Author Note: Written in early 2020 for MMW 12 — the same survey sequence I would later teach as a graduate teaching assistant. The essay takes up a deceptively simple question: did the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita actually translate into how people lived? The answer, via the monk Faxian's travel writings from Gupta-era India, is a qualified yes. I'll note that the title was written with a provocation in mind that the essay then happily subverts. Tell the Elders to Practice