yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata | abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmy aham “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion — at that time I descend Myself.” — Bhagavad-gītā 4.7 — Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna

Now, there is a very beautiful chart that is being circulated among the devotees, and it is a most practical service to humanity. This chart lists twenty of the most common problems that every human being faces in this material world — anger, depression, confusion, fear, greed, lust, pride, loneliness, and so on — and for each problem, it gives the exact chapter and verse of the Bhagavad-gītā where Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself provides the solution. Just see the greatness of this śāstra! Five thousand years have passed, and still this one book is capable of solving every problem of human life. No other book in the history of the world can make this claim. You see, the so-called modern man thinks that his problems are very special, very unique, very “twenty-first century.” He thinks, “My depression is different. My anxiety is different. My loneliness is a product of social media and modern isolation.” But this is illusion. The problems of the living entity are the same in every age — because the root cause is the same. The root cause is forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa. The root cause is identification with the temporary material body. The root cause is ignorance of one’s eternal spiritual identity. And the Bhagavad-gītā, spoken by the Supreme Lord Himself on the Battlefield of Kuruṣetra, addresses this root cause with such precision, such depth, and such completeness that there is no human problem it cannot solve. Let me ask you this very practical question. You are angry — what do the modern psychologists say? “Count to ten. Take deep breaths. Express your feelings.” Very nice. But does it work? After forty years of psychology, are people less angry? No! They are more angry than ever. But Kṛṣṇa says in the Second Chapter, verse 62-63: dhyayato viṣayān puṃsaḥ saṅgas teṣūpajāyate — by contemplating the objects of the senses, attachment develops, from attachment comes lust, from lust comes anger, from anger comes delusion, from delusion comes loss of memory, and from loss of memory comes the destruction of intelligence. Just see! Kṛṣṇa gives the entire chain of causation in two verses! He does not simply say “don’t be angry.” He explains exactly how anger arises — from contemplation of sense objects — and therefore the solution is to redirect the contemplation from sense objects to Kṛṣṇa. This is science, not sentiment.

The Gītā as the Supreme Medicine Chest

Now let us understand this systematically. The Bhagavad-gītā is not an ordinary book of philosophy that you read once and put on the shelf. It is a divine pharmacy. Just as a well-stocked medical dispensary has a specific medicine for every disease — one tablet for headache, another for fever, another for infection — similarly, the Gītā has a specific śloka for every problem of the conditioned soul. The only difference is this: material medicine treats the symptoms, but the Gītā treats the root cause. Material medicine gives temporary relief, but the Gītā gives permanent liberation. Are you depressed? Kṛṣṇa says in Chapter 2, verse 3: klaibyam mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitat tvayy upapadyate — “Do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you.” The Lord does not coddle Arjuna. He does not say, “Poor Arjuna, I understand your feelings.” No. He says, “Get up! This weakness is not worthy of you! You are an eternal soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Act like it!” This is the real treatment for depression — understanding that you are not this body, you are not your circumstances, you are not your failures. You are the eternal spiritual soul, and your nature is sat-cid-ānanda — eternal existence, full knowledge, and complete bliss. Are you afraid? Kṛṣṇa says in Chapter 4, verse 10: vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ — being freed from attachment, fear, and anger, many persons have taken refuge in Me and become purified by knowledge of Me. Fear arises from attachment to the material body and material possessions. When one understands that the soul is eternal, that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme protector, and that nothing happens without His sanction, then what is there to fear? Are you tormented by lust? Kṛṣṇa explains in Chapter 3, verse 37 that this enemy is born of the mode of passion: kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ. And in verse 43 He gives the solution: by deliberate spiritual intelligence, by understanding that you are above the senses, the mind, and even the intelligence, you can conquer this all-devouring enemy. The modern world says “satisfy your desires and you will be happy.” Kṛṣṇa says the opposite — “regulate your desires and you will be free.” Who has given better advice? Have you lost someone dear to you? This is perhaps the most painful of all human experiences. But Kṛṣṇa’s very first teaching to Arjuna addresses this: Chapter 2, verse 13 — dehīno ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṃ yauvanam jarā | tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati — just as the embodied soul passes from childhood to youth to old age, so does the soul pass to another body at death. The wise are not bewildered by this. Your loved one has not died. The soul is eternal. It has simply changed bodies, like a person changes old garments for new ones. If you understand this one verse deeply, all lamentation ceases.

