The Gita held strong appeal for Ralph Waldo and others of the transcendentalists. I am currently reading "The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi" which is Gandhi's translation with commentary of what was, for him, the central scripture. Gandhi on the "devotion required by the Gita""...the devotion required by the Gita is no softhearted effusiveness. It certainly is not blind faith. The devotion of the Gita has the least to do with externals. A devotee may use, if he likes, rosaries, forehead marks, make offerings, but these things are no test of his devotion. He is a devotee who is jealous of none, who is a fount of mercy, who is without egotism who is selfless, who is ever forgiving, who is always contented, whose resolutions are firm, who has dedicated mind and soul to God, who causes no dread, who is not afraid of others, who is free from exultation, sorrow, and far, who is pure, who is versed in action and yet remains unaffected by it, who renounces all fruit, good or bad who treats friend and foe alike, who is untouched by respect or disrespect, who is not puffed up by praise, who does not go under when people speak ill of him, who loves silence and solitude, who has a disciplined reason...."
Blessings
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