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Post by madanmohandas on Jul 22, 2010 16:09:32 GMT -6
I hope you don't feel rushed to keep up, Nitaida. I don't really know why I'm going at this pace, but maybe subconsciously I'm making up for lost time because you're the first person to show any interest in Caleb's translation. I've had the book since 1993, then about six months ago I decided to copy it out and return the original book to the person who gave it me back then. But now he is not willing to lend it out. An aquaintance was also inspired to copy it out by hand for which I had to lend him my hand copy. Anyway I am extremely delighted that it is appriciated here and that you are so kind to go to the trouble of typing it up with Sanskrt.
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Post by Nitaidas on Jul 22, 2010 22:13:27 GMT -6
I hope you don't feel rushed to keep up, Nitaida. I don't really know why I'm going at this pace, but maybe subconsciously I'm making up for lost time because you're the first person to show any interest in Caleb's translation. I've had the book since 1993, then about six months ago I decided to copy it out and return the original book to the person who gave it me back then. But now he is not willing to lend it out. An aquaintance was also inspired to copy it out by hand for which I had to lend him my hand copy. Anyway I am extremely delighted that it is appriciated here and that you are so kind to go to the trouble of typing it up with Sanskrt. No, I do not feel rushed at all. I enjoy working on it and am glad to see you post it so quickly. It also gives me a chance to get the Sanskrit in shape. That will help with my own translations later. I think republishing this translation is a great idea. I like what I have seen. I have ordered the original from Interlibrary Loan at my university. Let's see if they can actually get a copy. Harvard does not like to part with its books, especially if they are old and in poor shape. I notice that the original is said to have annotations. Is there anything worthwhile in the annotations that we should reproduce in our edition? I have hunted down Sri Yamunacarya's Gitarthasangraha and noticed that Baladeva and Visvanatha each have verse summaries of the chapters of the Gita as well. Madhusudana Sarasvati does too. It might be a nice touch to have those in the appendices. Yamunacarya's is the oldest, of course. Please put together an introduction along the lines of some of your comments on this forum: Caleb's relationship to previous translations, the relationship of his verse structure to the original, etc. etc. All that is interesting. If I get a hold of the original book I may try to include his introduction if it seems worth doing. This is going to be a big book. 3-400 pages. Any suggestions for artwork on the cover?
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Post by madanmohandas on Jul 23, 2010 3:25:35 GMT -6
Yes, Caleb's preface would be worth including, its not very long. There is nothing much of novelty in his annotations that is not already now available. I will give some attention to an introduction when the text is completed. As far the cover art goes as long as we avoid the tacky 'disneyfied' images, there are loads of appropriate images. Anyway, here comes the 15th chapter;
The Blessed Lord said; With shoots below and roots above, 'Tis said the deathless Banyan grows, Its leaves are hymns; who knoweth it Is in the Veda truely versed.1 Upward and downward, guna-fed, its leaves Which have sense objects for their buds, extend, And pendulous in the world of men distend Its many branches, which are the bonds of deeds.2 Its form as such is unperceived on earth, Its origin, its end, its rooting place; When this strong rooted Banyan is cut down With axe of non-attatchment, keen and strong,3 That goal beyond can then indeed be sought, From whence, who reach it, come again no more. ' I refuge seek in that primeval soul, From whom did eminate the ancient stream.' 