Gita’s Newsletter

Why Krishna Did Not Use Hate Speech

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:58:33 GMT

In today’s world, violence and war rightfully alarm people, and violence in the name of religion is particularly troubling. Because the Bhagavad Gita is spoken to a reluctant warrior who ultimately decides to fight after hearing its message, some assume the text is designed to incite violence. But a closer look at Krishna's methods reveals this is entirely…

The Battlefield Metaphor: Why Intellectual Shortcuts Fail

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 10:38:53 GMT

The setting of the Bhagavad Gita is inherently jarring. Just before the climactic war of the epic Mahabharata is about to begin, the leading warrior, Arjuna, puts down his bow. Instead of rushing into combat, he and his charioteer, Krishna, engage in a profound…

Death is a Comma, Not a Full Stop

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 05:20:17 GMT

If we identify ourselves solely by our biology, our existence seems terribly fragile. We believe that birth is the absolute beginning and death is the absolute end. If our identity is based strictly on our psychology or our functional roles—such as being a successful athlete or a wealthy…

Leadership Insight: When to Translate Power into Control?

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 07:59:05 GMT

Suppose a child throws a tantrum in a public place, demanding a toy. The parent obviously has far greater power than the child. Yet does the parent…

The Mystery of Agency: Why You Are Not Your Brain

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 04:55:44 GMT

In modern neuroscience, there is a strong tendency to reduce our entire identity and consciousness to the physical brain. However, pioneering studies suggest that our conscious awareness cannot be entirely explained by biology alone.

Dr. Wilder Penfield, considered the father of neurosurgery, conducted profound experiments to discover if the brain was the true source of consciousness. Because specific parts of the brain are…

The Biological Illusion of Equality

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 04:30:35 GMT

Few things agitate the human heart as much as discrimination and unfair treatment. The aspiration for equality—the deeply held belief that everyone should be treated with dignity—is an almost unquestionable ideal in modern society. However, if we look strictly at…

Why We Must Not Reduce Ourselves to Our Roles

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 06:33:12 GMT

In life, we wear many hats and play many roles.

We possess functional identities based on our gender, age, profession, nationality, and relationship status.

While it is necessary to focus on a particular identity at a particular time, a major problem arises when we…

Adversity, Atrocity, and the True Source of Agony

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 04:15:45 GMT

We often face problems in life at three different levels of acuteness: adversity, atrocity, and agony. Adversity is what life naturally throws at us, such as a devastating earthquake. Atrocity is intentional; it is what a person tries to do to us, like a bomb…

Question: If the Bhagavad-gita recommends action rather than renunciation, why do devotees in ISKCON become brahmacharis rather than act in the world as grihasthas?

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 16:03:12 GMT

Answer: There are three distinct considerations here. First is the context of the teaching of the Gita. Second is the broader Indian tradition. And third is the specific contemporary mission of ISKCON.

First, the Bhagavad-gita was spoken at a particular time to a particular person—specifically, to Arjuna before the Kurukshetra war. And in that context, Krishna wanted Arjuna to fight. Therefore, while Krishna acknowledges renunciation and contemplative spiritual paths, he repeatedly directs Arjuna toward spiritually transformed action. Ultimately, however, the Gita does not teach action for action’s sake. It teaches…

Independence: A Legacy to Treasure and Transmit

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 01:46:05 GMT

My childhood memories of India’s Independence Day are bittersweet. The strongest memory is of the collective singing of the patriotic song:

“जो शहीद हुए हैं, उनकी ज़रा याद करो कुर्बानी।”

Those who were martyred—remember their sacrifices.

In my school days, history was one of my favorite subjects. Apart from the standard history textbooks, I read several other books, including biographies and autobiographies of India’s freedom fighters, and felt deeply inspired by their immense struggles and sacrifices.

This Independence Day, I happened to be in Gujarat. While Independence Day is celebrated widely all over India, somehow I felt the fervor of the celebration much more strongly here. It brought back memories of my school days with a vividness I had not experienced for nearly two decades.

Over the years, as I have traveled across India and across the world, I have seen how significantly the political atmosphere and the overall political dispensation can shape both our ability to practice spirituality and even our propensity to…

Why Do We Fall Short When Trying to Change?

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 17:17:38 GMT

Even when we want to change ourselves by giving up unhealthy habits and developing healthy habits, why do we fall short? How can we overcome those shortcomings?

Generally, change requires the healthy combination of two factors: the desire to change and the confidence that change is…

Chemical highs can’t cure life’s lows we need to go spiritually high

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 17:02:23 GMT

Chemical highs can’t cure life’s lows we need to go spiritually high

When life’s adversities push people down, they often feel so dejected that they desperately seek something to lift themselves. And often they turn to…

Why speech needs to be more than truthful

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 11:08:08 GMT

The Bhagavad Gita teaches that the discipline of speech involves much more than simply speaking truthfully. Along with truthfulness, it identifies three other qualities of speech: it should be non-agitating, beneficial, and pleasing or encouraging.

