Krishna descends to delineate, demonstrate and disseminate dharma
“God descends to establish dharma.” Those familiar with the Gita know this well, with some even quoting the relevant Bhagavad-gita verses (04.07 - 04.08). A careful [...]
Krishna descends to offer not just protection but also participation
One of the most quoted verses of the Bhagavad-gita (04.08) states the purpose of Krishna’s periodic descents: cosmic protection. He protects the social and spiritual [...]
For the cynic, the truth lies in the heart
Some people are inveterate cynics who ascribe the darkest motives to even the noblest actions. When such cynics target religion, they see God as a [...]
To let the nourishing water of truth irrigate the heart, break the dam of misconception
Devotee-seekers sometimes get the question: “If Krishna is all-attractive, then why is everyone not attracted to him?” Because they do not wish to be attracted [...]
Don’t think things to death; think of the thing called death
Thinking things to death refers to spending so much time analyzing a problem that the time for applying any solution runs out before one decides [...]
The purpose of establishing dharma in the world is to establish us in dharma
One of the Gita’s most-quoted verses (04.08) describes how Krishna descends to establish dharma. Less quoted, but no less significant is the next verse declaring [...]
Don’t just punish lust-dominated individuals; purify lust-tormented individuals
The Bhagavad-gita’s flow contains many leaps of thought that when understood using the commentaries of devotionally adept Gita teachers provide precious insights into life and [...]
Krishna’s pastimes are the trailer and the trail
The Bhagavad-gita (04.09) asserts that those who understand Krishna’s pastimes in truth attain liberation. How can liberation, elusive even for renunciates performing prolonged austerities, be [...]
The inner war is the bigger war
People new to the Bhagavad-gita often ask: “Does it endorse war?” At one level, the Gita does indeed urge a virtuous warrior to fight against [...]
Devotion blossoms in a personal culture, not a personality cult
Bhakti-yoga with its injunction that disciples serve the guru may seem to promote a personality cult. What bhakti actually endorses is a personal culture. This [...]
Go beyond sectarianism and non-sectarianism to trans-sectarianism
Thoughtful people often dislike sectarianism of any kind due to the divisiveness it fosters. As religions have been known to foster sectarian feelings (“the good [...]
No one owns the truth table except God – and he has many invitees
“My way is the only way.” This is the exclusivist credo of some religionists. In disarming contrast, Krishna declares in the Bhagavad-gita (04.11): “All people [...]
What is beyond being dated is beyond becoming outdated
Some people ask, “The Bhagavad-gita was spoken thousands of years ago. Doesn’t that make it outdated?” Not at all. Gita wisdom cannot be tied down [...]
Failure is no disaster; failure to try is
The fear of failure often gnaws us whenever we contemplate any challenging endeavor. The same applies to the prospect of spiritual life, wherein, to attain [...]
Be not just inquisitive but also submissive
The Bhagavad-gita (1.1) begins with Dhritarashtra’s inquiry to Sanjay about the events on the Kurukshetra battlefield. Sanjay responds by narrating the conversation between Krishna and [...]
No prison imprisons as badly as the prison of doubt
Suppose a patient has been fleeced by a doctor and so can’t trust any doctor. That cynicism imprisons the patient perpetually in disease. A far [...]
What raises motion to action is motivation
‘Motion’ refers to the movement of unconscious things, whereas ‘action’ refers to the movements of conscious people. The waves flowing in a river are in [...]
The goal of spiritual life is to make spiritual life our goal
Many people see spiritual life as a pious recreation, as an elective break from the stresses of daily living. Whatever be our initial impetus for [...]
Seek to know Krishna not theoretically but transformationally
Many Bhagavad-gita readers are puzzled by its repeated declarations that knowledge about Krishna grants liberation: “So many people know Krishna, but they aren't liberated. Are [...]
When we give Krishna the benefit of doubt, he gives us the benefit of freedom from doubt
When things go wrong in our life, doubts may assail us: “I am trying to be a good person, a good devotee. Why isn’t Krishna [...]
Devotion raises our knowledge of Krishna from superficial familiarity to substantial understanding
The Bhagavad-gita (04.09) states that those who know in truth the divine birth and activities of Krishna become liberated and return to his eternal abode. [...]