Remember to do your own understanding of this sentence before you read ours. Express your own questions, insights and ‘so whats’ before you read ours, and discuss your lights to our questions before you read our lights.

“Bhagavad-gītā is the widely read theistic science summarized in the Gītā-māhātmya (Glorification of the Gītā).”

Let’s break this sentence down as follows:

1. Bhagavad-gita is …widely read;
2. Bhagavad-gita is the…theistic science;
3. Bhagavad-gita is summarized in the Gita-mahatmya (Glorification of the Gita).

‘Bhagavad-gita is…widely read’: We understand it is relevant to people from all social classes, ethnicities from all over the world. In other words, the science works no matter who you are.

‘Bhagavad-gita is the…theistic science’: In other words, it gives theoretical knowledge of God, and a step-by-step process for testing the theory. The word ‘pratyakṣāvagamaṁ’ in Bg 9.2 verse, confirms that the Bhagavad-gita’s teachings are verifiable by direct experience.

‘‘Bhagavad-gita is…summarized in the Gītā-māhātmya’: We understand this to mean that the essential message (its summary) is reiterated in the Gita Mahatmya, a 7-stanza poem composed by Sri Shankaracharya, which can be found at the end of the introduction to Bhagavad–gita As It Is. Unfortunately, in the early edition of the Gita, the introduction is truncated, and all seven stanzas of the Gita Mahatmya are not included. However, the entire transcript is available in the current edition. Here is Srila Prabhupada’s audio recording of the Introduction, along with transcript. 

To understand the significance of Srila Prabhupada’s opening statement, we must answer the following questions:

What is the summary of the Gita?

“Now, in summarizing Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that Arjuna should give up all the processes that have been explained to him; he should simply surrender to Kṛṣṇa. That surrender will save him from all kinds of sinful reactions, for the Lord personally promises to protect him.” Bg 18.66 purport

In his statement cited above, Srila Prabhupada tells us that the Bhagavad-gita 18.66 is the summary of the Gita. In other words, the summary is that we must prioritise surrendering to Krishna above all other religious rules and regulations. If we do this, Krishna will save us from our sinful reactions. 

Where is this message found in Gita-mahatmya?

In his introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srila Prabhupada writes:

“gītādhyāyana-śīlasya
prāṇāyama-parasya ca
naiva santi hi pāpāni
pūrva-janma-kṛtāni ca

“[If one reads Bhagavad-gītā very sincerely and with all seriousness, then by the grace of the Lord the reactions of his past misdeeds will not act upon him.” [Gītā-māhātmya 2]

The Lord says very loudly in the last portion of Bhagavad-gītā (18.66) 

sarva dharma parityjya
mam ekam saranam vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

‘Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.’ Thus the Lord takes all responsibility for one who surrenders unto Him and he indemnifies such a person against all reactions of sins.” 

Note two things:

1.  Srila Prabhupada equates Bhagavad-gita 18.66 with Gita-mahatmya 2.
2.  The symmetry of the two verses. Both verses promise that if we act in a certain way, then Krishna will protect us from the reactions to our past sins. These prescribed actions appear different. In the Gita-mahatmya, we are told we must read Bhagavad-gita very sincerely and with all seriousness, whereas in Bg 18.66, we are told we must surrender to Krishna. Though they may appear different to us, Srila Prabhupada equates them in his opening sentence to Bg 1.1. In other words, to surrender to Krishna means to read Bhagavad-gita sincerely and with all seriousness. This is the Gita’s essential teaching.

To sum up the entire sentence: If we read the Gita seriously and sincerely, Krishna will protect us from our past sinful reactions. This works every time for anyone and everyone.