes”
(Rasa lila 1.3)
“Then, right before them, the heroic Krishna appeared, his face blooming like a lotus and beaming with a smile. Wearing yellow garments and adorned with a flower garland, the supreme God of love stood directly before them, alluring even the love-god who himself charms all other”
(Rasa-lila 4.2)
“When rivers hear the music of Krishna, their flowing currents are broken and their waters swirl out of intense love for him. The two feet of Krishna are made stationary, seized by the embrace of arm-like waves that present offerings of lotus flowers”
Venu Gita (1.15)
“Listen to presences inside poems,
Let them take you where they will.
Follow those private hints,
And never leave the premises”
Rumi
We invite you to view our new video and journey into the secret yoga, the yoga of love:
About me:
Catherine Ghosh: My name is Krishna Kanta Dasi, as given to me by my spiritual father many years ago. It was he who encouraged me to dive into the heart of Sacred Love and share whatever it is I find there with others. This page on my close friend Graham's books, is one such humble attempt of mine to do so. I sincerely pray it affects your heart in the most beautiful ways.
I'd like to meet people who are interested in the unlimited circle in which Divine Love dances in the hearts of all those on the spiritual path, across time, cultures and religious traditions.
The Dance of Divine Love is a book on a timeless, sacred love story from the scriptural texts of India. It tells of a dance in which God and the soul lose themselves forever in the rhythms, melodies, and movements of divine love. It is a celebration of souls joining together to glorify Divinity’s unlimited power to love, and further, of Divinity’s capacity to love each and every soul intimately.
This Princeton URL takes you right to the book:
http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/titles/7974.html
“The traditions that honor this story make the claim that all love is but a spark of the archetypal fire of the Rasa’s divine love, and its is by hearing or reciting the Rasa story that we too will go beyond the spark to be consumed by this fire of love”
In the West, the famous words of the Latin poet Virgil resonate even today: “Love conquers all things; we too should surrender unto Love”. Visvanatha Cakravartin, in his final comment on the Rasa story, seems to answer Virgil’s calling when he proclaims, “Indeed, we have thus become conquered by pure Love”
“The Wondrous Circle of the Rasa Dance: Rasa Mandala”
Painting by Krishna Priya in Jaipur, State of Rajasthan, India.
(Opaque watercolor, silver and gold on handmade jute and cotton board. Commissioned by and located in the private collection of the author, Graham Schweig)
"The supreme Lord of yoga, Krishna,
entered among them between each pair----
Each thought she alone was at his side
as he placed his arms around
the necks of those young women.
With their feet
stepping to the dance;
with gestures of their hands,
loving smiles and sporting eyebrows;
With waists bending
and the rhythmic movements
of garments covering their breasts;
with earrings swinging
on their cheeks;
The spiritual wives of Krishna,
with moistened faces
and braids and belts
tied tightly,
sang his praises----
They appeared
like lustrous flashes
of radiant lightning
engulfed by a ring of dark clouds"
----Bhagavata Purana, Verses 10.33.3 and 8
..
“Here the supreme beloved Krishna and his most beloved Radha stand together as they send out their love call to all souls, ever beckoning us to live in their divine love. This call to love is sounded by the special music emanating from Krishna's flute song, and it reverberates throughout the universe, reaching us, embracing us, waiting for us to turn to them, to come to them. Can you just hear the music through this beautiful ivory miniature painting?”
“Upon hearing the flute of Govinda, peacocks dance in rapture- Observing their dancing from hilltops, all other creatures become stunned”
“With eyes opening wide, the maidens became filled with love upon seeing their dearest beloved return. All of them stood up at once, as if the breath of life had just returned to their bodies”
(Rasa Lila 4.3)
“One of them took him into her heart through the aperture of the eyes; then closing her eyes, she embraced him within. She became elated with bodily ripplings of joy, as the body of a yogi is overcome with bliss”
(Rasa Lila 4.8)
“All of them, as their tranquility fully blossomed by fixing their gaze upon Krishna, put aside their sorrow born of separation, as persons who are blessed with the presence of a sage.”
Rasa-Lila 4.9
“I am unable to reciprocate, your faultless love for me, your own purity, and all you have sacrificed for me, even over the lifetime of a great divinity. Severing strong ties to your homes so difficult to overcome, you have lovingly worshiped me. May your reward be your own purity.”
Rasa-Lila (4.22)
I long to make your heart shine with the timeless truths in these ancient love messages....
May your consciousness blossom in sacred love like a lotus flower………
In Sanskrit, this most gracious and loving greeting consists of two words: "namas" means "I bow down" or "I offer my loving respects"; and "te" means "unto you," referring to "unto you, the eternal soul that you are," and also "unto you, through whose heart the heart of divinity radiates."
This profile was created and is being maintained by Krishna Kanta Dasi, on behalf of Graham Schweig. Please message her if you have any questions or would like additional information. Thank you :D
“The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him - that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.”
'The God in me greets the God in you The Spirit in me meets the same Spirit in you'
“Will” is the power of determination without any motive whatsoever to enjoy anything. “Desire” is a longing for certain possessions.
Will is identical with the Law and is the characteristic of the Self – the universal consciousness. God’s “will” and God’s “law” are one and the same.
When the “Self” determines the activity, uninfluenced by attractions or repulsions towards surrounding objects, the “will” is manifested. When outer attractions or repulsions determine the activity and the man is drawn hither and thither by these, deaf of the Self, unconscious of the Inner Ruler, then the desire is seen.
That Person who can keep a balanced mind at all times is really a strong and happy person. Be cheerful. What cannot be cured must be endured. Keep always an unruffled mind. Do not be carried away by undue sentiments and bubbling emotions. Control them. Reflect how the calamity or trouble or catastrophe has come. ~ Swami Sivananda
~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friend,
Hope this finds you well. Have a wonderful week! Peace, Health and Happiness! Love, Light, Grace and Bliss!
Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy. ~ Leviticus 19: 2
Wisdom is necessary for all. Those who are clever need it far more, since an active mind, if not occupied with useful things, will busy itself with what is useless, curious, and pernicious; and just as the more fertile a field is, the crop of thorns and of thistles that it can produce, so an excellent intelligence becomes filled with fanciful notions, if it be not sown with seeds of wisdom and of virtue. So an active mind, if void of serious things, entangles itself utterly with vain, curious, and noxious thoughts, and becomes the cause of its own destruction.
A rational creature should be led, not by shouts, imprisonment, and blows, but by reason. Any other method is an insult to God, in whose image all men are made. To be the image of God is to represent the perfection of his Archetype. He should enslave himself to no creature, not even to his own flesh and blood.
God had made man in His own image and had given him a mind, in order that its proper nutrition might not be wanting to that mind. He divided each class of creatures into many species, that this visible universe might be a continual mirror of the infinite power, wisdom, and goodness of God, and that by its contemplation man might be compelled to marvel at the Creator, moved to recognise Him, and enticed to love Him, when the might, the beauty, and he sweetness that lie invisible in the abyss of the eternity shone out on all sides.
Happier a thousand times is the man who shall bear his soul in purity and cleanliness. ~ Comenius
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