Krishna’s intriguing third-person references to himself
In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna sometimes refers to himself in the third person. Why? To better understand, let’s consider a specific example. In the eighteenth chapter, [...]
Why does Krishna discuss the modes so much?
Krishna mentions the modes throughout the Bhagavad-gita; devotes the entire fourteenth chapter to explaining what they are and how they function; and uses them to [...]
The Gita’s seventeen questions at a glance
Out of the Bhagavad gita seventeen chapters, where Krishna is the main speaker, nine begin with a question: 2.7, 3.1-2, 5.1, 8.1-2, 11.1-4, 12.1, 13.1, [...]
How Krishna is both universal and specific
In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna demonstrates a remarkable blend of both universality and specificity. Universality in analyzing for Arjuna a broad gamut of paths to choose [...]
Taking responsibility to help others choose wisely (Balancing independence and guidance series 7)
Taking responsibility to help others choose wisely - After Krishna concludes the Bhagavad-gita’s message, he asks Arjuna a two-part question: Has he heard attentively? Have [...]
Does the Gita’s conclusion contain a self-contradiction? (Balancing independence and guidance series 5)
Does the Gita’s conclusion contain a self-contradiction? - When nearing the end of the Bhagavad-gita (18.63), Krishna shows respect for Arjuna’s independence by stating: “Deliberate [...]
How to give guidance while respecting people’s independence (Balancing independence and guidance series 3)
How to give guidance while respecting people’s independence - Suppose a student seeks career guidance from an older relative. If that relative has previously been [...]
How the Gita’s conclusion integrates its contextual and universal dimensions (Appreciating the Gita’s flow 7)
How the Gita’s conclusion integrates its contextual and universal dimensions - The Bhagavad-gita starts with a vividly specific setting: an inquiry by the blind king [...]
The cyclicity of the Bhagavad-gita (Appreciating the Gita’s flow 3)
The cyclicity of the Bhagavad-gita - A well-written book cycles back to the starting point in its ending point. Let’s see how such cyclicity is [...]
When knowledge increases ignorance … (From ignorance to knowledge series 5)
When knowledge increases ignorance - We usually consider knowledge to be the cure for ignorance: where knowledge increases, ignorance decreases. In fact, a celebrated Upanishadic [...]
Gita 18.39 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Let us now go the [...]
Why are mental health problems increasing? (Mental health series 3)
Why are mental health problems increasing? - The alarming increase in mental health problems nowadays raises a critical question: “Beyond the specific issues afflicting particular [...]
What is mental health? (Mental health series 1)
What is mental health? - On hearing about many people having mental health problems, we may wonder, “What exactly is mental health? How is it [...]
Does devotion transcend ethics? (Ethics & devotion series 7)
Does devotion transcend ethics? - The claim that devotion transcends ethics can strip devotion of all ethical content and strip ethics of all devotional relevance. [...]
How to counter spiritual reductionism (Ethics & devotion series 6)
How to counter spiritual reductionism - Spiritual reductionism refers to the tendency to reduce spirituality to some specific parameters that are deemed vital and to [...]
When does devotion exempt us from karmic consequences? (Ethics & devotion series 4)
When does devotion exempt us from karmic consequences? - Does the Bhagavad-gita’s concluding verse (18.66) — the surrendered are protected from karmic consequences — license [...]
Does bhakti make one transcendental to ethics? (Ethics & devotion series 1)
Why ethics matter in devotion? - Devotees sometimes believe that their devotion raises them above the jurisdiction of ethical accountability. Technically, the belief that one’s [...]
Does the world hate me? (Beyond black and white conceptions series 6)
Does the world hate me? - Suppose we greet someone at a get-together and they don’t respond. We may be taken aback. Suppose several people [...]
Do the ends justify the means? (Beyond black and white conceptions series 5)
Do the ends justify the means? - Suppose someone is driving a heart attack victim to a hospital. Naturally, they will try to drive as [...]
How our experience may increase our ignorance (Beyond black and white conceptions series 2)
How our experience may increase our ignorance - Suppose someone has hurt us badly, several times. We may start seeing them as a villain, a [...]
Handling the gun of doubt (Dealing with doubts 4)
Handling the gun of doubt - If we are traveling through a dangerous area, we need a good gun. Similarly, to function in an illusion-filled [...]