Ahimsa: Gita insights on nonviolence and deterrence
Ahimsa, frequently translated as nonviolence, is a concept drawn from the Indian tradition that has gained widespread resonance in today’s world. The Bhagavad-gita, India’s foremost [...]
Two powerful motivators: desire and fear
Suppose we need to choose between paths A and B, wherein A will take us to a good place and B to a bad place. [...]
Gita 16.21 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan So now Krishna will tell [...]
Isn’t life too complex to have a manual?
Sometimes, the Bhagavad-gita is commended as the manual for living. This raises questions among thoughtful people, “Isn’t life way too complex to ever have a [...]
Gita 16.19 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Bhagavadgita Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Next Krishna describes consequences [...]
Why Krishna uses the word ‘soul’ non-literally
Few concepts are as foundational to Krishna’s Gita teachings as the soul. Many religions use the word ‘soul’ primarily in a non-literal sense: as a [...]
How Krishna’s angry words reflect his love
In the Bhagavadgita sixteenth chapter, as Krishna concludes his description of the ungodly people’s destructive and self-destructive activities, his tone changes from neutral to angry. [...]
Why Krishna speaks the sixteenth chapter without being prompted
In the Bhagavad Gita, there’s only one section where Krishna speaks three successive chapters on his own without any prompting question from Arjuna: the section [...]
What Krishna’s analysis of divine and demonic natures means for Arjuna
What Krishna’s analysis of divine and demonic natures means for Arjuna-Throughout the Bhagavad-gita, when Krishna makes any point, Arjuna thinks how that point applies to [...]
What Krishna never mentions to Arjuna in the Gita
Some people think that Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita just to get Arjuna to fight. If that were so, Krishna chose a laboriously long-cut method for [...]
How can spirituality protect our mental health? (Mental health series 6)
Mental health problems can have many specifics, yet they share a fundamental feature: a distortion in our perception of reality. When such distortion becomes so [...]
Gita 16.08 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 16.8 asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te [...]
Why anger should be used sparingly … (Anger management series 7)
A great power like nuclear power can be used for deterrence and defence, but it can also be used to cause catastrophic destruction. That’s why [...]
How to use anger without being used by anger (Anger management series 6)
Suppose someone we are responsible for does something self-destructive, even after we have repeatedly warned them against doing so. At such times, anger may be [...]
How to use anger constructively (Anger management series 5)
We are often exhorted to avoid anger as it can make us act in ways that make our life hellish (Bhagavad-gita 16.21). Yet spiritual wisdom [...]
Pointing the finger or pointing the way? (Anger management series 4)
When people point a finger, it is often to show others who is at fault. Sometimes, they may point a finger to show others the [...]
Choosing our battles in dealing with anger (Anger management 3)
Anger can make our life hellish (Bhagavad-gita 16.21). When dealing with anger, we often think in polar terms: we control it or we don’t. Instead [...]
Angry about being angry? (Anger management series 2)
We all have probably experienced that anger can make our life hellish, as warned by the Bhagavad-gita (16.21). We may have even resolved to never [...]
Why absence of anger may not be good … (Anger management series 1)
Anger can short-circuit our intelligence and impel us to do regrettable things. Pointing to the dangerousness of anger, the Bhagavad-gita mentions that anger can make [...]
How doubt can’t live without faith (Dealing with doubt 7)
Parasites can’t exist without the host organisms they prey on. Doubt is such a parasite that can’t live without faith. Consider, for example, doubts about [...]
Can we order our desires ? (Desire management series 13)
The word ‘order’ can have two meanings: instruction (“You have to take medicine thrice a day — those are the doctor’s orders”) or arrangement (“The [...]