4 Who no delusions have, who are not proud, Who have attatchment's evil overcome; The freed from lust and 'pairs', the self-absorbed, The men of wisdom reach that deathless goal.5 The sun shines not upon that goal, Nor moon nor fire illumine it; That is mine own supernal home, From whence, once there, none e'er returns.6 A portion of myself transformed As living soul in this mortal world, The senses and the mind attracts, In matter veiled, towards itself.7 Whene'er the soul a form aquires, Whenever he departs therefrom, He taketh these with him and goes, As takes the wind perfume from flow'rs.8 Presiding o'er the sense of sight, And o'er the sense of touch and taste, And over hearing and the mind, He doth enjoy all things of sense.9 Who are deluded see him not, When he who's to the gunas wed Enjoys himself, or goes, or stays; They see him who are wisdom-eyed.10 By strenuous effort devotees Perceive him dwelling in their selves; The wisdomless, the self-untrained, Though striving hard, perceive him not.11 The light which dwelling in the sun Illumines all the world below, Which shineth in the moon and fire, That light, know thou, is mine indeed.12 I, filling all the earth, support All beings by my energy; Transformed into the watery moon, I nourish every living herb.13 Transformed into the inner fire, In living creatures do I dwell, United with the breath of life, The four-fold food do I digest.14 And I am shrined in every heart, from me Both memory and knowledge come and go; 'Tis I who in the Veda am to be known, Veda-knower I, and author of Vedant.15 This world two groups of beings holds, Th'enduring and the perishing; The perishing all creatures are, The enduring that which lasts for aye.16 There also is the soul supreme, The highest self - his other name -, Th'eternal lord who doth uphold And permeate the triple-world.17 Since I transcend what perisheth, And do excel what changes not, Therefore the Veda an' all the world. Proclaim me as the soul supreme.18 Who, undeluded, knoweth me In this wise as the soul supreme, He, knowing all, doth worship me With his whole being, Bharat's son.19 O sinless one, thus have I taught This most mysterious science now, Which knowing, Bharat, man becomes Awakened, and his work is done.20
End Chapter 15
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Post by madanmohandas on Jul 23, 2010 7:48:33 GMT -6
The Blessed Lord said; Heart's purity and fearlessness, In yoga of wisdom steadfastness, Gifts, sacrifice and self-restraint, Uprightness, penance,, studiousness,1 Truth, harmlessness and wrathlessness, Renunciation, straightness, peace, Compassion, meekness, modesty, Uncovetousness and costancy,2 Forgiveness, vigour, fortitude, Spitelessness, cleanliness, void of pride, O Bharat, these belong to him Who comes to birth with godlike gifts.3 Wrath, ignorance, hypocracy, Conceit, and pride, and insolence, O Partha, these all belong to him Who's born with gifts demoniac.4 The godlike gifts are deemed to be The means by which is freedom gained, The others but enslave; grieve not, For thou art born with gifts divine.5 Two kinds of creatures dwell in earth, The godlike and demoniac. The first I have described at length, Now of the second shall I speak.6 The people who demoniac are, Nor action nor inaction know, Nor purity, nor rectitude, Nor truth is ever found in them.7 These people say that this world is A truthless, baseless, godless thing, The product merely and naught else, Of carnal union caused by lust.8 Holding this veiw, these ruined souls, Small witted and of gruesome deeds, As haters of the world appear Upon its ruination bent.9 Filled with desires unquenchable, And passion, pride, hypocracy, Clinging to lies, delusion-lead, They with resolves unholy work.10 Indulging in unmeasured thoughts, That do not cease till death is reached, To sate desire their only aim, Convinced that this is all in all.11 Bound by a hundred ties of hope, Enchained by bonds of lust and wrath, By means unjust they strive to gain, For sensual pleasures, hoards of wealth.12 ' I have today obtained this thing, This wish I shall attain one day, This wealth already I possess, And that in future I shall have;13 ' This foe of mine I now have slain, The others also I shall slay, A lord am I, I please myself, I perfect am, and happy, strong.14 ' Well born am I and rich withal, Who else is there like unto me? I'll sacrifice, give alms, rejoice,' So prate they by unwisdom fooled.15 Distracted sore by many a thought, Entangled in delusion's snare, Enslaved by sensual pleasures, they Fall headlong in a hell unclean.16 Self-honoured, stubborn, filled with pride, Intoxicated by their wealth, For show alone they sacrifice, With no regard for ordinance.17 Indulging in brute force and lust, And vanity and arrogance, In other selves, as in their own, With malice filled, these men hate me.18 These merciless and evil men, These haters, vilest of the vile, Forever do I hurl them back, In wombs demoniac in the worlds.19 Deluded they from birth to birth, Are born within demoniac wombs, Ne'er reaching me, O Kunti's son, They sink into the lowest depths.20 The gates of hell, in number three, Are lust, and wrath, and averice, Destructive of the self are these, Therfore from them let men abstain.21 The man who from these portals three, Of darkness, is released, works out His own salvation, Kunti's son, And thus attains the goal supreme.22 Who scorning holy ordinance, Doth act as bid by his desire, Perfection gains not, nor yet joy, Nor doth he reach the goal supreme.23 Let scripture then decide for thee What should be done or left undone, Thus knowing what the law ordains, In pious work thou shouldst engage.24
