99 results
Article
Told to act, to meditate and to pray, all in one month? The Gita names four ways, says they reach one place, and shows where to begin. A plain guide with a week's practice.
Level: Simple English 7 min The Paths: Action, Knowledge, Devotion
Article
How do you work hard without being tied up by praise, results and the sense of 'mine'? The Gita's verses say freedom comes not by stopping work but by loosening your grip. With one small practice for today.
Level: Simple English 6 min Freedom Through Action
Article
The Gita calls action better in one place, the yogi higher in another and the devotee most perfect in a third. Read each praise as an answer to a different question and the paths agree.
Level: Simple English 2 min The Paths: Action, Knowledge, Devotion
Article
A friend says God has no form; a grandmother says just say the name of Lord Krishna. Gita 12.1-5 says in plain words where each road leads, why one is harder, and how to choose the one your mind can walk.
Level: Simple English 4 min Devotion or the Unmanifest
Article
If you have done a lot of wrong, is it too late to turn to God? Gita 9.30-31 answers plainly: what the Lord says, what it does not mean, a short example and one small practice for today.
Level: Simple English 4 min Even the Worst Offender
Article
You finished the work and still lie awake over how it will turn out. The Gita's plain answer: do the work with your whole mind, then hand it over to the Lord. Three verses, an example and one small practice for today.
Level: Simple English 5 min Offering All Actions
Article
Worship goes on every day, yet there is bitterness toward a neighbour, and praise and blame still tip the mood. In Gita 12.13-20 the Lord says what marks a devotee who is dear to Him. Plain meaning, an everyday example and one small practice for this week.
Level: Simple English 6 min The Devotee Dear to the Lord
Article
Your mind runs off in meditation, you are tired, and work is heavy, yet you want to come closer to God. In Gita 12.8-11 the Lord gives four steps, each for the person who cannot take the one above. Plain meaning, an example and a practice for today.
Level: Simple English 5 min The Ladder of Devotion
Article
No time for a long worship, a worried mind and no one at home to talk to? Using Gita 9.27, here are three short lines that join devotion to the ordinary work of the day.
Level: Simple English 3 min Devotion in Practice
Article
A kind word in the morning lifts the whole day, and one cold remark ruins it. What the Gita says about keeping the mind level when praise and blame, gain and loss keep coming, with one small practice for today.
Level: Simple English 5 min Equanimity
Article
You pray every day, but the heart feels empty, and no one at home talks about it. Gita 10.7-11 says that seeing the Lord's greatness steadies devotion, speaking of Him together brings joy, and the Lord gives the light. One small practice.
Level: Simple English 6 min Knowing His Glory Leads to Devotion
Article
What if your mind wanders the moment you sit to pray? Gita chapter 12 gives every kind of person a step they can take today, and tells what kind of devotee the Lord holds dear.
Level: Simple English 6 min Chapter 12: The Yoga of Devotion, an Overview
Article
You fast, read and give, yet God feels distant and you carry a grudge. Gita 11.54-55 says whom the Lord is found by, and what that kind of love looks like in an ordinary life.
Level: Simple English 5 min By Devotion Alone
Article
Gita 9.26-29 in order: why the Lord accepts a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, how to make all your actions an offering, what the offering frees you from, and how He is equal to all yet near to a devotee.
Level: In Depth English 14 min A Leaf, a Flower, a Fruit, Water
Article
You understand devotion, but what do you do on a Monday with a worried mind and a difficult person? Four moments taken from the Gita: a morning offering, one act for the Lord, a pause in a hard meeting, and a review at night.
Level: In Depth English 5 min Devotion in Practice
Article
Arjuna asks whether the one who worships the Lord in a form or the one who worships the formless is better. Read Gita 12.1-5 in order: what the Lord answers, why the road of the unmanifest is harder, and how to choose your own.
Level: In Depth English 8 min Devotion or the Unmanifest
Article
Action, knowledge, meditation and devotion are each praised as best in the Gita. Read the basis of each comparison (3.3, 5.5, 6.47, 12.2, 13.25), the cautions the Gita gives each path and how the Lord's steps in 12.8 to 12.12 join them.
