Prabhupāda: Somebody come read Bhagavad-gītā. You will read? Come on. Our publication by Macmillan Company, Bhagavad-gītā, is out.
Devotee: Where shall I read from?
Prabhupāda: Introduction.
Devotee: This is the introduction to Bhagavad-gītā As It Is.
- nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
- śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
"The Bhagavad-gītā is also known as the Gītopaniṣad. It is the essence of the Vedic knowledge and one of the most important Upaniṣads in Vedic literature. There are many commentaries on the Bhagavad-gītā, and the necessity for another should be explained in the following basis. An American lady asked me to recommend an English edition of the Bhagavad-gītā which she could read. I was unable to do so in good conscience. Of course there are many translations, but of those I have seen, not only in America but those also in India, none can be said to be authoritative, because in almost every one of them the author has expressed his personal opinion through the commentaries without touching the spirit of the Bhagavad-gītā as it is. The spirit of the Bhagavad-gītā is mentioned in the Gītā itself. It is like this: If we want to take a particular medicine, then we have to follow the directions written on the label of the bottle. We cannot take the medicine according to our own directions or the directions of a friend ot in knowledge of this medicine. We must follow the directions on the label or the directions of our physician. The Bhagavad-gītā also should be accepted as it is directly by the speaker Himself. The speaker is Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He is mentioned on every page as the Supreme Personality of Godhead or Bhagavān. Bhagavān sometimes means any powerful person or demigod, but here it means Kṛṣṇa."