| Two months prior to 2006 Gita Jayanti | | | | (Anonymous inmate, he holds a very nice |
| festival, I requested inmates, who regularly | | | | Krishna Conscious program on festival days in |
| write to me, to write down a few lines about | | | | the prison) |
| how they received the 1st copy of Bhagavad | | | | |
| Gita As It Is and what they learned from the | | | | Krishna reveals Himself in Bhagavad Gita: I |
| Gita and what are their favorite verses. I | | | | read all the books on Buddhist philosophy and |
| have tried to keep the inmates responses as | | | | I was not satisfied. As I read Bhagavad Gita |
| it is in order to keep the originality of the | | | | As It Is, Krishna began to reveal Himself to |
| text. The following is a compilation of | | | | me and the realizations were so deep. The |
| inmate's quotes: | | | | information of Bhagavad Gita totally made |
| | | | Buddhist literature seem weak. Besides |
| Supreme Knowledge: I got Bhagavad Gita As It | | | | reading Gita, I decided to chant one round of |
| is from the Vedic resources. I learned it is | | | | Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. By doing these two |
| Divine instruction for the battlefield of | | | | things I had a spiritual experience, this is |
| one's life to serve the Supreme Personality | | | | something I will never forget, something that |
| of Godhead. My favorite verse is in chapter | | | | has changed my life forever. (Kyle |
| 9, This knowledge of Gita is king of | | | | Weatherwax, Mineral Wells, TX) |
| education, the secret of all secrets. It is | | | | |
| the purest of all knowledge and because it | | | | Give up all forms of religion and surrender |
| gives direct perception of self realization, | | | | unto Me: Once I was child in the juvenile |
| it is the perfection of all religion. This is | | | | lock up in the Orange County, CA, where I met |
| Raja-Vidya as there is no higher knowledge | | | | a long haired boy who would read Bhagavad |
| than Bhagavad Gita. It is spoken on the | | | | Gita very nicely, he had a name like Arjuna, |
| battlefield of Kuruksetra between Sri Krishna | | | | may be it was John or Aaron. He would sit up |
| and His disciple friend Arjuna. (Mark | | | | perfectly straight and read the Bhagavad Gita |
| Barnett, Canon City, CO, he is seriously | | | | and he would teach me how to pronounce the |
| practicing Krishna Consciousness) | | | | Sanskrit. My favorite verse in the Gita is |
| | | | where Krishna says to Arjuna, give up all |
| Bhagavad Gita must be understood in Disciplic | | | | forms of religion and just surrender unto Me. |
| Succession: I found a Bhagavad Gita As It Is | | | | (H. Sullivan, CA) |
| in a used bookstore, as soon as I saw it I | | | | |
| purchased it immediately, I was already | | | | Everyone has to follow Krishna's will: I |
| familiar with Srila Prabhupada's books by | | | | received the copy of Bhagavad Gita from H. G. |
| reading BTG (Back to Godhead Magazine), BTG | | | | Chandra Sekhar ACBSP in 2001. I have learned |
| was given to me by sankirtana devotee. Under | | | | from the Gita that I am not this body I am |
| Srila Prabhupada's expert qualified guidance, | | | | spirit soul, I am eternal and once dwelled |
| I learned that Gita must be understood in the | | | | with God. My goal is to return home back to |
| disciplic chain of succession. When | | | | Godhead, and only way to do this is through |
| approached by a sincere student, a bona fide | | | | devotional service unto Lord Krishna; and I |
| guru transmits knowledge of the Absolute | | | | must become His devotee. To become Lord |
| Truth, namely knowledge of soul, the | | | | Krishna's devotee I must render service unto |
| relationship between soul and supersoul, | | | | Him and follow His will which is set forth in |
| understanding of the time activity and cosmic | | | | the Vedic literature specifically set forth |
| manifestation. This knowledge is contained in | | | | in the Gita. The basic of devotional service |
| the Bhagavad Gita, and Bhagavad Gita must be | | | | is the hearing and chanting of Krishna's |
| accepted in the manner Arjuna, disciple | | | | glorious pastimes and names and to follow the |
| accepted from Sri Krishna the original guru. | | | | four regulative principles. |