59 results
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
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
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
Arjuna asks to see whom he must fight, Lord Krishna grants it and says one word, and the sight of his own people changes everything. A verse-by-verse reading of Gita 1.20–27 and why the Gita begins here.
Level: In Depth English 11 min Arjuna on the Field
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
What is action, what is wrong action and what is inaction? Gita 4.16 to 4.24 explained in order: how a person can act all day and not be bound, through five marks and a vision of the act as an offering.
Level: In Depth English 9 min Karma and Akarma: Acting Without Being Bound
Article
Four choices decide how you read the Gita: the order, the translation, the commentary and the question you bring. Here is a practical way to make each one, with the Gita's own advice on study.
Level: In Depth English 10 min How to Read the Gita
Article
Must you give up everything to find peace, or can you keep working and still be free? Gita 5.1–7 and 6.1–4 verse by verse: why the Lord calls both paths good, why karma yoga is better, and what real renunciation is.
Level: In Depth English 14 min Renunciation or Karma Yoga?
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
What does the Lord ask of Arjuna in his closing counsel? Gita 18.57 to 18.66 in order: give the actions in the mind, take refuge, reflect fully, then choose freely, with the promise and the last word, do not grieve.
Level: In Depth English 10 min The Final Counsel: Surrender, Think, Choose
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
The Gita says 'I do nothing' in one place and counts the doer among five causes in another. Read the verses from 3.27 to 18.17 in order, and see how pride and guilt both grow lighter without effort being lost.
Level: In Depth English 13 min Who Is the Doer?
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 action binds and knowledge is higher, why not stop acting? Gita 3.1 to 3.8 explained in order: no one can stop, the pretender, the better way, and why action beats inaction.
Level: In Depth English 12 min Can We Simply Stop Acting?
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
Why does the Gita say all work except sacrifice binds? Gita 3.9 to 3.16 verse by verse: the meaning of sacrifice, the wheel of giving and receiving, the thief, and a life lived in vain.
Level: In Depth English 14 min Work as Sacrifice
Article
An attempt to understand the Gita not merely through Dualistic or Non-Dualistic perspectives, but as an integrated spiritual journey of Bhakti, Jnana, and Karma Yoga.
Level: In Depth English 16 min
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 Gita says nature performs all action, then counts the doer among five causes. Why these claims do not clash, where 18.16–17 is hard, and where the commentators divide: a verse-by-verse reading.
Level: Deeper English 16 min Who Is the Doer?
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 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 3.9 to 3.16: what sacrifice means, why the one who takes without giving is called a thief, where the readings differ, four objections answered, and the questions the verses raise.
Level: Deeper English 19 min Work as Sacrifice
Article
A close reading of Gita 5.1–7 and 6.1–4: why the Lord calls both paths good yet ranks them, what real renunciation is, where the commentators differ, four objections answered, and the questions the verses raise.
Level: Deeper English 19 min Renunciation or Karma Yoga?
Article
Gita chapter 3 seems to say opposite things: knowledge is higher yet act, the self-satisfied has no duty yet act, follow your nature yet master it. A close reading of how the sequence of 43 verses resolves each, with objections and open questions answered.
Level: Deeper English 13 min Chapter 3: The Yoga of Selfless Action, 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
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
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
Article
Arjuna asks to see, Lord Krishna places the chariot and says one word, and the sight of his own people undoes Arjuna's resolve. A close reading of Gita 1.20–27, with parallels, readings and objections.
Level: Deeper English 15 min Arjuna on the Field
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
Arjuna lifts his bow and asks Krishna to drive the chariot between the two armies, and then sees his own people on both sides. A short revision of Gita 1.20-27, the moment from which the need for teaching begins.
English 9 min Arjuna on the Field
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
When tired and ready to give up everything, is it possible to stop acting? In Gita 3.1 to 3.8 the Lord tells that giving up action does not bring freedom, and what the right road is.
English 7 min Can We Simply Stop Acting?
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Chapter 3 of the Gita at a glance: Arjuna asks why act if knowledge is greater, and the Lord answers: do not give up work, change the way you hold it. The whole chapter in seven steps.
English 10 min Chapter 3: The Yoga of Selfless Action, an Overview
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
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
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Want to read the Gita but unsure where to begin and how to go on? Plain advice here on the order of reading, and on choosing a translation and a commentary, in three levels.
English 9 min How to Read the Gita
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Right action, wrong action and non-action are told apart in Gita 4.16 to 4.24. It shows how one can work all day and still not be bound.
English 9 min Karma and Akarma: Acting Without Being Bound
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
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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
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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
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Is it necessary to give up everything for peace, or can one stay free while working? Arjuna's question and the Gita's answer: both paths give the supreme good, and karma yoga is the better.
English 11 min Renunciation or Karma Yoga?
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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
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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
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How can the burden of carrying everything alone be put down without giving up duty and thought? In Gita 18.57 to 18.66 the Lord gives His last counsel, asks Arjuna to take refuge, and leaves the choice to him.
English 9 min The Final Counsel: Surrender, Think, Choose
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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
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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
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The Gita says that the qualities of nature do all action and the self is not the doer, yet it counts the doer among the five causes of every action. Gita 3.27-29, 5.8-14 and 18.13-17 on the mistake of 'I do everything' and its remedy.
English 9 min Who Is the Doer?
Quick summary
Why does work feel like a burden, and what does it mean in Gita 3.9-16 to make work a sacrifice? See how work done for a good larger than oneself frees instead of binds.
English 12 min Work as Sacrifice