When Krishna describes the virtues and duties of various social classes in the Bhagavad-gita (18.41-44), he mentions a specific virtue that characterizes brahmanas: forgiving (18.42), [...]
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 18.1 arjuna uvāca sannyāsasya [...]
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 18.19 jñānaṁ karma ca [...]
At the start of the Bhagavad-gita’s final chapter (18.01), Arjuna asks a question that may be puzzling in both content and context. Content because [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 - 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? - 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 - 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 - The Bhagavad-gita starts with a vividly specific setting: an inquiry by the blind king [...]
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 - We usually consider knowledge to be the cure for ignorance: where knowledge increases, ignorance decreases. In fact, a celebrated Upanishadic [...]
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? - The alarming increase in mental health problems nowadays raises a critical question: “Beyond the specific issues afflicting particular [...]
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? - 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 - 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? - Does the Bhagavad-gita’s concluding verse (18.66) — the surrendered are protected from karmic consequences — license [...]
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 [...]
