Suppose we are learning to drive a car and suddenly find it veering off course. We will promptly brake and avert any danger. But if that one near-accident makes us paranoid and we refuse to take our foot off the brake, we will never get anywhere.
Some spiritually-minded people, being engaged in mainstream society with its notions of progress centered on science and technology, pursue bhakti for getting peace, meaning and fulfillment – things elusive in today’s world. They see bhakti as a complement to their present way of living.
To beware is to be cautious about danger. To be aware is to be conscious of oneself and one’s surroundings. Both of these can help in our spiritual life, but to be aware is more positive and productive. The Bhagavad-gita (02.54-72) describes the characteristics ...
We often pray to God for things that are beyond our power to get. By pleasing him, we hope to receive those things as his presents. The Bhagavad-gita (07.16) appreciates such an attitude as pious; those lacking in piety often go, when distressed, to myriad things other than God.
Wisdom-texts often use metaphors as intellectual tools. Metaphors make abstract, abstruse concepts intelligible by comparing them with concrete, clear things from the real world. The Bhagavad-gita uses metaphors frequently.
Some people think that scripture teaches the same feel-good message of motivation and inspiration that they hear from worldly sources such as self-help teachers and life coaches. Undoubtedly, the Bhagavad-gita does motivate and inspire, but not by reiterating the world’s feel-good message.
The Bhagavad-gita outlines how everything in material existence can be analyzed in terms of the three modes of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Those in goodness and those in ignorance may look similar when they are seated quietly on similar seats.
Suppose we were tormented by thirst, being lost in a desert; and some relief workers came, gave us some water and invited us to their hometown, an oasis with abundant water resources. We all are lost in the desert of material existence, thirsting for happiness.
Identity politics refers to the phenomenon of people identifying themselves with particular political positions and viewing everything in terms of those positions, as for or against those positions. Identity politics can be corrosive.
In today’s world, almost anything gets accepted if it is portrayed as a right to freedom. Especially in the sensual arena, much obscenity is legitimized, even glamorized, by calling it free love. However, when indiscriminate sensuality is rationalized in the name of freedom, people become shackled by their lower desires.
Sometimes, we find ourselves in restrictive situations where we can’t do anything new. Such constriction may make us feel that we can’t learn or grow. However, we grow not just by exploring new things, but also by adapting ourselves to unchangeable old things.
We all have an innate urge to change things for the better. Knowing where to direct this urge so that we can really improve things [...]
Suppose a person has a severe digestive disorder that requires not just dietary regulation but also medical treatment. The patient’s self-control in eating is beneficial [...]
When people do something infuriating, we feel like giving them a piece of our mind, blasting them for being irresponsible, insensitive, intractable or whatever else. [...]
Suppose an election candidate has a chequered past but has thereafter done much laudable work. One newspaper may write about him: “Although he is doing [...]
The Bhagavad-gita recommends surrender in its beginning, middle and end. This consistent stress conveys that in our spiritual journey, surrender is the starter, sustainer and [...]
Few temptations are as tempting as the temptation to toy with temptation. When we encounter a temptation, we are often held back from physical indulgence [...]
Suppose India is rocked by a war of global significance. If an Indian newspaper barely reports that war, that silence is telling – it highlights [...]
“Are addicts forced to indulge in their addiction? Have they lost their free will?” Such questions often confront addicts and those associated with them, especially [...]
Some people ask, “Do you take everything in the Bhagavad-gita literally?” This is a loaded question. Answering yes provokes rationalists – they label such answerers [...]
Suppose parents learn that their child, who had been struggling at school, has dyslexia. This knowledge, though distressing, is also empowering. How? Because they can [...]
