Gita Acharan

  Krishna says, "This (Gita) is never to be spoken by you to those who are not austere ( a-tapasyay ) or to those who are not devoted ( a-bhaktaya ). It should also not be spoken to those who are averse to listening and especially not to those who cavil at Me" (18.67). The spiritual journey of unconditional love and eternal joy is adventurous as well as lonely at times. It is a path where we are not only expected to shed all the beliefs we gathered in our lives but also the sense of attachment to our physical possessions, feelings and relationships. That's why very few reach its destination (7.3). Hence, one should pursue it like tapasya with devotion. On the contrary, when it is pursued out of curiosity, it leads to the illusion of knowledge which increases ahankaar . Coming as 'the existence', Krishna mentioned about not caviling at HIM. It is the path of accepting and embracing all the diverse and seemingly contradictory aspects of this existence without a...

  One of the common fears of humanity is about committing sins ( paap ). Every culture evolved around sin and the common belief is that all our sufferings are because of sins committed by us in this birth or the previous ones. Religions thrive on our guilt of committing sins. Even Arjun's despondency is because of his belief that he will incur sin by slaying his elders, teachers and relatives. That's why Krishna elaborates on this issue on various occasions in the Bhagavad Gita. Firstly, paramatma takes no account of anyone’s virtue or sin. It is the problem of human beings who are deluded as their knowledge is covered by moha (delusion or ignorance) (5.15). Secondly, one hoping for nothing, with a controlled mind and body, doing mere bodily actions, incurs no sin (4.21). Even if we are the most sinful of sinners, we shall safely cross the sea of sin by the raft of wisdom (4.36). The wisdom is realising ‘that’ by which we will see all beings in the self (4.35). Thirdly, f...

  Krishna says, "Hear again My supreme instruction, the most confidential of all. I am revealing this for your benefit because you are very dear to Me (18.64). Always think of Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and offer obeisance to Me. Doing so, you shall come to Me. This is My promise to you, for you are very dear to Me" (18.65). These verses are not stand-alone verses. Instead, they are the culmination of what was being told earlier when Krishna said, "Remember Me all times ( sarveshu-kaleshu-anusmra ) and fight. With mind and intellect absorbed in Me you shall without doubt come unto Me” (8.7). The riddle of 'remembering Him all times' is solved when Krishna said, "United with the self, one sees the self in all beings and all the beings in the self, he sees the same everywhere (6.29). He who perceives Me everywhere and sees all in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me" (6.30). Krishna further says, "Abandon all dharmas and take re...

  'The existence' doesn't expect us to behave in a particular manner. It gives us freedom to make our own choices. But the consequences of the choices we make are subject to the natural principles enumerated in the Bhagavad Gita. The same is reflected when Krishna says, "Thus, I have explained to you this knowledge that is more secret than all secrets. Ponder over it deeply, and then do as you wish" (18.63). This verse clearly dispels the notion that Krishna is compelling Arjun to fight. Instead, at the end of the Gita Krishna gave him the freedom to choose.   This verse comes in the background of Krishna telling Arjun, "Because of ahankaar if you think 'I will not fight,' your resolution will be in vain. Your nature will compel you to fight" (18.59). Another aspect is that Krishna always told us to drop our desires and wishes, but here he says do as you wish. These aspects need to be kept in mind to understand this verse.   Firstly, aha...

  Krishna says, "The Supreme Lord dwells in the hearts of all living beings, and by His maya (cosmic delusion) makes all beings revolve as if attached to a yantra (machine)" (18.61). This is another way of saying that we are just a Nimitta Maatra -an instrument in the hands of the almighty. Krishna explained the same in a different way when He said that even if Arjun, out of Ahankaar , thinks that he will not fight his nature will still compel him to fight (18.59); we will be driven to do karmas, even when we don't want to do, out of our swa-bhav (material nature) (18.60).   'Existence' is the coherence of the manifested, like the perishable physical entities, and the un-manifested which is eternal but can't be perceived by our senses. Krishna earlier explained this through the example of a string of pearls. The pearls representing manifested and the invisible string representing the un-manifested. Both of them together form a beautiful necklace. Krishna ...