Level: In Depth English 11 min The Paths: Action, Knowledge, Devotion
Article
Does the Gita ask us not to care how things turn out? Gita 2.47 to 2.51 explained verse by verse: the work is ours, the result is not, and work done this way is better work.
Level: In Depth English 10 min Action Without Claiming the Fruit
Article
The Gita is set on a battlefield and tells Arjuna to rise and fight. Does it teach violence? Read where the call is made, to whom, and by what measure, in Gita 1.28-47, 2.31-37, 11.33, 12.13 and 16.2.
Level: In Depth English 4 min Arjuna's Despondency
Article
How the Gita builds evenness of mind in three steps, taken verse by verse: bearing pleasure and pain, acting the same in gain and loss, and seeing the same Self in all. With misreadings, an example and a practice.
Level: In Depth English 12 min Equanimity
Article
What if you cannot keep your mind on God? In Gita 12.6-12 the Lord gives four steps: mind and intellect on Him, repeated practice, work for Him, and giving up the fruit. Each verse explained, with a table, common misreadings, an example and a practice.
Level: In Depth English 12 min The Ladder of Devotion
Article
A verse-by-verse reading of Gita 2.39–46 and 2.52–53: how the teaching of the self becomes a steady, resolute intellect, what scatters the mind, and how the mind comes to rest so that yoga can happen.
Level: In Depth English 11 min Buddhi Yoga: The Resolute Intellect
Article
Whoever knows the Lord's glory in truth is joined to Him by unwavering devotion, and the Lord Himself gives the wisdom and lights the lamp of knowledge. Gita 10.7-11 verse by verse, with a table, an example and a seven-day practice.
Level: In Depth English 12 min Knowing His Glory Leads to Devotion
Article
After the universal form the Lord says this sight comes not through Vedas, austerity, charity or sacrifice but through undivided devotion. Gita 11.52-55 in order, a table of the five marks, an example, a seven-day practice and questions.
Level: In Depth English 13 min By Devotion Alone
Article
Why does the Lord, right after the teaching of the self, speak of duty, reputation and what people will say? Seven verses in order, where the argument stops, common misreadings, an example and three questions to carry.
Level: In Depth English 9 min Duty, Honour and Fear
Article
A map of the twenty verses of Gita chapter 12: Arjuna's question, the four steps for a mind that will not stay, and the devotee the Lord holds dear, with a guide to the reading for each part.
Level: In Depth English 12 min Chapter 12: The Yoga of Devotion, an Overview
Article
What do the great souls do in the Gita, and what does the Lord do for them? Verses 9.13-15 and 9.22 in order: undivided mind, glorifying, striving and bowing, the sacrifice of knowledge, and the promise to carry what they lack.
Level: In Depth English 11 min The Steadfast Devotee and Divine Care
Article
The Lord says a person of very bad conduct who worships with undivided devotion is to be regarded as righteous. Gita 9.30-34 taken in order: what each verse means, where the promise stops, common mistakes, an example and a practice.
Level: In Depth English 10 min Even the Worst Offender
Article
What does it mean to offer all your actions to the Lord, and how does that free you? Gita 3.30-32 and 5.10-12 in order: five things to give and drop, faith, the lotus leaf, inner purification and lasting peace, with an example and a practice.
Level: In Depth English 12 min Offering All Actions
Article
In Gita 12.13-20 the Lord lists over thirty marks and says of each group, 'such a one is dear to Me'. The marks fall into four relationships and hang from one centre. Each verse explained, with a table, common misreadings, an example and a seven-day practice.
Level: In Depth English 13 min The Devotee Dear to the Lord
Article
A chapter-by-chapter map of the Bhagavad Gita: the name, size and job of each of the eighteen chapters, and how Arjuna's questions carry the book from despair to decision.
Level: In Depth English 14 min The Eighteen Chapters at a Glance
Article
A verse-by-verse reading of Gita 2.11–30: what the Lord says the self is, why grief is aimed at the wrong thing, the second answer for the one who cannot accept the first, and what the teaching does not mean.
Level: In Depth English 12 min The Imperishable Self
Article
What does Arjuna ask in the Gita, when, and why? Fourteen main questions in the order of the book, what each shows about his state of mind, the first line of Lord Krishna's answer, and where to read the full reply.
