Quick summary
A Leaf, a Flower, a Fruit, Water: Quick Summary
The Lord accepts a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water offered with devotion; it is the devotion that counts, not the worth of the gift (9.26).
English 8 min A Leaf, a Flower, a Fruit, Water
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60 pieces
Quick summary
Acting for the World: Quick Summary
For one who is content in the self there is no duty left to gain anything (3.17-18), yet he is told to act without attachment (3.19).
English 10 min Acting for the World
Quick summary
Arjuna's Questions: Quick Summary
The Gita moves by Arjuna's questions, and the Lord sends none of them back (3.1-2).
English 11 min Arjuna's Questions
Article
Arjuna's Seven Steps: The Road Through a Crisis
Arjuna's road has seven steps: shock, freezing, arguing, asking for help, learning, doubting again and acting. None of them is a fault.
In Depth English 8 min Arjuna, Our Mirror
Quick summary
By Devotion Alone: Quick Summary
The vision of the Lord is rare even for the gods, and no means, whether Vedas, austerity, giving or sacrifice, can pay its price (11.52-53).
English 10 min By Devotion Alone
Quick summary
Chapter 12: The Yoga of Devotion, an Overview: Quick Summary
In chapter 12 Arjuna asks whether the worshipper of the form or of the unmanifest is better; the Lord says that the one who fixes his mind on Him and worships with faith is best (12.1-5).
English 10 min Chapter 12: The Yoga of Devotion, an Overview
Quick summary
Equanimity: Quick Summary
Cold and heat, pleasure and pain come from the meeting of senses and objects and pass, so learn to bear them (2.14).
English 11 min Equanimity
Quick summary
Even the Worst Offender: Quick Summary
A person of very bad conduct who worships with undivided devotion is to be regarded as righteous, because he has resolved rightly (9.30).
English 10 min Even the Worst Offender
Quick summary
Four Kinds of Devotees: Quick Summary
Four reasons bring people to the Lord: distress, wish to know, some desire and knowledge; all four are called virtuous and noble (7.16, 7.18).
English 8 min Four Kinds of Devotees
Quick summary
Freedom Through Action: Quick Summary
The highest freedom from the bond of action comes not from leaving work but from giving up attachment of the intellect, the tangle of the mind and desire (18.49).
English 9 min Freedom Through Action
Quick summary
From Thought to Ruin: Quick Summary
From dwelling on an object comes attachment, from attachment desire, from desire anger, from anger confusion, then loss of memory, loss of understanding and at last ruin (2.62-63).
English 8 min From Thought to Ruin
Article
Gita 11.52-55 Verse by Verse: How the Lord Is Reached and the Five Marks of the Devotee
The Lord's form is rare even for the gods (11.52), and none of the four great means, Vedas, austerity, charity or sacrifice, can pay for the sight (11.53).
In Depth English 13 min By Devotion Alone
Article
Gita 18.72-78 Verse by Verse: Delusion Destroyed and Arjuna's Resolve
The Lord asks whether the teaching was heard with a steady mind and whether the delusion is gone (18.72).
In Depth English 10 min Delusion Gone: I Will Act
Quick summary
Karma and Akarma: Acting Without Being Bound: Quick Summary
Three things are to be known: right action, wrong action and non-action, and even the wise are confused about them (4.16-17).
English 9 min Karma and Akarma: Acting Without Being Bound
Quick summary
Knowing His Glory Leads to Devotion: Quick Summary
One who knows the Lord's glory in truth joins Him by unshakable devotion, and the wise who know Him as the source of all worship Him with love (10.7-8).
English 10 min Knowing His Glory Leads to Devotion
Quick summary
Offering All Actions: Quick Summary
Lord Krishna asks Arjuna to hand over all actions to Him, with the mind turned to the self, free from expectation, from the sense of 'mine' and from the fever of worry (3.30).
English 11 min Offering All Actions
Quick summary
One's Own Duty: Quick Summary
One's own duty done imperfectly is better than another's duty done well (3.35, 18.47).
