Tavamithram’s Gita Samiti
Germany
Saturated with profound wisdom, the Srimad Bhagavad Gita is the divine discourse given by Bhagavan Krishna to Prince Arjuna. It was at Kurukshetra, just before the ‘Dharma Yuddh”, that was fought between the Paandavas and the Kauravas. Filled with boundless spiritual knowledge, the deep insights that the Gita provides, remain true even to this day, more than 5000 years after it was first uttered by The Bhagavan himself. Guiding a confused soul to find practical answers to life’s dilemmas and bringing a lost soul closer to divinity can be achieved through the Gita. This is a scripture every person wanting to refine his or her life, ought to read, study, follow and practise.
The numerous scripts that we have today, come with never ending commentaries and descriptions, that tend to put off a sincere seeker, due to the sheer volume of the book. To encourage people to read the Gita at least once in their life, we decided to keep the translation basic and yet describe every verse, word to word. This not only motivates a person to read the Gita, but it also inspires him or her to reach out for it more often. Please keep in mind that this is the course itself, as delivered by Bhagavan and not a discourse. We have narrated the verses and not sung it in order to help a beginner pronounce each and every syllable to perfection. The words used in translation have been deliberately kept easy and simple, so as to help people comprehend the essence of the Gita effortlessly.
Here’s the manner in which the verses of the Gita on our site should be read –
- When reading the Gita for the first time, read only the translations and complete all the 700 verses at a stretch. It shouldn’t take beyond three hours.
- When you start reading the verses in Sanskrit, read at least 5 or 10 verses every day.
- Pronounce each and every verse. You may take the help of the transliteration provided below each verse if necessary.
- You need not learn the verses by heart. Reading out every verse is a definite must though.
- Feel free to imagine Bhagavan Krishna in any form that you can comfortably identify with, both in appearance and in relation.
- Imagine yourself to be Arjuna himself, kneeling at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan, absorbing the immense consciousness that overflows as His Divine Grace.
- After reading and understanding all the 18 chapters, you may consider going deeper and attempting to interpret the philosophy in various ways to apply it in your own life.
The Srimad Bhagavad Gita is one amazing Scripture that one can refer to any time and draw inspiration or ideas from, no matter what situation they might be in. However, it is primarily due to lengthy and detailed interpretations of each Shloka by great learned people, that make copies of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita so fat, big. uninteresting, unattractive and uninviting to newbies. The sheer size of the copies gives the impression to people that it would take them a long time to read the Divine Scripture and that they would do it when they are much older or even after they have retired! Not reading the Bhagavad Gita despite being blessed with the possibility of reading it, is something that most people regret once they do take the time to complete reading it.
In order to motivate first timers to complete reading the Divine Scripture at least once, I have given below a table showing how much time one approximately needs to quickly read merely the translations of each chapter. First timers could read the Gita with the sole objective of acquiring the feeling of having completed it once. It will not matter if one does understand many Shlokas. The goal needs to be to complete reading it. People who have read it once, are drawn to it again and again after which, they start relating different Shlokas to situations in their life and to apply what they have learned. The Srimad Bhagavad Gita is a scripture which can inspire people with tremendous energy and different ideas every time they read it. Every great journey begins with the first step. One of the prime aims of TVM Gita Samiti is to encourage and prompt people to read the Srimad Bhagavad Gita at least once. The difference that it will make in their life and in their attitude towards life, cannot be described in words – one needs to experience it.
| Chapter No. | No. of Shlokas | Time required for a quick read of the English translations alone. (in minutes) |
| 1 | 47 | 10 |
| 2 | 72 | 15 |
| 3 | 43 | 10 |
| 4 | 42 | 9 |
| 5 | 29 | 5 |
| 6 | 47 | 10 |
| 7 | 30 | 7 |
| 8 | 28 | 6 |
| 9 | 34 | 7 |
| 10 | 42 | 9 |
| 11 | 55 | 12 |
| 12 | 20 | 4 |
| 13 | 34 | 7 |
| 14 | 27 | 6 |
| 15 | 20 | 4 |
| 16 | 24 | 4 |
| 17 | 28 | 5 |
| 18 | 78 | 16 |
| 700 Shlokas | 146 minutes in all |
It is our sincere desire to spread the word of the Gita to all, both the young and the old, to the traditional and to the modern, to the beginner and to the interested, to the believer and also to the agnostic or to the atheist.
Through first hand experience, we have learned that the profound spiritual knowledge of the Gita, has tremendous power to transform the lives of people for the better. Therefore, we, at Tavamithram’s Gita Samiti, have made it our purpose to take the Gita to the common man, irrespective of the strata of society that he may belong to. By imbibing the spirit of the Gita, every person will eventually begin to identify with the “Atman” or the soul that resides within each one of us.
The philosophy of the Gita, when absorbed in its totality, will inevitably guide people to the concept of “Karma”, making people take every action in life in accordance to the Dharma/Righteousness. It is our goal to help people connect to each other on the deepest level possible, thus propagating a feeling of oneness.
“Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम”. The world is, but one family. It is our genuine request to you to give the treasure trove of wisdom that the Gita is, at least one thorough read and delve into a meaningful life that awaits you.
Jai Shree Krishna
TVM Gita Samiti 