Why the Gita is misunderstood — and how it can be understood
Suppose we want to talk with someone who has closed body language. We hesitate in opening up to them because we don't know what will [...]
Focusing only on suffering’s immediate cause makes us short-sighted, focusing only on suffering’s remote cause makes us hard-hearted
Suppose someone falls sick because of being infected by a virus. While the virus is the immediate cause of their suffering, is it the complete [...]
Devotion is not just about bringing God into our life; it is also about letting God bring us into his life
Most people nowadays are functionally nontheistic; they may not be explicitly atheistic, but they live as if God doesn’t matter. We start bringing God into [...]
To get the consequences of our wrongdoings may feel like misfortune, but it can save us from misfortune
Suppose someone gambles for the first time. If they lose, they will consider it a misfortune. Actually however, it can save them from the misfortune [...]
Power needs to be kept out of the hands of those who worship power
To do anything at all, we need power, be it physical, electrical, political or whatever else. On seeing how much can be done with power, [...]
Don’t be so afraid of the irrational as to deny the possibility of the transrational
We live in an age that prides itself on its rationality. Few put-downs anger thinking people as much as being called irrational. As today’s mainstream [...]
Doubt is a disease that makes the patient believe the doctor is sick
Suppose a patient rejects a doctor’s advice, arguing that it is the doctor who is sick. Such a patient would be considered mentally sick. But [...]
We have snakes inside us, but we are not one of them
Suppose someone we thought we knew suddenly does something terrible and hurtful. We may be aghast, wondering what kind of horrible desires lie hidden below [...]
God keeps the door to him unlocked from his side till every soul, however degraded, comes to him
Some religions hold that God gives us just one chance; if we don’t surrender to him in this life, he casts us into hell forever. [...]
Gita 04.10 explained
Bg 4.10 vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ bahavo jñāna-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ Word for word: vīta — freed from; rāga — attachment; bhaya — fear; krodhāḥ [...]
Ask not why bad things happen to good people, ask what good people do when bad things happen to them
One of the oldest philosophical questions is, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Gita wisdom answers by introducing the principle of karma, which [...]
Equality that is imposed doesn’t raise everyone up, it brings everyone down
We live in an age where equality is celebrated. Any discrimination, based on race, gender, caste and so forth, is frowned upon, or even condemned. [...]
Seeking requires believing: believing that something worth seeking exists and that we have the capacity to find it
Some people say, “Be a seeker, not a believer.” This differentiation rests on the notion that believers are sentimental and gullible, whereas seekers are intellectual [...]
Karma is not like a mysterious contagious disease – it is logical, not diabolical
When we understand the principle of karma – of how we are accountable for our actions – we become cautious to avoid wrong actions and [...]
Between naiveté and cynicism is the courage to trust
When we are inexperienced, we may naïvely believe that everyone is entirely trustworthy. Exploiting our naiveté, self-interested people will sooner or later take us for [...]
A missed apostrophe can be a catastrophe – we are God’s, not Gods
Some people hold, “We are all Gods, for we are all the same impersonal omnipresent spirit that is commonly known as God.” This monistic claim [...]
Without going deeply into one tradition, we can’t deeply appreciate any tradition
When we start exploring life’s spiritual side, we may hesitate to commit ourselves to any particular spiritual path: “Won’t that make me close-minded and incapable [...]
What the moonlight of reason shows dimly, the sunlight of revelation shows clearly
Some people think, “Reason and revelation are contradictory. If I accept revelation, I will be giving up my rationality and end up believing crazy things.” [...]
Krishna retains his divine position even while he reclines in a supine position
Those who see Krishna’s pastimes as a child sometimes wonder: “How can such a child be God?” To unravel this mystery, let’s first look at [...]
See Krishna not just as an object of entertainment, but as the objective of enlightenment
Many people are introduced to Krishna through his stories narrated by their grandparents or depicted in comics or movies. Such depictions often leave people with [...]
The theatrical Krishna takes us to the transcendental Krishna
We are naturally attracted to theatrical things – to things that are intriguing, entertaining, astonishing. Channeling our attraction to the theatrical, Krishna performs dramatic pastimes [...]