Bhagavad Gita for Everyday Living author Swami Mukundananda: 'AI handles information, and the Gita guides intention'

Swami Mukundananda says that at a deeper level, the Gita transforms not just ‘how’ we work, but ‘why’ we work. It doesn’t ask us to give up success; it asks us to give up the anxiety for it. (Image courtesy Swami Mukundananda)

The first time Swami Mukundananda read the Bhagavad Gita was when he was in college. "It was nothing short of a revelation," he tells Moneycontrol in an email interview from the US. "Within its verses, I found an instant reservoir of answers to the bigger questions of life: Who am I? Where did I come from? What is my higher purpose?"

Some of the details of Swami Mukundananda's life are available online with a simple search: Born in December 1960, he studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata. He held a corporate job briefly before quitting to practice sanyaas. Since then, he has addressed followers at scores of gatherings across India and the US and written several books, including 'Bhagavad Gita: The Song of God', and most recently, 'Bhagavad Gita for Everyday Living: Selected Verses with Key Takeaways'.

Earlier this year, the Bhagavad Gita — along with Bharat Muni's Natya Shastra — was added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register which preserves documentary heritage of universal value. Responding to a question about how he would describe the Gita to an alien race or a human one that has forgotten its past, Swami Mukundananda offers: "The Gita is far more than a religious scripture. It is a universal manual for conscious and joyful living... Far ahead of its time, the Gita taught what modern psychology and neuroscience now echo—that detachment, and purpose-driven action are the foundations of mental wellbeing and experiencing true fulfilment in life."

"It was the Gita that taught me the science of mind management and the power of thoughts," Swami Mukundananda says in his email. "It became my compass in moments of confusion and at the crossroads of choices. In its pages, I discovered that true leadership begins within—by mastering one’s own mind, emotions, and actions. Reading it felt like finding a manual for life itself."

Over the same email interaction with MoneyControl, Swami Mukundananda speaks about the Gita vs artificial intelligence, "the permanent cure to loneliness", and how the Gita "is a psychological and philosophical guidebook for mastering the mind; and for harmonizing thought, emotion, and action" that is not "confined to one religion" and "a game-changer for modern existence". Read on:

The Bhagavad Gita has influenced some of the biggest thinkers and scientists of all time — including, famously, the father of the atomic bomb, J Robert Oppenheimer. How do you see the relevance and potential of the Gita in the age of artificial intelligence (AI)?

AI itself knows no ethics. Hence, AI can either be utilized or misused, depending entirely upon the intentions of the one who wields it. The same algorithm can heal or harm, enlighten or manipulate. In this era where humankind has access to unprecedented power, real success lies in ensuring that humans do not become slaves to the technology they created.

This is where the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita becomes not only relevant but indispensable. AI handles information, and the Gita guides intention. AI solves external problems, and the Gita resolves internal conflicts. While AI can think, it is the Gita that teaches us how to think beneficially for humankind.

The Gita helps us cultivate values, purify intentions, and awaken the discernment to distinguish the good from the merely alluring. This is the evolution of consciousness, which must accompany the evolution of technology.

The real potential of our times, therefore, is not merely to build smarter machines but to cultivate wiser humans. And the technology for that transformation already exists in the Gita. It is Humanity’s Operating System in the Age of AI, reminding us that from artificial intelligence, we must also journey toward inner intelligence.

Equating the mechanical efficiency of a technology with spiritual wisdom is a misunderstanding. Any human-made machine functions according to its programming. But what truly distinguishes a living being from a machine are the twin symptoms of life — consciousness and free will. These arise from the presence of the soul.

AI lacks both awareness and free will; it is lifeless. So while it may act without desire, it does so only because it is incapable of desire. A true karmyogi, on the other hand, acts without desire as a choice of higher consciousness and an exercise of freewill. Unlike AI, he does not mechanically act out based on code.

AI may execute tasks efficiently, but detachment from results is not a virtue, because it never had the choice to attach in the first place. Hence, it cannot be claimed that AI adheres to Gita teachings. Essentially, AI may seem like a brilliant executor, but it is not a seeker.

It is also important to note that the Bhagavad Gita was a conversation between two conscious beings: the Supreme Soul, Shree Krishna, and the individual soul, Arjun. It addressed the universal dilemmas of human life on duty, morality, fear, and attachment. That divine conversation sprouted such timeless wisdom that it continues to guide humanity through every era, including this age of artificial intelligence.

As our lives get busier, as populations around the world get older and as people confess to feeling more lonely, what two or three insights can we cull from the Gita to set things right?

We live in an age of hyper-connectivity. Yet paradoxically, we have become more disconnected internally. Loneliness has emerged as the silent epidemic of the modern world.