What happens when these qualities are absent…

How do we understand verses such as Gita 9.5 which refer explicitly to Krishna's soul as if it were different from Krishna?

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 17:05:33 GMT

One way to look at such verses is to remember that scripture is kalpataru. If it is to fulfill the desires of everyone, then it needs to fulfill even the desires of those who wish to become one with God. Just as there are verses that support the pious materialism that inspires people to…

If we have made some terrible mistake, why and how should we forgive ourselves?

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:07:36 GMT

Answer:

There are psychological, spiritual, and devotional reasons for forgiving ourselves.

Psychologically, as long as we do not forgive ourselves, we continue to hold on to resentment or even a desire to punish ourselves. These negative emotions contaminate the mind and can…

Should we be strict with ourselves and lenient with others?

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:24:09 GMT

Answer:

First, there is no scriptural basis for the idea that we should always be strict with ourselves and lenient with others. It may be a useful rule of thumb in some situations, but it is not a scripturally mandated principle.

The Bhagavad-gita (12.13) states that the devotee is…

The Bhagavad Gita on Overthinking

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 16:05:29 GMT

Bhagavad-gita 18.35 describes determination in the mode of ignorance through five mental habits that together provide a remarkably comprehensive picture of how thinking goes wrong and starts working against us instead of for us.

The first, svapna, refers to daydreaming or fantasizing, where we imagine a positive future without doing the work required in the present to prepare for it.

Bhaya, or dread, projects a negative future that…

Question: Why exactly did Arjuna collapse at the start of the Bhagavad Gita? What made him so indecisive that he became paralyzed?

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 02:37:31 GMT

Answer:

Decision-making is hard when there is no good choice. That was Arjuna’s dilemma, because both fighting and not fighting were painful options.

Fighting meant attacking and killing his own relatives, including revered elders such as Bhishma and Drona. Not fighting meant abandoning his own family and supporters to continued persecution at Duryodhana’s hands.

Decision-making becomes harder still when every…

Public Trust in Times of Protest: Why the Government Needs CIT

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 11:58:12 GMT

The images of protesting students being lathi-charged by the police are disturbing and distressing. Emotions are understandably running high.

Rather than joining those on the right who condemn the protesters wholesale, or those on the left who condemn the government wholesale, let us consider three distinct questions:

Who is behind the protests?
What is causing the protests?
How should the government respond?

I will address these questions through the acronym CIT: Communicate, Implement, Target.

Communicate

If the government believes that foreign actors are exploiting the…

If my mother doesn't want to use a pacemaker and wants me to pray to Krishna that she live without it for as long as she can, and not do anything in terms of getting a pacemaker, how should I see this

Gita Daily by Chaitanya Charan — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:25:20 GMT

Answer: There are three distinct issues here. One is your mother’s desire, the second is the medical need, and the third is your duty.

When your mother expresses a particular desire, try to understand what underlies that desire. Is it a principled aspiration to live naturally and simply and leave the body accordingly? Is it a fear of the….

Gita’s Newsletter

Why Krishna Did Not Use Hate Speech

The Battlefield Metaphor: Why Intellectual Shortcuts Fail

Bonus article: Hindi How to stay undisturbed in disturbing situations. Youth meeting, Mumbai

Death is a Comma, Not a Full Stop

Leadership Insight: When to Translate Power into Control?

The Mystery of Agency: Why You Are Not Your Brain

The Biological Illusion of Equality

Why We Must Not Reduce Ourselves to Our Roles

Adversity, Atrocity, and the True Source of Agony

Question: If the Bhagavad-gita recommends action rather than renunciation, why do devotees in ISKCON become brahmacharis rather than act in the world as grihasthas?

Independence: A Legacy to Treasure and Transmit

Why Do We Fall Short When Trying to Change?

Chemical highs can’t cure life’s lows we need to go spiritually high

Why speech needs to be more than truthful

Today’s quote:

How do we understand verses such as Gita 9.5 which refer explicitly to Krishna's soul as if it were different from Krishna?

If we have made some terrible mistake, why and how should we forgive ourselves?

Should we be strict with ourselves and lenient with others?

The Bhagavad Gita on Overthinking

Question: Why exactly did Arjuna collapse at the start of the Bhagavad Gita? What made him so indecisive that he became paralyzed?

Public Trust in Times of Protest: Why the Government Needs CIT

Today’s quote:

If my mother doesn't want to use a pacemaker and wants me to pray to Krishna that she live without it for as long as she can, and not do anything in terms of getting a pacemaker, how should I see this