Eknath Easwaran is a foremost translator and interpreter of the much-loved Indian scripture, the Bhagavad Gita. He liked to say that his verse-by-verse commentary grew like a tree issuing directly from his life, which was so rooted in the Gita that he found a deep understanding of its teachings in the most everyday experiences – sharing a treat with young children, walking with friends down a busy street, or watching a mime in San Francisco’s Union Square.

Easwaran translates each verse, relates it to our modern lives through stories and anecdotes, and gives us spiritual exercises that we can use every day. This first volume in a three-volume set covers chapters 1–6 of the Gita, and concentrates on the individual: the nature of our innermost Self, how it can be discovered in the depths of consciousness, and how this discovery transforms daily life. The introduction includes instructions in Easwaran’s universal method of passage meditation.