Bhagavad Gita and the West

This combination of two volumes in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works presents Steiner's profound engagement with Hindu thought and, above all, Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. In the first course, 'The Bhagavad Gita and the Epistles of Paul', Steiner's main purpose is to integrate the flower of Hindu spirituality into his view of the evolution of consciousness and the pivotal role played in it by the Mystery of Golgotha - the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Steiner views Krishna as a great spiritual teacher and the Bhagavad Gita as a preparation, though still abstract, for the coming of Christ. For him, the Bhagavad Gita represents the 'fully ripened fruit' of Hinduism, whereas Paul is related but represents 'the seed of something entirely new'.

In the second lecture course, 'The Esoteric Significance of the Bhagavad Gita', Steiner engages the text of the Bhagavad Gita on its own terms, as signalling the beginning of a new soul consciousness. To aid in the understanding of both these important cycles, this volume includes the complete text of the Bhagavad Gita in Eknath Easwaran's luminous translation.

30 NOV 2009; (5 lectures, Köln, Dec. 28-Jan. 1, 1913, GA 142, 9 lectures, Helsinki, May 28-June 5, 1913 GA 146); SB; 464pp; 15 x 23.5cm; pb;