/lit/ - Literature

I don't get the Gita. It's all about losing all desire to attain anything, so you can be declared magical and holy. But then that in itself is a desire. To desire nothing is a desire. Frankly I wasn't born there and didn't take a decade long scholarship to arrive to this conclusion. And my thoughts are in English so I can't quite ever achieve the magical and holy no-desire desire. So I might be misrepresenting the book. But I couldn't quite overcome this contradiction. Can anyone tell me whence I went wrong?

Itt: Post books that have truly helped you with their knowledge. Anything goes.

Ill start. The gita helped me understand why one should keep going in a cruel world, and why you shouldn't stress about your current impermanent position.

Unironically, just read this and work towards Bhakti. Buddhism is incredibly incompatible with Western conditioning. Hindu paths of Jñāna, Bhakti and Karma yoga are far more compatible.

Ramana Maharshi is good too. Although, Western audiences typically read a book about his teachings, try to understand and then forget in a year or so. Bhakti is better for westerners.

thoughts on the Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is?
perhaps as opposed to former translations of the Bhagavad-Gītā

the bhagavad gita as it is, some fucking retard cult guy rewrote it and changed like 1000 things for no reason
I can't stand him calling himself "his divine grace"

>>11568807
We did tho

A monk on my campus gave me this last month. Find a copy and get it.

I got interested in this topic through Bhagavad Gita As It Is. It's basically the first text for Hare Krishna's. It has some great information, but it strictly follows Gaudiya Vaishnavism, and it is therefore biased in that sense. You won't learn much about other God's than Krishna.

However, the translation is good, so you could just skip the purports.

I do recommend starting with the Bhagavad Gita though, using a translation of your choice. The Gita is the crown jewel of Hindu belief.

A Hare Krishna gave this to me in Denver. From my prior research it seems like a straightforward translation and commentary, but the guy who wrote it did start a cult.

>>9935384
Bhagavad Gita "As It Is" by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prahupada is quite nice

Shreemad Bhagavad Gita: The Song of Love by Paramahamsa Sri Swami Vishwananda is also very good

>>9901579
>i believe that humans have not the means to prove or disprove god, and as such we cant say much about the matter
God can be entirely proved, but you can only understand God fully through means of consciousness, called Krishna consciousness, not merely be means of the senses, mind, or intellect.

>if anything, this god is uncaring, or perhaps even actively evil, as he allows the suffering of man to continue, and not just the suffering of man but also the suffering ofinnocents (ie babies who have yet to sin)
Suffering occurs because of the spiritual soul's voluntary interaction and exploitation of the material world, which in turn entangles him in the process of birth and death along with endless anxieties and miseries. This is called samsara.

>i would like to believe that through alleviating the suffering of man, you can create meaning in what i think is an otherwise inherently meaningless existance
Liberation from material entanglement results in freedom from suffering, this liberation is called Moksha. Higher than Moksha alone is Krishna consciousness.

>on the other hand i want to chase carnal pleasure and accept that life doesnt have meaning.
Chasing carnal pleasure, or trying to enjoy material life through sense gratification, is never satisfying, will never yield happiness, and is what binds the soul to the cycle of samsara. Because of the soul's addiction to material nature, he in turn rejects spiritual happiness and God as well.

Read the Bhagavad Gita, it'll answer all your questions

>>9884387
No, material circumstances arise because of consciousness, not the other way around. False consciousness is exhibited under the impression that I am a product of material nature. This is called false ego. One who is absorbed in the thought of bodily conceptions cannot understand his situation.

Any layman can understand that the material body minus consciousness is a dead body, and this consciousness cannot be revived in the body by any means of material administration. Therefore, consciousness is not due to any amount of material combination, but to the spirit soul.

Read the Bhagavad Gita if you want to learn the science of consciousness.

Some guy at my college was passing these out and I got one. Is it worth reading? I have a vague interest in eastern philosophy, but the foreward was like "these 'philosophers' and 'scientists' just don't get it maaaan you just got to believe in krsna" which kind of puts me off.