Healthy and unhealthy foundations for self-respect
Some people treat self-respect as the most important thing in their life. When they feel that others are disrespecting or mistreating them, that becomes for [...]
When our conscience speaks ….
We all have inside us an inner guiding voice: the voice of conscience that guides us to act in ways that are worthwhile, ennobling and [...]
Gita 04.09 explained
Bg 4.9 janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna Word for word: janma — [...]
How Krishna’s pastimes reveal him to be the ultimate hero
How Krishna catches our attention: While watching an action movie, our attention is often caught by the hero’s spectacular action sequences. When Krishna descends to [...]
Gita 02.39 explained
2nd ch - 4th sec 38 to 53 -> Now Krishna will answer Arjuna's fear of sinful reaction argument. He will address it by [...]
Why does the Gita emphasize yoga more than dharma?
In the Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna’s driving question is about dharma, the right thing to do. Yet Krishna’s response contains far more references to yoga than to [...]
Gita 09.11 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 9.11 avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā [...]
Gita 03.11 explained
Bg 3.11 devān bhāvayatānena te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ parasparaṁ bhāvayantaḥ śreyaḥ param avāpsyatha Word for word: devān — demigods; bhāvayatā — having pleased; anena — by this sacrifice; te — those; devāḥ — demigods;bhāvayantu — [...]
Are Krishna’s Gita teachings exclusivist?
Not at all. What makes a path exclusivist is its claim that it alone has exclusive rights to God. What makes an exclusivist path bad [...]
Gita 01.36 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now after describing this Arjuna [...]
Gita 17.12 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan But on the other hand [...]
Gita 02.10 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
BG 2.10 tam uvaca hrishikesah prahasann iva bharata senayor ubhayor madhye vishidantam idam vacah SYNONYMS tam -- unto him; uvaca -- said; hrishikesah -- [...]
Does the eternality of the soul license the killing of people?
Some people say, “The Gita teaches that because the soul is eternal and the body is perishable, there’s nothing wrong for Arjuna to kill in [...]
The tension that tore Arjuna apart
When we read in the Bhagavad-gita’s first chapter how Arjuna experienced an emotional breakdown, we may wonder: why was he so overwhelmed? To understand, we [...]
Gita 02.04 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
1-10: Arjuna’s further doubts and surrender BG 2.4 arjuna uvaca katham bhishmam aham sankhye dronam ca madhusudana ishubhih pratiyotsyami pujarhav ari-sudana SYNONYMS arjunah uvaca [...]
How the Krishna-Arjuna duo demonstrates the dynamics of divine empowerment
In the Bhagavad-gita (11.33), Krishna essentially assures Arjuna that he will be empowered by divine arrangement. To understand the dynamics of such divine empowerment, let’s [...]
How could Krishna and Arjuna have had their entire discussion on a battlefield?
Some people ask, “What was everyone else in the two armies doing all that time when Krishna-Arjuna were deep in discussion?” They were waiting for [...]
How Krishna’s teachings in the Gita go far beyond the peace-war polarity
Given that Krishna speaks the Gita on a battlefield, we would expect it to discuss quite a bit about the two binaries: war or peace. [...]
Arjuna’s strong comeback to Krishna’s rebuke
When Krishna rebukes Arjuna for giving in to weakness (02.02-03), Arjuna’s response is not at all weak. He lets it be known that he is [...]
Gita 02.34 explained
31-38 is Karma Kanda (that is the first application of atma jana) And in next verse Krishna will talk about Kirti so remember Krishna [...]
How surrender to Krishna protects Arjuna from wrong actions
In Krishna’s last instructive words in the Gita, he assures Arjuna protection from all ‘papa,’ which is usually translated as sinful reactions. Additionally, another standard [...]