The Complete Divine Prescription

Problem	Bhagavad-gītā References
Anger	Ch.2 – 56, 62, 63; Ch.5 – 26; Ch.16 – 1,2,3 & 21
Depression	Ch.2 – 3, 14; Ch.5 – 21
Confusion	Ch.2 – 7; Ch.3 – 2; Ch.18 – 61
Dealing with Envy	Ch.12 – 13,14; Ch.16 – 19; Ch.18 – 71
Death of a Loved One	Ch.2 – 13, 20, 22, 25, 27
Demotivated	Ch.11 – 33; Ch.18 – 48, 78
Discriminated	Ch.5 – 18, 19; Ch.6 – 32; Ch.9 – 29
Fear	Ch.4 – 10; Ch.11 – 50; Ch.18 – 30
Feeling Sinful	Ch.4 – 36, 37; Ch.5 – 10; Ch.9 – 30; Ch.10 – 3; Ch.14 – 6; Ch.18 – 66
Forgetfulness	Ch.15 – 15; Ch.18 – 61
Greed	Ch.14 – 17; Ch.16 – 21; Ch.17 – 25
Laziness	Ch.3 – 8, 20; Ch.6 – 16; Ch.18 – 39
Loneliness	Ch.6 – 30; Ch.9 – 29; Ch.13 – 16, 18
Losing Hope	Ch.4 – 11; Ch.9 – 22, 34; Ch.18 – 66, 78
Lust	Ch.3 – 37, 41, 43; Ch.5 – 22; Ch.16 – 21
Practicing Forgiveness	Ch.14 – 17; Ch.16 – 21; Ch.17 – 25
Pride	Ch.16 – 4, 13, 14, 15; Ch.18 – 26, 58
Seeking Peace	Ch.2 – 66, 71; Ch.4 – 39; Ch.5 – 29; Ch.8 – 28
Temptation	Ch.2 – 66, 71; Ch.4 – 39; Ch.5 – 29; Ch.8 – 28
Uncontrolled Mind	Ch.6 – 5, 6, 26, 35

The One Solution Behind All Twenty Prescriptions

Now, you will notice something very remarkable. Among these twenty problems, many of the solutions point back to the same set of verses — particularly Chapter 2 (the nature of the soul), Chapter 6 (controlling the mind), Chapter 9 (the science of the most confidential knowledge), and Chapter 18 (the perfection of renunciation). Why? Because all human problems ultimately stem from a single disease — forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa. And the single cure is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When you understand that you are the eternal soul, that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, that He is your best friend and well-wisher residing within your heart, and that by surrendering to Him all problems are solved — then anger, fear, depression, lust, greed, pride, loneliness, confusion — all of them dissolve like darkness before the rising sun. So my humble request to all sincere seekers is this: do not keep the Bhagavad-gītā on your shelf as a decoration. Do not read it once a year on Gita Jayanti and forget it the rest of the time. Keep it by your side like a doctor keeps his prescription pad. When anger comes, open Chapter 2 and read verses 62-63. When fear comes, open Chapter 4, verse 10. When you are grieving, open Chapter 2, verse 13. When your mind is uncontrolled, open Chapter 6, verses 5 and 6. And above all, chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahā-mantra every day. This is the supreme medicine for the supreme disease of material existence. The Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, with the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda, is available to everyone. There is no excuse for ignorance. The Supreme Lord Himself is offering you His personal guidance for every problem you will ever face in this material world. Will you accept it? Or will you continue running from one material doctor to another, one therapist to another, one self-help guru to another, spending thousands of rupees and getting no real relief? The choice is yours. But Kṛṣṇa has already made His choice — He has given you the Gītā. Now it is up to you to use it. That is the power of the Bhagavad-gītā. That is the mercy of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. And that is the message for the confused and suffering humanity of this age.

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja | ahaṃ tvāṃ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” — Bhagavad-gītā 18.66 — The Ultimate Instruction

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare Your humble servant in the service of Śrī Guru and Gaurāṅga