25 results
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Article
Fear of what others will say can stop us from doing what we should. Why the Lord speaks to Arjuna in the language of duty and reputation, and how the very next verse loosens the grip of that fear.
Level: Simple English 5 min Duty, Honour and Fear
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
Is it wrong to pray to a deity for exam results, health or a job? The Gita says the Lord steadies your faith and arranges what you receive, but what you receive does not last. Here is the next step.
Level: Simple English 4 min What We Worship, We Become
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 copy a louder colleague or a cousin's career, and you end up tired and unsure. The Gita says your own way, done imperfectly, beats another's way done well, and tells you why. One practice for this week.
Level: Simple English 6 min One's Own Duty
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
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
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
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 say about worshipping other deities and praying for things? The Lord steadies faith and arranges the result, but the result is perishable. Gita 7.20-23 and 9.20-25 in order, with an example and a practice.
Level: In Depth English 10 min What We Worship, We Become
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 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
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
In Gita 7.20-23 and 9.20-25 the Lord steadies the faith of those who worship other deities and grants what they seek, yet calls the result perishable. Is that respect or criticism? A close reading, four difficulties and the commentators.
Level: Deeper English 13 min What We Worship, We Become
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
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
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
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
In Gita 7.20-23 and 9.20-25 the Lord tells that He steadies the faith of one who worships other gods and gives the fruit by His own law, but that fruit is perishable. What we worship, we reach.
English 10 min What We Worship, We Become
Hub
After the teaching of the imperishable self, the Lord speaks to Arjuna in the language of duty, reputation and fear of disgrace. Gita 2.31-37: seven verses, how far the appeal goes, and the turn to an even mind in the next verse.
Hub
Keeping the mind level when pleasure and pain, gain and loss, praise and blame come and go: the Gita's teaching of evenness on three fronts, and what it is not.
Hub
Why do we tire ourselves wearing someone else's way? The Gita says one's own duty, done imperfectly, is better than another's done well. Start here for readings at three depths.
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
In Gita 7.20-23 and 9.20-25 the Lord says he steadies the faith of those who worship other deities and arranges what they receive, but that the result is perishable. You reach what you worship.