The Bhagavad Gita

By: Phoenix Books, Barbara Stoler-Miller - translator

Narrated by: Jacob Needleman

Length: 2 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

The search for higher truth must be conducted in the midst of the forces of life, with all its demands and seductions. So teaches The Bhagavad Gita, an ancient text that has been called the quintessence of the spirituality of India. In it, the great warrior Arjuna contemplates the meaning of life, just moments before entering the battlefield. "Why do I exist? Why should I fight against my loved ones? And where shall I go after I die?" he asks himself in search for knowledge of the Absolute.

©1986 Barbara Stoler-Miller (P)1987 Audio Literature

Critic reviews

"Hearing The Bhagavad Gita, rather than reading it, helps one understand why many cultures to this very day refuse to commit their sacred texts to writing, believing that script would profane them." (Huston Smith, author of The Religions of Man)

Meh

I feel like this book is going to be taken very differently from each individual, based on their background, tastes, etc. So I'm wondering how useful individual reviews are. Coming from an Atheist perspective, but one who wants to understand what various religions mean to their faithful, I thought this book would be useful in some way. And I suppose it was, but I feel now, about halfway through, that I've more or less "got it" and no big need to go further. It's fairly repetitive, but I figure that's not unexpected or dissimilar from other religious texts, since repetition helps strengthen the concepts. The narration is very peaceful, but I normally listen to stuff at double speed, so it didn't seem horrible to me, but yes, after half of the text, I'm ready for something a bit more dynamic. This is a nice book to listen to when you want to relax, in other words, but if you want to be entertained or otherwise engaged, maybe not - at least not unless you are the spiritual type to begin with, which I'm not.

Again, this is a very subjective take on this, but at least for those who come from the same secularist/Atheist mindset, hopefully it is somewhat useful...

Narrator makes it impossible

Would you try another book from Phoenix Books and/or Jacob Needleman?

The narrator's voice was so terribly bland and robotic and... terrible. I absolutely could not listen to this book. Have someone else narrate and I'd buy it again, but this guy is too much.

What dull, lifeless reading.

I often don't agree with others who say a reader is hard to listen to so you might not find this recording as bad as I did. The reading is monotone and lifeless. It makes me think of a 4th grade student reading their book report in front of the class. I quit listening after 4-5 minutes. Be sure you listen to the sample before you buy. I should have. The Bhagavad Gita is magnificent and deserves better treatment.

Oh, the humanity!

I bought this book and The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley at the same time. FIrst, I can't downlaod both to the same device because Audible gave them the same filename. After dividing them between devices, I listened to both. I loved, loved LOVED the walkthrough by Jack Hawley - but this one (The Bhagavad Gita, read by Jacob Needleman)...not so much.

The Bhagavad Gita is an incredible story with so many layers....none of which are discernable here. The translation itself sounds all right, and the quality of the recording is fine, but the reader...yikes. If his mission is to put me to sleep, he can consider this a triumph. LIsten to the whole sample before you buy - but, until Audible makes another version with a better reader available, I recommend you get the Walkthrough by Jack Hawley instead and give this version a miss.

Endlessly awe-some

Wow. That's it.

I can get it to download but not play!

What would have made The Bhagavad Gita better?

Waste of my money Im unable to listen to it. I was able to download all materials required but still no sound or any aspect of it working! Really upset!

Boring narrator!!!

Such a wonderful book given such a horrendously uninterested and uninteresting narrator! I will download this one again if you promise to indulge us with a storyteller who is ONE with this epic...