Level: In Depth English 14 min Arjuna's Questions
Article
Why did the Lord tell Arjuna to be merely an instrument? Gita 11.31-35 in order: Arjuna's question, 'I am Time', the four named warriors, Arjuna's trembling, common misunderstandings, an example and a practice.
Level: In Depth English 14 min Merely an Instrument
Article
What the Gita means by one's own duty: how it follows from one's nature, why liking and disliking must not choose it, why another's way brings fear, and how work becomes worship. Verse by verse, with misreadings, an example and a practice.
Level: In Depth English 15 min One's Own Duty
Article
What does the Gita ask us to give up, and what must stay? Gita 18.1–12 verse by verse: renunciation and relinquishment defined, the duties that are not to be dropped, three reasons for giving up, and why only the fruit can be let go.
Level: In Depth English 13 min Relinquishment and Renunciation of Action
Article
How action stops binding and what karma yoga finally gives. Gita 18.49 to 18.56 in order: letting go of the grip, training the mind, serenity, devotion and refuge in the Lord, with an example and a practice.
Level: In Depth English 13 min Freedom Through Action
Article
Read Gita 7.16-19 in order: the one in distress, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of gain and the wise. All are dear to the Lord, so why is the wise devotee called best, and what does 'after many births' mean?
Level: In Depth English 9 min Four Kinds of Devotees
Article
A table of every comparison the Gita makes between its paths (3.3, 5.2, 5.4-5, 6.46-47, 12.1-5, 12.12): who is compared, on what measure and what follows. The praises agree once the basis is read.
Level: In Depth English 4 min The Paths: Action, Knowledge, Devotion
Article
Four voices carry the Bhagavad Gita: a blind king asks, his minister reports, Arjuna questions and Lord Krishna teaches. See why the teaching is given on a battlefield and how Arjuna's questions move it along.
Level: In Depth English 11 min What Is the Gita?
Article
If a person needs nothing, why work at all? Gita 3.17 to 3.26 verse by verse: work free of need, the example that others follow, the Lord's own action, and how the wise guide those who are attached.
Level: In Depth English 14 min Acting for the World
Article
Gita 1.28 to 2.10 read in order: how Arjuna's body, feelings and reasons give way, what Lord Krishna says first, and the one verse (2.7) where he stops arguing and asks to be taught.
Level: In Depth English 13 min Arjuna's Despondency
Article
A close reading of Gita 1.28 to 2.10: how Arjuna's body, feeling and reasons give way in turn, what Lord Krishna's first words answer, and why his last move is a request.
Level: Deeper English 18 min Arjuna's Despondency
Article
Do Arjuna's questions only open the door to the Gita, or do they shape it? Their wording, three threads that run through them, the echo of that wording in the replies, two streams of commentators, and objections answered.
Level: Deeper English 15 min Arjuna's Questions
Article
Is Gita 2.62–63 a law of the mind or a warning? Three streams of commentary, six objections and the questions the verses raise, answered from the Gita and the tradition.
Level: Deeper English 17 min From Thought to Ruin
Article
The Lord turns beings as on a machine, nature compels, and yet Arjuna is told to reflect and do as he wishes. Gita 18.57 to 18.66 read closely: how surrender and free choice belong together, the readings of the last verse and the objections answered.
Level: Deeper English 16 min The Final Counsel: Surrender, Think, Choose
Article
A close reading of Gita 2.39–46 and 2.52–53: what the single resolute intellect is, why talk of enjoyment and power blocks it, how the passage fits the Vedas, hearing and the Lord's care, and the difficulties it raises.
Level: Deeper English 16 min Buddhi Yoga: The Resolute Intellect
Article
A close reading of nine Gita verses on evenness of mind: what 'bearing' pleasure and pain means, how one can see all alike and still act differently, and how the Gita and its tradition answer the doubts that remain.
Level: Deeper English 15 min Equanimity
Article
Gita 10.7-11 moves from knowing to worshipping to the Lord's own gift. Is that a circle? If the Lord is equal to all, why does He give to some? A close reading, two streams of commentators, six objections and the questions the verses raise.