End Chapter 16
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Post by madanmohandas on Jul 23, 2010 9:42:57 GMT -6
Arjun said; Who full of faith make sacrifice, Discarding what the scriptures say, What, Krishna, is the state of these, Sattvic, rajasic or tamasic?1 The Blessed Lord said; Three-fold by nature is the faith Inborn in all embodied souls; Sattvic, rajasic and tamasic; Of these three faiths now hear from me.2 The faith of each, O Bharat's son, Conforms itself to what he is; A man on earth is full of faith, Whate'er his faith so is the man.3 The sattvic men the gods adore, The rajasic the fiends and jinns; The others, the tamasic men, Departed shades and goblin hosts.4 Who practice feirce austerities, That are by scripture not enjoined; The hypocrits, the egoists, With strength of lust and passion filled,5 The foolish ones who do torment The organs in their bodies found, Nay, me also who dwells within; Know these to have demoniac wills.6 The food also belov'd of each, Is in its nature three-fold too, And likewise worship, penance, gifts, Of this distinction do thou hear.7 The foods which energy augment, And add to life, strength, health and joy, Nutritious,oily, savoury, Delicsious; these the sattvic love.8 The bitter, salty, heating, sour, Astringent, pungent, over-hot, Which sickness, pain and grief produce; These by the rajasic are loved.9 The food which is devoid of taste, And stinking, putrid, stale, unclean, Yea, leavings too; these are indeed Loved always by the tamasic.10 That worship by the law enjoined, Performed by men who seek no fruit, Convinced that duty worship is, This kind of worship sattvic is.11 But worship offered for reward, Or merely for the sake of show, O best of all the Bharats, know Such worship to be rajasic.12 The worshio which is 'gainst the law, Deviod of chants and gifts and faith, And also of the gifts of food, Such worship tamasic is called.13 The worship of all twice-born men, Of gods and teachers and the wise, Lives pure and simple, continent, And harmless; body penance this.14 True speech which doth not stir up strife, Which pleasant is and doeth good, And study of the sacred texts, The penance this of speech is called.15 A tranquil mind, good heartedness, Control of self, restraint of speech, And purity of nature too, As mental penance know thou this.16 This three-fold penance if performed, With perfect faith by men attuned, Who are exempt from hope of fruit, Is sattvic penance rightly called.17 The penance done for worship's sake, For honour, welcome or reward, Which fleeting and uncertain is, Is here on earth deemed rajasic.18 The penance which is practisEd Under a notion that is false, To torture self, or others hurt, Such penance is called tamasic.19 A gift for duty's sake bestowed On one who cannot aught return, Who's worthy, at a time and place Both meet, is truely sattvic gift.20 But the gift that calls for due return, Or that is made for some reward, The gift that is not freely made, Is deemed to be gift rajasic.21 The gift to the unworthy given, Which is mistimed and out of place, Without respect or with contempt, Such gift's proclaimed as tamasic.22 It has been said that 'om tat sat', This triple word denotes the Brahm; By that in days of yore were made The brahmins, Veda and sacrifice.23 Therefore whilst uttering 'om' all acts Of penance, gifts and sacrifice, Enjoined by scripture are begun By those who always know the Brahm.24 With 'tat', not aiming at reward, All sacrificial acts are done, And those of penance and of gifts, By those who liberation seek.25 And 'sat' is used for all that is Both good and real, O Prtha's son, And 'sat' likewise doth designate All actions that auspicious are.26 Steadfastness in austerity, In sacrifices and in gifts, And even acts for these performed, Are fittly spoken of as 'sat'.27 Whate'er is wraught in want of faith Of penance, gifts or sacrifice, O Prtha's son, it is 'asat', And naught both here and after death.28
End Chapter 17
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Post by madanmohandas on Jul 23, 2010 12:37:57 GMT -6
