Bhagavad-gita must be understood as Krishna speaks it, not through personal interpretation or unauthorized commentary.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Prabhupāda: oṃ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣur unmīlitaṃ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ [I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master who, with the torchlight of knowledge, has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance.] śrī-caitanya-mano-'bhīṣṭaṃ sthāpitaṃ yena bhū-tale svayaṃ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṃ dadāti sva-padāntikam [When will Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?] vande 'haṃ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṃ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṃś ca śrī-rūpaṃ sāgrajātaṃ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṃ taṃ sa-jīvam sādvaitaṃ sāvadhūtaṃ parijana-sahitaṃ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṃ śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa-lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṃś ca [I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and of all the other preceptors on the path of devotional service. I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇavas and unto the six Gosvāmīs, including Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Jīva Gosvāmī and their associates. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and all His devotees, headed by Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. I then offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and all the gopīs, headed by Lalitā and Viśākhā.] he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho dīna-bandho jagat-pate gopeśa gopikā-kānta rādhā-kānta namo 'stu te [O my dear Kṛṣṇa, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the cowherd men and the lover of the gopīs, especially Rādhārāṇī. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.] tapta-kāñcana-gaurāìgi rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari vṛṣabhānu-sute devi praṇamāmi hari-priye [I offer my respects to Rādhārāṇī, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vṛndāvana. You are the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu, and You are very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa.] vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṃ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ [I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.] śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda [I offer my obeisances to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, Prabhu Nityānanda, Śrī Advaita, Gadādhara, Śrīvāsa and all others in the line of devotion.] hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare [My dear Lord, and the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your service. I am now embarrassed with this material service. Please engage me in Your service.] Introduction to Gītopaniṣad by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, the author of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Easy Journey to Other Planets, editor of Back to Godhead, etc. Bhagavad-gītā is known also Gītopaniṣad, the essence of Vedic knowledge, and one of the most important of the various Upaniṣads in Vedic literature.
This Bhagavad-gītā, there are many commentations in English, and what is the necessity of another English commentation of the Bhagavad-gītā can be explained in the following way. One... [break] One American lady, Mrs. Charlotte Leblanc, asked me to recommend an English edition of Bhagavad-gītā which she can read. Of course, in America there are so many editions of English Bhagavad-gītā, but so far I have seen them, not only in America but also India, none of them can be said strictly as authoritative, because almost every one of them have expressed their own opinion through the commentation of the Bhagavad-gītā without touching the spirit of Bhagavad-gītā as it is. The spirit of Bhagavad-gītā is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā itself. It is just like this: If we want to take a particular medicine, then we have to follow the particular direction mentioned on the label of the medicine.
We cannot take the particular medicine according to our own direction or by the direction of a friend, but we have to take the medicine under the direction given on the label of the bottle and as directed by the physician. Similarly, the Bhagavad-gītā also should be taken or accepted as it is directed by the speaker Himself. The speaker of the Bhagavad-gītā is Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He is mentioned in every page of the Bhagavad-gītā as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān. Of course, "bhagavān" is sometimes designated to any powerful person or any powerful demigod, but here bhagavān is certainly designated to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, a great personality, but at the same time we must know that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as He is confirmed by all the ācāryas..., I mean to say, even Śaìkarācārya, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Nimbārka Svāmī and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and many others. In India there were many authoritative scholars and ācāryas, I mean, authorities of the Vedic knowledge.
All of them, including Śaìkarācārya, has accepted Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord Himself has also established Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Bhagavad-gītā. He is accepted so in the Brahmā-saṃhitā and all Purāṇas, especially in the Bhāgavata Purāṇam: kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28]. [All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists.] So therefore we should take Bhagavad-gītā as it is directed by the Personality of Godhead Himself. So in the Fourth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, imaṃ vivasvate yogaṃ proktavān aham avyayam vivasvān manave prāha manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt [Bg 4.1] [The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.] evaṃ paramparā-prāptam imaṃ rājarṣayo viduḥ sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa [Bg 4.2] [This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.] sa evāyaṃ mayā te 'dya yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ bhakto 'si me sakhā ceti rahasyaṃ hy etad uttamam [Bg 4.3] [That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend; therefore you can understand the transcendental mystery of this science.] The idea is the Lord said to Arjuna that "This yoga, this system of yoga, Bhagavad-gītā, was first spoken by Me to the sun-god, and the sun-god explained to Manu. Manu explained to Ikṣvāku, and in that way, by disciplic succession, one after another, this yoga system is coming, and in course of time this system is now lost.
And therefore, I am speaking to you the very same yoga system again, the very same old yoga system of Bhagavad-gītā, or Gītopaniṣad. Because you are My devotee and you are My friend, therefore it is possible for you only to understand." Now, the purport is that Bhagavad-gītā is a treatise which is specially meant for the devotee of the Lord. There are three classes of transcendentalists, namely the jñānī, the yogī and the bhakta, or the impersonalist or the meditator or the devotees. So here it is clearly mentioned, the Lord says to Arjuna that "I am speaking, or I am making you the first man of the paramparā.
Because the old paramparā, or disciplic succession, is now broken, therefore I wish to establish again another paramparā in the same line of thought as it was coming down from the sun-god to others. So you, you take it and you distribute it." Or "The system, the yoga system of Bhagavad-gītā, may now be distributed through you. You become the authority of understanding Bhagavad-gītā." Now, here is a direction that Bhagavad-gītā is especially instructed to Arjuna, the devotee of the Lord, the direct student of Kṛṣṇa. And not only that; he is intimately in touch with Kṛṣṇa as friend.
Therefore Bhagavad-gītā is understood by a person who has similar qualities like Kṛṣṇa. That means he must be a devotee, he must be in relation, direct relationship with the Lord. As soon as one becomes a devotee of the Lord, he has a direct relationship also with the Lord. That is a subject matter very long, but briefly it can be stated that a devotee is in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in five ways.