Book Review: The Essence of Bhagwad Gita: 70 Verses and Its Core by Atul Sehgal

The Essence of Bhagwad Gita: 70 Verses and Its Core
Author: Atul Sehgal
Publisher: RUPA Publishers

It has rightly been said in Bhagwad Gita: Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is. It is also said that since Bhagwad Gita has been spoken by Supreme Personality of Godhead, one does not need to read any other Vedic Literature. But it is practically not possible for everyone to read a thick book and get exposed to the teachings/ preachings/sayings. This is because of the lack of time. With this book, the author has successfully solved this problem.

‘The Essence of Bhagwad Gita’ translates 70 of the main verses, which the author believes translate the main teachings of Lord Krishna. This is not a philosophical book. Instead, it has enough examples to make the readers understand the importance of duty, desire, intellect, religion, self- control, knowledge and self-help. There are 70 chapters, each eliciting a different concept/ idea.
The cover of the book is catchy and perfect. The difficult topics like Karma, salvation, chakras have been dealt with intelligence and have been explained using a very simple language. Every topic is backed by a justification/ clarification and the conversation is intended to capitalize on the same. However, this approach of publishing books that summarize the teachings of Bhagwad Gita is repetitious and at one point in time, it becomes monotonous to go through such books again and again. (Just last year Rupa Publishers published Amazing Secrets of Bhagwad Gita). It becomes difficult to compare and rate. The blurb gives out all the information, as it is excessively elaborative.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy reading it much because I have already read similar books. For those who haven’t, this might be a good choice!
Best wishes to the author!

Buying Link: Amazon