Level: Deeper English 17 min Knowing His Glory Leads to Devotion
Article
Is 'be merely an instrument' a command to kill, a statement of fate, or something else? A close reading of Gita 11.31-35, the idea of the instrument across the Gita, two streams of commentators, and objections answered.
Level: Deeper English 18 min Merely an Instrument
Article
After the universal form the Lord says that no Veda, austerity, charity or sacrifice wins this sight, and undivided devotion does. A close reading, the hard questions, two streams of commentators and a table of parallels.
Level: Deeper English 16 min By Devotion Alone
Article
A close reading of Gita 12.1-5. The Lord says both the devotee and the worshipper of the unmanifest reach Him, yet calls the devotee most united. The hard questions, two streams of commentators, and answers from the Gita and the tradition to the questions the verses raise.
Level: Deeper English 12 min Devotion or the Unmanifest
Article
Gita 12.13-20 lists over thirty marks and keeps saying 'such a one is dear to Me'. Is it a test? How can anyone be dear to a Lord who is equal to all? A close reading, two streams of commentators, five objections and five questions answered.
Level: Deeper English 18 min The Devotee Dear to the Lord
Article
In Gita 12.8-11 the Lord says three times 'if you cannot, then this', and 12.12 seems to put the lowest step on top. Is that a conflict? A close reading of each verse, two streams of commentators, five objections and four questions answered.
Level: Deeper English 15 min The Ladder of Devotion
Article
Gita 18.1–12 read closely: Arjuna asks for renunciation and relinquishment apart, the Lord defines both, then shows that duty stays and only the clinging goes. The argument, the commentators, four objections and five further questions.
Level: Deeper English 16 min Relinquishment and Renunciation of Action
Article
A close reading of Gita 18.49 to 18.56: how action stops binding, what the mind must gather and give up, the road from the state of Brahman to devotion, the hard questions, and the commentators' two streams.
Level: Deeper English 19 min Freedom Through Action
Article
After teaching the imperishable self, the Lord speaks to Arjuna in the language of duty, reputation and what others will say. A verse-by-verse reading of 2.31-37, the real difficulties, two streams of commentary, and why it is not a general case for war.
Level: Deeper English 12 min Duty, Honour and Fear
Article
A close reading of Gita 3.17 to 3.26: how 'no duty remains' and 'act for the welfare of the world' fit together, where the commentators divide, four objections answered, and the questions the verses raise.
Level: Deeper English 19 min Acting for the World
Article
A close reading of Gita 3.30-32 and 5.10-12: what is offered when nature does the acting, two streams on the mind fixed on the self and on Brahman, faith and fault-finding, seven objections answered, and what the verses leave open.
Level: Deeper English 14 min Offering All Actions
Article
In Gita 7.16-19 all four devotees are called good and noble, yet the wise one is 'My very Self'. Is the Lord partial? Is the wise a fourth kind of devotee or where the other three arrive? Five difficulties, answered from the text.
Level: Deeper English 13 min Four Kinds of Devotees
Article
In Gita 9.22 the Lord says he carries what his devotees lack and keeps what they have. To whom is this promised, and how does it fit effort and verse 2.45? A close reading of 9.13-15 and 9.22 with four hard questions.
Level: Deeper English 13 min The Steadfast Devotee and Divine Care
Article
A close reading of Gita 9.26-29: why the Lord accepts a leaf, what offering all actions means, how both good and bad results bind, and how He is equal to all yet near to devotees. Eight objections answered, with two streams of commentators.
Level: Deeper English 18 min A Leaf, a Flower, a Fruit, Water
Article
Does Gita 9.30-31 excuse bad conduct? A close reading of 'even if', 'wholly' and 'quickly', six hard questions with direct replies, two streams of commentators, and answers from the Gita and the tradition to the questions the verses raise.
Level: Deeper English 16 min Even the Worst Offender
Article
Gita chapter 12 seems to pull two ways in four places: who is best, the order of the steps, giving up undertakings against working for the Lord, and disturbing no one. The wording of each verse, the commentators' streams and the open questions.
Level: Deeper English 14 min Chapter 12: The Yoga of Devotion, an Overview
Article
Is the order of the Gita's eighteen chapters an argument or a gathering? A close look at the narrator's frame, Arjuna's sixteen questions, the verse counts, the chapter names and the verses that return.
