Don’t let the ticking of the clock become tricking by the clock
Ours is a clock-driven society. We have so many things to do and so little time to do it in that we frequently feel pressured [...]
The Lord within is neither an active imposer nor a passive spectator; he is a proactive selector
Life sometimes slaps us with pointless problems and senseless sufferings. To aid us in responding positively, Gita wisdom offers us an encouraging insight: the world [...]
View the world as an object for reciprocation, not recreation or rejection
Many prospective spiritualists have the question: “To become spiritual, do we have to turn our back to the world?” Gita wisdom offers an unequivocal answer: [...]
Our days of cowering to the mind are over
“I will never be able to manage my mind.” We may have felt disheartened like this sometimes – especially when we observe how the mind [...]
Renunciation is super-ambitious, not un-ambitious
Many people assume that renunciation symptomizes a lack of the ambition to struggle for material pleasures. Such people deride as unambitious those who renounce worldly [...]
Let devotion be your steering wheel, not your spare wheel
The demands and desires of our material life frequently press on us so insistently that our devotional life gets pushed to the background of our [...]
Watch what you watch
Standard dictionaries give two meanings of the word watch: “follow with the eyes” and “be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful.” Interestingly, these [...]
Ask first “Who am I?” not “What is my?”
Our life-story is essentially the story of our quest for happiness. This quest is directed by a driving question. For spiritualists, the question frequently is, [...]
Might we be shooting the messenger instead of pondering the message?
In the past, despots would routinely shoot messengers who brought bad news. Today, shooting is replaced by labeling; those who raise discomforting issues are often [...]
Krishna-thoughts are soothing, satisfying, strengthening, sublimating
Materialists often challenge spiritualists: “Why do you spend so much time thinking about Krishna when all that thinking doesn’t give any tangible return?” The key [...]
Be a leader of the mind, not its cheerleader
Daydreaming. It’s so easy. Taking it easy in our thought-lives is one of life’s most deluding distracters. We tend to think that nothing is wrong [...]
Illusion makes us oblivious to the obvious
Nothing is as amazing as our obliviousness to the reality whose obviousness is evident all around us: death. This was king Yudhishthira’s insightful observation in [...]
What is the Home of Our Thoughts?
When we are out in the rough-and-tough of the world, we often long to return to the security and solace of our home. All of [...]
The Light that brings Lightness
Many of us may sometimes feel burdened by the various problems and anxieties that life brings our way. This mental burden often debilitates and disorients [...]
Choose to be holy now – don’t wait for a holy cloud to form around your head
“Surely, but not now.” This is often our default response when saintly people urge us to make our relationship with Krishna a priority. We rationalize: [...]
Might we be devaluing sex by glamorizing it?
Our contemporary culture constantly glamorizes sex through gaudy images permeated with sexual undertones and overtones. Due to this incessant glamorization of sex, most people live [...]
Block out the Blackout
Many of us often make resolutions for living according to principles of moral and spiritual integrity, but during times of temptation, our impulses ambush us. [...]
Materialism shrinks our options for happiness
Cutting-edge technology prides itself for opening new avenues for enjoyment: so many TV channels, websites and video games, for example. However, might the freedom offered [...]
Feeling is a springboard for chanting, but chanting is also a gateway to feeling
Some people doubt the benefit of daily mantra meditation: “What is the use of repeating the names of God mechanically and unfeelingly? Better to wait [...]
The mind is predictably dangerous and dangerously unpredictable
“I know that work is important, but I just can’t make myself do it; I am not in the right mood.” “Stop; don’t irritate me [...]
Life is a disaster movie in slow motion
Disaster movies generally show people caught in a natural disaster trying heroically to save themselves and others from impending doom. However, not many of the [...]