Arjun said; O mighty armed, I wish to know The essence of sannyas and tyag, O Keshi's slayer, O Hrshikesh! The two considered as distinct.1 The Blessed Lord said; Renouncing work for greed performed Is by the sages called sannyas; Renouncing the reward of work Is by the learned known as tyag.2 Some sages say, as full of ill, All action should abandoned be, And some that acts of penance, gifts, And sacrifice should not be shunned.3 O best among the Bhartas, hear The truth about this tyag from me; O tiger of mankind, 'tis said Of three distinctive kinds is tyag.4 All acts of sacrifice and gifts And penance should be practisEd, And not renounced, for these indeed Are sanctifiers of the wise.5 But even these should be performed Without attatchment, Prtha's son; Forsaking also every fruit, My best and final verdict this.6 For verily it is not meet To give up deeds that are ordained; Renouncing these through ignorance, Is said to be tyag tamasic.7 Renouncing deeds that painful are, From fear of bodily fatigue, Is held to be tyag rajasic, And with it carries no reward.8 A deed ordained that is performed Solely because it should be done, Attatchment and all fruits forsworn, Such tyag is sattvic deemed to be.9 The sattva-filled renouncer who Is talented and free from doubts, Is not attatched to pleasant deeds, Nor doth he hate unpleasant ones.10 For truely no embodied soul Can ever wholy give up deeds; But he is a renouncer called Who doth abandon action's fruit.11 The triple fruit, good, ill and mixed, Of work hereafter them awaits, Who non-renouncers are on earth, But never those who have renounced.12 O mighty armed, learn thou from me, The causes five by which alone All actions are accomplishEd, As in the sankhya creed set forth.13 The body first, the agent then, The various organs coming next, Activities of diverse kinds, And last of all the deities.14 Whatever deed a man performs With body or with speech or mind, It matters not if right or wrong, These five indeed its causes are.15 This being so, who verily, From lack of knowledge, doth regard Himself as the sole agent, he, The foolish one, perceiveth not.16 He who's free from ego sense, Whose reason has no taint at all, He slayeth not, nor is he bound, Although he may the people slay.17 The knower, knowledge, object known, These, three-fold, give impulse to act; The organ, agent and the act, The triple base of action are.18 The science of the gunas holds That agent, knowledge and the act, As by the gunas distinguished, Are of three kinds; of this now hear.19 Perception by which one percieves The deathless self in all that lives, The partless 'midst divided ones, As sattvic knowledge know thou this.20 Perception holding as distinct The selves in variou creature shapes, Such knowledge do thou know to be Rajasic knowledge doubtlessly.21 Perception which doth blindly cling To effects as the all in all, Unreal, narrow, reasonless, Such knowledge is called tamasic.22 An act which is ordained when done By one who seeketh no reward, Without attatchment, love or hate; Such action sattvic is declared.23 The act which is performed by one Who seeketh gain for selfish ends, Or which is wraught with weary toil, Such act indeed is rajasic.24 The act in ignorance begun, Without regard to consequence, Capacity or loss or hurt, Such tamasic is held to be.25 Attatchment free, without conceit, Endued with firmness and with zeal, Unmoved by failure or succes, Such agent sattvic is declared.26 Desiring fruits, and passionate, Impure and cruel, full of greed, The slave of sorrow and of joy, Such agent is called rajasic.27 Unsteady, vugar, obstinate, Deceitful, wicked, indolent, Despondant, procrastinating oft, Such agent is called tamasic.28 Of intellect and determination now, These guna-like of triple kind, Of each I shall here fully speak, Lend ear, O Dhananjay, to me.29 Which action and inaction knows, What should be done, what should not be, Fear, fearlessness, bondage, release, Such intellect is sattvic, Partha.30 By which one wrongly understands The difference 'twixt right and wrong, What should be done, what should not be, Such intellect is rajasic.31 And which enshrouded is by gloom, And therefore sees both right and wrong And other things turned upside down, Such intellect is tamasic.32 That determination which through yoga Enables one to curb the mind, The senses and the breaths of life, Such determination, Partha, sattvic is.33 But that through which one clingeth fast To piety and lust and wrath, And by attatchment longs for fruit, Such determination, Partha, is rajasic.34 And that by which a foolish man Doth not abandn