  When we don't follow natural laws there are adverse consequences. For example, if someone jumps from a height ignoring gravity, the consequences are inevitable. Krishna cautions about the consequences of violating the principles of existence or natural laws as explained by Him in the Bhagavad Gita. He says, "Fixing your mind on Me you shall overcome all obstacles and difficulties by My grace. You will perish if you do not listen to My advice due to ahankaar " (18.58). Perishing is inevitable like falling from a height when we are driven by ahankaar ( aham-karta) . Krishna says, "Because of ahankaar if you think 'I will not fight,' your resolution will be in vain. Your nature will compel you to fight" (18.59). Firstly, the war wouldn't have come to an end even if Arjun had left the battlefield. Secondly, Arjun wouldn't have sat idle when the battle was going on where his immediate family is facing danger. This verse indicates that Arjun would...

  Verses 18.41 to 18.57 of the Bhagavad Gita give contours about the confluence of karma yoga , gyana yoga and bhakti yoga . In the oft debated verse 18.41, Krishna says he created four varnas (social classifications) based on gunas springing from their nature. He further explained about different types of karmas performed by them in the day to day life (18.42-18.44). He reveals a secret that with devotion to swa-karma (one's deed) one attains siddhi (perfection or freedom) as this devotion towards karma is nothing but worshipping HIM (18.44-18.46). This clarifies that it doesn't matter what we do but what matters is the devotion with which we do our karmas or responsibilities. This is the path of attaining the eternal siddhi through devotion to karma which is nothing but the pinnacle of karma yoga . Krishna continues to guide those on the path of awareness or gyan yoga and declares that all the karmas are marred by blemishes (18.48). Hence, HE advises that we s...

  Krishna says, "Serene in the self by being engrossed in the Brahman (the eternal), neither grieves nor desires and beholds equality in all beings, such a yogi attains parama bhakti (supreme devotion) to Me (18.54). By that supreme devotion he knows My essence -what and who I am; after knowing these truths, he quickly makes his entry into that (Me)" (18.55). Firstly, these verses indicate that parama bhakti is beholding equality in all beings which transcends our general understanding of bhakti as devotion to Gods. Bhakti is unconditional love towards all beings by beholding equality. The second indication is that parama bhakti is a state of no desires and not a ritual to fulfill our desires by satisfying our beloved Gods. Thirdly, this equanimity leads to the understanding of who really HE is. It is like a salt doll melting in the ocean and becoming one with the ocean by shedding the illusion of its own existence. Krishna further says, "While performing all kin...

Karna and Arjun were born to Kunti but ended up fighting for the opposite sides. Karna was cursed because of which his knowledge and experience of warfare didn't come to his rescue during the crucial fight with Arjun. He lost the war and was killed.  This situation applies to all of us as we're like Karna, we learn a lot during our lives, gain knowledge and experience. But at crucial moments we think and act on our instincts rather than out of awareness, as the depth of our awareness is below the required threshold. Krishna is fully aware of this and repeatedly explains the reality and truth from different angles in the Gita, so that the awareness sinks deeper and crosses the required threshold - the event horizon. The Gita emphasizes that we have an inner self and an outer self, which are like two banks of a river. Usually we identify with the outer self, consisting of the physical body, our emotions, thoughts and the world around us. Krishna tells us to realise th...

Krishna says that we have the right to do karma (action) but have no right over karma-phal (fruits of action). This does not mean that we gravitate towards akarma , which is inaction or mere reaction to circumstances.  Though Krishna uses the word akarma (whose literal meaning is inaction), the context suggests that it connotes 'reaction'. Verse (2.47) talks of awareness and compassion; awareness that karma and Karma-phal are separate and compassion towards others and ourselves.  Krishna says that without performing karma , our survival is impossible (3.8) as maintenance of the physical body requires karma like eating etc. The Gunas ( satva, tamo and rajo) constantly drive us towards karma (3.5). Hence, there is hardly any place for akarma .  If we observe our tendencies while going though the news, we'll realise the number of reactions these activities (karmas) generate when we see, hear or read about our shared myths and beliefs like religion, cast...

Vahi Arjun Vahi Baan (Same Arjun Same Arrow), is often used to describe a situation when a successful/competent person fails to perform.  Arjun, as a warrior, never lost a war. During the latter part of his life, he lost a minor battle in which he was supposed to save some family members from a group of bandits. He explains this situation to his brother and says: "I don't know what happened. I'm the same Arjun and these are the same arrows that had won the Kurukshetra war, but this time my arrows could neither find their target nor had power." He explained that he had to run away and couldn't protect the family. Life's experiences tell us that this can happen to any of us. Many a time, talented sportspersons just lose their form for sometime. An actor, singer simply fails. This is attributed to Bhagya (luck), bad time etc. and for sure nobody knows why. There is hardly any scientific explanation for the same except for conjectures and surmises. ...