To all my Melungeon brothers and sisters and to all other readers of Melungeons.com, I say Namaste ("I bow to the divine in you."). I am delighted and deeply appreciative that Helen Campbell has offered me the opportunity to inform you of my self-publishing effort entitled “Beyond Race: The Bhagavad-gita in Black and White.” 

First, allow me to tell you a little about my background. I was born in 1952 in Abingdon, Virginia and am of “black,” “white” and Cherokee heritage. Currently I edit and publish Interracial Voice, an Internet newsjournal serving the multiracial community in cyberspace at Interracial Voice. 

Over the years, I’ve appeared on nationally televised news programs such as Jim Lehrer’s “NewsHour” and have written Op-Eds for both the San Francisco Chronicle and New York Newsday. What excites me right now, however, is being able to tell you why I decided to write and publish my book. 

A student of Vedic scriptures, I believe that individuals of mixed racial backgrounds quickly begin searching for a higher spiritual truth, something that allows them to make sense of the madness behind lumping human beings into separate and distinct “racial” groupings. 

In my experience, people who consider themselves of “mixed-race” inevitably question not only the wisdom of racial identification but also the very scientific and biological foundation of “race” itself. To lend public _expression to these heretofore private individual challenges to the “racial” paradigm was one of the reasons I launched Interracial Voice in September 1995. Furthermore, I believe that individuals of mixed racial backgrounds quickly begin searching for a higher spiritual truth, something that allows them to make sense of the madness behind lumping human beings into separate and distinct “racial” groupings. 

The ability or desire to see “beyond the body,” to see oneself as more than a mere aggregate of material elements, is a blessing indeed. It is difficult to perceive more than that which is clearly visible, for to do so, one must transcend the norm, one must walk “a road less traveled.” 

For the past twenty years or so, I’ve been walking -- albeit haltingly at times -- down the path of self-realization. At this point, however, I can honestly say that every discipline I’ve ever studied to any degree-- be it Taoism, Rosicrucianism, the New Age teachings of Deepak Chopra and James Redfield, L. Ron Hubbard’s controversial Scientology system, or the 17th Century impersonalistic philosophy of Baruch Spinoza -- coalesces rather nicely with the message of one book: Bhagavad-gita. 

Bhagavad-gita (incorrectly referred to by some Westerners as the “Hindu Bible”) is the essence of India’s Vedic wisdom and one of the great spiritual and philosophical classics of the world. It comes to us in the form of a battlefield dialogue between Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Arjuna, His intimate friend and devotee, whom He instructs in the science of self-realization. 

The perennial philosophy of the Gita has intrigued the philosophical mind of man, both Eastern and Western, for millennia. Henry David Thoreau wrote that in relation to Bhagavad-gita, “our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.” 

Most of us are familiar with former Beatle George Harrison’s 1970 hit “My Sweet Lord” in which he sings of longing to be with and to see Lord Krishna. More recent proof of the growing influence and popularity of the Bhagavad-gita’s message in the West was the November 2000 movie release, “The Legend of Bagger Vance.” Set in 1931 in the southern United States, “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” based on the book of the same title by Steve Pressfield, is a timeless tale of golf, friendship, and the lessons of life. Rannulph Junuh, a World War I war hero, is invited to play in a 36-hole golf tournament to celebrate the opening of a new golf course. Feeling that his game is a bit rusty, he turns to Bagger Vance for instruction and advice and ends up learning a lot more than a few new strokes. Directed by Robert Redford, the film is narrated by Jack Lemmon, who also makes a brief appearance as a veteran golf champion. 

According to Mr. Pressfield, the character of Bagger Vance (played by actor Will Smith) and his story are indeed based on the Bhagavad-gita in which Bhagavan (Krishna), the Supreme Personality, teaches his follower, Arjuna (R. Junuh), about life. The parallels between the ancient spiritual classic and the novel (and movie) are elaborated upon by Bhagavad-gita scholar Steven J. Rosen in his book Gita on the Green: The Mystical Tradition Behind Bagger Vance (Continuum, 2000). 

Far from proselytizing for a particular faith, I humbly submit that everyone, not just “mixed” people, can use the Gita’s message to rise above America’s oppressive race-consciousness -- which, itself, has evolved into a sort of proselytizing religion. Consequently, I named and fashioned each section of my book after the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad-gita. Along with two synopses of each Gita chapter (one taken directly from Gita itself followed by my own take on how each section relates to transcending race-consciousness) I included commentary -- culled nearly entirely from my 1995-2001 Interracial Voice editorials. In addition, during or after each chapter’s “race” commentary, you will find a specific Gita verse that expands on that commentary from the Vedic perspective. 

As this limited work cannot hope to approach the scope and depth of the Bhagavad-gita’s seven-hundred verses, I recommend that the reader obtain a copy of the Gita for his or her own personal reading. I recommend Bhagavad-gita As It Is (http://www.asitis.com), with translation and commentary by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It is this version of the Gita that I quote throughout my book. 

After the book’s conclusion, you will find the text of a speech I delivered on July 20, 1996 in Washington, D.C. at the Multiracial Solidarity March. Even then I viewed the discussion of “mixed-race” as an intermediate point or way-station between society’s current obsession with race and a future of racelessness. I leave it up to the reader to determine whether over the years following my Washington speech I’ve succeeded in transcending race-consciousness and am on the track of spiritual enlightenment. Whatever your conclusion, my love and best wishes to you as you embark on your own personal journey. 

On the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna eventually submits to Lord Krishna as His disciple, and Krishna begins His teachings to Arjuna by explaining the fundamental distinction between the temporary material body and the eternal spiritual soul. The Lord explains the process of transmigration, the nature of selfless service to the Supreme, and the characteristics of a self-realized person. 

Arjuna realizes that everyone must engage in some sort of activity in this material world, but actions can either bind one to this world or liberate one from it. By acting for the pleasure of the Supreme, without selfish motives, one can be liberated from the law of karma (action and reaction) and attain transcendental knowledge of the self and the Supreme. Arjuna eventually realizes that it is his duty as a ksatriya (literally, “one that protects others from harm”) -- a warrior or administrator in the ancient Vedic social system (not to be confused with the perverted and corrupt caste system in present-day India) -- to fight, because God desires the battle. 

Beyond Race does not seek to recreate the conditions of a 5,000-year-old Indian battlefield. It does, however, seek to convey some of the same basic truths that were revealed on that battlefield. If Arjuna, the hero of the Gita, was able to understand that a wise man does not lament even in the face of death, because he knows that the soul within the body never dies, surely, in the 21st century, we can conquer the fear of offending others while both expressing and exercising our honest beliefs and personal “identity” preferences. By cultivating transcendental knowledge as revealed in the Gita, we can certainly learn to go beyond race. 

You can access my book online from Xlibris.com at www.xlibris.com/BeyondRace.html. Additionally, “Beyond Race” is available for purchase on Amazon.com where you can read five 5-star reviews, including one by the premier Melungeon spokesman -- Brent Kennedy himself. 

The Vedas state that we should consider every human activity a failure unless the person inquires about the nature of the Absolute, the nature of God. Accordingly, those who begin to question why they are suffering or where they came from and where they shall go after death are proper students for understanding Bhagavad-gita. Avail yourself of the opportunity to begin the search to finding the answer to these inquiries in this lifetime by ordering a copy of “Beyond Race: The Bhagavad-gita in Black and White” today. I promise you won’t be sorry you did. 

Thank you

Charles Michael Byrd (Charukrishna)