This book was incredible. Ram Dass walks you through the Gita without it being a book report. He supplements every chapter with excercises and further readings so you don't just read it, you feel it. The book is also inclusive of most religions. He quotes the Bible to explain attachment in a western light and enriches the meaning with his personal experience and texts from the Vedas. This book is not a beginners book though. He relies on the reader to have a fundemental understanding of Arjuna a...

I like Ram Dass. He has a sweetness and approachability to his writting that makes my heart float with his company. He makes me a better person, humble, kind, loving, caring, present, filled with curiosity, God, and love for man. I skimmed this book. It made me want to read the Gita. I really like what he says about Hatha Yoga and its ability to change a persons perspective towards their body, especially in relation to consumption.

I absolutely loved this book. An easy read. It presented the Gita in such a easy and natural read. I am very familure with the ideas in this book, and it just solidified them for me. I think its a great book for beginners, and those who have been on the spiritual path for awhile. I really like Ram Dass. The book kind of made me want to take drugs though...lol.

The perfect companion to my favorite holy text. The Bhagavad Gita offers something for everyone, but it can be a little obtuse for those not educated in Hindu and Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Enter Ram Dass: spiritual leader, honest as a dog, and an excellent writer who captures concepts in a way sure to bring understanding to both beginners and experts alike. His chapters on karma and reincarnation are both standouts, but the whole book offers so much it's hard to pick favorites. From the sugges...

THIS BOOK IS STRAIGHT FIRE. LOved it. Essential for your spiritual journey

A solid spiritual classic. Sure, it's dated, suffering from Ram Dass's 60's acidhead syndrome, like Timothy Leary worship and seeing all mystical spiritual practice, from Vedic to Buddhist to shamanic, originating in psychedelics. That's spurious.And I find it hard to accept what Dass says about wealthy "gurus" driving around in Bentleys and eating from golden bowls: that they're so evolved that they're looking "beyond this world." Sure, some may, but in my experience, those people are often con...

This book arrived perfectly on time.

I read this as I read through my first two readings of The Bhagavad Gita. Soon to do my third reading of the Gita while practicing the exercises at the end. Much like in the book Remember: Be Here Now, this work starts off with the explanations of what it's all about, and it has all it's exercises in the back. When this was compiled, it was done so as a university course. I would recommend that, at the end of each section of this book which you read, take some time to go over the stuff at the en...

Great read wonderful insight crossing over to the Eastern religions and meeting with the western. Turns out that if you seek it you will find. Open ur heart and mind. Author is funny down to earth hippie that opened his mind with Timothy Leary in the 70s by magic mushrooms and studied eastern religion to find the answers about God. Crosses both east and west cultures bringing full circle to the one the supreme being and to find it within.

Ram Dass is my number one upaguru. His style and wit speak to my heart like no other. I've found the Bhagavad Gita difficult to understand and apply but RD has a way of making such things more clear. I've learned so much from him but his books are worth reading for his excellent story telling alone. He's a character and beautifully meshuga.

A great book. I enjoyed Ram Dass's writing style. He incorporates the Bhagavad Gita into real life situations by using his own life as examples. He does go off on some explanations and seems to get carried away in his stories, but his stories are wonderful, thoughtful and lived. And it is through his living them and in the sharing of them that are able to learn and apply his wisdom in our own life.

Ram Dass really knows how to spellbind in his oral raps that then get transcribed. Be advised, however, that this book is not really focused on the Bhagavad-Gita, at least not in a systematic way. But despite its lack of scholarly rigor, or perhaps thanks to that lack, the book is extremely readable, with chapters on Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga that are remarkable.

Despite the fact that the author is a total hippy, I really enjoyed this book. I appreciated the perspective of a Westerner converting to Hinduism...I found it very interesting seeing the differences in how Westerners/Easterners think. I learned a lot about the various practices involved in leading an 'enlightened' life. And I enjoyed his interpretation of the Gita. He included quotes from all the great religious leaders (Christ, Buddha, etc), which I appreciated.I learned to ignore his discussi...

Simply superb! Ram Dass’ exquisite take on the main themes of the Bhagavad Gita is a must read for anyone interested in different approaches to achieve spiritual freedom. The various aspects and techniques of karma yoga (action), bhakti yoga (devotion), jnana yoga (wisdom), sacrifice and mantra, renunciation & purification are discussed in a poetic, humourous and captivating way. At the end of the book are many extra articles explaining the ins and outs of different types of meditation practices...

Funny enough, I read this book while home over Christmas. I had tried reading this book months before but I couldn't get into it. Once the right time for me to delve into the ideas however, I became more and more interested in the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, and learning more about the true source of yoga and not just our westernized versions of the practice. I also appreciated Mr. Daas' honesty and candor and immediately recommended and lent my copy to a friend interested in eastern philoso...

This book is awesome! Ram Dass is a great writer, he's lead an interesting life, travelling to India and living without money. The book covers different types of yoga, including Bhakti yoga the devotional service to God. Ram talks about his Jewish background, his family, the death of his mother. Buddhism is covered in detail with regards to his experience of the death of his mother and a close friend, with whom he was with while she was dying. The book covers the authors drug experiences on LSD

This is a great companion to the Gita, and has some thoughtful 'homework' readings and exercises at the back of the book. If you are a fan of Ram Dass, you will love it for being full of his anecdotes in his gently comical style. If you are looking for something a little more scholarly and less personal (although that is the point of this book--how to bring the teachings of the Gita into your personal life), you might do better with a different commentary. And of course you should already have r...

Wisdom is the path from knowing to being. We can know knowledge, but only be wise. Understanding is the function of many centers, as opposed to knowing, which occurs in only one center. Intuitive wisdom is a non-conceptual appreciation for something by becoming one with it. Intuition is driven by an understanding of the interconnectedness of everything that is being. Bodies, hearts and minds - an organ for each type of yoga.

Fascinating book where Ram Dass tries to explain his views of reality, God-ness, and the relationship between western understanding and eastern ideas. I always find his books quite interesting. This book also includes a compendium at the end with a full program for meditation and spritual awakening. Visit my writing website www.authorsden.com/malcolmwatts

This is the closest work we have to a commentary by Ram Dass on the Bhagavad Gita. It is based on an extensive course taught in America in the 1970s. There is also over 12 Hours of excellent audio available free on youtube.I have placed a link to the first session below.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYa81H...