Bhakti Collective

Tag: Bhagavad-gita

  • Sri Ramanuja on Karmayoga

    Sri Ramanuja is one of the great teachers of karmayoga, the discipline which unites action and contemplation. In his commentary on the Bhagavad-gita, Ramanuja argues that karmayoga is essential for all yogins, and is especially important in preparing oneself for higher practices of bhakti. I have translated the following commentary, which provides insight into a…

  • Slumdog Millionaire: An Oscar for Hope in the Face of Hopelessness

    Even as the world celebrates the eight Oscars that “Slumdog Millionaire” took home tonight – including the coveted Best Picture and props to A.R. Rehman’s infectious soundtrack – in its native Mumbai, the film remains a hotbed of controversy and a musical metaphor for India’s conflicted view of itself. It is hailed for shedding light…

  • Sense Gratification: An Essay in Pathology

    In Bhagavad-gita (5.22) Krishna says this about enjoyment of the senses: ye hi samsparsha-ja bhoga duhkha-yonaya eva te “The pleasures that arise from contact between the senses and their objects are in truth the sources of all suffering.” The Sanskrit word bhoga (with the long ‘a’ of the plural) means ‘pleasures’ or ‘enjoyments’. What kinds?…

  • The World as the Body of God

    Sri Ramanuja, the great theistic Vedantin, provides a model of the relationship between the world and God which sees the world as God’s body. I thought we could explore that notion here. In Bhagavad-gita 10.20 Krishna says I am the self, Arjuna, dwelling in all beings. In his commentary on this text Ramanuja suggests that…

  • Indirect Perception Of Brahman in the Bhagavad-gita

    ESSAY: Matthew Dasti’s paper Indirect Perception of Brahman in the Bhagavad-gita uses a contemporary account of indirect seeing to examine religious experience within the Bhagavad-gita.

  • More Thoughts on Ritual

    I want to continue the conversation about ritual with Michael and Kaustubha (link 1, link 2). The basic idea which is being discussed seems to be that in bhakti, the purpose of religious ritual is fully realized. Without the spirit of devotion and, as Michael stressed, the proper mindfulness about the purpose of ritual, it…

  • Meditation as Sacrifice

    Translations from the Svetasvatara Upanisad and the Bhagavad-gita

  • Unhappily Ever After

    Now in Bookstores: The Post-Apocalypse World Recent bestsellers on life after Armageddon point to a growing paranoia: humanity may not be capable of managing its own survival. In her book Oryx and Crake, Booker Prize-winner Margaret Atwood tells a cautionary tale about a near-future time when the world has become a wasteland due to genetic…