Edwin Bryant on the Bhagavad Gita - Online Workshop: May 5, 2024
Sunday, May 5 - 12:30 - 3:30 pm.
This workshop will be held live on Zoom and recorded.
Edwin Bryant received his Ph.D in Indic languages and Cultures from Columbia University in 1997 with a dissertation on the "Indigenous Aryans Debate". He taught Hinduism at Harvard University for three years, and is presently professor of Religions of India at Rutgers University where he teaches courses on Hindu philosophy and religion.
The Bhagavad Gita is perhaps the most representative and certainly the most influential and popular text from the numerous and varied spiritual traditions of Hindu India. Spoken by Lord Krishna to Arjuna who is undergoing a moment of crisis, the text deals with the nature of the self, the world, ultimate reality, the purpose of human existence, and the spiritual paths that can be undertaken to accomplish this purpose. There are primarily four such paths, or yoga systems, featured in the text through which one can unite with the Divine: the path of self-knowledge, jnana yoga; the path of action in the world, karma yoga; the path of meditation, raja yoga; and the path of theistic devotion, bhakti yoga.
This workshop will undertake a detailed discussion of these four yoga systems, with contextual references to the background of the text and to some of the major streams of Hindu thought in general. No prior knowledge of Hinduism is necessary for this seminar; the only requirement is to bring an open mind and sincere heart. Students are encouraged to procure any edition of the text, particularly versions that have the Sanskrit text in Roman script, since we will chant some of the Sanskrit verses together.
Works
Bryant has published seven books and authored a number of articles on Vedic history, yoga, and Krishna-bhakti tradition. He is an expert on Krishna tradition and has translated the story of Krishna from the Sanskrit Bhagavata Purana.
- Edwin F. Bryant, The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate. — Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. — xi, 387 p. — ISBN 0-19-513777-9, ISBN 0-19-516947-6 (pbk.)
- Edwin F. Bryant, Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God; Śrīmad Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Book X; with chapters 1, 6 and 29-31 from Book XI, Translated with an introduction and notes by Edwin F. Bryant. — London: Penguin Books, 2003. — xxxi, 515 p. — ISBN 0-14-044799-7
- Edwin F. Bryant and Maria L. Ekstrand, The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant. New York; Chichester: Columbia University Press, 2004. — xix, 448 p. — ISBN 0-231-12256-X
- Edwin F. Bryant and Laurie L. Patton, Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and Inference in Indian History. London: Routledge, 2005. — 522 p. — ISBN 0-7007-1462-6 (cased), ISBN 0-7007-1463-4 (pbk.)
- Edwin F. Bryant, Krishna: a Sourcebook. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. — xiv, 575 p. — ISBN 0-19-514891-6 (hbk.) ISBN 0-19-514892-4 (pbk.)
- Edwin F. Bryant, The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary with Insights from the Traditional Commentators; illustrated. New York: North Point Press, 2009. — xvii, 598 p. — ISBN 0-86547-736-1
- Edwin F. Bryant, Bhakti yoga: Tales and teachings from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, New York, North Point Press. 2017. 688 p. — ISBN 0-86547-775-2
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