Independence: A Legacy to Treasure and Transmit
My childhood memories of India’s Independence Day are bittersweet. The strongest memory is of the collective singing of the patriotic song: “जो शहीद हुए हैं, [...]
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 [...]
Let your presence in this world provide me peace and your presence beyond this world provide me purpose
Bhagavad Gita 18.77 tac ca saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya rūpam atyadbhutaṁ hareḥ vismayo me mahān rājan hṛṣyāmi ca punaḥ punaḥ Remembering repeatedly that form so joyful, [...]
Help me see your mercy in the wisdom I have received by your devotees’ mercy
Bhagavad Gita 18.75 vyāsa-prasādāc chrutavān etad guhyam ahaṁ param yogaṁ yogeśvarāt kṛṣṇāt sākṣāt kathayataḥ svayam By Vyāsa’s grace I came to hear This supreme [...]
Let me seek you with a heart that is firm, not a head that needs to confirm
Bhagavad Gita 18.74 sañjaya uvāca ity ahaṁ vāsudevasya pārthasya ca mahātmanaḥ saṁvādam imam aśrauṣam adbhutaṁ roma-harṣaṇam Sañjaya said: Thus have I heard this conversation, [...]
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 [...]
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,” [...]
Let me see your love both in your inclusivity and in your exclusivity
Bhagavad Gita 18.56 sarva-karmāṇy api sadā kurvāṇo mad-vyapāśrayaḥ mat-prasādād avāpnoti śāśvataṁ padam avyayam Though engaged in all kinds of deed, Taking full shelter in me [...]
Let me approach you not as a puzzle to be solved, but as a person to be loved
Bhagavad Gita 18.55 bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram As I truly am, know without distortion, Through the [...]
Help me see the summit of spirituality is not peace, but love
Bhagavad Gita 18.54 brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām One established in spirit, serene and free, Neither grieves nor [...]
Protect me not just from the pleasures that seduce but also from those that sedate
Bhagavad Gita 18.39 yat agre cānubandhe ca sukhaṁ mohanam ātmanaḥ nidrālasyapramādotthaṁ tat tāmasam udāhṛtam From start to end, it makes the soul numb, And leaves [...]
Help me realize passion’s deception before indulgence, not after indulgence
Bhagavad Gita 18.38 viṣayendriya-saṁyogād yat tad agre ’mṛtopamam pariṇāme viṣam iva tat sukhaṁ rājasaṁ smṛtam Born from senses meeting sense-objects dear, “This is nectar”—so [...]
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 [...]
Let the misdirection of my determination inspire its redirection to you
Bhagavad Gita 18.35 yayā svapnaṁ bhayaṁ śokaṁ viṣādaṁ madam eva ca na vimuñcati durmedhā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī That determination, dark and blind, Clings [...]
Protect me from chasing the cause of my dissatisfaction as its cure
Bhagavad Gita 18.32 adharmaṁ dharmam iti yā manyate tamasāvṛtā sarvārthān viparītāṁś ca buddhiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī Shrouded in darkness, it takes wrong for right, [...]
Let the yoga of you reaching out to me inspire my reciprocal yoga to reach out to you
Bhagavad Gita 10.7 etaṁ vibhūtiṁ yogaṁ ca mama yo vetti tattvataḥ so ’vikampena yogena yu-jyate nātra saṁśayaḥ One who knows my glories unending, And [...]
Gita 07.28 – Explanation
Gita 07.28 – Dont expect immediate steady determination – use present determination, even if unsteady Audio Link: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-07-28-dont-expect-immediate-steady-determination-use-present-determination-even-if-unsteady/ yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām te [...]
Gita 07.25 – Explanation
Gita 07.25 – Yoga Maya is a profound oxymoron Audio Link: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-07-25-yoga-maya-is-a-profound-oxymoron/ nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ mūḍho ’yaṁ nābhijānāti loko mām ajam avyayam (Bg 7.25) [...]