fear and grief, Nor sleep, dispair, nor vanity, O Partha, Is determination tamasic.35 And now about the three-fold joy Hear thou, O chief of Bhata's race, In which by habit one delights, And which desroyeth every pain.36 The joy which first like poison tastes, But turns to nectar in the end, Which cometh from heart's purity, Such joy is sattvic joy indeed.37 Which springeth from the bond between The senses and their objects tastes As nectar first but poison last, That joy is reckoned rajasic.38 That which at first and afterwards Deludes the self and springs from sleep, And heedlessness, and indolence, Such joy is counted tamasic.39 There does not live on earth below, Or 'mongst the gods in heaven above, A single being who is free From these three gunas, matter born.40 The brahmins, ksatris, vaisyas too, And sudras also, Parantap, Their various duties are enjoined In keeping with their nature's bent.41 Faith, self-restraint and peace of mind, Forgiveness, patience, purity, Uprightness, wisdom, knowledge too, Are brahmin duties nature born.42 Prowes and glory, strength and skill, Not turning from the foe away, Benevolence and lordliness, Are ksatri duties nature born.43 And cattle raising, ploughing, trade, Are vaisya duties nature born, Whilst menial service appertains To sudra duties nature born. 44 Each on his special duty bent, Man reaches thus the perfect state; How he intent on his own work Attains perfection, learn from me.45 From whom all beings are evolved, By whom this world is filled all through, His worship wraught by one's own work, Doth win for man the perfect state.46 One's own work is, though meritless, Better than another's work well done; Who does the tasks by nature set, Thereby incurs no sin at all.47 His innate duty, Kunti's son, Let no man shun, though full of faults, For all man's undertakings are With faults enwrapped as fire is by smoke.48 Whose reason is nowhere attatched, Who's self-subdued, to longings dead, He by renunciation wins, The perfect state of actlessness.49 How he who has perfection gained Attains to Brahm, the goal supreme, Of knowledge, O thou Kunti's son, Of this now briefly hear from me.50 Endued with reason purified, With firmness mastering the self, Discarding things of sense, like sound, And giving up all loves and hates,51 Abstemious, dwelling all alone, Speech, body, mind all well controlled, On yoga of contemplation bent, And fortified with unconcern,52 And casting off all egoism, Possessions, power, pride, wrath and lust; The man who's selfless, full of peace, Is fit to be transformed to Brahm.53 Becoming Brahm, with self serene, He grieveth not nor longs for aught, And treating all alike he gains Supreme devotion unto me.54 By such devotion such an one Knows who and what I am in truth, And knowing me in truth, he then Finds entrance into me forthwith.55 Who has in me a shelter found, Though in all actions e'er engaged, He by my grace attains at last That state which knows nor end nor wane.56 Resigning all thy acts by mind To me, on me alone intent, Having recourse to budhi yoga, Let e'er thy thoughts be fixed on me.57 Intent on me thou, by my grace, All obstacles shalt overcome; But if through ego sense, thou wilt Not listen, thou shalt be destroyed.58 If thou in ego sense entrenched, To thyself say that 'I'll not fight', Thy resolution will be vain, For thine own nature will compel.59 Bound as thou art, O Kunti's son, By thine own actions, nature born, What thou, deluded, will not do, That must thou do, though 'gainst thy will.60 The lord, O Arjun, dwells within The hearts of all created things, And by his Maya, whirls around All beings on his spinning wheel.61 With all thy being, Bharat's son, Fly unto him for shelter now, For by his grace thou shalt attain To peace supreme, th'eternal home.62 More hid than any mystery, This wisdom has been shown to thee; In all its fulness think on it, And then take action as thou wilt.63 Give ear unto my word supreme, The greatest secret, once again, Because thou art my dearest friend, I speak of what is good for thee.64 Thy mind, thy love, bestow on me, Thy homage and thy worship too; Thou'lt come to me, I pledge my word, For thou art very dear to me.65 Renouncing every duty then, Seek shelter thou in me alone, For I will truely set thee free From all thy sins; hence, do not grieve.66 Tell not this word of mine to one Who penance and devotion lacks, Nor unto one who'd fain not hear, Nor him who speaketh ill of me.67 Whoso with love supreme for me Amongst my lovers shall proclaim This highest secret; he shall come, Without the slightest doubt, to