Gita Acharan

  K rishna says, “A devotee who doesn’t agitate ( udveg ) the world and who is not agitated by the world, who is free from pleasure, jealousy, fear and anxiety; who is free from expectations, pure, skillful, neutral to circumstances, free from selfishness in all undertakings –is dear to Me” (12.15 and 12.16). ‘Not getting agitated and not agitating others’ is the highest form of living. Krishna explains that agitation arises from the polarities of pain and pleasure ( dukh-sukh ), which emerge when the senses meet sense-objects, such as praise or criticism. He advised us to learn to ignore them (polarities) as they are anitya (impermanent) (2.14). These polarities are nothing but the agitations we go through. In our daily lives, agitation works like the game of ‘passing the buck’. For example, we receive agitation from a superior in the workplace and pass it on to some junior or to a family member at home. But Krishna says neither to be agitated nor to agitate other...

K rishna says, “Those devotees are very dear to Me who do not hate any being, who are friendly and compassionate, who are nir-mama (sans-I) and nir-ahankaar (sans -I am doer), who are balanced in pain and pleasure ( sama-dukh-sukh ) and forgiving ( kshami ), who are ever content, self-controlled yogi , having firm conviction, and who have their mind and intellect dedicated to Me” (12.13 and 12.14). At the outset, this appears to run contrary to Krishna’s earlier assurance that none is dweshya (hateful) and none is priya (dear) to Him (9.29). While His blessings are available to everyone like rain, possessing these qualities is like keeping our bowl upright to collect water. ‘Not hating anyone’ is at the core of the Bhagavad Gita. Earlier Krishna advised us performing karmas (actions) by dropping hatred (5.3). When hatred becomes a part of us, shedding it becomes painful as it makes us lose a part of ourselves. It’s like removing a harmful cancerous tumour, the remov...

  K rishna advised abhyaas yoga ( yoga of practice) in case one is unable to fix the mind on Him. He further says, “If you are unable to do abhyaas , be diligent in performing actions in the thought of Me. Even by engaging in activities for My sake, you shall attain divine bliss ( siddhi ). If you are unable to do even this, remaining attached to Me as your shelter, relinquish the fruits of all actions to be centred in the self ( atma-vaan )” (12.10 and 12.11). Every karma (action) has a karta (doer) and karma-phal (fruits of action). One path is dedicating the sense of doership ( kartapan ) to Paramatma which Krishna describes as ‘performing actions in the thought of Him’. Another path is renouncing the fruits of action. Krishna assures that devotion to swa-karma (own deeds) leads to siddhi (perfection or freedom) (18.45). Krishna says, “Better indeed is jnana (awareness) than abhyaas (practice); better than jnana is dhyan (meditation); better than dhyan ...

K rishna advises, “Fix your mind on Me alone and surrender your intellect to Me. Thereupon, you will always live in Me. Of this, there is no doubt” (12.8). Our mind is trained to constantly divide. This ability helped us protect ourselves by quickly identifying unsafe situations which increased our chance of survival. Therefore, fixing the mind, amidst ever changing situations around us, runs contrary to our habitual patterns. Krishna is fully aware of our difficulties and says, “If you are unable to fix your mind steadily on Me, O Arjuna, then seek to reach Me by abhyaas yoga ( yoga of practice)” (12.9). Krishna earlier advised controlling the mind by practice ( abhyaas ) and dispassion ( vairagya ) (6.35); and to do regular practice with determination (6.23) to bring the restless mind under control (6.26). He cautioned that yoga is hard to attain by the ungoverned man, but it can be attained by means of striving (6.36). While miracles do happen, they are rare. Th...