Gandhi Aurobindo and Radhakrishnan on Bhagavadgita

by Susmit Pani and A.N. Mishra and Geeta Satpathy

The book analyses the treatment of Bhagavadgita by three important thinkers to Modern India, Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi and Radhakrishnan. Bhagavadgita is the essence of Indian philosophical and religious textual heritage, acceptable and intelligible to vast range of readers. Through out the ages saints and scholars have commented on it. Sri Aurobindo, Gandhi and Radhakrishnan have been chosen as representative thinkers of the 20th century. Sri Aurobindo was associated with the extremist wing of Indian nationalists. As a poet and essayist he exhibits rare combination of east and west. He evolved a very comprehensive philosophical system and wrote extensively on Indian scriptures. Radhakrishanan was a scholar par excellent and wrote an encyclopedic history of Indian philosophy. He had a deep understanding of both east and west. Mahatma Gandhi dominated the Indian scenario through out the freedom struggle. As a prolific writer, a politician and public figure of par excellence, Gandhi was innovative in his treatment of Gita. The book analyses the treatment of these three thinkers. They had different upbringing, mental make up and had gone through different experiences and each developed an independent understanding of Bhagavadgita. The book provides a synthetic analysis of the treatment of the Gita by these three thinkers, who represent the first half of 20th century. The book also provides a comparative picture of the three thinkers and their links with freedom struggle and independence.