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 [...]
I need you the most whenever I feel that I need you the least (2.60)
Bhagavad Gita 2.60 yatato hy api kaunteya puruṣasya vipascitaḥ indriyāṇi pramāthīni haranti prasabhaṁ manaḥ "Even those who are wise and strong, The senses can [...]
Please change the memories replaying inside me (2.59)
Please change the memories replaying inside me Bhagavad Gita 2.59 viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ rasa-varjaṁ raso ’py asya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate "From sense pleasures [...]
Understanding what pushes us toward transcendence and what pulls us toward transcendence
Intelligence means keeping accessible not just the factors that push us toward transcendence but also those that pull us. When we aspire to grow spiritually [...]
How desire abducts and abandons us
Desire abducts with the promise of pleasure and abandons us in the province of trouble. The Bhagavad Gita (18.38) states that sensual desires lead us [...]
Preventing the need for food from becoming greed for food
Detachment arises from understanding that desire can only be dealt with by tolerating it, never by titillating it. We all face sensual desires, and it [...]
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 [...]
The essence of karma philosophy is not punishment but encouragement
The essence of karma philosophy is not punishment but encouragement The concept of karma has become widespread to the point of having gained mainstream acceptance, [...]
Importance of intelligence in meditation
Our intelligence is meant to be our protector, akin to an inner guard. We need such a guard because inside us is our mind, which [...]
Does surrender mean that God manages our life for us?
The Bhagavad-gita begins and ends with surrender. But these two forms of surrender are significantly different. The initial surrender in 2.7 happens when Arjuna acknowledges [...]
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 [...]
Are we in charge of our inner world?
The Bhagavad Gita (6.6) warns us that our mind can be our enemy if we are not in control of it. In politics, there are [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Anxiety — circumstantial vs existential
Circumstantial anxieties are unavoidable because, no matter how much control we have over our external environment, there will always be some things beyond our [...]
How to be present in the present
To be present in the present, we need to learn to focus gradually and incrementally. If our mind is wandering, we can bring it back [...]
Why to identify with villains in scriptures?
Whenever we study scriptures, we tend to identify with the virtuous characters, whether it is Ram or Sita or Hanuman. That's good, but it's also [...]
Gita 02.11 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
2.11-2.30: counters first argument – compassion – by Gyana And now Krishna begins that is the next verse. BG 2.11 sri-bhagavan uvaca asocyan anvasocas [...]
When losing peace of mind is good
Lessons that disturbed our peace of mind may well take us toward peace of the heart. Sometimes, we may value peace to such an extent [...]