English 9 min One's Own Duty
Quick summary
Relinquishment and Renunciation of Action: Quick Summary
Arjuna asks to know renunciation and relinquishment separately (18.1).
English 10 min Relinquishment and Renunciation of Action
Quick summary
Renunciation or Karma Yoga?: Quick Summary
Arjuna asks which is the more beneficial, renunciation or karma yoga (5.1).
English 11 min Renunciation or Karma Yoga?
Quick summary
The Devotee Dear to the Lord: Quick Summary
The devotee dear to the Lord is known not by rituals but by a way of living: no hatred, friendliness and compassion to all, evenness in pleasure and pain (12.13-14).
English 12 min The Devotee Dear to the Lord
Quick summary
The Enemy Called Desire: Quick Summary
Arjuna asks why a person sins even against his wish, and the Lord names desire and anger born of passion as the cause (3.36-37).
English 8 min The Enemy Called Desire
Quick summary
The Final Counsel: Surrender, Think, Choose: Quick Summary
The Lord tells Arjuna to hand all actions over to Him in the mind and to fix his thought on Him (18.57-58).
English 9 min The Final Counsel: Surrender, Think, Choose
Quick summary
The Illusory Energy and Surrender: Quick Summary
Maya, made of the three qualities, is the Lord's own divine energy, and it is very hard to cross alone (7.14).
English 8 min The Illusory Energy and Surrender
Quick summary
The Ladder of Devotion: Quick Summary
One who offers all actions to the Lord and holds Him as the goal is soon lifted out of the ocean of births by the Lord Himself (12.6-7).
English 10 min The Ladder of Devotion
Quick summary
The Paths: Action, Knowledge, Devotion: Quick Summary
Action, knowledge, meditation and devotion do not compete; they complete one another.
English 8 min The Paths: Action, Knowledge, Devotion
Quick summary
The Steadfast Devotee and Divine Care: Quick Summary
Great souls take refuge in the divine nature, know the Lord as the origin of all, and worship with an undivided mind (9.13).
English 8 min The Steadfast Devotee and Divine Care
Quick summary
What We Worship, We Become: Quick Summary
The Lord steadies the faith of one who worships another god with faith, and the arranging of the fruit is His (7.21, 7.22).
English 10 min What We Worship, We Become
Article
Gita Chapter 3 at a Glance: Seven Questions the Chapter Answers
Arjuna asks why act at all if knowledge is higher (3.1-2); the chapter turns the question into how to act.
In Depth English 10 min Chapter 3: The Yoga of Selfless Action, an Overview
Article
Leave It All or Keep Going? Renunciation and Karma Yoga, Gita 5.1–7 and 6.1–4
Both renunciation and karma yoga lead to the highest good, but karma yoga is the better way for the one still on the road (5.2, 5.6).
In Depth English 14 min Renunciation or Karma Yoga?
Article
What to Give Up and What Not To: Renunciation and Relinquishment, Gita 18.1–12
Renunciation is giving up actions driven by desire; relinquishment is giving up the fruit of every action (18.2).
In Depth English 13 min Relinquishment and Renunciation of Action
Article
Why the Content Still Work: Gita 3.17 to 3.26 Verse by Verse
The person who is content in the self has no duty to gain anything, yet the Gita tells even such a person to go on acting (3.17-20).
In Depth English 14 min Acting for the World
Article
Work as Sacrifice: Gita 3.9 to 3.16 Verse by Verse
Work done only for oneself binds; work done as an offering to something beyond oneself, free of attachment, frees (3.9).
In Depth English 14 min Work as Sacrifice
Article
Evenness of Mind in the Gita: From Bearing Pleasure and Pain to Seeing All Alike (Gita 2.14-15, 2.38, 5.18-20, 6.7-9)
Evenness in the Gita has three fronts: what happens to me (2.14-15), how things turn out (2.38), and how I see people and things (5.18-20, 6.7-9).
