The #Bharatiya Chetna Kendra (The #Indian Consciousness Center) plans to publish three separate editions of the Bhagwadgita of international standards in textual quality and scheme of presentation. The concept is presented here for comments and value additions. Please come forward with your views. Pl recall that the Gita is totally unlike other scriptures of any religion; it is pure thought and philosophy relevant to human beings of all nations and communities. However, the connection of even the Indians has been lost with the Gita owing to a non-imaginative and non-user friendly editions of the book in the market. Here is the concept design:
A USER-FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL EDITION
OF THE GITA
The Bharatiya Chetna Kendra envisions
THREE user-friendly editions of the holy Gita (#Bhagvad-Gita or #Bhagvadgita or #BhagvadGita)) at the moment: one, the BASIC heavily
subsidized edition for spreading especially to all homes of lower income groups
(priced around Rs. 5 to 10), a non-subsidized bound hard-cover edition priced
around Rs.50 for the middle income group, and a DELUXE edition priced around
Rs. 200 to 300.
Some of the features of the deluxe
edition will be as under:
a) It
will have a non-leather protective cover like an organizer.
b) Preferably,
it will be printed in two colors.
c) It
may also have some visuals to make it more engaging, like paintings.
The three editions will be
different only in paper and physical presentation, and not in the textual content.
A)
BASIC FEATURES OF THE NEW USER-FRIENDLY
EDITION OF THE BHAGWAD-GITA (BOTH THE DELUXE AND BASIC EDITIONS)
1.
Target
audience: All, including the youth and
people with modern education.
2.
Thin
durable paper quality to make the edition long lasting, handy and easy to
carry.
3.
In
English font size 10.5 (of matching sizes
in other languages), leaving sufficient
margins on pages for personal notes and remarks;
4.
To
be printed in Hindi first. Followed by English, Urdu editions. Then in all
other Indian languages including tribal languages. Then in all major languages of the world to
reach Africa, Europe, Middle East, Latin America, China, Russia, East Asia etc.
With sufficient resources trickling in, may be simultaneously in many
languages.
a)
General facts about the Gita, and a brief and very simple statement of the metaphysical
principles in the context of which the saying of the Gita can be understood and
appreciated by foreigners and even a large section of the Indians.
b)
A Verse-Finder Word List in Alphabetical Order: We often vaguely recall a verse
relevant to us but are unable to immediately locate the verse in the Gita. This
creates a hindrance. One way to locate the verse is to recall at least one word
in that verse and look up that word in the proposed Word List at the
beginning. Since this Word List will
also contain the references of the verses with the chapter and the verse nos.
in which the word has occurred, it would be easy to go to those verses and find
out which was the one we were looking for.
c)
A Verse-Finder Subject List in Alphabetical Order: If we are unable to recall even one
exact word of the verse, another way to locate a verse in the Gita immediately
is to consult the Subject Index, which will have subject entries on all kinds
of objects and concepts mentioned or discussed in the Gita like sleep, food, tapastya
or penance, daan or charity, cosmology, metaphysics, ethics, corruption,
black-marketing, peace, happiness, jealousy, sun, hatred, spring season and the
like. The Subject Index will list all the verses that mention the object or the
concept. This Subject Index will also be
helpful to the reader in finding the subject of his interest and study all the
verses related to the subject to understand what the Gita has to say on that
particular subject. The two indices will open all the gates of easy and
instant access to the Gita’s great
ideas.
d)
Collection of Important Verses on Key Issues: Though the Gita discusses many issues
and subjects, there are certain main issues of the Bhagwad-Gita, like the Karm
Yoga, the Bhakti Yoga, the Gyan Yoga, the Raj Yoga,
ethics etc. The main verses pertaining to these key issues will be collected
(and not just referred to) in this section for the convenience of the readers.
e)
The Gita itself: Finally, the
18 chapters of the Gita in Sanskrit without interfering with the traditional
verse numbers will be placed before the reader with translation in as simple a
language as possible, with some minimum explanatory notes, so as not to turn
this edition into a commentary. Each verse will be broken into its constituent
words and the words rearranged to make their order comprehensible to the reader
of a particular language. (पदच्छेद, अन्वय).
B) STAGES OF THE PROJECT:
1.
Forming
an Advisory Council
2.
Forming
an International Coordination Committee of interested people
3.
Identifying
and engaging best scholars for research and compilation
4.
Engaging
international quality artists for visuals, like the ones who have prepared the
painting for ISKCON
5.
Research
and Development
6.
Circulating
semifinal copy to chiefs of all main
religious sects of Hinduism and foreign scholars for opinion
7.
Approval
of final draft
8.
Typing
and page setting
9.
Calling
for global tenders for printing
10.
Printing
11.
Distribution
through traditional channels of marketing like book stalls, online sales stores
like Amazon, Flipcart etc., and through voluntary and religious networks to
ensure positioning in every home in India that may welcome the book.
C) HOW YOU MAY ASSOCIATE
1.
Book
a deluxe copy of the Gita’s international edition by paying 100 rupees in
advance. You may place your order at bharatiyachetna@gmail.com. The rest of the amount will be taken when the book
is published and the final cost is worked out.
2.
Become
a part of the Advisory Council
3.
Become
a part of International Coordination Committee
4.
Contribute
your expertise in any of the project areas listed areas under C)
6.
Donate
right away for meeting immediate project expenses. (You may go to www.bharatiyachetna.org and click the DONATE button).
7.
Contribute
in kind (like paper, or take up free printing job if you own a top quality printing
press).
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