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 [...]
Devotion makes the head clear and the heart pure
Devotion is essentially the disposition of our heart to love and serve Krishna. And from that devotional desire, all auspiciousness emerges, as the Bhagavad-gita indicates [...]
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 [...]
If we do what we can, Krishna empowers us to do what we can’t
During the Kurukshetra war, Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu was unfairly, brutally murdered on the thirteenth day. Outraged, Arjuna vowed to kill before the next sunset the [...]
Revelation is the foundation for the ultimate revolution
When social or financial conditions are felt as intolerable, people rise in revolution against the powers that be. Such revolutions can bring about dramatic political [...]
Matter has no intent, but intent matters
Some people misconceive the Gita as a violence-inducing book in which God goads a peace-seeking person to fight. They laud Arjuna when he, instead of [...]
Krishna is not a competitor vying for supremacy – he is constitutionally supreme
“Is the Bhagavad-gita polytheistic?” This question is often raised especially by those coming from the Western intellectual tradition. They are familiar primarily with the rigidly [...]
Surgery seems like violence, but is benevolence
Some people claim, “The Bhagavad-gita teaches that killing is ok because the body is anyway going to die. Such a teaching licenses indiscriminate violence.” This [...]
Devotion passes and surpasses the intellect
The path of devotion passes the intellect meaning that its explanation of life’s purpose can survive the scrutiny of the intellect. In fact, the Bhagavad-gita, [...]
Seeking God’s will in his word shows us our way in this world
Different people approach the Bhagavad-gita differently, seeing it, for example, as a historical, cultural or poetic book. Though the Gita has all these aspects, they [...]
Don’t just read the Gita – heed the Gita
The Bhagavad-gita is a profoundly philosophical book, yet it is also an eminently action-calling book. This pragmatic nature of the Gita is seen in its [...]
The Gita is a book of theology for the purpose of therapy
“I am not interested in God,” so say many people while turning away from the Bhagavad-gita. What they don’t understand is that the Gita is [...]
The best translation of the Gita is its translation into life
People interested in the Bhagavad-gita sometimes ask, “Which is its best translation?” The best translation is its translation into life. That is, the Gita’s best [...]
Study the Gita not to inform the head, but to transform the heart
The Gita does inform the head, no doubt – and it informs about life’s meaning and purpose far better than does the best university education. [...]
The Gita’s choice is not about nonviolence or violence – it’s about disintegration or integration
The Bhagavad-gita’s asking Arjuna to fight understandably unnerves many people. Though the Gita’s framing narrative involves choosing violence over nonviolence, its core is far deeper. [...]
See beyond the diversity of forms to the unity of substance and purpose
Racial, religious and other forms of sectarian violence rend the world today. Such violence may have complex social, economic, cultural and political causes, but underlying [...]
A self-answering question points to factors beyond the self-evident
A question that contains the answer within itself raises questions about the question. For example, suppose someone asks, “After the diners sat down at the [...]
The bird may be encaged, but its desires stay engaged in the field
A bird may be physically restrained by a cage, but it can’t be mentally restrained from dreaming and craving about the grains it could have [...]
Nonviolence that allows exploiters to become rulers is violence
Many people feel uncomfortable with the idea of a religious book, the Bhagavad-gita, urging war. They would probably be surprised to find their feelings echoed [...]
When we steer by stars that are in motion, our motion simply causes commotion
Just as ships steer by the pole star, we all during our journey through life steer by some guiding stars – ideas we have learnt [...]
The Gita teaches not about a distant past but about the eternal present
Some people ask Bhagavad-gita students, “Don’t you people live in the past – spending so much time on an ancient book?” No, Gita study is [...]