“Seeing is believing” reflects trust in the untrustworthy
The Bhagavad-gita (15.10) warns us against unwittingly subscribing to the childish idea of “seeing is believing.” This idea, known in philosophical parlance as naïve realism, [...]
The immaterial is not immaterial
The word “immaterial” can refer to “that which is not made of matter” and “that which doesn’t matter.” The immaterial (the non-material) isimmaterial (unimportant). So [...]
Retreat within to treat without
When external problems trouble us, we may feel that they need to be solved first, and so we can’t afford time for our inner life. [...]
When Krishna seems far away, it is we who have strayed away
The Bhagavad-gita (13.16) states that Krishna is situated far away from us – and is simultaneously very close to us. Paradoxical scriptural statements like this [...]
Be not allured by the pleasure that is pregnant with suffering
Why does the Bhagavad-gita ask us to regulate indulgence in sensual pleasures? To protect us from unnecessary suffering. The Gita (05.22) states that such pleasures [...]
Our fear of insignificance traps us in insignificance
“If I give up all my desires and just fulfill Krishna’s desires, won’t I be stripping myself of everything that makes me significant as a [...]
Cry, Vie, Lie, Die, Fie – Tie
The Bhagavad-gita (16.7-20) describes the mentality of the godless materialists who ruin themselves and those around them by their inordinate infatuation with temporary things. Their [...]
Krishna’s ways may not always be pleasant, but they are always benevolent
When things go wrong and disrupt our lives, a doubt may trouble us: is Krishna really my well-wisher? While dealing with such doubts, we need [...]
Take the mind’s promises with a bucketful of salt
Whenever we see an ad promising a huge gain for a tiny price, we tend to become skeptical. Such skepticism is the understandable and desirable [...]
Self-help can’t help without divine help
The Bhagavad-gita (14.10) indicates how the subtle forces of nature known as the modes exert competing psychological influences on us. Their contrary influences cause our [...]
Gita insights for New Year resolutions
The Bhagavad-gita (18.33)(18.34)(18.35) describes resolution or determination in the three modes of nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. The modes comprise subtle cosmological forces that exert [...]
Cultivate devotion not for its survival value but for the value it brings to survival
The struggle for survival characterizes the existence of all living beings – nonhuman and human. So, while evaluating whether a particular thing is worth doing, [...]
Is that me?
In the Bhagavad-gita, when Arjuna asks Krishna about what his activity should be, Krishna's sequence of answers indicates that the question of identity takes priority [...]
Questioning our questions
The Bhagavad-gita begins in its first chapter with Arjuna asking a series of rhetorical questions meant to justify his views and choices. Lord Krishna responds [...]
Lack of devotional appetite is natural yet unnatural
As spiritual seekers, we may at times feel apathetic or averse to the spiritual practices like meditation or prayer that connect us with Krishna and [...]
Krishna is realer than reality
In our times of trouble, we may doubt, “Does Krishna really exist?” Gita wisdom turns this doubt on the head by prompting the doubt, “Does [...]
Familiarity is not understanding
The Bhagavad-gita (4.9) describes that the result of understanding Krishna – his divine birth and his sublime activities – is liberation and reinstatement in his [...]
Balance the here and the hereafter through bhakti-yoga
Gita wisdom declares the world we live in, the here, to be a place of ephemerality and misery. So, it deems the spiritual world, the [...]
See rituals as opportunities to spend quality time with Krishna
The various rituals that are a part of spiritual life – chanting, praying, worshipping and meditating – are opportunities for us to spend time with [...]
The Gita guarantees ultimate success
The Bhagavad-gita (18.78) concludes with the proclamation that success is guaranteed for those who harmonize their human will with the divine will. This proclamation is [...]
Ask not “Is God with me?” Ask “Am I with God?”
The Bhagavad-gita (18.73) expresses the summit of humanity’s faith in divinity when Arjuna declares to Krishna, “I will do your will.” Our faith in God [...]