chañchalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛiṣhṇa pramāthi balavad dṛiḍham tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye vāyor iva su-duṣhkaramśhrī bhagavān uvācha asanśhayaṁ mahā-bāho mano durnigrahaṁ chalam abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa cha gṛihyate The mind is very restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate, O Krishna. It appears to me that it is more difficult to control than the wind.Lord Krishna said: O mighty-armed … Continue reading [Bhagavad Gita] – Chapter 6 verse 34 – 35

śhubhāśhubha-phalair evaṁ mokṣhyase karma-bandhanaiḥ sannyāsa-yoga-yuktātmā vimukto mām upaiṣhyasi By dedicating all your works to Me, you will be freed from the bondage of good and bad results. With your mind attached to Me through renunciation, you will be liberated and will reach Me. Every action has defects, just as fire is covered by smoke.  When … Continue reading [Bhagavad Gita] – Chapter 9 verse 28

nādatte kasyachit pāpaṁ na chaiva sukṛitaṁ vibhuḥ ajñānenāvṛitaṁ jñānaṁ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ The omnipresent God does not involve Himself in the sinful or virtuous deeds of anyone. The living entities are deluded because their inner knowledge is covered by ignorance. God is not responsible either for anyone’s virtuous deeds or sinful actions.  God’s work in … Continue reading [Bhagavad Gita] – Chapter 5 verse 15

na māṁ duṣhkṛitino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ māyayāpahṛita-jñānā āsuraṁ bhāvam āśhritāḥ Four kinds of people do not surrender unto me—those ignorant of knowledge, those who lazily follow their lower nature though capable of knowing me, those with deluded intellect, and those with a demoniac nature. Shree Krishna has given four categories of people who do not … Continue reading [Bhagavad Gita] – Chapter 7 verse 15

yaḥ sarvatrānabhisnehas tat tat prāpya śhubhāśhubham nābhinandati na dveṣhṭi tasya prajñā pratiṣhṭhitā One who remains unattached under all conditions, and is neither delighted by good fortune nor dejected by tribulation, he is a sage with perfect knowledge. Rudyard Kipling, a famous British poet, has encapsulated the essence of this verse on Sthita prajña (Sage of steady intelligence) … Continue reading [Bhagavad Gita] – Chapter 2 verse 57

śhreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj jñānād dhyānaṁ viśhiṣhyate dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas tyāgāch chhāntir anantaram Better than mechanical practice is knowledge; better than knowledge is meditation. Better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of actions, for peace immediately follows such renunciation. Many people are at the level of mechanical practice.  They perform the rituals enjoined by their … Continue reading [Bhagavad Gita] – Chapter 12 verse 12

yady apy ete na paśhyanti lobhopahata-chetasaḥ kula-kṣhaya-kṛitaṁ doṣhaṁ mitra-drohe cha pātakam kathaṁ na jñeyam asmābhiḥ pāpād asmān nivartitum kula-kṣhaya-kṛitaṁ doṣhaṁ prapaśhyadbhir janārdana Their thoughts are overpowered by greed and they see no wrong in annihilating their relatives or wreaking treachery upon friends. Yet, O Janardan (Krishna), why should we, who can clearly see the crime … Continue reading [Bhagavad Gita] – Chapter 1 verse 38-39

uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayetātmaiva hyātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ Elevate yourself through the power of your mind, and not degrade yourself, for the mind can be the friend and also the enemy of the self. We are responsible for our own elevation or debasement. Nobody can traverse the path of God-realization for us. Saints and … Continue reading [Bhagavad Gita] – Chapter 6 verse 5

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastiniśhuni chaiva śhva-pāke cha paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśhinaḥ The truly learned, with the eyes of divine knowledge, see with equal vision a Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater. When we perceive things through the perspective of knowledge, it is called prajñā chakṣhu, which means “with the eyes of knowledge.”  Shree Krishna … Continue reading [Bhagavad Gita] – Chapter 5 verse 18

sargāṇām ādir antaśh cha madhyaṁ chaivāham arjunaadhyātma-vidyā vidyānāṁ vādaḥ pravadatām aham O Arjun, know me to be the beginning, middle, and end of all creation. Amongst sciences I am the science of spirituality, and in debates I am the logical conclusion. Earlier in the twentieth verse, Shree Krishna had stated that he is the beginning, … Continue reading [Bhagavad Gita] – Chapter 10 verse 32