Gita 04.29 explained
Bg 4.29 apāne juhvati prāṇaṁ prāṇe ’pānaṁ tathāpare prāṇāpāna-gatī ruddhvā prāṇāyāma-parāyaṇāḥ apare niyatāhārāḥ prāṇān prāṇeṣu juhvati Synonyms: apāne — in the air which acts downward; juhvati — offer; prāṇam — [...]
Gita 04.07 explained
Bg 4.7 yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham Word for word: yadā yadā — whenever and wherever; hi — [...]
Gita 04.01 explained
BG 4 SP called this chapter Transcendental Knowledge it deals with spiritual knowledge, Gita Press BG has called it is Jayana-Karma-Sanyas Yoga. Different Acharyas has [...]
Gita 04.05 explained
Bg 4.5 śrī-bhagavān uvāca bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṇi na tvaṁ vettha paran-tapa Word for word: śrī-bhagavān uvāca — the [...]
Gita 04.21 explained
Bg 4.21 nirāśīr yata-cittātmā tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam Synonyms: nirāśīḥ — without desire for the result; yata — controlled; citta-ātmā — mind and intelligence; tyakta — giving up; sarva — all; parigrahaḥ — [...]
A weapon in the tent is of no use to a warrior in the fight
When warriors are fighting a war, their most important possession is their weapon. Without it, even if they fight heroically, they will be felled by [...]
Spirituality is meant not just for transcending the world but also for transforming the world
Some people conceive of spirituality as world-transcending. While that conception is correct, it is not complete – spirituality is also about world-transformation. World-transformation and world-transcendence [...]
Respecting religious pluralism doesn’t require disrespecting religion
Today, society is becoming increasingly multicultural. Due to the increasing connectedness of the whole world through communication and telecommunication, people are exposed to religious traditions [...]
The inner war may feature coronation or insurrection, but let it not feature execution
In a war for power between a heir apparent and a rebel, if the heir wins, a coronation occurs; if the rebel wins, an insurrection [...]
We need Krishna’s experience more than Krishna’s explanation
Krishna’s experience refers to our experience of the peace and bliss that comes when we connect with Krishna and relish a spiritual experience. Krishna’s explanation [...]
Faith is the reason for reason
Some people feel that faith and reason are incompatible. They argue that those who have faith in God are not thinking rationally and those who [...]
Even for those who think God is the last thing they need, God remains the first thing they need
Most people are caught in materialism, in dreaming and worrying how they can possess and enjoy things in the here-and-now. Being thus obsessed, they feel [...]
Momentum manifests by movement from moment to moment
An obstacle that blocks a truck can be broken through if the truck acquires adequate momentum. Similarly, the conditionings that block our self-transformation can be [...]
Spiritual knowledge elevates us above misery – and eliminates misery too
The Bhagavad-gita uses two metaphors for illustrating the transformational potency of spiritual knowledge. Just as a sturdy boat helps us to cross over an ocean, the boat of spiritual knowledge helps us cross over the ocean of misery (04.36). And just as fire reduces the debris put in it to ashes, so does the fire of transcendental knowledge reduce the impurities within to ashes (04.37).
Learning by doubting is like driving by braking
Suppose we are learning to drive a car and suddenly find it veering off course. We will promptly brake and avert any danger. But if that one near-accident makes us paranoid and we refuse to take our foot off the brake, we will never get anywhere.
Those who see in history only their own reflection can’t see the trans-historical
History is often a fiercely disputed territory. Many people see history as an extension of their present into the past. Thus, for example, two countries [...]
Fight for your faith within more than without
Some religious people are over-zealous to fight for their faith – they quickly raise arms whenever they feel that their sacred icons have been slurred, [...]
To understand God, begin with definition, not depiction
On seeing God depicted in temples, we may get the question, “Who created God?” This question arises from a fundamental misunderstanding about God’s nature. To [...]
To lose one’s reason is bad, but to lose everything except one’s reason is far worse
Our reason, our rational faculty, is vital for keeping us intelligently regulated and purposefully directed in life. The use of reason has assisted in the [...]
Don’t depress yourself – depress your expectation from yourself
A child who wants to become a long-jump champion needs to start by taking tiny jumps that may seem negligibly ordinary. But for that child, [...]
Why bother whether the glass is half-empty or half-full when you can drink from either?
Based on our past ways of thinking and living, we all have developed an attitude that is optimistic or pessimistic or an unpredictable combination of [...]