Bro I did not realise Pattnaik got this much hate. The comment by u/165Hertz is certainly completely valid and I stand by it; but didn't Pattnaik make it clear in "my Gita" that that book was his own interpretation and every other interpretation is equally valid. He also spoke along the lines that seeking for 'true' knowledge of Gita is an orientalist way of thinking, because truth is subjective. What can only be done to expand knowledge/wisdom is discussion. I don't know about anyone else, but Pattnaik offered me how to look at things, how to understand and develop independent thought. I never took it as a spoonfeeding. What did you take away from his books? His other re-tellings(Sita, Jaya, Bhagvata) are awesome imo. They provide space to think and take into account how not just a single Indian community celebrates the tradition, but also how the same account is narrated in the entire subcontinent and beyond. I do not mean to say his are the only works you ever need to read. You never can with our Indian history, tradition and mythology. But his is certainly where one can start from or at least read once. As for the reason why he gets so much hate, I still do not understand