Let determination enthrone, not dethrone, devotion
We may wonder: “Determination requires using our own willpower, whereas devotion requires depending on Krishna’s supreme power. How can we do these two contradictory things [...]
Don’t treat Krishna as a showpiece; let him show how to put the pieces of life together
We tend to lead our life in pieces – a piece for our career, a piece for our family, maybe a piece for society. And [...]
If we let all that happens matter, then we don’t let all that matters happen
We sometimes make small things unnecessarily big. When we are on our way to office, unseasonal rains delay us and upset our schedule for the [...]
Seeing the infinite through finite filters makes finite illusions infinite
Skeptics deride Krishna’s pastimes like lifting Govardhan hill: “How could anyone have lifted such a huge object? How could he have found its center of [...]
Bhakti is not a part of life; life is a part of bhakti
Many people treat bhakti as an optional part of life: “You like bhakti, you practice it. I don’t like it, so I won’t practice it.” [...]
Tune in to yourself to best tune in to the world
Some people can't live without continuous external stimulation. Every few minutes, they check their cellphones for the latest stock prices or the breaking news or [...]
Krishna is concealed, but not contained, by the modes
When we come to know that Krishna is everywhere, we may naturally wonder: “Why can’t I perceive him everywhere or, for that matter, anywhere?” The [...]
As long as we desire to bring matter under our captivity, we remain in its captivity
Our bad habits, our attachments to base material things, are often extremely difficult to give up. The resulting struggle may raise the question: “I am [...]
The biggest battle in life is to keep the biggest battle the biggest battle
Life is like a battle. Each day we have to overcome obstacles to achieve our goals. Among these daily battles, the biggest battle is in [...]
When we give Krishna the benefit of doubt, he gives us the benefit of freedom from doubt
When things go wrong in our life, doubts may assail us: “I am trying to be a good person, a good devotee. Why isn’t Krishna [...]
Change not just the state of mind – change also the state of being
Many popular self-help books claim that we will become happy if we just change our state of mind from negative to positive. Is this true? [...]
When fulfilling desires doesn’t translate into fulfillment
We all have so many desires for so many worldly things. However, because we live in a world of finite resources and a body with [...]
If we can’t ban sin from the heart, we can still banish it
“How could I have even thought of such a thing?” We may react thus in dismay on catching ourselves entertaining grievously sinful desires. How can [...]
Let adversity pave the way to the discovery of real prosperity
When we practice devotional service, we often expect that we will automatically get protection from worldly adversity. So we become baffled on discovering that devotees [...]
Life’s driving force is existence’s crowning reality
Love is life’s driving force. We all want to love and be loved. Our longing for love drives our lives and our dreams – to [...]
Our vulnerability points to our opportunity
We may get the question, “Why do we get tempted and deluded so easily? Why are we so vulnerable?” Gita wisdom answers that our vulnerability [...]
Life is too precious to be wasted in doubting
“This doesn’t make sense.” We may get such doubts while studying Gita wisdom. To ensure that doubts don’t swamp our spiritual prospects, we need to [...]
Devotion raises our knowledge of Krishna from superficial familiarity to substantial understanding
The Bhagavad-gita (04.09) states that those who know in truth the divine birth and activities of Krishna become liberated and return to his eternal abode. [...]
To end our forgetfulness, let’s first commit to end our forgetfulness of our forgetfulness
We may sometimes become discouraged in our spiritual life: “I keep forgetting Krishna repeatedly even after practicing devotional service for so long. Is my practice [...]
The Gita is not self-contradictory, but self-revelatory
“That’s self-contradictory.” We may feel thus on reading some sections of the Bhagavad-gita. For example, the Gita (9.4) states, mat-sthani sarva bhutani “All of existence [...]
Cultivate the intelligence to ask questions – and the courage to question those questions
Sometimes we ask intelligent questions about spirituality and demand immediate answers. But frequently our questions stem from dubious assumptions and downright misconceptions that need to [...]