20 results
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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
You promise to stop and then do it again, knowing better. Arjuna asked the same question, and the Gita names the push behind it, how it covers what you know, and the order in which to meet it.
Level: Simple English 6 min The Enemy Called Desire
Article
A small remark, and the evening is gone. The Gita shows anger as the fourth step of a chain that starts with what the mind keeps dwelling on, and where that chain is easiest to stop.
Level: Simple English 6 min From Thought to Ruin
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
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
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
Eight verses on why a person acts against his own will: Arjuna's question, the enemy named, how it covers knowledge, where it sits, and the order in which it is met. Each verse in plain words.
Level: In Depth English 11 min The Enemy Called Desire
Article
Gita 2.62–63 walks from dwelling on an object through attachment, desire, anger, delusion, confused memory and lost intellect to ruin. Each step in plain words, with the neighbouring verses.
Level: In Depth English 12 min From Thought to Ruin
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
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
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
Does the Gita name an outside force or a state of the person as what drives us against our will? Three streams of commentary, seven objections and the questions Gita 3.36–43 raises, answered from the Gita and the tradition.
Level: Deeper English 14 min The Enemy Called Desire
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
How does dwelling on a thing lead a person to ruin? The seven steps are in two verses of the Gita (2.62-63), and here also the place where the chain is most easily broken.
English 8 min From Thought to Ruin
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
Why does a person do wrong even when he knows what is right, as if someone were dragging him? In Gita 3.36 to 3.43 the Lord answers this and shows in what order this enemy is to be met.
English 8 min The Enemy Called Desire
Hub
Four closing words of the Lord after the universal form: this sight is rare even for the gods, no Veda, austerity, charity or sacrifice wins it, undivided devotion does, and the devotee has five marks. Three readings.
Hub
How a quiet thought grows into attachment, desire, anger, delusion and ruin, in seven steps (Gita 2.62–63), and why the early steps are the easy place to stop.
Hub
At the end of chapter 12 the Lord draws the person who is dear to Him: free of hatred, friendly and compassionate, level in pain and pleasure, skilful and steady. Three readings of Gita 12.13-20, and what 'dear' means.
Hub
Why do we do what we do not want to do? Arjuna's question and the Lord's answer in Gita 3.36–43: desire and anger as the enemy that covers knowledge, and the order in which it is met.