Page 1 - April 2026

Trust to... Truth

SWAMI ISHWARANANDA

The Chinmaya Family celebrated the 21-day Tapo Geeta
Jayanti Fest from December 5 to 25, 2020. On December
5, Pujya Swami Swaroopananda launched the website
theholygeeta.com – a single-stop resource for all material
related to the Bhagavad Gita available in the Chinmaya
Mission. Pujya Guruji inaugurated the celebrations with
his discourse titled ‘Geeta Speaks’.

We present a transcribed and edited version of the talk
on the 17 chapter, given on Day 18 (December 22, 2020),
th
by Swami Ishwarananda. Swamiji is presently based at
Chinmaya Mission Los Angeles, USA. The entire talk is
available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iQr6igZgcY
Editor

Trust, Truth, and the Path
A statement is accepted as true only when there is trust in the
source of information. Even scientific facts begin as hypotheses,
and to test them, scientists must trust the source or the means
through which experiments are conducted. This means is known in
Sanskrit as pramäëa. It signifies evidence, proof, or valid
testimony. Without pramäëa-çraddhä – trust in the means of
knowledge – the Truth about the unknown can never be realized.
The same principle applies in a court of law: without proof, there
can be no just judgment.
Suppose a little girl is afraid of the dark, and a power cut
occurs. Frightened, the child begins to cry. Seeing this, you tell her,

Tapovan Prasad 30 April 2026