“The Bhagavad Gita is one of
the greatest psycho-spiritual treatises of the world.”
Dear devotee, Welcome. Here you will find the early Bhagavad Gita commentaries which Yogananda printed in his magazines. It is a small portion of it: only the first of 18 chapters.
These early texts came to Yogananda in a free flow of divine inspiration. They are charged with spiritual truth, vibration, and power. Still he didn’t deem them fit for publishing in book form. Printed from 1932 onwards, they had not yet been honed by Tara Mata, who was Yogananda’s trusted editor: in 1929 she had left the Guru’s ashram and returned in late 1936, which is when she started her editorial labors on these Bhagavad Gita interpretations. In addition, Yogananda himself worked on them at the end of his life. He knew they needed polishing.
The text you will find here, then, can’t be considered a final product. Rather it is a raw historical document which is meant for devotees who want to get a feel for what Yogananda published in the early years.
A little historical background
One of Yogananda’s crucial missions, given to him by his great Gurus, was to interpret the Scriptures of East and West, revealing the underlining unity between the original Christianity of Christ, as expounded in the Holy Bible, and the original Yoga of Krishna, as taught in the Bhagavad Gita.
For this end a detailed interpretation of both these holy Scriptures was necessary, showing their common essence: Self-realization, which means nothing less than God-realization.
Therefore, Yogananda started a parallel endeavour: in his magazines, in regular articles, starting in 1932, he published both Bhagavad Gita and Bible interpretations. For an entire 20 years he wrote and published these divinely inspired commentaries, side by side.
So most magazines carried both an interpretation of the Bible, titled “The Second Coming of Christ,” and one on the Bhagavad Gita, simply called “Bhagavad Gita Interpretations”.
His articles revealed divine timing: just toward the end of his life Yogananda finished this herculean literary work.
The birth of a book
In his final years he was eager to get his Bhagavad Gita interpretations published in book form, while he was still in the body.
In 1950 the Master invited Swami Kriyananda to his desert retreat, called 29 Palms, asking him to read through the entire manuscript and to help him with “preliminary editing”. It was an incredibly powerful spiritual voyage for him: “I found the experience almost overwhelming. Never in my life had I read anything so deep, and at the same time so beautiful and uplifting.”
Tara Mata had already edited much of the book, excepting those articles which were written from 1932-1936, which was a period when as she was absent from the ashram. From 1937 on her main task was to edit his publications. Her work was precious for “Swami Yogananda,” as he was called in the early times. She explained her efforts in a letter dated 1937 (SRF writes that she was referring to the Guru’s scriptural commentaries): “My end is pure grammar, arrangement, etc. None of the interpretation is anyone’s but Swamiji’s.”
Yogananda got extremely close to getting the book published. It was a matter of days, literally. The manuscript was ready.
In the 1951 edition of the Autobiography of a Yogi (the last to appear during his lifetime) he explained happily: “Another work, completed in 1950 during my stay at an SRF retreat near the Mojave desert, is a translation, with commentary, of the Bhagavad Gita. The book, God Talks With Arjuna, presents a detailed study of the various paths of yoga.”
In a footnote on that page he announced: “Published in 1951 (see page 6n.)”
And on that page 6, a footnote stated: “The Bhagavad Gita is the Hindu Bible. My translation with a detailed commentary is written from the yogic viewpoint. (God Talks With Arjuna, Self-Realization Fellowship, 3880 San Rafael Ave., Los Angeles 65, California, 1951, $3.50).”
For him, in other words, the printed book was an accomplished fact, and everyone could order it from the above address.
It took, however, slightly longer than expected. In a letter to Peggy Deitz, dated Feb. 25, 1952, just 12 days before his passing, the great Guru wrote: “The Bhagavad Gita is being printed now, and after I have checked it over again, it will be ready for the public.”
So by the end of February 1952 the book God Talks With Arjuna was completed, edited, and ready at the printer.
But a few days later, on March 7, 1952, alas, the great Guru passed away. The entire project was suddenly put to an abrupt halt.
Tara Mata obviously felt that far more editing was necessary, in order to present her Master’s words to the world in the most impeccable way possible. So she withdrew the book from the printer and diligently continued to work on the manuscript, for almost 20 years.
After her passing in 1971 Mrinalini Mata, now in charge of publications, continued that long and precise editorial work, for another two decades.
The final result was published in 1995 under the title God Talks To Arjuna – The Bhagavad Gita. It is an amazing treasure of profound knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual truth.
The early work
Yet it is also inspiring to read the more immediate tone of Yogananda’s early words, as he had first published them.
He didn’t actually write these early commentaries, but dictated them. So you, the reader, may even try to hear Yogananda’s voice, speaking the words you read.
And while reading (and “hearing”) you may keep in mind his powerful statement:
“This book came entirely from God…
A new scripture has been born!”
Jai Guru!
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