In Depth English 12 min Equanimity
Article
What Is Svadharma? Your Own Duty, Your Own Nature, and Why Borrowing Another's Way Costs So Much (Gita 3.33-35, 18.41-48)
One's own duty is the duty that fits one's own nature and qualities; all beings act from their nature (3.33).
In Depth English 15 min One's Own Duty
Article
Do the Gita's Four Paths Compete or Complete Each Other? Reading Each Comparison
The Gita lists the ways to the goal three times, and each time the list grows and nothing is dropped (2.39, 3.3, 13.25).
In Depth English 11 min The Paths: Action, Knowledge, Devotion
Article
Do the Work, Let Go of the Result? Gita 2.47 to 2.51 Explained
The right is to the work and never to the fruits, and the fruit also depends on much more than the doer (2.47, 18.14).
In Depth English 10 min Action Without Claiming the Fruit
Article
From Knowing to Deciding: Buddhi Yoga in Gita 2.39–46 and 2.52–53
After the teaching of the self (2.11–30), Lord Krishna shows how that knowing becomes living, through one resolved intellect, not through collecting more opinions (2.39–41).
In Depth English 11 min Buddhi Yoga: The Resolute Intellect
Article
How Action Stops Binding: Gita 4.16 to 4.24 Explained
There are three things to understand, right action, wrong action and inaction, and the line between action and inaction is drawn at the claim and not at the body (4.16, 4.17).
In Depth English 9 min Karma and Akarma: Acting Without Being Bound
Article
The Gita's Last Counsel, Verse by Verse: Surrender, Think, Choose (18.57 to 18.66)
The Lord asks Arjuna to give all actions to Him in the mind and to keep a steady intellect (18.57, 18.58).
In Depth English 10 min The Final Counsel: Surrender, Think, Choose
Article
The Self That Stays: Gita 2.11–30 Read in Order
The Lord's first teaching says that the one who lives in the body is the one who stays the same through every change, cannot be cut, burnt or ended (2.13, 2.20, 2.23).
In Depth English 12 min The Imperishable Self
Article
Why Stopping Work Does Not Make Us Free: Gita 3.1 to 3.8 Explained
Arjuna thinks knowing and acting are two doors and asks which one to take. The Lord shows they were never separate (3.1 to 3.3).
In Depth English 12 min Can We Simply Stop Acting?
Article
Gita 10.7-11 Verse by Verse: How Knowing the Lord's Glory Becomes Devotion
One who knows the Lord's glory in truth is joined to Him by unwavering devotion (10.7), and the wise who know Him as the source of all worship Him with love (10.8).
In Depth English 12 min Knowing His Glory Leads to Devotion
Article
Arjuna's Questions in the Gita: Wording, Order and Replies, a Closer Reading
The questions shape the Gita: three threads run through them, the call for one decisive answer (2.7, 3.2, 5.1), the marks of the ideal person (2.54, 14.21), and which of two is better (5.1, 12.1).
Deeper English 15 min Arjuna's Questions
Article
Four Steps Toward the Lord When the Mind Will Not Stay: Gita 12.6-12, Verse by Verse
One who offers all actions to the Lord and holds Him as the aim is lifted out of the ocean of worldly life by the Lord Himself, before long (12.6-7).
In Depth English 12 min The Ladder of Devotion
Article
Gita 2.31-37: What the Lord Says to Arjuna About Duty, Disgrace and Fear
The Lord speaks to Arjuna in his own language, of duty, name and what people will say; seven verses press one point each (2.31-37).
In Depth English 9 min Duty, Honour and Fear
Article
Gita Chapter 12 at a Glance: A Way to the Lord for Every Kind of Person
Chapter 12 opens with Arjuna asking whether the devotee of the Lord with form or the seeker of the unmanifest knows yoga best; the Lord names the one who fixes the mind on him with faith, and says the unmanifest path also reaches him but is harder for embodied beings (12.1-5).
