Martin A Rosenthal

Heart of the Gita Martin A Rosenthal

Heart of Gita DiscriptionChapters 7 through 12 of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is are often referred to as the "heart of the gita," I composed Heart of the Gita, consisting for now of only Chapters 7-9, while I was working as a substitute teacher, during most of the class time. The work consists of what I call parallel approximations of the original Sanskrit verses. For example, the English line of verse above each Sanskrit line of verse approximates, word for word, the meaning of the line below it: to Me attached the mind Parthamayy ?sakta-man?h? p?rthayoga engaged in Me shelteredyogam? yuñjan mad-??rayahwithout a doubt completely Me?asam??ayam? samagram? m?m?by which you'll know, that understandyath? jñ?syasi tac chr?n?uIn the above parallel quatrains, "to Me" is written above the Sanskrit "may(a)," and the English " attached" is written above the Sanskrit "?sakta," according to their respective meanings. The English lines, like the Sanskrit below them, consist of eight beats each. This makes for nice recitation of the English parallel Sanskrit verses and at the same time illumines the text, teaching Sanskrit to English meanings or approximations of meanings. This is followed by an English verse translation using the same structure of four lines of eight beets each as the original Sanskrit. With mind attached to Me Partha, Protected by Me in yoga, Now try to hear and understand; I'll tell you fully Who I am. Above all of the above, I have placed Shrila Prabhupada's English prose translations: Now hear, O son of P?th?, how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt. And at the bottom of the page I have placed Shrila Prabhupada's word for word synonyms.?r?-bhagav?n uv?ca - the Supreme Lord said; mayi - to Me; ?sakta-man?? - mind attached; p?rtha - O son of P?th?; yogam - self-realization; yuñjan - practicing; mat-??raya? - in consciousness of Me (K???a consciousness); asa??ayam - without doubt; samagram - completely; m?m - Me; yath? - how; jñ?syasi - you can know; tat - that; ???u - try to hear. All of this helped me remain Krishna conscious during my job, and it also provides, I hope to believe, a good and enjoyable source for all devotees to enrich their understanding of the original Sanskrit verses.