Beware of the heart attack that makes us morally unconscious
Heart attacks are among the most feared things today. They may reduce a healthy, normal person to an unconscious heap on the ground in a [...]
Don’t just bring Krishna into your life; let Krishna bring you into his life
Most people think of God only when they are in trouble, especially the kind of trouble they can’t solve on their own. They hope he [...]
Our happiness depends far more on the thoughts within than on the things without
Our culture makes us believe that we will become happy by improving the things around us – clothes, cellphones and cars, for example. Will we? [...]
We need mountains to conquer ourselves – and bhakti offers us the best mountains
Seasoned mountaineers know that successful mountaineering is about much more than the achievement of conquering the mountain – it’s about the fulfillment of conquering themselves. [...]
Pass the test, get the taste
We all long for happiness. And millions of things in this world promise us happiness. But none of them can provide lasting happiness because none [...]
Be intelligent enough to know what to do when you don’t know what to do
Life often puts us in perplexities. When we don’t know what to do, what do we do? Some people respond with kneejerk reactions, others, with [...]
Break the wall that blocks the path from the past to the future
Grieving is natural when we lose a loved one. Such grieving offers us a release for our emotions and expresses the depth of our love. [...]
Anticipate spontaneous devotion, but cultivate conscientious devotion
When we read in the scriptures about exalted devotees who spontaneously love Krishna, we as aspiring devotees naturally long for such spontaneous devotion. And we [...]
Bhakti renders the metaphysical physical and the physical metaphysical
Can we know the metaphysical nature of things (how they actually are) as contrasted with their physical nature (how they appear to us)? Modern science [...]
The divorce of the raja from the rishi perverts the ruler into an exploiter
Monarchy. The idea of one person monopolizing political power alarms us. So, when the Bhagavad-gita (04.02) refers to monarchs positively as the primary recipients of [...]
Spiritual growth depends on disposition, not position
Our normal material tendency is to go by externals. We form impressions about people based on how they look, where they stay, what they drive [...]
Preoccupation with occupation is not devotion
Some people claim, “Work is worship. So says the Bhagavad-gita.” Does it? The Gita verse that directly links work with worship is 18.46: sva-karmana tam abhyarca. “By [...]
Be a warrior, not a worrier
An unchanging characteristic of life is change. And change often puts us into anxiety, especially when it is undesirable, unpredictable or uncontrollable. Such anxiety, if [...]
Krishna is the best enjoyer – and the best source of enjoyment
“If I start practicing spiritual life with all its rules, no enjoyment will be left in my life.” Such apprehensions often check potential spiritual seekers. [...]
Disbelieve the mind’s disastrous misdiagnosis
During sickness, when we consult a doctor, a possible danger is misdiagnosis. The doctor may mistakenly prescribe the medicine meant for some disease other than [...]
Anger makes our response to a problem a bigger problem than the problem itself
When someone wrongs us, it is natural to feel angry. Yet just because it is natural doesn’t make it desirable. Of course, neither is it [...]
Fretting is like overcooking a rotten vegetable in our head
Suppose a chef who found that a recently purchased vegetable was rotten, and, annoyed at the prospect of wasted time and money, decided to set [...]