The intriguing day-night metaphor (Gita 02.69 analyzed 1 — Text level)
Literally, the verse states: what is night for all living beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for [...]
Gita 5.21 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
Bg 5.21 bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā vindaty ātmani yat sukham sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā sukham akṣayam aśnute Word for word: bāhya-sparśeṣu — in external sense pleasure; asakta-ātmā — one [...]
Seven levels at which Gita verses can be understood
The Bhagavad-gita is a book of profound wisdom. One way to unpack its wisdom is by looking at its verses at multiple levels. Let’s consider [...]
Beyond reductionist notions of spirituality
Given that contemporary life subjects us to spiraling levels of stress, and spiritual practices such as meditation are known to provide non-intrusive stress relief, spirituality [...]
Why the mind is a terrible leader
Suppose we had a colleague with a take-charge attitude who pushed us into going along with their ideas. If they didn’t really know what they [...]
Gita 18.62 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 18.62 In 18.58 Krishna [...]
Gita 09.26 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 9.26 patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ [...]
What made us the way we are?
We tend to ascribe to God our life’s starting conditions — our complexion, our birth family and our default disposition. Justifying such an ascription, we [...]
Are we asking God the wrong question?
Suppose we find ourselves impeded, even imprisoned, by some conditioning — say, our mind keeps becoming jealous or angry, despite our best efforts to fight [...]
Can any question be a bad question?
The questioning spirit is good; it shows our eagerness to learn. Still, that doesn’t mean all questions are automatically good. Why not? Some questions are [...]
Gita 5.20 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
But how will one practically do this? So now Sri Krishna will describe a process, so set of verses from here are both descriptive and [...]
Gita 09.30 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now after describing this Sri [...]
How can we situate ourselves in our spiritual identity?
Suppose we are in an ocean characterized by huge waves. How can we protect ourselves from being swept away by those waves? By having an [...]
Gita 02.17 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
2.11-2.30: counters first argument – compassion So Krishna is building up a flow of thought over here, and He is saying that there is [...]
Gita 02.13 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
2.11-2.30: counters first argument – compassion – by Jnana So after discussing the eternality of the individuals in the next verse, Sri Krishna will [...]
Elevating our self-image
Our self-image, our conception of who we are, is usually generated by others’ opinions of us, especially those opinions that we accept uncritically. Why do [...]
What is self-realization?
When we gain a realization, that essentially means we understand and accept as a reality that which is already a reality. By extension, when we [...]
Gita 13.33 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan So it will not be [...]
How to deal with our emotions
We all are prone to be swept away by our emotions, thereby acting self-destructively. How can we protect ourselves from this danger? Some people try [...]
How each word of the Bhagavad-gita’s first verse is pregnant with meaning
The Bhagavad-gita’s first verse (01.01) can be said to have six key components: dhritarashtra uvaca, dharma-kshetra, kuru-kshetra, samavetah yuyutsavah, mamakah pandavas caiva and kim akurvata. [...]
Gita 15.15 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan 15 th verse – talks [...]