Retreat within to treat without
When external problems trouble us, we may feel that they need to be solved first, and so we can’t afford time for our inner life. [...]
When Krishna seems far away, it is we who have strayed away
The Bhagavad-gita (13.16) states that Krishna is situated far away from us – and is simultaneously very close to us. Paradoxical scriptural statements like this [...]
Be not allured by the pleasure that is pregnant with suffering
Why does the Bhagavad-gita ask us to regulate indulgence in sensual pleasures? To protect us from unnecessary suffering. The Gita (05.22) states that such pleasures [...]
Our fear of insignificance traps us in insignificance
“If I give up all my desires and just fulfill Krishna’s desires, won’t I be stripping myself of everything that makes me significant as a [...]
Cry, Vie, Lie, Die, Fie – Tie
The Bhagavad-gita (16.7-20) describes the mentality of the godless materialists who ruin themselves and those around them by their inordinate infatuation with temporary things. Their [...]
Krishna’s ways may not always be pleasant, but they are always benevolent
When things go wrong and disrupt our lives, a doubt may trouble us: is Krishna really my well-wisher? While dealing with such doubts, we need [...]
Take the mind’s promises with a bucketful of salt
Whenever we see an ad promising a huge gain for a tiny price, we tend to become skeptical. Such skepticism is the understandable and desirable [...]
Self-help can’t help without divine help
The Bhagavad-gita (14.10) indicates how the subtle forces of nature known as the modes exert competing psychological influences on us. Their contrary influences cause our [...]
Gita insights for New Year resolutions
The Bhagavad-gita (18.33)(18.34)(18.35) describes resolution or determination in the three modes of nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. The modes comprise subtle cosmological forces that exert [...]