me.68 Nor is there one amongst mankind Who dearer service does than he; Therefore none other here on earth Shall be more dearly loved by me.69 And who this holy dialogue Of ours shall studt ernestly, By doing so he worships me By wisdom sacrifice I deem.70 And he also who full of faith, Without reviling heareth this, Released from sin shall enter in The radiant world of righteous men.71 And, Prtha's son, has this been heard By thee with single pointed mind? Hath thy delusion, Dhananjay, Unwisdom-bred, been now dispelled?72 Arjun said; My stupor, changeless lord, is fled, And by thy grace I've wisdom gained; No doubts have I, I am convinced, What thou dost bid, that I will do.73 Sanjay said; Thus did I hear, O mighty king, This dialogue most wonderful, That made my hair to stand on end, 'Tween Vasudeva and noble Partha.74 Through Vyasa's favour did I hear This highest and most secret yoga, By Krishna's lips divine proclaimed, Yea, by the lord of Yoga himself.75 Rememb'ring o'er and o'er again This holy dialogue, O king, Of Keshav with prince Arjun, I Rejoice again and yet again.76 Rememb'ring o'er and o'er again That wondrous form of Hari too, Great is my wonder, king, and I Rejoice again and yet again.77 Where'er is Krishna, lord of yoga, Where'er the archer Arjun is, There I deem doth fortune dwell, And vict'ry, pow'r and righteousness.78
End Chapter 18
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Post by madanmohandas on Jul 23, 2010 18:14:17 GMT -6
Rudimentry introduction
The translation of the Gita presented here was first published a century ago, and does not seem to have been reprinted since then. Needless to say it is a great joy and privilage to be involved in its reproduction. The readers sympathetic to the theme of the poem will aknowledge certain remarkable virtues in Caleb's translation. There have indeed been other metric renditions such as Sir Edwin Arnold's 'Song Celestial', which is regarded as true to the original text and is worthy as a great poetical work in its own right. For the major portion of the text Arnold chose to use blanc verse as his prefered meter, which consists of five-footed lines. Caleb on the other hand das dropped the measure to a four-footed line, which more resembles the anustubh couplets of the original. Although blanc verse may be regarded as suited to the didactic theme of the poem in English, it strays, however from the feel and flow of the original verses if the Gita. Deciding on the meter in coordination with the argument is a vital aspect or device of prosody, as Ovid points out; For mighty wars I thought to tune my lute, And make my measures to my subject suit, But Cupd, laughing, when he saw my mind, From every second verse a foot purloined...... There is some variation in meter of the original and Caleb has followed by using blanc verse to corespond to the longer tristubh meter. As well as adherance to meter in that way, Caleb has taken great care not to interpret, which is the modern translators vice, but to be as literal as would be intelagable avioding idiomatic usage. Readers new to the Gita might well require aquaintace with the many doctrinal annotations composed by the founders of various sects. The present translation corelates with Sridhara's Subodhini Tika, or Ramanuja's and others. Of course there are faults here also in Caleb's, such as skiping or stumbling meter and the occasional awkward turn of phrase, and perhaps the original is not the highest form of poetry from a literary veiw, but the sympathetic readers may judge for themselves.
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Post by Nitaidas on Jul 24, 2010 13:58:52 GMT -6
Here is the latest version of the Gita with chapter 8 included. I think it is coming along splendidly. 152 pages so far and I am only nine chapters behind. I also included your introduction, madanji. Is there more you want to say? If so, just post it and I will add it. The next chapter, Chapter 9, is medium sized. It will be done by this time tomorrow. Here
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Post by madanmohandas on Jul 25, 2010 7:03:17 GMT -6
You know Nitai, perhaps it would be better if you wrote the introduction. When I read the little written above it makes me cringe, its not humility, but actual conscious awareness of how presumptious I am. There's no question that I lack the required qualification. With the translations I feel there maybe some licence because I'm just trying to express what somebody else has said, but when it comes to expressing my own thoughts it just sounds like a load of incoherent rubbish.
