The Bhagavad Gita: Lord Krishna’s Sacred Teachings on the Battlefield-of-Life

• The Bhagavad Gita, a philosophical dialogue between Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna, is one of the world’s most translated sacred texts. Devotees of the Gita number in the hundreds of millions. Why? The essence of its teaching is that for humans, we, each of us, at every moment, live (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) in combat on a battlefield (our physical body). “Desire” is our mortal and immortal enemy. In the realm of spiritual thinking, at the first moment after birth “lack” is born. At the second moment after birth “desire” is born. Our lives are a perpetual pursuit of desire striving to fill lack. Our karmic attachments are the fruits of our desires. These karmic attachments form the “prison” in which we (usually unconsciously) abide. Delusion and suffering are our human condition. Liberation realized through meditation, devotion, knowledge, and action is our only path out of “prison”; this is our purpose and battle.

• This translation clings to the original Sanskrit. Frequent translators’ notes make this Sacred Text accessible to the beginner and intriguing to the scholar. Two essays accompany the translation. One essay offers original thinking regarding “the Transcendental in Sanskrit’s Middle Voice.” The second essay examines Lord Krishna’s sacred injunction, “fight!”

• “Brilliant and passionate…Anyone seeking to understand Southeast Asia would benefit from reading it.” - William E. Heinecke, Founder & Chairman of Minor International PCL

• “Sinsakul and Whorton ensure nothing has been ‘lost in translation’…doubts about the Gita’s relevance to modern life are firmly put to rest.” - Benjamin Zawacki, The Asia Foundation

• “A valuable book for the modern professional soldier seeking spiritual truth and redemption from moral injury. Highly recommended.” - James V. Di Crocco III, US Army War College

• “A clear rendition, with illuminating, non-intrusive notes…wonderfully makes ancient scripture both comprehensible and relevant.” - Darin Pradittatsanee, Chulalongkorn University

• “Sinsakul and Whorton plunge into the deepest transcendental, moral, and practical depths of the human condition… I enthusiastically encourage the study of this translation.” - Thomas E. Jackson, University of Hawaii, Manoa

Sanskrit, Philosophy, Hinduism, Meditation, Mahabharata 

• TASSANEE SINSAKUL is widely known in Thailand’s academic community as a lifetime teacher of Pali, Sanskrit, and Thai at Chulalongkorn University. Besides great respect from thousands of students and fellow colleagues for her teaching and scholarship, she is widely admired for her character, manner, and spiritual wisdom. Her publications in Thai include numerous works on Sanskrit poetry. She taught at Chulalongkorn University from 1975 to 2015.

• WILLIAM S. WHORTON joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1959 at 17 and retired in 1984. He spent 21 months in combat in Vietnam as infantry platoon commander and senior advisor to a (South) Vietnamese infantry battalion. He has two master’s degrees, Philosophy and Educational Foundations, from the University of Hawaii. He is a student of 12 languages. He was lecturer and special lecturer at the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University from 1989 to 2020.