Level: Deeper English 12 min The Eighteen Chapters at a Glance
Article
Does the Gita teach one preferred path or several ways to one goal? The verses 2.39, 3.3, 5.2, 5.6, 6.46, 12.5, 12.12 and 13.25 read closely, three streams of commentary, five objections and the questions the verses raise, answered.
Level: Deeper English 12 min The Paths: Action, Knowledge, Devotion
Article
A close reading of the two Gita passages on one's own duty: why the same verse stands in chapter 3 and chapter 18, what the four patterns of work describe, how it sits with equal vision and surrender, with objections answered.
Level: Deeper English 19 min One's Own Duty
Article
A close reading of one verse, Gita 2.47, at five distances (its words, its sentence, its neighbours, the whole Gita and your own life), with the check that belongs to each distance.
Level: Deeper English 12 min How to Read the Gita
Article
Chapter 3 rejects non-action as an exit and chapter 4 praises it as the mark of the wise. A close reading of Gita 4.16 to 4.24: two senses of akarma, five marks, and the act seen as an offering.
Level: Deeper English 11 min Karma and Akarma: Acting Without Being Bound
Article
A close reading of the Gita's hardest lines on war and killing: 2.31-37, 2.19-20, 11.33 and 18.17. Who is addressed, in what hour, and under what measure, and how readers differ on the field itself.
Level: Deeper English 8 min Arjuna's Despondency
Article
A close reading of Gita 2.47 to 2.51: what the right to action means, why the fruit is dropped as a claim, what moves the work instead, and how 2.51 can promise freedom without making it a price.
Level: Deeper English 14 min Action Without Claiming the Fruit
Article
A close reading of Gita 2.11–30: the different reasons the Lord gives for not grieving, what each assumes, how an all-pervading self can change bodies, why the verses do not license harm, and what the rest of the Gita and the tradition add.
Level: Deeper English 14 min The Imperishable Self
Quick summary
A short revision of Gita 9.26-29: the Lord accepts a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water offered with devotion, asks that every act become an offering, frees the offerer from the bonds of results, and stays near the devotee while being equal to all.
English 8 min A Leaf, a Flower, a Fruit, Water
Quick summary
Why should one who is content within still act? A short revision of Gita 3.17-26: he acts for the good of the world without attachment, and people learn from his conduct.
English 10 min Acting for the World
Quick summary
Can one work with the whole mind and not carry the weight of the result? In Gita 2.47 to 2.51 the Lord shows Arjuna this road in plain and clear words.
English 7 min Action Without Claiming the Fruit
Quick summary
Why does the Gita begin with its hero breaking down? Arjuna's body gives way, he lets go of his bow, then he turns to Krishna as a disciple seeking refuge, and the teaching begins from there.
English 11 min Arjuna's Despondency
Quick summary
A short revision of Arjuna's fourteen questions in the Gita: where each one comes, what puzzle of the mind lies behind it, and where the answer is found.
English 11 min Arjuna's Questions
Quick summary
When everyone gives different advice, how do you decide? A short revision of Gita 2.39-46 and 2.52-53, where Krishna speaks of a steady intellect with one firm resolve that keeps the mind from scattering.
English 6 min Buddhi Yoga: The Resolute Intellect
Quick summary
After the cosmic form the Lord speaks four verses: this vision is rare even for the gods, is not won by the Vedas, austerity, giving or sacrifice, but by undivided devotion, and the devotee has five marks. A short revision of Gita 11.52-55.
English 10 min By Devotion Alone
Quick summary
The twelfth chapter in short: the form or the formless, a ladder of practice when the mind will not stay, and the marks of the devotee dear to the Lord, all on one page.
English 10 min Chapter 12: The Yoga of Devotion, an Overview
Quick summary
A short revision of a small order for bringing devotion into the day: a morning offering, one task for the Lord, a pause in a hard meeting, and an evening review. Questions drawn from the verses.
English 6 min Devotion in Practice
Quick summary
Whether one worships the Lord in form or the formless, which is ahead? A short revision of Gita 12.1-5, Arjuna's question and the Lord's answer: the goal is one, but the difficulty of the road differs.
