The two endings of the Gita point to the same end
The Bhagavad-gita has two endings based on the two nested conversations that comprise its narrative. The outer, framing conversation is at Hastinapura between Sanjaya and [...]
Freedom to do what we like is not necessarily freedom – freedom to do what we should is
Consider alcoholics who want to break free from their addiction. They often place themselves voluntarily in rehabilitation clinics whose monitored environment takes away their freedom [...]
The Gita is a dharmic book that asks us to give up dharma – or does it?
The Bhagavad-gita (18.66) concludes with an intriguing call: Give up all religions (sarva-dharman parityajya). This begs the question – why would a religious book ask [...]
Surrender is expressed through not just helplessness but also readiness
The quintessential image of surrender is the chaste Draupadi, raising her hands in utter helplessness while being disrobed and calling out to Krishna for protection. [...]
Our role in doing things is contributive, not decisive
We do things all the time, yet we don’t often think of the various factors that go into things working out well. The Bhagavad-gita (18.14) [...]
The notion of doership is not an illusion – the notion of sole doership is
An oft-quoted Bhagavad-gita verse (03.27) asserts that those who think of themselves as doers are deluded. But we all intuitively perceive of ourselves as doers [...]
Our attachments reflect our capacity for determination
When we are unable to give up our attachments, we may become disheartened, thinking, “I have read so many books, heard so many talks, made [...]
Learning is driven by purposefulness; lamenting, by pointlessness
We all can and should learn from the past. By reviewing what we did, we can analyze what we did right and what we could [...]
Learn to see Krishna’s love with the eyes of knowledge
Our culture often bombards us with explicit images of what is considered to be love. If we equate love with such gushy expressions alone, we [...]
Where we are determines what we see
To a person on the North Pole, the equator is towards the south. But to a person on the South Pole, the same equator is [...]
Others can’t push if we stop pushing ourselves
Sometimes when a car doesn’t start, people may come around to push it, to get it to start. At such times, the combined efforts of [...]
Beware of the mind’s divide and rule strategy
A standard war strategy for defeating a strong enemy is divide and rule. The Bhagavad-gita (06.06) states that the mind can often act as our [...]
A respectable addiction is still an addiction
Usually, if someone gets addicted, the addiction attracts disapproval. While drinking at parties is considered in some circles as cool, still getting drunk isn’t. And [...]
Krishna doesn’t cause our worldly wandering – he frees us from the cause of that wandering
Some people claim, “ The Bhagavad-gita teaches that we humans have no free will, being just puppets in God’s hands. They often quote the Gita [...]
Ignorance is bad, but illusion is worse
A blind person walking on a street, being aware of being unaware of the path, will walk cautiously. But a person with cataract may see [...]
Don’t believe the phantoms created by the mind – believe Krishna
If children see a horror movie featuring phantoms, they may become fearful of, say, dark places, dreading that some deadly phantom may spring from some [...]
The mind can make us give up the wonderful for the dreadful
Suppose we are at a buffet meal in which one item is delicious and another is tasteless. If someone misinformed us and filled our plate [...]
We can’t fly in the sky without breaking our shell
When a baby bird tries to come out of its shell, it has to strain and stretch to crack the shell. When its wing comes [...]
Fear is not the problem – fear of what comes after fear is
Fear is a natural human response to danger. When seen as an impetus to be cautious, fear can check us from recklessly charging into danger. [...]
Ignorance makes people use reason unreasonably
Some people say, “Science is based on reason, whereas religion is based on superstition. So we should use scientific reason to drive out religious superstition.” [...]
To seek shortcuts is to be shortsighted
Shortcuts promise to take us to our destination quickly. But in our search for pleasure, sensual indulgences are shortcuts that actually take us away from [...]