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Paths to God: Living the Bhagavad Gita | 
 enlarge | Author: Ram Dass
Publisher: Harmony
Category: Book
List Price: $22.22
Buy New: $15.11
You Save: $7.11 (32%)
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Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 564343
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.9 x 1.3
ISBN: 1400054028
Dewey Decimal Number: 294.5436
EAN: 9781400054022
ASIN: 1400054028
Publication Date: October 5, 2004
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Product Description
For centuries, readers have turned to the Bhagavad Gita for inspiration and guidance as they chart their own spiritual paths. As profound and powerful as this classic text has been for generations of seekers, integrating its lessons into the ordinary patterns of our lives can ultimately seem beyond our reach. Now, in a fascinating series of reflections, anecdotes, stories, and exercises, Ram Dass gives us a unique and accessible road map for experiencing divinity in everyday life. In the engaging, conversational style that has made his teachings so popular for decades, Ram Dass traces our journey of consciousness as it is reflected in one of Hinduism’s most sacred texts. The Gita teaches a system of yogas, or “paths for coming to union with God.”
In Paths to God, Ram Dass brings the heart of that system to light for a Western audience and translates the Gita’s principles into the manual for living the yoga of contemporary life.
While being a guide to the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, Paths to God is also a template for expanding our definition of ourselves and allowing us to appreciate a new level of meaning in our lives.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 good for the general reader August 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
i'm not a specialist in hindu thought nor have i read the bhagavad gita. i read the book to get a feel for ram dass, his interpretation of the gita and to get a different viewpoint from the christian, materialist worldview that has surrounded me most of my life. i think the book does a good job of getting the reader a glimpse of a very different reality experienced by people that are much more intuitive and in touch with a reality of a network of human spirits rather than a mass of flesh and desire. there are also some nice tie-ins showing the universal truths that are shared by all the major religions. I've been reading the book on and off for about a year now. There's plenty of competition for my attention so I think there's some meat here to get you to think in a different way.
 Helpful, Inspiring and Another Gift from Ram Dass February 20, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I like the teachings and the person of Ram Dass. And, having read the Gita in seven translations, most with commentary --- I was very pleased to find both Ram Dass and the Gita in one book.
However, it is not what I expected. It exceeded my my preconceived expectations. For me Ram Dass uses the Gita and its teachings as a takeoff point to help the reader find his/her own path to God. Glancing through the book as I write this brief review --- I can tell how much it meant to me by my ubiquitous underlinings, check marks, arrows and comments.
It has been a source of real benefit in my spiritual path.
Great Teacher = Greater Student November 14, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
For anyone remotely interested (esp. in the West) in the Gita, Hinduism, and the Actual definition/acknowledgment/application of Karma, I HIGHLY recommend this back. Ram Dass shares four decades of his own experience with/without his Guru, his ruminations/contemplations on the Gita, and his own results of this life. Beautifully written, worded for us 'mere mortals', this is one the best, most direct, commentaries available on truly living Spiritual Principles.
 Good if you like watered-down Hinduism November 12, 2007
9 out of 19 found this review helpful
The twelfth canto of the Bhagavata Purana describes how, in the present age of Kali Yuga, irreligion replaces religion. This does not occur overnight; it is a gradual process. And one catalyst of the process is the "watering down" of religion.
Just as when acid comes into contact with milk, the milk is transformed (into curds and whey), similarly, when beatnik and hippie philosophy mingles with Eastern thought, you get the watering down of Hinduism (and Buddhism).
Such is the case with this book. I started reading this book with an open mind; after all, even the Bible has a few pearls of wisdom in it.
However, one only has to read a few pages to see how shallow and hollow this book is.
The clincher for me was in Chapter 7 ("Renunciation and Purification"). Here the author discusses the concept of ahimsa (non-violence, particularly towards animals). In a nutshell: the author says that he gave up being a vegetarian so that he would not be proud of being a vegetarian.
This type of thinking is absolute nonsense, and can be shown by following similar logic: "I should become a thief so that I will not be proud of not being a thief". "I should become a murderer so that I will not be proud of not being a murderer." The author should just admit that he can't control himself, and his taste buds are controlling him. So much for him being a teacher of transcendence!
The person who has no knowledge of Hinduism, and is sincerely inquisitive of it, will walk way with the dismaying impression that Hinduism is a happy-go-lucky, "do your own thing", "everything goes" pseudo-religion, with no real substance. But Hinduism has schools of thought (for example, the Gaudiya-Vaishnava school) that is nothing short of the science of religion and philosophy par excellence.
The bottom line is, I am very sorry I bought this book. I don't want to donate it to the local Public Library or sell it on eBay (as I usually do with unwanted books), because I do not want to be a party to spreading nescience. If I had caged birds, you know what I would do with the pages of this book. But I don't, so it looks like this book is heading for the recycle bin.
Thank You Ram Dass March 25, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I am very happy that I purchased this book. It is essentially transcripts from a series of classes that Ram Dass taught at Naropa Institute with appropriate changes made for a book format.
As mentioned in the book, the material presented can be approached many different ways. I am taking it slow with the book and have used certain teachings and instructions to study on my own and go back to the book when I have completed this "independent study".. So it is as if I am taking my own course and not just ready a book of lectures.
Instead of being a book about the Gita, you really are presented the means by which the Gita will come alive for you..Ram Dass presents some wonderful tools here and there is suffcient Grace to transform anyone's life..
Really cool vintage photos too ! :-)
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