English 7 min Devotion or the Unmanifest
Quick summary
After the teaching of the self, the Lord speaks to Arjuna in the language of duty, honour and the fear of disgrace. A short revision of Gita 2.31-37: the seven verses, how far the argument goes, and the turn to an even mind in the next verse.
English 7 min Duty, Honour and Fear
Quick summary
Keeping the mind the same in pleasure and pain, gain and loss, honour and insult is the Gita's equanimity. It is not going numb or giving up work, but going on with one's work with a calm mind in every condition.
English 11 min Equanimity
Quick summary
A short revision of Gita 9.30-34: why a person of very bad conduct who turns to the Lord with his whole mind is called righteous, what that promise does not say, and the three lessons the verses hold.
English 10 min Even the Worst Offender
Quick summary
In Gita 7.16-19 the Lord says that people turn to Him for four reasons: distress, wish to know, some desire, and knowledge. All four are welcome, and the nearest is the one who comes for Him alone.
English 8 min Four Kinds of Devotees
Quick summary
How does one reach the highest freedom from the bond of action while still acting, what must the mind gather and give up, and how does peace lead on to devotion? The subject of Gita 18.49 to 18.56.
English 9 min Freedom Through Action
Quick summary
Five verses of the tenth chapter: one who knows the Lord's glory in truth joins Him by unshakable devotion, devotees find joy in talking of Him together, and the Lord Himself gives buddhi yoga and lights the lamp of knowledge. Three readings.
English 10 min Knowing His Glory Leads to Devotion
Quick summary
In fear at the cosmic form, Arjuna asks who the terrible form is. The Lord says 'I am Time' and 'be merely an instrument'. A short revision of Gita 11.31-35: the verses, their meaning and Arjuna's trembling reply.
English 10 min Merely an Instrument
Quick summary
A short revision of Gita 3.30-32 and 5.10-12: what it means to hand all actions to the Lord, why such work leaves no stain like water on a lotus leaf, and how it brings a peace that lasts.
English 11 min Offering All Actions
Quick summary
What svadharma means, why Gita 3.35 and 18.47 say one's own duty done imperfectly is better than another's done well, and why svadharma is not a family trade or caste.
English 9 min One's Own Duty
Quick summary
By Gita 18.1 to 18.12, what is the difference between renunciation and relinquishment, what is to be given up and what is not? Why sacrifice, giving and austerity are not given up, and how action done as duty is clear relinquishment.
English 10 min Relinquishment and Renunciation of Action
Quick summary
At the end of the twelfth chapter the Lord draws the picture of one dear to Him: free of hatred, friendly and compassionate, even in pleasure and pain, skilful and steady. Three readings of verses 12.13-20 and the question of what 'dear' means.
English 12 min The Devotee Dear to the Lord
Quick summary
A quick summary of the eighteen chapters of the Gita: the name, verse count and work of each chapter, in five groups, so that the whole map can be revised and explained to someone.
English 13 min The Eighteen Chapters at a Glance
Quick summary
When someone dear has gone, or we fear losing them, what is it that is really lost? In Gita 2.11 to 2.30 the Lord answers this, and does not call love or tears wrong.
English 7 min The Imperishable Self
Quick summary
What if the mind does not rest in the Lord? In Gita 12.6-12 the Lord gives four steps, each for one who cannot manage the one above, and at the end peace comes right after giving up the fruit of action. The meaning of the verses and three readings.
English 10 min The Ladder of Devotion
Quick summary
The Gita praises action, knowledge, meditation and devotion, all four. Do they clash, and where should one begin? The Lord's answer is here.
English 8 min The Paths: Action, Knowledge, Devotion
Quick summary
Gita 9.13-15 and 9.22 tell how great souls worship the Lord with an undivided mind, and how the Lord Himself carries their yogakshema, that is, brings what is lacking and keeps what they have.
English 8 min The Steadfast Devotee and Divine Care
Quick summary
What is the Gita, who is speaking to whom, why did this conversation happen on a battlefield, and what is the book for? Answers in three readings for someone reading the Gita for the first time.
English 8 min What Is the Gita?