The Battlefield Metaphor: Why Intellectual Shortcuts Fail
The setting of the Bhagavad Gita is inherently jarring. Just before the climactic war of the epic Mahabharata is about to begin, the leading warrior, [...]
Death is a Comma, Not a Full Stop
If we identify ourselves solely by our biology, our existence seems terribly fragile. We believe that birth is the absolute beginning and death is the [...]
The Mystery of Agency: Why You Are Not Your Brain
In modern neuroscience, there is a strong tendency to reduce our entire identity and consciousness to the physical brain. However, pioneering studies suggest that our [...]
Why We Must Not Reduce Ourselves to Our Roles
In life, we wear many hats and play many roles. We possess functional identities based on our gender, age, profession, nationality, and relationship status. While [...]
Adversity, Atrocity, and the True Source of Agony
We often face problems in life at three different levels of acuteness: adversity, atrocity, and agony. Adversity is what life naturally throws at us, such [...]
How Gita wisdom helped me transcend polio
Recently, during my travels to America, a devotee-doctor in Washington, D.C., suggested that I consult a polio specialist to evaluate the long-term effects I might [...]
Question: What are the differences between the needs of the body and the needs of the soul?
Answer: They are two distinct levels of reality. Just as a car and a driver have different needs, the body and the soul also have [...]
Why has God created our mind to act as our enemy so frequently and forcefully?
God has provided us with the mind as a functional tool to link our spiritual selves with our physical bodies. However, the specific way the [...]
Four meanings of consciousness
The many meanings of consciousness and how they matter Consciousness is a frequently discussed concept among those seeking personal and spiritual growth. Gaining a clearer [...]
Lead me out of my ego’s web by your love’s WEB: wisdom, expertise, benevolence
Bhagavad Gita 18.58 mac-cittaḥ sarva-durgāṇi mat-prasādāt tariṣyasi atha cet tvam ahaṅkārān na śroṣyasi vinaṅkṣyasi "Focus on me, and all duality you will transcend, By [...]
Let the realization of your position transform my conviction and aspiration
Bhagavad Gita 18.78 yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ tatra śrīr vijayo bhūtir dhruvā nītir matir mama Where Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of mystic perfection, [...]
Let my conviction in what you do remove my confusion about what I am to do
Bhagavad Gita 18.73 arjuna uvāca naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā tvat-prasādān mayācyuta sthito ’smi gata-sandehaḥ kariṣye vacanaṁ tava Arjuna said: My illusion is destroyed; my [...]
Let your love for me inform and transform my love for life
Bhagavad Gita 18.61 īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā The Lord within all hearts resides, And there, O Arjuna, gently guides; All [...]
Lead me to see you not just as a dispassionate teacher but also as a passionate lover
Bhagavad Gita 18.64 sarva-guhyatamaṁ bhūyaḥ śṛṇu me paramaṁ vacaḥ iṣṭo ’si me dṛḍham iti tato vakṣyāmi te hitam Now hear from me the most secret [...]
Let your wisdom restore my intelligence and redirect my independence
Bhagavad Gita 18.63 iti te jñānam ākhyātaṁ guhyād guhyataraṁ mayā vimṛśyaitad aśeṣeṇa yathecchasi tathā kuru Thus have I spoken wisdom invaluable, Among secrets, this is [...]
Free me from the illusion that I am free
Bhagavad Gita 18.59 yad ahaṅkāram āśritya na yotsya iti manyase mithyaiṣa vyavasāyas te prakṛtis tvāṁ niyokṣyati If, clinging to ego, you think, “I won’t fight,” [...]
Lead me through the poison of inner cleansing to the nectar of inner cherishing
Bhagavad Gita 18.37 yat tad agre viṣam iva pariṇāme ’mṛtopamam tat sukhaṁ sāttvikaṁ proktam ātma-buddhi-prasāda-jam That which first tastes like poison bitter, But is [...]
Lead me to the happiness that ends distress, not to the happiness that ends in distress
Bhagavad Gita 18.36 sukhaṁ tv idānīṁ tri-vidhaṁ śṛṇu me bharatarṣabha abhyāsād ramate yatra duḥkhāntaṁ ca nigacchati Now, O best of Bharatas, hear, Of threefold [...]
Make me determined to not just pursue the desirable but also determine what is truly desirable
Bhagavad Gita 18.34 yayā tu dharma-kāmārthān dhṛtyā dhārayate ’rjuna prasaṅgena phalākāṅkṣī dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha rājasī That determination which holds on tight, To pleasure and [...]
Gita 07.03 – Explanation
Gita 07.03 – The rarity of knowing Krishna reveals the mercy we have the opportunity to relish Link - https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-07-03-the-rarity-of-knowing-krishna-reveals-the-mercy-we-have-the-opportunity-to-relish/ manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye [...]
Gita 05.04 – Explanation
Gita 5.4 - See beyond the diversity of process to the commonality of purpose Audio link: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-05-04-see-beyond-the-diversity-of-process-to-the-commonality-of-purpose/ sāṅkhya-yogau pṛthag bālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ ekam apy [...]