Contemplation on Krishna provides purification, elevation and satisfaction
People often ask, “What do you get by thinking about Krishna, as the Bhagavad-gita repeatedly recommends?” Let’s discuss three of the fruits of thinking about [...]
Be in Krishna consciousness, not around it
To be in Krishna consciousness means to be aware of Krishna’s supreme position as the source of everything and to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to him. [...]
Be vigilant to know when the mind becomes incoherent
Suppose while we are doing some important work, an acquaintance approaches us and starts mumbling and gesticulating wildly. We try to understand what they are [...]
Our pain is meant to be harvested, not wasted
Suppose we get a seed that tastes extremely bitter. Just when we are about to throw it away, if we learn that it can be [...]
When the mind is fast, the intelligence needs to be faster
Our mind can act extremely fast – within moments, it can take our thoughts from one direction to an entirely opposite direction. We may be [...]
The awe-inspiring mystery of God is to be venerated, not penetrated
When we come to know of Krishna’s form, pastimes, philosophy, associates, paraphernalia, we may think that we know him. But do we, really? Krishna is [...]
To trust God means to trust that he can run the world without us
When we hear the Bhagavad-gita’s repeated exhortation to fix our mind on Krishna, we may doubt, “I have so many responsibilities that I need to [...]
The mind makes the easy seem difficult and the difficult seem impossible
When we have to do something, we often assess how easy or difficult it is. For example, if we are traveling, we use a weighing [...]
Our losses empty our heart for God to fill
Suppose our house is filled with junk. If we buy some good furniture, we won’t have any space to keep it till we get rid [...]
Intelligence means to understand how the mind makes us misunderstand
Suppose we are driving a car and our rear-view mirror gives us a distorted picture, making a proximate car appear distant. If we turn around [...]
Seek not to grasp God – seek to be grasped by God
To grasp God means to use our intelligence to comprehend and conquer him; we treat him like an intellectual concept to be figured out. And [...]
Don’t give your mind to people whom you wouldn’t give your time
When somebody has hurt us grievously, we may decide to avoid them in future to protect ourselves from being hurt again. Even if they want [...]
Focus not on life’s unfairness; focus on Krishna’s mercifulness
Life sometimes seems terribly unfair. For no good reason, people accuse, cheat or hurt us. When faced with life’s unfairness, we often feel indignant and [...]
Godliness is both a decision and a disposition
When we strive to lead a godly life, we soon realize that some of us are innately inclined towards God, while others aren’t. We may [...]
Turn to God not to get something, but to be with Someone
When we face problems beyond our power to solve, we often seek God’s help. Echoing this, the Bhagavad-gita (07.16) states that the distressed, the wealth-seekers, [...]
When the mind shows us all that we don’t have, the intelligence needs to show us all that we do have
Our mind frequently craves for the things we don’t have. And such craving is aggravated by today’s media which dangles before us images of thousands [...]
The mind is a great storyteller, but what it tells are just stories, not realities
Some people narrate stories with such animation and emotion that they completely captivate their audiences. While we may appreciate their storytelling expertise, we won’t assume [...]
Personhood is innate to consciousness; it’s not a stage of manifestation of consciousness
Some spiritualists hold that our sense of personhood (“I am a person”) is just a stage in the evolution of consciousness – when consciousness evolves [...]
Materialism reduces human life to an inhuman race from nowhere to nowhere
Many people adopt a materialistic lifestyle without thinking about its implications. A materialistic worldview implies that we have come from nowhere because we didn’t exist [...]
We can’t always control how we feel, but we can control how we act
We all face situations wherein our emotions go wild and push us to act impulsively, say, angrily. Regretting such actions, we resolve to become self-controlled. [...]
Passion increases desire not just in intensity but also in quantity
We may see responsible people become alcoholics and wonder: how can anyone get so bound by desire? Gita wisdom explains that our desires grow by [...]