Help me see my inclinations not just as Maya’s inducements, but also as your endowments
Bhagavad Gita 9.27 yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam Whatever you do, whatever you eat, Whatever [...]
Guide me beyond rationalizing and resigning to reharmonizing with you
Bhagavad Gita 9.6 yathākāśa-sthito nityaṁ vāyuḥ sarvatra-go mahān tathā sarvāṇi bhūtāni mat-sthānīty upadhāraya As the mighty wind forever roams in space, Yet always abides [...]
You care more for how my offering impacts my heart than how it impacts the world
Bhagavad Gita 9.26 patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ A leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even [...]
Let faith in your protection reduce my anxiety, not reduce me to apathy
Bhagavad Gita 9.22 ananyāś cintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham Those who worship me with hearts undivided, In constant remembrance, [...]
Lead my life into the light of your presence, your purpose, and your power
Bhagavad Gita 9.4 mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ By my unmanifest form, all this world is pervaded, [...]
You are different from everyone else—and so is loving you different from all other loves
Bhagavad Gita 10.12 arjuna uvāca paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum Arjuna said: You are the Supreme [...]
I seek your shelter, O shelter of all shelters
Bhagavad Gita 9.18 gatir bhartā prabhuḥ sākṣī nivāsaḥ śaraṇaṁ suhṛt prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaṁ nidhānaṁ bījam avyayam I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, [...]
Free me from the expectation that you will make my path obstacle-free
Bhagavad Gita 9.14 satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā nitya-yuktā upāsate Forever, they sing my glories unending, Endeavor for me [...]
May my vision, conception, and aspiration turn toward you
Bhagavad Gita 9.13 mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam The great souls take shelter in nature divine, With [...]
Your seeming humanity doesn’t diminish your divinity—it deepens your lovability
Bhagavad Gita 9.11 avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto mama bhūta-maheśvaram Fools mock me, seeing but a human-like manifestation, Not knowing [...]
You are the God of miracles—and the God of practicals
Bhagavad Gita 9.10 mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram hetunānena kaunteya jagad viparivartate "Under my supervision, nature unfolds, Through everything moving and nonmoving, my control still [...]
In the world’s distress, let me see not your disregard for my well-being, but your respect for my will
Bhagavad Gita 9.9 na ca māṁ tāni karmāṇi nibadhnanti dhanañ-jaya udāsīna-vad āsīnam asaktaṁ teṣu karmasu By none of the world’s mess or distress, Am [...]
Two ways to deal with our past
Even if we can't escape our past, we can still outgrow it We all carry scars from our past—deep wounds that cause fears or impressions [...]
How self-destructive desire corrupts our intelligence
The Bhagavad Gita (3.43) exhorts us to use our intelligence to fight against self-destructive desires but simultaneously warns (3.40) that even intelligence can be corrupted [...]
Three meanings of ‘fire’ and how they apply to our inner world
The word fire has multiple meanings: a natural force that burns, the dismissal of someone from their job, and an energizing enthusiasm or motivation (as [...]
How the mind and the intelligence are to work together
The mind is meant to be the complement to the intelligence, let it not become the replacement of the intelligence We live in an age [...]
Fix the need to fix others
Whenever we take on a responsible role in our relationships, such as being a parent or mentor, part of that responsibility involves helping others make [...]
“What is my calling?” and “What am I calling?”
To find our purpose in life, focus not just on what our calling is but also on what we are calling We all aspire to [...]
Why do we pray more intensely amid adversity than in holy places?
Adverse times often drive us to pray with more intensity and intimacy than when we are in holy places. This intensity arises from the infusion [...]
Identifying the cause of life’s reversals
Are life’s reversals karma, tests by Maya, or Krishna’s push to surrender? When we face reversals in life, we often wonder whether these are the [...]
How to expose inner traitors
What makes life dangerous is not just outer threats, but inner traitors What makes life truly dangerous is not merely the external presence or occurrence [...]