The Song of the Divine
The timeless wisdom shared by Lord Krishna with Arjuna on the battlefield — a practical guide to mastering the mind and living a life of joy, peace and fulfilment.
About the Gītā
The Bhagavad-Gītā distils the essence of the Vedas, the Upaniṣads and the Mahābhārata. As one of the most revered spiritual texts, its teachings have the power to transform our lives in a positive way.
This great conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna was shared to guide every human being. By embracing its essence, we can rise above anger, jealousy and stress — and grow into people who live joyfully, peacefully and contentedly.
What the Gītā offers
Profound, practical guidance to steady the mind and meet life’s challenges with clarity instead of anger, jealousy or stress.
Discover a deeper understanding of our purpose — to live with joy, peace and fulfilment in every part of life.
Devotion to the knowledge of the Gītā leads to real personal growth, self-discovery and inner transformation.
How we study
In our Satsang Study Groups, each session is designed to make the teachings accessible and practical for everyone. Sessions are thoughtfully spaced so there is time to truly absorb this supreme knowledge.
Study the verses and their meaning together, guided through each chapter.
Take time between sessions to contemplate what the teachings mean for you.
Bring the wisdom into daily life — at home, at work and in relationships.
The 18 chapters
Traditionally, the Gītā’s 18 chapters are read in three sets of six. Select any chapter to read what it covers.
Chapters 1–6
Understanding our struggles, the eternal Self, and how selfless action and meditation prepare the mind.
The universal struggles of humanity — emotion versus intellect, and the challenge of making choices. This chapter sets the Gītā within the great epic of the Mahābhārata and explores emotional turmoil, the nature of action and duty, and surrender to a higher intellect.
The indestructible nature of the Ātman (Spirit) and Brahman, the divine essence that enlivens all beings. It examines how desire shapes our journey, the path to enlightenment, and the qualities of an enlightened soul.
The path of selfless action for both introverted and extroverted seekers: why we act, the principles of righteous action, common obstacles on the path, and practical ways to overcome them.
Right action as a path to wisdom. It reveals the supreme Self that enlivens all actions and introduces the 12 yajñas — ways of spiritualising everyday activity to dispel ignorance and inner agitation.
The three stages on the path to Enlightenment — active engagement in life, ascetic discipline and Enlightenment itself — with the qualities each requires: dispassion, the exhaustion of desires, meditation and Self-realisation.
Spiritual practices for seekers at every stage, the outer and inner preparation for meditation, and clear guidance on how a well-prepared seeker meditates to attain Enlightenment.
Chapters 7–12
The nature of the Supreme, its presence in all things, and the heart of devotion.
How the Supreme Reality, Brahman, is both immanent and transcendent. It contrasts the deluded, who seek finite enjoyments, with the wise, who pursue the lasting bliss of Enlightenment.
Subtle ideas linking the world and Brahman: the waking, dream and deep-sleep states, the manifest and unmanifest Reality, and what happens to seekers who do not attain Enlightenment in this lifetime.
The principles governing reincarnation, ignorance of Reality, the limits of worldly life, and offering our actions as a means to Self-realisation.
How Brahman pervades and supports the entire manifest world — and our human tendency to focus on non-essential details while missing the essence of all life.
The whole of Reality revealed in a single cosmic form, including its awe-inspiring and destructive aspects.
Worship of the divine with form and without form, and the value of both. It explores devotional and intellectual seekers, and the 35 qualities of a true bhakta.
Chapters 13–18
Spirit and matter, the three guṇas, faith, and the final teaching on liberation.
The union of spirit and matter, the form and its enlivener. The path of knowledge is described through the 20 qualities of a jñānī prepared for meditation.
How ignorance of Reality is the source of all beings, and the three mental temperaments — tamas, rajas and sattva — their effects, and how to rise above them.
The perishable nature of the individual and the cosmos, the pairs of opposites, and the gross, subtle and causal bodies — all enlivened by the Self.
The qualities and conduct of the divine and the demoniac, and a close look at how greed, egoism, power and pride lead to decline.
Why faith matters to a seeker, and how its quality shows in the way we relate to food, sacrifice, austerity and giving.
Action, actor, knowledge, intellect, steadfastness and happiness seen through the three guṇas; renunciation versus relinquishment; the four varṇas; and a synthesis of the three yogas.
From Chapter 6
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् ।
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ
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