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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19 pieces
Article
Gita 11.52-55: The Rare Sight of the Lord, Undivided Devotion and the Hard Questions, a Close Reading
The sight of the Lord's form is rare even for the gods (11.52), and none of the four great means, Veda study, austerity, charity or sacrifice, can claim it as a price (11.53).
Deeper English 16 min By Devotion Alone
Quick summary
How to Read the Gita: Quick Summary
Begin with one question and one verse.
English 9 min How to Read the Gita
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
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
Quick summary
Work as Sacrifice: Quick Summary
Action done in the spirit of sacrifice frees; all other action binds in this world (3.9).
English 12 min Work as Sacrifice
Article
Gita 3.9 to 3.16: Why Work Done Without Giving Back Binds
Work done for any purpose other than sacrifice binds; work done as an offering and free of attachment frees (3.9).
Deeper English 19 min Work as Sacrifice
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
The Gita on Work Pressure: Three Layers, Three Handles, and a Workday Practice (Gita 2.14, 2.47-51, 3.30, 5.12)
Work pressure has three layers: the demand of the work, the fear of the outcome and the wave of panic inside.
In Depth English 12 min Working Under Pressure
Article
Work Pressure in the Gita, Read Closely: The Right to Act, the Fruit and the Fever (Gita 2.14, 2.47-51, 3.30, 5.12)
The right is to the action, and the action includes effort, planning and answerability for one's own part; what is given up is the clutch on a result that has many causes (2.47, 18.14-15).
Deeper English 14 min Working Under Pressure
Article
How to Read the Gita: Order, Translation, Commentary and a Question of Your Own
Four choices decide how you read the Gita: the order, the translation, the commentary and a question of your own.
In Depth English 10 min How to Read the Gita
Article
Who Speaks in the Gita, and Why Does the Teaching Begin in a War?
Four voices carry the Gita. Dhritarashtra asks, Sanjaya reports, Arjuna questions and Lord Krishna teaches.
In Depth English 11 min What Is the Gita?
Article
Gita 12.13-20: The Devotee Dear to the Lord, a Close Reading
The eight closing verses of chapter 12 draw one person: the centre is mind and intellect offered to the Lord (12.14), and the marks are what that centre looks like in dealing with beings, feelings, events and work (12.13-19).
Deeper English 18 min The Devotee Dear to the Lord
Article
Gita Chapter 12, Read Closely: Four Places Where It Seems to Pull Two Ways
Chapter 12 does not defeat any path: it says which road is easier for a person in a body, gives four steps by capacity, and makes conduct the proof of devotion (12.1-20).
Deeper English 14 min Chapter 12: The Yoga of Devotion, an Overview
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
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
Gita 7.20-23 and 9.20-25: Worship of Other Deities and What It Brings, a Close Reading
The Lord steadies the faith of anyone who worships a deity, and says that what the worshipper receives is his own arrangement (7.21, 7.22).
Deeper English 13 min What We Worship, We Become
Article
Gita 9.26-29, a Close Reading: Why Does the Lord Accept a Leaf?
What reaches the Lord is not the thing offered but the devotion carried in it, so a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water is enough (9.26).
Deeper English 18 min A Leaf, a Flower, a Fruit, Water
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
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How the library is organised
- Path A guided route through several topics, in order.
- Hub One topic, read at three depths, plus a quick summary.
- Article A single piece to read, at one depth.
- Quick summary Short on time. The whole topic in a few minutes.
- New to this topic. Plain words, one idea at a time.
- Know the basics. Verse by verse, with reasons.
- Want the text itself: Sanskrit terms, commentary, close reading.