Protect me from my tendency for self-deception (3.06)
Bhagavad Gita 3.6 karmendriyāṇi saṁyamya ya āste manasā smaran indriyārthān vimūḍhātmā mithyācāraḥ sa ucyate "One who restrains the body's deeds, Yet in the mind, [...]
Let me not equate frustration with renunciation (3.04)
Bhagavad Gita 3.4 na karmaṇām anārambhān naiṣkarmyaṁ puruṣo ’śnute na ca saṁnyasanād eva siddhiṁ samadhigacchati "Not by avoiding all duties and toil, Does one [...]
Let my desire for you drive away all my other desires (2.72)
Bhagavad Gita 2.72 eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ pārtha naināṁ prāpya vimuhyati sthitvāsyām anta-kāle ’pi brahma-nirvāṇam ṛcchati "This is the state divine, the goal of life's [...]
Let my unnatural desire be replaced by natural desire (2.71)
Bhagavad Gita 2.71 vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumānś carati niḥspṛhaḥ nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sa śāntim adhigacchati "Who gives up desires and walks untied, Free from [...]
Let my consciousness become like an unshakable ocean (2.70)
Bhagavad Gita 2.70 āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī "As rivers rush into the [...]
Let self-control take me closer to you, not deeper into duality (2.61)
Bhagavad Gita 2.61 tāni sarvāṇi saṁyamya yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ vaśe hi yasye’ndriyāṇi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā "Restrain the senses, hold them tight, Focus them on [...]
Tackling impurity from indulgence to transcendence
Impurity needs to be tackled by focusing on transcendence, not tickled by fantasizing about indulgence. Whenever we have any impurity within us that triggers desires [...]
From wishful and fretful thinking to prayerful and purposeful thinking
Let our thinking not be wishful or fearful; let it be prayerful and purposeful. Our thinking capacity is our most powerful capacity. It is the [...]
Cultivating emotions toward Krishna: An acquired taste
The Bhagavad Gita (15.19) declares that those who understand Krishna as the Supreme Person, worship Him with all the emotions of their hearts. What is [...]
From visible to invisible — challenges in meditation on Krishna
The Bhagavad Gita (7.7) states that Krishna is the invisible thread in the necklace of this world. When we are trying to meditate on Krishna, [...]
From material emotion to spiritual emotion
In the Bhagavad-gita verse (4.10), Krishna describes how we can move from material emotion to spiritual emotion. Broadly, the various emotions we have in association [...]
Bhakti is a journey through physical reality to spiritual reality
The Bhagavad-gita declares that all attractive things derive their attractiveness from a spark of Krishna's supreme attractiveness (10.41). This implies that the world we encounter [...]
Surrender is not passive but active
The Bhagavad Gita (18.73) concludes with Arjuna surrendering to Krishna, not in a passive way by accepting Krishna's will as it is happening in his [...]
Why gratitude is vital for bhakti
Gratitude centers on appreciating the good things in our life. Such an attitude of gratitude is highly conducive to our emotional health; it fills us [...]
How can grievous wrongdoing be reconciled with devotion?
The Bhagavad-gita (09.30) raises a serious question: How can grievous wrongdoing and devotion go together? To address this question, consider the ocean-anchor metaphor. We all [...]
Gita 07.19 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya In this 7th chapter now we [...]
Seeing Krishna’s love for us and showing our love for him
Many of us turn toward God after we have tried everything else in our quest to be happy and it all has left us disappointed. [...]
Beyond pat explanations for our unhealthy behaviors
Suppose an airplane crashes, leading to huge casualties and damages. When questioned about the cause of the crash, suppose the airline company reports, “The plane [...]
Gita 18.66 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 18.66 sarva-dharmān parityajya mām [...]
How to better manage our emotions
Our emotions are an essential part of who we are; without them, we would be reduced to a flavorless, robotic existence. Though they add value [...]
How curiosity can increase our self-awareness
We all are naturally curious: the many breaking news are just one among hundreds of things that cater to our curiosity. That universally present faculty [...]