Gitamrtam: The Essential Teachings of the Bhagavadgita

Gitamrtam is a concise and insightful discussion of the central themes of the Bhagavadgita. Beginning with the Gita’s teaching about the nature and role of the incarnation, Dr. Rambachan identifies kama, a state of desiring and wanting as life’s fundamental problem. The proper resolution of this problem is to be found in the nderstanding of oneself to be the full and complete self (atman). Such a knowledge enables one to act in the world from a deep sense of peace and inward fulfillment. Self-knowledge transforms human motivation and liberates us from the narrow confines of selfish action to the freedom of serving others. The Gita’s ideal is not indifference to the world and the severing of human relationships, but love and compassion born out of the identity of oneself with all beings.