Sex is extraordinarily ordinary
Nothing fascinates the human imagination as much as sex. Pictures, articles, TV programs, movies, novels, websites and almost all conceivable means of communication are frequently [...]
The material is not spiritual, but it is spiritualizable
“Everything that devotees do is spiritual, so even their material life is spiritual,” we may hear statements like these in devotee circles. Naturally, we may [...]
Devotion enables us to strike a deal between the extraordinary and the ordinary
As spiritual seekers living in a material body and a materialist culture, our lives have two sides: the spiritual and the material. Given that materialism [...]
Ending the perpetual u-turns in our quest for happiness
We sometimes strive for spiritual enjoyment and sometimes indulge in material enjoyment. Thus, we keep taking perpetual u-turns in our quest for happiness. To end [...]
Our spirituality is a specialty, not an abnormality
“You don’t have to be so serious about your spiritual life. You don’t want to become an abnormal person, do you?” Those of us committed [...]
The goal of spiritual knowledge is not just discovery but also recovery
Some of us may get the doubt: “Science is exciting because therein we constantly discover new things. In spirituality, all the knowledge is already given [...]
Take a sage look at time management
“Time management” is a trendy word. The trend, though, is to focus on management, not on time. People value time for its utilitarian worth, as [...]
Devotion to the greatest soul makes the small soul a great soul
We usually long to prove our greatness to the world. At first sight, Gita wisdom seems to repress this ambition for greatness; it informs us [...]
The obnoxious is obnoxious because it is noxious
A prevailing intellectual fad sees all value-judgments as subjective: “If you think something is obnoxious, it is obnoxious for you – but not necessarily for [...]
Blunt the desire for enjoyment with engagement
The greatest obstacle on the spiritual path for most of us is the desire to enjoy material pleasures, especially anti-devotional material pleasures. Because most of [...]
Don’t give up the intelligence; go beyond the intelligence
Intellectuals sometimes feel alienated from scriptures due to what they feel are its inconsistent or illogical statements. As their intellect has been their guide and [...]
The present is all that we have – and all that we will ever have
We frequently lead life as if it were a practice run for next time. All of us want to do valuable, special, big things in [...]
Don’t let the mind eat your head
The mind sometimes makes us do self-defeating, short-sighted, stupid things. How? By making us headless. The Bhagavad-gita (02.62) indicates that when the mind contemplates sense [...]
Change the stories you tell yourself about yourself
Our mind is rarely satisfied with the world and especially with our present position in it. Consequently, it frequently goes into flights of fantasies of [...]
Happiness is always a byproduct, never a product
All of us want to be happy. And the world is filled with activities that promise happiness – movies, music, video games, food, sex… Yet [...]
Worldly beauty agitates, dissatisfies, pollutes; Krishna’s beauty pacifies, satisfies, cleanses
Beauty ranks among the world’s most fascinating – and frustrating – features. History is filled with stories of ill-fatedcaptivation by beauty. Can we not relish [...]
Don’t let information overload make relevance irrelevant
Our culture bombards us with irrelevant information. The attack on an embassy in Africa, a tennis tournament in America, an election in Europe – does [...]
Don’t let the sword sleep in the hand
Suppose medieval warriors with their hands on the swords by their side were surrounded by marauders, who were attacking innocent civilians and charging to strike [...]
Go beyond denial and dismissal to determination
“I fell from the scriptural standards yet again. What should I do now?” We often respond to such predicaments by either denial or dismissal. In [...]
Protect the conscience from being dumbed and numbed and dumped
A security provider who has protected us for millennia from ourselves has now been branded as outdated and unneeded; its very right to existence is [...]
Give yourself permission to love Krishna by suspending disbelief
When we are practicing devotional service externally, internally we may be checked by the doubt: “How can I love Krishna when I am not sure [...]