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Post by Nitaidas on Jul 25, 2010 14:52:28 GMT -6
You know Nitai, perhaps it would be better if you wrote the introduction. When I read the little written above it makes me cringe, its not humility, but actual conscious awareness of how presumptious I am. There's no question that I lack the required qualification. With the translations I feel there maybe some licence because I'm just trying to express what somebody else has said, but when it comes to expressing my own thoughts it just sounds like a load of incoherent rubbish. I was afraid you were going to say something like this. You are such a self-effacing fellow sometimes. It is what is charming about you. I like what you have written so far, madanji, and I think that since you are the "discoverer" of the translation, you should have an introduction of some sort in the book. It does not need to be long and it does not need to be the final word on Gita translation or scholarship. Make it or keep it personal. Tell how you found this text and why you like it and how you like to read it while listening to those recordings you mentioned. Tell us what you changed and why. Tell us what you added and why. Most of all tell us why you like this translation and want to share it with others. Bas! Just do what you feel comfortable doing. No presumption involved. As for me, I am not sure I am up to doing another introduction at this point. If I can get my hands on the book, I will look at the introduction Caleb wrote and see if that might be reproduced. I will certainly write something along the lines of a preface to discuss Blazing Sapphire's plans for a series of translations and commentaries of the Gita and how this work fits into that, in fact inaugurates that. It will be brief and forwarding looking, optimistic, as all my forwards and prefaces are. Mostly though I want to have this book out soon. If I write a long introduction that won't happen. It has been a slow and unproductive year. I am hoping to have this book, Kanupriya Goswami's, and perhaps Siddha Manohar's book done by the end of the year. Pipe dreams maybe, but perhaps it can happen. I have invited others to submit essays to be included in the book if they want. Those would go in the appendix and should be meditations on the meaning or value of the Gita for the modern world, or personal accounts of engagement with the text, or anything any of our members think might illuminate the text for modern readers. So far no one has taken me seriously. But, let's see what happens.
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Post by Nitaidas on Jul 26, 2010 13:45:11 GMT -6
Here is the latest version of the Gita with chapter 9 included. 166 pages so far and I am only nine chapters behind. . The next chapter, Chapter 10, will have to wait a few days since I will be on the road for the next week. I will try to keep up with the discussions while I am away, however. Here
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Post by madanmohandas on Jul 28, 2010 11:43:17 GMT -6
I suppose I should explain why I ventured to edit Caleb's original. Initially it was for my own private reading so I thought it required no consideration of any third party reading it. Since it has been made available on a public forum then I will dilate on why it seemed desirable. Most of the alterations were simply changing certain spellings to a more common usage and and what I felt were better cadences in sound, ie., in the original we have 'yog' which was changed to 'yoga'. The only actual verse incerted was one that for some reason was missing from the original, that being 10,38. I hope Caleb would not have been offended and that my tampering has not compromised the integrity of the original.
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Post by Nitaidas on Jul 28, 2010 14:41:16 GMT -6
Those are some good points for your introduction, madanmohanji. How did you find the book? You said you borrowed it from someone who won't let you borrow it back. Why not? Is it in poor condition? Does the change of yog to yoga alter the meter? There are also those couple of verses in the first chapter that need to be composed and inserted. Also mention that experience on the bank of the Ganga in Mayapur. That will open people up to loud recitations of the text. All of these things will contribute to a good and informative introduction.
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Post by madanmohandas on Jul 28, 2010 16:28:12 GMT -6
The book was given to an old aquaintance of mine by a relative who came accross it in a second hand book shop. He gave it to me and I recently copied it and gave it back. Apparently he is unwilling to let it out as he reads it every day, moreover he and I have had a bit of a breakdown in communication. Somestimes 'yoga' etc., did compromise the meter, but usually it could be compensated. What may perhaps be good to include in the intro would be the episode from C.C. where Gaurangadeva comes accross the brahman reciting the Gita.
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Post by madanmohandas on Jul 30, 2010 14:44:36 GMT -6
Regarding the missing lines in chapter 1 I noticed that the numbering is out. Verse 26 in my copy actually has three lines and verse 31 has only one line. Verse 34 which is missing could go something like;
Holy teachers, fathers, sons, And with them the great grandsires, Fathers and brothers in-law, grandsons, And all our dearest kinsmen here. 34
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