The Bhagavad Gita offers a timeless antidote. It teaches us to recognize our true nature as the soul, and to awaken our relationship with the Supreme Soul, the source of all creation. When we rediscover this sacred connection, we find the permanent cure to loneliness, for our Eternal Friend is seated within us.

The Gita makes us aware of our relationship with all of Creation. Lord Krishna declares: “I am the origin of all creation; everything proceeds from Me.” ~ Verse 10.8

Belief in such higher wisdom empowers us with a spiritual lens where we recognize all beings as threads woven into one cosmic fabric. From such holistic awareness, virtues like empathy, compassion, patience, and tolerance blossom naturally. Such a holistic vision also humbles the ego. It shifts our focus from self-centered ambition to collective elevation. Success ceases to feel like an individual conquest and becomes a shared responsibility. We begin to ask not “How much can I achieve?” but “How much can I contribute?”

No wonder it is said that the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. When we develop those new eyes—eyes that see the Divine in all—our attitude toward life transforms. Every interaction becomes an opportunity for service, every task a form of worship, and every relationship a reflection of our bond with God. That is why spirituality is like the “one,” and all else—wealth, success, status—are like “zeros.” With the “one” in place, every “zero” gains value. Without the “one”, no matter how many zeros we add, life still equals zero—empty and futile.

Some of the teachings of the Gita sound quite difficult—selfless action and acting righteously without fear of consequences or desire for reward seem out of step with the "hustle" world. How do you square the demands of modern living with these ideals? And what argument would you give to a young person who asks why they should make these sacrifices in their personal life?

The Bhagavad Gita was never a call to inaction; it was a call to purposeful action. It doesn’t preach passivity, nor does it ask us to renounce ambition. On the contrary, it inspires us to strive for excellence with all our might. What it cautions against is not effort, but attachment to outcomes, recognition, and rewards. And that, in fact, is the wisest mindset one can cultivate.

The stress most of us face today is not the consequence of hard work, but from our obsession with results. Hence, the Gita reveals to us how results always remain uncertain while effort alone is in our hands.

When we anchor ourselves in this wisdom, we pour our heart into the process. Thereupon, we grow in skill, in focus, and in resilience. These inner gains are our real rewards. The outer fruits like success, fame, wealth, will follow naturally, like shadows that trail the light. A tennis player doesn’t win by obsessing over the scoreboard every second; he wins by playing each shot with full focus. So, results are by-products of the right focus.

Hence, far from being outdated, the Gita’s teachings are in perfect sync with the pulse of today’s world. They don’t ask us to withdraw from life—they teach us how to live it better.

And at a deeper level, the Gita transforms not just ‘how’ we work, but ‘why’ we work. It urges us to purify our intentions. When our actions spring from sincerity, service, and a sense of higher purpose, our motivation touches new heights. Work then ceases to be a means of survival—it becomes a form of worship.

The Gita doesn’t ask us to give up success; it asks us to give up the anxiety for it. And in that subtle shift lies the key to both peace and peak performance.

If you were to explain the Gita to an alien race or a future race of humans who've lost touch with the text, how would you explain it? For example, would you call it a Hindu religious or Indian philosophical text?

The Bhagavad Gita originated in Bharat, yet its wisdom transcends geography, culture, and time. Its message belongs not just to an era or a civilization, but to the entire human race.

Across centuries and continents, every generation stands on its own battlefield—torn between choices and fears, duties and desires. And every sincere reading of the Gita unveils a striking truth: Life’s greatest victory is never about conquering others; it is always about mastering oneself. The biggest wars are also within–our inner wars between wisdom and weakness, faith and fear, clarity and confusion.

That is why the Gita is far more than a religious scripture. It is a universal manual for conscious and joyful living. It clarifies the deepest workings of the human mind. The dilemmas that tormented Arjun five millennia ago continue to haunt modern lives—anxiety about results, pressure to perform, self-doubt, and the struggle to choose between what is easy and what is right. Where human thinking gets paralyzed, the Gita guides by presenting the perennial truths and eternal pathways to realize them.

Far ahead of its time, the Gita taught what modern psychology and neuroscience now echo—that detachment, and purpose-driven action are the foundations of mental wellbeing and experiencing true fulfilment in life.

The Gita is not a ritualistic text confined to one religion; it is a psychological and philosophical guidebook for mastering the mind; and for harmonizing thought, emotion, and action. In essence, the Gita is a game-changer for modern existence—a timeless playbook to navigate life’s pressures, manage relationships, and transcend chaos with equanimity.

More than a book, it is Bharat’s eternal gift to humanity—a blueprint for living with purpose, peace, and joy.