Gita Acharan

K rishna says that swa-dharma (own-nature or reality) is superior to well accomplished para-dharma (other’s nature or reality) even when the former is devoid of merit. It’s better to die in swa-dharma than to be fraught with fear in para-dharma (3.35). This intricate verse creates more doubts than clarity in our minds. This verse is purely contextual for Arjuna in the Kurukshetra war. Arjuna has warrior dharma till that moment and desires to be a saint in the next one. The chances for this change are bleak, and Krishna is indicating the same in this verse. While dharma or reality is One, we perceive it in different ways like how the proverbial blind men perceive the same elephant differently through their touch. If one perceives it as a tusk, then that becomes their reality or swa-dharma . In the contemporary context, it is called paradigm or frame of reference. The verse further indicates that one who perceives it as a tusk should keep pursuing his path rather t...

K rishna says that anyone who follows the teaching of the Gita with shraddha will be joyful and will be liberated from karma bandhan (bondage of action) (3.31). The word ‘ Shraddha ’ is formed by the combination of two words, ‘ Shrat ’ and ‘ Dha ’. ‘ Shrat ’ means truth, and ‘ Dha ’ means to hold or sustain. Thus, Shraddha means holding or abiding in Truth.   Shraddha is usually thought to mean belief or faith, but it is something beyond and the closest meaning is trust. In this state, we are free of doubt and all our questions dissipate. Humanity once believed that the Sun revolved around the Earth, until it was discovered that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Thus, belief is dependent on external factors while shraddha is an internal quality. Secondly, belief exists alongside its polar opposite, disbelief, whereas shraddha transcends both. Thirdly, shraddha is not blind faith, in which one is unwilling to listen to the other side. Shraddha is the assimilati...