Promotional Information

Rosen offers Westerners an easy-to-read introduction to a sacred text, the Bhagavad Gita, demystifying its considerable philosophy in a user-friendly way.

About the Author

Steven J. Rosen is the author of numerous books, including several volumes on the Bhagavad Gita, such as Gita on the Green: The Mystical Tradition Behind Bagger Vance (Continuum International, 2000) and Holy War: Violence and the Bhagavad Gita (Deepak Heritage Books, 2002). He is also the author of Essential Hinduism (Praeger, 2006) and the founding editor of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies.

Reviews

"Krishna's Song adds an articulate practitioner's voice to the growing chorus of Gita scholarship. The essays are accessible, insightful, and well researched--an important work for students and seekers alike. Highly recommended."-Joshua M. Greene, Religion Dept., Hofstra University Author, Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison

"Krishna's Song artfully integrates both devotional and scholarly understandings of a timeless classic. By using contemporary motifs and the language of modernity, Rosen gives us a Bhagavad Gita that can contribute to contemporary discussions on right action, peace and war, and spiritual practice--a most welcome and timely offering."-E.H. Jarow, Associate Professor of Religion/Asian Studies, Vassar College

"Krishna's Song is a thoughtful and valuable contribution to the academic study of the Bhagavad Gita. It is unique in that it offers readers both a devotional understanding of the text as well as the best in modern scholarship. This is a book that will thus be useful in the classroom and among practitioners, too. In short, Steven Rosen is to be commended for making the Gita not only understandable but accessible as well."-Vasudha Narayanan, Distinguished Professor, Dept. of Religion, University of Florida

"Krishna's Song will now be heard in the modern West. By using recognizable melodies and the rhythms of contemporary culture, Rosen manages to bring a traditional and venerable tune to a new world--without missing a beat. I highly recommend this book for those who love to dance to the sounds of the spirit."-Shrivatsa Goswami, Acharya, Sri Radharamana Mandir, Director, Sri Caitanya Prema Samsthana

"Steven Rosen's new book, Krishna's Song, is like a garland of flowers, which beautifully encircles the many existing translations and commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita. It adds a certain richness of color, enhancing the Gita's internal brilliance and alluring fragrance. For this reason, Rosen's book will be a valuable addition to the study of the Bhagavad Gita, produced by one of the text's most well-informed contemporary advocates."-Rev. Prem Anjali, Ph.D. Senior Editor, Integral Yoga Publications, Co-Director, Lotus Center for World Faiths Editor, Integral Yoga Magazine

"This book is a compilation of short essays that the author has produced over the years on the topic of Bhagavad Gita, which is arguably the most important and certainly the most influential Hindu religious work. Since these writings were developed for use in an informal setting, they are easy for any layperson to understand and often attempt to make the Gita accessible by drawing parallels to popular culture and western thinking....This book is a valuable and enjoyable addition to the wealth of commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, and will be of equal interest to both the scholar and the interested layperson."-Catholic Library World

"This contemporary discussion of the Bhagavad Gita provides readers of India's most important sacred text with radical approaches to traditional issues. Independent scholar Rosen's intent is to "culturally translate" the text, which he came to know through Swami Prabhupada's Gita, in ways understandable to a Western audience. He uses giants like Plato to raise the issue of social classification, Jesus (and his cursing of the fig tree) to engage an arboreal metaphor of the self, Oppenheimer to open out the vision of Krishna, Dante to introduce ideas about journeys/epic poetry, Bhisma to engage the question of vegetarianism, and Kierkegaard (and his three stages of human existence) to talk about the three gunas. He turns to golf and Bagger Vance to investigate freedom and human life (the golf ball), and George Lucas and Star Wars to ground the discussion of heroic myth and yogic exertion. The story is well told, often with easy colloquial language. Rosen lays out clearly the main themes of adherence to caste, coupled with yogic devotion to Krsna; and he helpfully elucidates Vaisnava commentaries on the text, and philosophical systems--particularly Advaita Vedanta. Though at times seemingly irreverent, this serious orientation to interpreting the Gita will be immensely helpful in the classroom. Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers."-Choice