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 [...]
Does Krishna teach Arjuna that all paths lead to the same goal? – part 2
As discussed in the first part of this series, the idea that all paths lead to the same goal doesn’t hold true for Arjuna’s different [...]
How Krishna uses the same truth to prompt Arjuna to do opposite things
When Arjuna puts aside his bow (01.46) at the start of the Kurukshetra war, one way that Krishna urges Arjuna to pick up his bow [...]
What Krishna’s first and last instructive words reveal
In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna’s first instructive verse is 02.11. Though he speaks some verses earlier, those verses are either simply indicative (01.25) or friendly exhortative [...]
Gita 12.12 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan This is single most complicated [...]
What the Gita’s questions tell us about Arjuna as a student
During a class, the questions a student asks tells the teacher how much the student is involved in the learning process. Arjuna’s questions in the [...]
The Gita’s seventeen questions at a glance
Out of the Bhagavad gita seventeen chapters, where Krishna is the main speaker, nine begin with a question: 2.7, 3.1-2, 5.1, 8.1-2, 11.1-4, 12.1, 13.1, [...]
Gita 11.08 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 11.8 na tu māṁ [...]
Gita 11.03 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 11.3 evam etad yathāttha [...]
Gita 13.26 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 13.26 anye tv evam [...]
Why does Krishna give Arjuna special eyes to see the universal form?
The universal form is a revelation, which essentially means it is something not normally accessible to us humans, but made accessible by divine intervention. How [...]
What is the universal form? Why does Arjuna want to see it?
The term ‘universal form’ essentially refers to a form that shows Krishna’s presence, power, purpose spread across the entire universe. The universal form pervades the [...]
Gita 12.01 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan 12th chapter is called Bhakti [...]
Gita 07.29 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Now Sri Krishna will introduce [...]
Gita 13.01-02 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan We are in 13th chapter [...]
How Krishna tests Arjuna in the Gita
When giving a class, good teachers want to know how well their students are hearing and understanding. To that end, they sometimes include in their [...]
What does the complex philosophy of the Gita’s thirteenth chapter mean for Arjuna?
The Bhagavad gita thirteenth chapter is its most philosophically dense chapter. How is all this philosophy relevant to Arjuna on the battlefield? What does the [...]