Be not self-seeking, be seekers of the self
Self-seeking people care for their own pleasures, without caring for anyone else. Such people can’t be seekers of the self because what they seek is [...]
Devotion commences when God becomes our guide and culminates when he becomes our goal
To embark on any journey, we need to know the starting and ending points. In our devotional journey toward God, what are the starting and [...]
A God who pretended we had no shortcomings would be a God who did not take our potential seriously
Suppose a coach tells a trainee-athlete, “You are perfect; you have no shortcomings.” Such pampering suggests that the coach doesn’t see any potential in that [...]
Addiction is an abductor who extorts ever-increasing ransom but never releases
Suppose an abductor abducts a child and demands a huge ransom from the parents. Even after receiving the ransom, however, they don’t release the child, [...]
Complaining is no one’s birthright – and it has made no one’s birth right
Some people are chronic complainers. They self-righteously justify their negativity, irritability and disagreeability, “Can’t you see how many things have gone wrong in my life? [...]
If we are grateful when ability manifests through us, we can be graceful when it doesn’t
Amid life’s challenges, we all look for some ability that enables us to stand apart. On finding such an ability, we may become proud, delighting [...]
God is always ready to work with us, are we ready to work with him?
Suppose a reputed coach, who has helped many athletes excel, is eager to work with a budding athlete. That athlete would be profoundly grateful. But [...]
When you feel like giving up, start looking up – not sentimentally, but spiritually
When life seems overwhelming, we may feel like giving up. As a last-ditch effort, we may look up. Whether looking up will help depends on [...]
Everything in history is not in memory; everything in memory is not in history – intelligence means to know what belongs where, and to keep it there
History and memory are both records of the past. Yet they can differ significantly. Let’s see how. Everything in history is not in memory: Because [...]
The resilience of the human spirit reflects our longing for and our belonging to transcendence
Life is tough. The difficulties that befall us can be morale-sapping. One thing that inspires us to persevere is stories of people overcoming challenges. Their [...]
Gita 11.34 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 11.34 droṇaṁ ca bhīṣmaṁ [...]
Use cleverness to counter corruptness, not cover corruptness
We all have a certain amount of cleverness and a certain amount of corruptness. Our cleverness enables us to go beyond the appearance of things [...]
Virtue that is more talked than walked is not necessarily infertile, it may just be infantile
Suppose someone speaks big things, but doesn’t live accordingly. We may dismiss their talk as big bluster: “What they speak is infertile – nothing comes [...]
Know when to give others space and when to give them pace
If someone intrudes into our personal physical space by coming too close to us, we feel uncomfortable. We similarly feel uncomfortable when someone intrudes into [...]
Solutions that try to satisfy everyone usually sway no one and solve nothing
Whenever we face problems, different people suggest different solutions. Because everyone is irreducibly individual, people often have irreducibly different opinions. While deciding which solution to [...]
To take sole credit for our abilities is to put too much burden on ourselves
Amid life’s inevitable struggles, we all seek some abilities that help us thrive or at least survive. When we discover some such abilities, we naturally [...]
When nothing feels filthy, everything may be tidy – or everything may be filthy
Suppose we enter a tidy room. If we cast one thing around carelessly, it stands out as an eyesore. But if the whole room is [...]
Even if we can’t stop feeling sensual urges, we can stop feeding sensual urges
Suppose we live in a forest cabin. We may not be able to prevent the arrival of unwanted animals. But we can avoid feeding them, [...]
When the part offers its whole to the Whole, the Whole makes the part whole
We often feel a sense of incompleteness, a feeling that something is missing in our lives. Usually, we try to overcome this feeling by getting [...]
Stop playing games with your mind – and with those who play games with your mind
Suppose a person starts playing with a poisonous snake, treating it like a pet or a toy. They would be courting danger. Suppose they had [...]
If we let our mind devalue our efforts to improve our life, it will end up devaluing our entire life
We sometimes try to do some things to improve our life. Though we start enthusiastically, soon our mind starts devaluing our efforts: “Even if you [...]