As some of you might recall, I recently discussed Vandana R Singh’s insightful book, The Bhagavad Gita: A Life Changing Conversation. The book delves into the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, making it accessible and relevant for contemporary readers. Recently, I had the distinct privilege of speaking with the author herself. Below, you’ll find the text of our stimulating conversation. Hope you will get a deeper understanding of the text as well as the author’s thought process behind it.
Q: First of all thank you for joining me for this conversation. Let me start with the book and the purpose behind writing it. In the prologue you highlight the need of interpretation of text with changing times. What specifically, in your opinion, does your book bring out that the other commentators may have overlooked or perhaps not paid as much attention as it deserved?
A: In a constantly changing physical world, fresh interpretations of existing concepts are needed from time to time to enable us to view them through a contemporary lens. While terminology and technology have evolved over the years, the human mind is still just as insecure, paranoid, envious, and sometimes even unstable. In other words, the human mind with all its follies continues to need an anchor today just as it did thousands of years ago.
Humankind’s search for peace, and the search for answers to life’s many questions remains just as intense, and we continue to see innumerable Arjuns around us struggling with modern versions of distress, despair and inner conflict. These conflicts may erupt from twenty-first century issues, but the resolution of these still lies in the age-old narrative, the Bhagavad Gita.
My first and foremost hope is that this book will help demystify the Gita. I feel that controversies around religion oftentimes are borne of lack of authentic knowledge of sacred texts. Many of us who talk of our faith may or may not have a nuanced understanding of the expanse that ancient texts have, and so the underlying subtleties are often lost in the desire to be vocal. As we know most narratives operate on several planes, tend to have more than one meaning, and are open to multiple interpretations. But for any of these to happen the text has to first be read.
Q: One of the things that I really liked about this book was that you follow the original structure of the Bhagavad Gita. And although you have 251 verses out of the 700, it still feels like a perfectly fine alternative, especially to a new reader. Tell me about the process, of picking certain verses and leaving out others?
A: As you rightly pointed out the compilation in my book comprises 251 verses of the original 700. The shortlisting was a labour-intensive and time-consuming task. Mercifully neither of these was an issue, as this project is purely a labour of love, and time was in abundance during the inward-looking existence during the pandemic. The year 2020, when time stood still as it did at the historic battlefield of Kurukshetra.
The basis of selection of the verses, however, was a very real challenge, and remained one, literally till going to press, so to speak. How do you decide which rose to pick from a rose bush? How do you make up your mind about which puppy to take home from the litter cuddled up with its mother? How and which one do you make your own? How and which one do you let go? Dilemma and inner conflict indeed.
The only factor that made the selection even possible, and perhaps feasible, was the tendency for repetition of concepts and postulations throughout the text. This could be by design–divine or otherwise–presented thus with the purpose of reiteration and reaffirmation of complex ideas. Or this could be the outcome of several versions of the text having got compiled into one to constitute what we today know as the Bhagavad Gita. There is a robust school of thought that believes this to be a fact.
The selection was indeed a challenge. What I tried to ensure was, by and large no repetition of ideas and concepts, a continuity in development and presentation of ideas, and a sequencing identical to the original.
Q: Then, of course, there is the context within the Mahabharata as well as the wider Hindu philosophy. So please shed some light on how you went about exploring these gigantic schools of thought.
A: In addition to deciphering the verses and unravelling the deep underlying philosophy that is the hallmark of the Gita, I wanted to bring the text closer home and make it accessible to readers who are thirsting for knowledge but find it challenging to approach and internalise such texts. I wanted to make the reading of the Gita as simple as possible and to connect its ideas with our lives today.
Through this book, I hope to arouse curiosity to know more about the Gita, to tickle the imagination into exploring the book that is thought of as a hallowed text–and therefore beyond the grasp of those who are not scholars of Vedic texts, or Sanskrit literature. The Gita is for everyone and it’s important to know that it is a standalone text that can be read, understood and internalised–all it asks of the reader is to have an open mind.
The Gita stresses upon co-existence, equality, free will and attaches a high tag to the pursuit of knowledge. This pursuit should lead to not just knowing our texts better but also to a correct understanding of its messaging. Correct both in letter and spirit. One also hopes that a holistic understanding of the deeper meaning will discourage random citing of the text as and when it might suit a particular line of argument or a situation.
The Bhagavad Gita is a multi-layered text and also a curious mix of the dynamic and the static–very much in the spirit of the adage that the more things change, the more they remain the same. The meanings might keep changing with each reading, but the text remains the same. It’s the same 18 chapters, same 700 verses, the same speakers and the same battlefield. But like a kaleidoscope where the hues change each time it is rotated–the meaning (or meanings) of the verses keep evolving–not necessarily replacing the earlier one, but certainly enhancing it.
Q: A significant part of the Bhagavad Gita talks about devotion to Krishna, the divine force. Do you think it’s possible for an atheist, or someone from a different faith, to benefit from it? I ask this because yes, you can derive a few lessons here and there, but in the end all questions and their resolutions lead to Krishna, and I find it difficult to solve that riddle without having that faith.
A: As I look at the Gita I think that to consider the Bhagavad Gita to be a text that belongs to a particular religion or culture is to de-universalise it, as this ancient source of knowledge holds takeaways for everyone, irrespective of cultures, religions or geographies.
Interestingly, talking about the Gita, Albert Einstein said, “When I read the
Bhagavad Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous.”
The Gita is a guide to be befriended, a text to be comprehended, and a way of life to be adopted. Very simply put, it is a text which amongst other more exalted descriptions, must be seen as a handbook on life skills containing detailed lessons on self-improvement.
