Sing aloud the song celestial!

The recent Tomsk controversy over banning a Russian translation of Gita titled “Bhagvad Gita- As It Is” has surely raised eyebrows among the Hindus around the globe. Certain portions of the book were termed ‘objectionable’ and ‘extremist’ in nature and also that it should join the shelf of banned books, along with Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. But, now they all can sit back and relax. A court in Siberia on Wednesday reportedly rejected the state prosecutor’s plea for banning the Bhagvad Gita in Russia. “Bhagvad Gita- As It Is”, a translation of the original text by Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISCKON) was published in 1968. Though a lot of people in the city were not aware of the controversy, here is what a few people closely monitoring the issue had to say about it. Swami Bodhamayananda, director of the Vivekananda Institute of Human Excellence, pointed out, “The Bhagavad Gita, whch is an ancient book of universal truths and wisdom, is highly respected and revered by millions of people. It is a book of practical vedanta and has inspired many scholars and thinkers in east and west alike. Edwin Arnold the famous English writer and poet titled the translation as “The Song Celestial” and the teachings in the text are universal and non-sectarian.”Ranga Vutukuru, who also heads the R&D sector of a miltu-national company, said, “It is my religion and I follow it by heart. I don’t think we should start protesting or demonstrating for it. The text or teaching written in the book might be acceptable to us, but we have to also get accustomed to the fact that people in different parts of the world might think it is contradictory.” He also felt, “For example, according to Krishna, it’s fine to kill an unrighteous person, I agree with him. But people in other countries won’t necessarily agree with it.” Expressing his views on the whole issue, Vinod Achanta, marketing head on another multi-national company, says Gita even if it is banned cannot be taken out of the world or from people’s minds. “I think Gita and its teachings have always given people moral values and has brought in a balance in most of our lives. And I guess if one group in East Siberia thinks it has to be banned, I don’t think it is going to affect much. You can take Gita out of a country, but you cannot take the country out of Gita.”