In Depth English 12 min Chapter 12: The Yoga of Devotion, an Overview
Article
How a Person of Very Bad Conduct Counts as Righteous: Gita 9.30-34 Verse by Verse
A person of very bad conduct who worships the Lord with undivided devotion is to be regarded as righteous, because he has resolved rightly (9.30).
In Depth English 10 min Even the Worst Offender
Article
The Devotee Dear to the Lord: Gita 12.13-20, Verse by Verse
Chapter 12 closes with a person, not a rule: one who hates no being, is friendly and compassionate, and has offered mind and intellect to the Lord (12.13-14).
In Depth English 13 min The Devotee Dear to the Lord
Article
What Arjuna Asks in the Gita: The Fourteen Main Questions, One by One
Arjuna's questions change with his state of mind: first confusion (2.54, 3.1-2, 5.1), then the difficulty of practice (6.33-39), then the wish to know (8.1-2, 13.1, 14.21), then the wish to see (11.3-4).
In Depth English 14 min Arjuna's Questions
Article
A Leaf, a Flower, a Fruit, Water: Gita 9.26-29 Verse by Verse
The Lord accepts a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water offered with devotion; what counts is the devotion, not the cost of the gift (9.26).
In Depth English 14 min A Leaf, a Flower, a Fruit, Water
Article
Devotion or the Unmanifest: Gita 12.1-5 Verse by Verse
The Lord calls the one who fixes the mind on Him, stays steady and has supreme faith the most perfect in yoga (12.2).
In Depth English 8 min Devotion or the Unmanifest
Article
Great Souls and the Lord's Care: Gita 9.13-15 and 9.22 Verse by Verse
Great souls take shelter in the divine nature and, knowing the Lord as the source of all, worship him with a mind on nothing else (9.13).
In Depth English 11 min The Steadfast Devotee and Divine Care
Article
How to Cross the Illusory Energy: Gita 7.14-15 Verse by Verse
The illusory energy, made of the three modes of nature, is the Lord's own divine power, and crossing it by one's own strength alone is very hard (7.14).
In Depth English 10 min The Illusory Energy and Surrender
Article
Maya and Refuge: A Close Reading of Gita 7.14-15
The illusory energy is the Lord's own power, made of the modes of nature, and the way across is refuge in him alone (7.14); refuge is where effort rests, not a replacement for it (3.30, 6.5-6).
Deeper English 14 min The Illusory Energy and Surrender
Article
Offering All Actions: Gita 3.30-32 and 5.10-12 Verse by Verse
Do the work with your whole self, then hand the work and your claim on its fruit to the Lord. This is what the Gita means by offering all actions (3.30).
In Depth English 12 min Offering All Actions
Article
Where Does Karma Yoga End? Gita 18.49–56, Verse by Verse
The result of karma yoga is not that work stops but that action no longer binds, and that freedom comes by letting go of the intellect's attachment, craving and the mind's restlessness (18.49).
In Depth English 13 min Freedom Through Action
Article
Who Are the Four Kinds of Devotees? Gita 7.16-19 Verse by Verse
The Lord calls devotees who come for four reasons, distress, a wish to know, a want and wisdom, good and noble (7.16, 7.18).
In Depth English 9 min Four Kinds of Devotees
Article
Worshipping Other Deities and Reaching the Lord: Gita 7.20-23 and 9.20-25 Verse by Verse
The Lord steadies the faith of anyone who worships a deity with faith; the Gita does not scold them (7.20, 7.21).
In Depth English 10 min What We Worship, We Become
Article
The Concept of Leadership in the Bhagavad Gita: A Philosophy of Duty, Self-Control, and Lokasangraha
In the Gita, true leadership begins with mastering one's own mind, desires and reactions.
In Depth English 16 min
Article
The Gita: A Holistic Spiritual Vision Beyond Dualistic and Non-Dualistic Perspectives
The Gita contains statements pointing both to distinction and to unity, so it resists a single philosophical label.
In Depth English 16 min
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