Suryaprabha Shashidharan

Bhagavad Geeta for the New Millennial Suryaprabha Shashidharan

The book culminated from teaching-discussion sessions conducted by the author for over a decade in Mumbai. The students varied a lot; coming from various socio-economic strata, ranging from young adults to the elderly, some of whom were educated and professionally qualified, while others were not. The effort has always been to stimulate reflection, question unexamined beliefs, and opinions, and expose their hollowness, and irrationality, enable comprehension of human frailties, and reveal the rationale underlying the precepts of the Bhagavad Geeta. The Geeta is sought to be presented as a guide to good living, not determined by a god/gods but as the outflow from the right comprehension of oneself, the nature and processes of the universe, and the very notion of what the Divine is. The book departs from the usual shloka-commentary format. Instead, it is a dialogue between Arjuna, now a highly evolved radiant master, and Rashmi, a new millennium aspirant. The teaching is interspersed with Arjuna's recall of his early failings and frailties, and Rashmi's asides, reflections, and articulation of her misgivings about herself. It is hoped that this format of the Geeta will resonate more intimately with the psyche of the new millennial.