Reflecting on Amit Majmudar's "Godsong" ft. new video!

Before reading Amit Majmudar’s Godsong, I had skimmed books about the Bhagavad Gita, and even seriously studied Sanskrit for a few years to better understand this beautiful text. Reading Godsong however, truly confirmed the personal connection I felt to the Gita.

Godsong is such an honest and intimate translation. Even when Krishna gives instructions to Arjuna, his expressions feel grounded and inviting, rather than didactic.

One of the verses I keep returning to is this one:

“While the unwise work from their attachment

To action, Arjuna, a sage

Should work without attachment,

Longing to hold the world together (30.) ”

Acting with intent, while remaining detached to the ultimate outcomes sounds like a task designated for the Divine. Majmudar’s delicate translations including the words “longing” and “holding” gives Krishna’s message a more approachable, human essence.

I also find great meaning in this verse:

“To a knower, I am very

Dear, and he is dear to me.

…I think of the knower as myself

His atman [soul] yoked, he’s fixed

On me alone, his highest path (60.)”

To me, this is Krishna’s declaration as Arjuna (and the reader’s) highest self. There is no need to be daunted by his enigmatic majesty. With careful concentration, you can become a “knower” and absorb his fullest powers, which are limitless and unexplainable. The words, “he is dear to me” sound like an invitation to friendship with the Divine. Like the previous quotes, this excerpt is imbued with a familiar human essence that I find both comforting and illuminating.