From the Foreword by Dr. Karan Singh:
‘Sri Krishna Prem’s book on the Bhagavat Gita is not a verse-by-verse
translation. It is, rather, a running commentary on the verses, to which he
brings to bear his remarkable intellect and devotion to Sri Krishna. A special
dimension of his commentary is his reference to Western mystics, such as
Plotinus, Hermes Trismegistus, Meister Eckhart and others, which show that
many of the insights of the Gita r epresent numerous strains of world
mysticism. In fact, Sri Krishna Prem fulfills the two essential requirements
mentioned in the Upanishads for a spiritual guide: Shrotrium – well versed
in the scriptures, and Brahma Nishtam – founded in the higher consciousness.
It would be presumptuous of me to comment in detail about his
interpretation of the Gita except to say that anyone studying the gr eat text
would be well advised to read Sri Krishna Prem’s brilliant commentary. To
quote Sri Krishna Prem himself: “The point of view from which this book
has been written is that the Gita is a textbook of Yoga, a guide to the
treading of the Path. By Yoga is here meant not any special system called by
that name, not jnana yoga, nor karma yoga, nor bhakti yoga, nor the eightfold
yoga of Patanjali, but just the Path by which man unites his finite s elf with
Infinite Being. It is the inner Path of which all these separate yogas are so
many one-sided aspects. It is not so much a synthesis of these separate
teachings as that prior and undivided whole of which they represent
partial formulations.”