VYASA: LIFE & POEMS Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith The life of the author Vyasa (approximately 200 B.C.) is fascinating. He was the author of and a character in the second great poetic epic of India the Mahabharata. He is responsible for classifying the four Vedas, and wrote the eighteen Puranas. The Mahabharata is often called as the fifth Veda. The most important section is the Bhagavad Gita, the lesson recited to Arjuna by Krishna on the battlefield. He was born on an island on the holy river Yamuna. His father was Parashar Rishi, a sage, and his mother was Satyavati. He taught the Vedas to his pupils with much devotion and dedication. He received knowledge from great sages like Vasudeva and Sanakadik. He described that the most important goal in one's life is to attain God-Realization. Apart from the Mahabharata he also composed the Brahmasootra, one of the shortest theologies on Hindu philosophy. The context of the Gita is a conversation between Lord Krishna and the Pandava prince Arjuna taking place in the middle of the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra War with armies on both sides ready to battle. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma about fighting his own cousins who command a tyranny imposed on a disputed empire, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince, and elaborates on different Bhakti & Yoga philosophies, and explains different ways in which the soul can reach the supreme being with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Bhakti (Hindu Mysticism) and also as a practical, self-contained guide to life in poetic form. 120 pages. Introduction to Bhakti Poets Series TULSIDAS, KABIR, VRIND, LALLA DED, RAHIM, VRRIND, VYASA, JAYADEVA (approx. 110-120 pages each... others to follow) Paul Smith (b. 1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets from the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu, Hindi and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Lalla Ded, Mahsati, Baba Farid, Iqbal, Vrind, Rahim and others, and his own poetry, fiction, biographies, plays, children's books and 12 screenplays. www.newhumanitybooks.com