Memorizing scripture doesn’t burden the head – it unburdens the heart
The Bhagavad-gita (17.15) recommends regular recitation of scriptures as a means to discipline our power of speech. Such regular recitation becomes easy when scripture is [...]
Materialism in a religious costume is still materialism
The Bhagavad-gita (02.42-43) deems as undiscriminating (avipashcitah) and shortsighted those people who think that religion has no purpose other than to provide material gains. These [...]
The soul is life’s amazing and empowering secret
When we come to know a pleasant secret, we feel amazed. Naturally therefore, we feel immensely amazed when we come to know life’s great secret. [...]
Krishna is not just out there; he is also in here
When life hands out difficulties to us, we may feel forlorn and deserted due to the thought that Krishna is far away, somewhere out there [...]
With Krishna, we flourish; without Krishna, we perish
Life presents us with so many alternatives, all with their own complex and unpredictable implications, that the task of choosing among them can become overwhelming. [...]
You can change your mind, but don’t let your mind change you
The Bhagavad-gita (06.05) enjoins that we elevate ourselves with our mind and not degrade ourselves with it. This intriguing verse indicates the volatile nature of [...]
Our feelings are not always our feelings
The Bhagavad-gita (14.22) points to a fascinating thought-exercise that involves taking on the role of an observer towards our feelings. Let’s understand the whys and [...]
Lust is a black hole – beware of its gravity pull
The Bhagavad-gita (03.37) states that lust is the all-devouring sinful enemy of the world. In its capacity to devour everything that comes within its reach, [...]
Those who desire to be fused are confused
Many people think that the ultimate goal of spirituality is to merge into God, whom they conceive as a dazzling, all-pervading spiritual light known as [...]
Be rooted in the unchanging, not the changing
The Bhagavad-gita (02.16) encourages us to meditate on the difference between the unchanging, the spiritual realm within, and the changing, the material realm without. Gita [...]
How our freedom of thought is lost – and regained
The Bhagavad-gita (2.44) indicates that worldly attachments, especially attachments to sex and money, abduct our consciousness and sabotage our prospects for inner stability. Whenever we [...]
Surrender is not about giving up, but about going up
The Bhagavad-gita (18.66) concludes by calling upon us to surrender to Krishna. To some of us, the word “surrender” may conjure images of a defeated [...]
Krishna is impartially partial
The Bhagavad-gita (9.29) states two paradoxical features of Krishna’s nature: 1. He is equal to all and does not consider anyone to be an object [...]
Spiritual wisdom restores our freedom to choose our definition of happiness
The Bhagavad-gita (02.64) indicates that harmonizing our life with scriptural regulations is the way to happiness. Some of us may feel that regulating ourselves will [...]
Enrich yourself with the supreme legacy of immortal love
The Bhagavad-gita (04.01) indicates how Krishna shares spiritual offers the ultimate legacy to all of us, his children. That legacy is knowledge about the best [...]
Buddhi-yoga comprises both the eyes and the wings for our spiritual flight
To advance on the devotional path, we need both eyes and wings. The eyes help us see the spiritual world of love that is invisible [...]
Reality is more fascinating than what we have been allowed to believe
Today’s mainstream ideology is materialism, which doesn’t allow people to believe in non-material or spiritual truths. In the materialistic conception of life, the only possible [...]
All bluff, no stuff; that’s enough
The Bhagavad-gita (16.17) describes the godless to be self-complacent and impudent (atma-sambhavitahstabdah). They throw morality and spirituality to the winds for the sake of pursuing [...]
The Gita is an intellectual adventure with an emotional climax
We have two essential faculties: the head and the heart. The head is our intellectual center and the heart, our emotional center. The Bhagavad-gita being [...]
“Seeing is believing” reflects trust in the untrustworthy
The Bhagavad-gita (15.10) warns us against unwittingly subscribing to the childish idea of “seeing is believing.” This idea, known in philosophical parlance as naïve realism, [...]
The immaterial is not immaterial
The word “immaterial” can refer to “that which is not made of matter” and “that which doesn’t matter.” The immaterial (the non-material) isimmaterial (unimportant). So [...]