The Gita is Extremist? Really?
The Bhagavad Gita trial in Russia on charges of preaching religious extremism is really the trial of the Russian edition of a particular translation/commentary of it, Bhagavad Gita As It Is . So is this an instance of communist persecution of religion? Partly yes, as seen in the way Russian authorities have gone after ISKCON in the past. But also it’s a fight among religions: the charges are reportedly instigated by the Russian Orthodox Church in order to restrict the activities of ISKCON . So what is this book, Bhagavad Gita As It Is ? It is the Russian version of the ISKCON founder’s translation and commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita. It was first published in, hold your breath, 1968! It has been translated into 80 languages, with over 100 million copies distributed globally till date. And nowhere else was it accused of fomenting extremism. So what did the Russians find extremist? Well, it contained claims of exclusiveness of Krishna religion, and used some unpleasant words again...