Arjuna’s repeated question (Exploring the Gita chapter 5 series – 1)
In the Bhagavad-gita’s fifth chapter, Arjuna asks essentially the same question that he asked at the start of the third chapter. “Should he work or [...]
We talk frequently about death without actually talking about death
“Ten things to do before you die” – such lists are often found in self-help circles. Most readers, however, focus on the things to do, [...]
In bhakti, we don’t just make the offering – we are ourselves the offering
To connect personally with anyone, we usually offer them something with love. The same principle applies to the process of bhakti-yoga, wherein we aspire to [...]
Entrust the reins of your chariot to Krishna
The Bhagavad-gita’s chariot setting symbolizes its universality. The theme of a warrior on a chariot counseled by the charioteer harkens to a well-known Upanishadic metaphor [...]
God’s existence is a matter of not mathematical probability, but of definitional necessity
Sometimes God’s existence is inferred from empirical observation. From the complexity of material objects and their inter-relationships, and the sheer improbability of such complexity emerging [...]
Enlightenment ends the mind’s search for alternatives to Krishna
We are all searching for some object as a source of love and pleasure. Gita wisdom explains that we are actually searching for Krishna, the [...]
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 [...]
Krishna’s glories enlighten even the enlightened
The Bhagavad-gita’s essence is manifest in its four nutshell verses (10.08-11). The first two of these verses convey how Krishna’s supreme position transforms the hearts [...]
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 [...]
Social media is no substitute for spiritual media
In our fast-paced techno-centric lifestyle, social media promises to fulfill our social needs. Updates about friends make us feel less lonely. A substantial friend count [...]
Verbalization doesn’t limit God – it expands our access to him
Some people argue, “God is so great that his glory can’t be put in words – he is ineffable. Verbalizing his glory will limit him.” [...]
Krishna is the ultimate knight in shining armor
The knight in shining armor is a staple theme in fiction. Usually appearing as the savior of a damsel in distress, the knight fights to [...]
Krishna underlies and oversees, pervades and transcends, cherishes and releases
The human mind has conceived of the Absolute Truth in different ways in various traditions. Further, in the world’s great theistic traditions, God has been [...]
Personality is neither a pointer to nor a portion of the Absolute Truth – it is the pinnacle
Many Gita commentators treat Krishna as a pointer to an amorphous non-personal Absolute Truth. They consider that the less intelligent need a form to stabilize [...]
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. [...]
Love God, not the concept of God
The concept of God refers to an intellectualized or sentimentalized notion of God that is more a projection of one’s own preference than the revelation [...]
Krishna is disinterested, but not uninterested
Disinterested refers to neutrality, a lack of partisanship, whereas uninterested refers to apathy, a lack of concern. Krishna is disinterested in the sense that he [...]
Krishna is not an explanation for the unexplainable – he is the explanation for explanability
Some people conceive of God as an explanatory alternative to science: “There’s so much about the world that science can’t explain; we need God to [...]
We may be far away from Krishna, but Krishna is always close to us
The distance between two people in any relationship is a function not of bodily location but of emotional disposition. Family members living under the same [...]