I choose to understand Krishna as a symbol of the ultimate power, a life-giving and life-sustaining power that can take different shapes and forms for different people, different cultures and different beliefs. What is important is to focus on the teachings and the insight the text offers on the human mind, and the mundane aspects of life that it tends to mistakenly focus on.
Yes, the text suggests that all paths lead to Krishna but for me what is of interest is the various paths that are possible for us to adopt. The different lifestyles that are available to us, the choices we can make, and how and in doing what do we choose to spend our time, and indeed our entire lives. Because the path that one chooses will decide the destination that we reach. As human beings we can only persevere and attempt to walk on the path of excellence–which in turn will take us to the exalted destination because as it happens the destination in this case is invisible to human eyes.
But even if it were to be visible, when you’re scaling a mountain, if you keep looking at the peak you’ll probably trip, stumble and fall, and so never reach it. What’s critical is to keep your eyes on the ground, not give up, keep moving–but also making sure that you’re on the right path.
And that is the key to reaching the summit (or Krishna).
We can give the destination any name… what is important is the journey, and how we negotiate it.
Q: I am very interested to know how your life changed after reading the Gita and following its lessons. Just like you, many of us have been brought up in a non-ritualistic environment. So it’s fascinating to observe how these spiritual lessons affect the most practical aspects of one’s life.
A: Religion and spirituality are often confused with rituals, customs and social practices. It is important to remember that a person can be deeply religious, god-fearing and even spiritual without necessarily adhering to popular practices which have evolved over the years but may or may not find a mention in ancient texts.
The two best known themes from the Gita are:
- Perform your duty without any expectation or desire for a reward.
- Whenever evil starts to overtake the good in this world a superior force takes birth and wipes out the evil and restores order.
Some of these beliefs have parallels in other cultures and faiths too.
But there is much more to the Gita than this. Since most of us are well aware of these two aspects we feel no need to explore further. As the Gita seeped into me, and as its many messages opened up to me layer after layer, I realised what a limited view one had had of the Gita and how erroneous it is to view it as a period piece, or as a text whose teachings are relevant only to a particular set of people.
As we proceed from verse to verse, and then chapter to chapter, we are told of the different patterns of life we can opt for while on this earth. We can choose between goodness, passion or ignorance to be the driving engines of our actions.
Gradually, the ultimate destination of the path we choose to walk on in life, starts to become clear to the reader and the outcome of each and every one of our actions is explained to us in no uncertain terms. These ideas of self-improvement are universal in nature and apply to humankind across the board.
Q: You make this point in the book that you read the Bhagavad Gita at a time when you were ready for it. Does that mean we should wait for the right time, when the thoughts align, or is there any other way to prepare ourselves before reading it?
A: When I look back and think of how the book happened the trajectory of events feels surreal to me even today. Back in early 2020, in addition to the pandemic crippling us all down, I had suffered a huge personal loss and had lived through the most difficult five years of my life. To be with me at this trying time a close family member, Dr Savitri Singh, came to spend a few days with me. Unexpectedly, the lockdown was announced and what was to be a brief 4-day visit extended to a 4-month long stay.
I’d known my house guest all my life and I knew she was a Sanskrit scholar, but it had never, until then, crossed my mind that her area of study could be relevant to me in any way. I did not realise that her scholarship could change my life.
Being an emotionally charged time for me, I was grappling with several issues–big and small. My head was buzzing with questions–and most of them I couldn’t find answers to. And so, somehow, I found myself asking her to explain the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita to me. A request she graciously accepted.
I had a copy of the Gita and so soon we found a quiet place to sit and Didi (that’s what I call her) unravelled the Gita for me–verse by verse. Thus started an exchange rather an extended conversation–that changed my life.
Eventually the lockdown was lifted and soon my house guest left. It was at that moment I wondered if there was any way that I could ensure that the storehouse of knowledge that she had shared with me could be captured. Writing it down seemed to be the obvious answer. And so, I started with documenting my understanding of some of the verses. I started writing and soon it became something I had to do every day.
In short, that is how the book happened. Over and above all that I’ve learned from the Gita, here is one thing more. The way the book came to be, has now also convinced me that spiritual serendipity happens! As Bibek Debroy has said on the blurb on my book, “You do not discover the Gita, the Gita discovers you.”
Q: I always ask this final question to my guests. And I think it’s more relevant in this case, given your rich experience in writing and translation. What advice would you give to young writers and translators?
A: I’m always wary to offering advice, especially unsolicited! But since you asked… My foremost advice to young writers and translators is to be prepared for a long haul. Both of these genres require a lot of time, patience, perseverance and indeed endurance to sustain you and keep you going. And you’ll need ALL of these over and above the ability to write, and/or the desire and will to translate. You need to dig in your heels and key in a given number of words every day. What’s also very important is be disciplined and not take your eyes off the ball.
These words may sound like something one might say to a sportsperson, but believe me, this is not very different. Both writing and translating can consume you completely, but it is all more than compensated for when you see your work in print, or when you hold that book in your hands. Because when you reach there, you’ve created something for posterity, something whose value will stand the test of time and may inspire many.
As in any other journey, along the way, there will be setbacks, moments of despair, times of distress, overriding frustration, waves of exhaustion, but brace yourself and tide over it. Remember, the dessert usually appears at the end of the meal!
And since we’re talking of the Gita, I might add here–especially since it is so relevant to our times–one of the most important inferences one draws from the narrative is to not hesitate to ask for help when you’re in a dark place. A distressed Arjun turned to his charioteer for solace and look at the storehouse of wisdom that he was exposed to in return!
So remain connected with people and the world around you–you never
know where inspiration may come from and who might trigger that best-selling idea! And seek help when you sense a conflict between societal expectations and your own goals, or when you feel that you are not in sync with your own inner self.
Thank you so much!
Kalampedia 