"The Seven Commandments of Bhagavad Gita" by J.P.Vaswani

The Seven Commandments of the Bhagavad Gita by J.P.Vaswani

Compiled and edited by Dr.Prabha Sampath and Krishna Kumari

Sterling Publishers, A-59, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase II, New Delhi-110020.

E-mail: ghai@nde.vsnl.net.in (2006, 418 pp. Rs.250/-)

This book is a compilation of the discourses and writings on the Bhagavad Gita of Dada J.P.Vaswani, the spiritual leader of Sadhu Vaswani Mission. It analyses the teachings of the Gita and their application in life from the general viewpoint of a devotee.

The first ten chapters discuss various introductory topics like the life of Sri Krishna, the story of the Mahabharata, and the background, the significance, and the essence of the Gita. There is one chapter on 'Sadhu Vaswani and the Gita'. The title-theme is covered in chapters eleven to seventeen, which successively consider the seven commandments:

1. Thou shalt not identify thyself with the body.

2. Thou shalt not fail to do thy duty.

3. Thou shalt do thy duty and a little more.

4. Thou shalt not miss thy daily appointment with God.

5. Whatever thou doest, do it for the love of God.

6. Thou shalt seek the lowest place; and

7. Thou shalt rejoice in everything that the will of God brings to thee.

...

Despite minor blemishes, the book must be welcomed as a refreshing addition to the literature on the Gita.

(Excerpted from the Review by Prof.Shoutir Kishore Chatterjee, Former Professor of Statistics, Calcutta University, Kolkata, in the 'Prabuddha Bharata', English monthly magazine, August 2007)