The conscience that dispenses with conscience is pseudo-conscience
Our conscience is the inner voice that guides us towards making wise choices. This conscience is in the pure state the voice of Krishna, who, [...]
Our attachments reflect our capacity for determination
When we are unable to give up our attachments, we may become disheartened, thinking, “I have read so many books, heard so many talks, made [...]
Focus on the mind before focusing on its focus
Suppose we were studying in a library and our neighbor repeatedly pointed our attention here and there, mostly towards unimportant things and only occasionally towards [...]
Gita 09.15 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan So there are number of [...]
The search for happiness is often the source of the greatest unhappiness
The very things we seek happiness in often sentence us to unhappiness. A pervasive yet tragic example is of addicts. Food addicts can’t live without [...]
To make our mind grow up, we need to realize that we are grown-up
Suppose an adult were playing in the dirt with a child, doing whatever caught the child’s fancy. If occasional, such frivolous behavior might be funny; [...]
Meditation is defined by not just the mode of thinking, but also the object of thought
Some people think that meditation refers to deep thinking about any subject. While the word ‘meditation’ may be used thus in a conversational sense, meditation [...]
Learning is driven by purposefulness; lamenting, by pointlessness
We all can and should learn from the past. By reviewing what we did, we can analyze what we did right and what we could [...]
Gita 09.12 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now Krishna explains those who [...]
Don’t analyze the trash – just trash it
Suppose we inherit an old uninhabited house containing much trash. We might wonder where all that trash came from. But we wouldn’t spend too much [...]
Performance matters, but performance is not all that matters
Sports players often have their pet superstitions. An Australian batsman would insist that all the pavilion commodes be covered whenever he went out to bat. [...]
If Krishna is not our goal, we hit self-goals
We all want success and happiness. But just the desire or even the ability to succeed is not enough – we need to have the [...]
Protesting that the mind is wandering is progress over wandering with the mind
When we start practicing spiritual life and try to fix the mind on Krishna, we may become disheartened at how frequently and forcefully the mind [...]
Gita 09.08 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now Sri Krishna will continue [...]
Gita 09.07 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now after describing this mat-sthānīty [...]
Detachment doesn’t make us hardhearted – attachment does
Sometimes people fear, “If I become detached, I will become hardhearted.” However, what makes us hardhearted is not detachment, but its opposite: attachment. When we [...]
To reject reality because it is not found in the map is absurdity
Suppose a person uses a map to travel to a friend’s house. At each step during the journey, suppose the map guides them well, and [...]
The mind is not your boss – don’t let it boss you
Suppose a colleague started bossing us around. We would rightly be annoyed and would counter, “Mind your own business. You are not my boss.” Yet [...]
Gita 09.04 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan So let us look at [...]
The body is meant for neither gratification nor mortification, but for utilization
We often assume that our body is meant for gratification. The world leads us to believe that by indulging in our bodily senses, we will [...]
Possibilities expand when we begin where we are instead of where we should be
Suppose we take a wrong turn and end up somewhere other than our destination. If we keep resenting, “Why am I here instead of where [...]