What is considered the best english translation?

Is Krishna to be taken literally?  ISKON seems to take this philosophy, yet it does not seem to be the most popular Hindu belief.  Could someone please help me understand.

Thanks.

I would love to see an ongoing discussion on the Gita.  :)

Namaste,

there isn't a whole lot of action on this board but i thought i would throw in my two cents :)

i don't know what is the best translation of the Gita as there are many but Srila Prabhupada's translation is probably the best because of the amount of commentary on it. 

Krishna is very much so real and the event of the Mahabharat war did take place. thousands of years ago God had a conversation with Arjuna perched between two vast armies ready to attack. 

ISKCON is a very strict orthodox Hindu group (although some claim they aren't hindu) but you don't have to be associated with ISKCON to be a devotee of Krishna.  there are a number of other sampradayas (lineages) devoted to Krishna.  Infact Vaishnava or Vishnu centered hinduism is the largest hindu tradition in the world.  of these there are many sects some believe krishna to be the supreme personality while other believe other manifestations of Vishnu to be such.  in the end it doesn't matter as god is god. 

i too would enjoy an ongoing Gita discussion :)

Hari Om!

[QUOTE=Agnes;644130] What is considered the best english translation?[/QUOTE]

Prabhupad's version is best because it is written by a devotee, and only a devotee understands Krishna consciousness and can serve as a model for others in it.  In the Gita, the Lord says " I am imparting this transcendental knowledge to You because You are my FRIEND and my DEVOTEE ".  Therefore, it is understood that only by having a personal loving relationship with Sri Krishna one can truly understand the Gita, otherwise one is speculating.

One can perceive the dryness of impersonalists and non-devotees in their translations of the Gita very easily, in fact.  Those versions hardly produce one single Krishna-conscious soul.

Although if you have tendencies toward yoga and meditation and study under the Paramahansa Yogananda school (self-realization fellowship), his version of the Gita (which is a two volume book full of comments) may be useful to you.  But he's a dhyana-yogi.  The devotional path is claimed as supreme by Lord Krishna himself.  (it's also more blissful as Krishna wants to give us joy :)

[QUOTE=Agnes;644130]  Is Krishna to be taken literally?  ISKON seems to take this philosophy, yet it does not seem to be the most popular Hindu belief.  Could someone please help me understand.[/QUOTE]

Yes, Krishna is a Person.  If you read the Gita 12:1-5 (a great version is online here: http://www.asitis.com/ ), you'll find that the Lord himself advises a personalist approach as the most efficient way to know God.  Here are the verses:

Arjuna inquired: Which is considered to be more perfect, those who are properly engaged in Your devotional service, or those who worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested?
The Blessed Lord said: He whose mind is fixed on My personal form, always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith, is considered by Me to be most perfect.
... For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.

[QUOTE=Agnes;644130] I would love to see an ongoing discussion on the Gita.  :) [/QUOTE]

Same here.  Hare Krishna!

Thanks to everyone for sharing their opinions.  What if we started a group study where we read and discussed a chapter, perhaps once a week.

Anyone interested?  Suggestions? Time? 

Thanks.

A.

Chapter one introduces the scene, the setting, the circumstances and the characters involved determining the reasons for the Bhagavad-Gita's revelation. The scene is the sacred plain of Kuruksetra. The setting is a battlefield. The circumstances is war. The main characters are the Supreme Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna, witnessed by four million soldiers led by their respective military commanders. After naming the principal warriors on both sides, Arjunas growing dejection is described due to the fear of losing friends and relatives in the course of the impending war and the subsequent sins attached to such actions. Thus this chapter is entitled: Lamenting the Consequence of War.

http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-01-01.html

http://www.asitis.com/1/