Originally I wrote Bhagavad-gita As It Is in the form in which it is presented now. When this book was first published, the original manuscript was, unfortunately, cut short to less than 400 pages, without illustrations and without explanations for most of the original verses of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita. In all of my other books—Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Isopanisad, etc.—the system is that I give the original verse, its English transliteration, word-for-word Sanskrit-English equivalents which are not in this version; however the  translations and purports are in this version. This makes the book very authentic and scholarly and makes the meaning self-evident. I was not very happy, therefore, when I had to minimize my original manuscript. But later on, when the demand for Bhagavad-gita As It Is considerably increased, I was requested by many scholars and devotees to present the book in its original form. Thus, the present attempt is to offer the original manuscript of this great book of knowledge with full parampara explanation in order to establish the Krishna consciousness movement more soundly and progressively.

Our Krishna consciousness movement is genuine, historically authorized, natural and transcendental due to its being based on Bhagavad-gita As It Is. It is gradually becoming the most popular movement in the entire world, especially amongst the younger generation. It is becoming more and more interesting to the older generation also. Older gentlemen are becoming interested, so much so that the fathers and grandfathers of my disciples are encouraging us by becoming life members of our great society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. In Los Angeles many fathers and mothers used to come to see me to express their feelings of gratitude for my leading the Krishna consciousness movement throughout the entire world. Some of them said that it is greatly fortunate for the Americans that I have started the Krishna consciousness movement in America. But actually, the original father of this movement is Lord Krishna Himself, since it was started a very long time ago, but is coming down to human society by disciplic succession. If I have any credit in this connection, it does not belong to me personally, but it is due to my eternal spiritual master, His Divine Grace Om Visnupada Paramahaàsa Parivrajakacarya 108 Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja Prabhupada.

If personally I have any credit in this matter, it is only that I have tried to present Bhagavad-gita as it is, without any adulteration. Before my presentation of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, almost all the English editions of Bhagavad-gita were introduced to fulfill someone’s personal ambition. But our attempt, in presenting Bhagavad-gita As It Is, is to present the mission of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. Our business is to present the will of Krishna, not that of any mundane speculator like the politician, philosopher or scientist, for they have very little knowledge of Krishna, despite all their other knowledge. When Krishna says, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji maà namaskuru [Bhagavad-gita 18.65], etc., we, unlike the so-called scholars, do not say that Krishna and His inner spirit are different. Krishna is absolute, and there is no difference between Krishna’s name, Krishna’s form, Krishna’s qualities, Krishna’s pastimes, etc. This absolute position of Krishna is difficult to understand for any person who is not a devotee of Krishna in the system of parampara (disciplic succession).

Generally, the so-called scholars, politicians, philosophers, and svamis, without perfect knowledge of Krishna, try to banish or kill Krishna when writing commentary on Bhagavad-gita. Such unauthorized commentary upon Bhagavad-gita is known as Mayavada-bhasya, and Lord Caitanya has warned us about these unauthorized persons. Lord Caitanya clearly says that anyone who tries to understand Bhagavad-gita from the Mayavadi point of view, will commit a great blunder. The result of such a blunder will be that the misguided student of Bhagavad-gita, will certainly be bewildered on the path of spiritual guidance, and will not be able to go back to home, back to Godhead.

Our only purpose is to present this Bhagavad-gita As It Is,  in order to guide the conditioned student to the same purpose for which Krishna descends to this planet once in a day of Brahma, or every 8,600,000,000 years (8.6 Billion). This purpose is stated in Bhagavad-gita, and we have to accept it as it is; otherwise, there is no point in trying to understand the Bhagavad-gita and its speaker, Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna first spoke Bhagavad-gita to the predominating Deity of the Sun, some hundreds of millions of years ago. We have to accept this fact, and thus understand the historical significance of Bhagavad-gita, without misinterpretation, on the authority of Krishna.

To interpret Bhagavad-gita without any reference to the will of Krishna is the greatest offense. In order to save oneself from this offense, one has to understand the Lord as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as He was directly understood by Arjuna, Lord Krishna’s first disciple. Such understanding of Bhagavad-gita is really profitable and authorized for the welfare of human society in fulfilling the mission of life.

The Krishna consciousness movement is essential in human society, for it offers the highest perfection of life. How this is so is explained fully in the Bhagavad-gita. Unfortunately, mundane wranglers have taken advantage of Bhagavad-gita to push forward their demonic propensities and mislead people regarding the right understanding of the simple principles of life. Everyone should know how God, or Krishna, is great, and everyone should know the factual position of the living entities.

Everyone should know that a living entity is eternally a servant and that unless one serves Krishna, one has to serve illusion in different varieties of the three modes of material nature, and thus wander perpetually within the cycle of birth and death; even the so-called liberated Mayavadi speculator has to undergo this process. This knowledge constitutes a great science, and each and every living being has to hear it for his own interest.

People in general, especially in this Age of Kali, are enamored by the external energy of Krishna, and they wrongly think that by advancement of material comforts every man will be happy. They have no knowledge that the material or external nature is very strong, for everyone is strongly bound by the stringent laws of material nature (this is discussed in chapter 14). A living entity is happily the part and parcel of the Lord, and thus his natural function is to render immediate service to the Lord. By the spell of illusion, one tries to be happy by serving his personal sense gratification in different forms which will never make him happy. Instead of satisfying his own personal material senses, he has to satisfy the senses of the Lord. That is the highest perfection of life. The Lord wants this, and He demands it. One has to understand this central point of Bhagavad-gita. Our Krishna consciousness movement is teaching the whole world this central point, and because we are not polluting the theme of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, anyone seriously interested in deriving benefit by studying the Bhagavad-gita must take help from the Krishna consciousness movement for practical understanding of Bhagavad-gita under the direct guidance of the Lord. We hope, therefore, that people will derive the greatest benefit by studying Bhagavad-gita As It Is as we have presented it here, and if even one man becomes a pure devotee of the Lord, we shall consider our attempt a success.

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami 12 May, 1971 Sydney, Australia

From the Author of this Version:

In his book, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains the importance of presenting the knowledge in its original form. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada points out that the material or external nature (implying that there is a spiritual or internal nature), is very strong, and that everyone is bound by its stringent laws of the Universe, leading them to falsely believe that material comforts can make them happy.

The verses of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, speak for themselves; but a serious and inquisitive person, can get superlative benefit, if he or she, gives their mind and intelligence, a bath in the Bhagavad-gita, as this famous American philosopher wrote,

 “In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonic philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita, in comparison with which our modern world, and its literature, seems puny and trivial.”  — Henry David Thoreau