circumstances, it would be quite alright to refuse to fight. In Arjuna's position, it's a righteous war, and he's a warrior - he must fight. In the purely physical sphere of action, Arjuna is, indeed, no longer a free agent. The act of war is upon him; it has evolved out of his previous actions. At any given moment in time, we are what we are; and we have to accept the consequences of being ourselves. Only through this acceptance can we begin to evolve further. We may select the battleground. We cannot avoid the battle. Editions First published by The Marcel Rodd Co. Hollywood, CA, 1944 Mentor Religious Classics, Harper & Row, NY, 1951 Published in England by Phoenix House Ltd. Vedanta Press, Hollywood, CA 1944–2023 Reviews of this Translation "The eternal message of the Gita has been rendered into simple language which is devoid of technicalities of dogma and doctrine and rises into suitable poetry where the sublimity of thought requires it. Swami Prabhavananda’s name is a guarantee of the authoritative nature of the translation and its being faithful to the true spirit of the original." - Prabuddha Bharata, March, 1946 "DEMOCRACY would have been impossible without the dissemination of knowledge...For that reason alone this paper-back edition [1954] of one of the most profound books ever written, often compared to the Sermon on the Mount, is a publishing event of major importance. Here the common man...may make the acquaintance of perhaps the greatest clarity that mysticism has ever achieved...The ideas in this philosophical dialogue...are subtle, surprising, precise. The “Gita," however, is also a song. It develops its ideas rhapsodically, ecstatically...The “Gita” is one of the most beautiful books. It explains and it delights...It is presented in one of the outstanding translations of the day." - Gerald Sykes, The New York Times, March 28, 1954 "To preserve the everlasting simplicity of the Gita’s words…Isherwood…and his teacher [Swami Prabhavananda] have collaborated on this latest translation…the result is a distinguished literary work…simpler and freer than other English translations…It may help U.S. readers to understand not only the Gita itself, but also its influence on American letters through one of its greatest U.S. admirers, Ralph Waldo Emerson." - Time Magazine, February 12, 1945 "For many Westerners, their introduction to Hinduism came not from yoga or a respected guru, but from a boyish British author, Christopher Isherwood, a Renaissance man of letters, writing