The mind makes us depressed and then makes us depressed that we are depressed
Life by its very nature is characterized by both good and bad. And when bad things happen, we naturally feel disappointed. But our mind starts [...]
Treating the mind as an enemy can be uncomfortable, treating it as a friend can be fatal — treat it as a patient
Suppose we are living with someone prone to wild mood swings. We will need to watch them carefully to understand their present mood and adapt [...]
Devotion is not just about bringing God into our life; it is also about letting God bring us into his life
Most people nowadays are functionally nontheistic; they may not be explicitly atheistic, but they live as if God doesn’t matter. We start bringing God into [...]
Forgiveness shouldn’t enable atrocity; it should end animosity
To know when to forgive, we need to recognize two different needs: ending atrocity and ending animosity. Ending atrocity: If someone is treating us hurtfully, [...]
When we react to atrocity with fury, we give the forces of illusion control over both sides of the war
Suppose two countries start fighting because one of them has done something terrible. Suppose further that one side is usually good and the other routinely [...]
God takes our potential seriously, do we?
Suppose a coach takes the potential of a budding cricketer seriously. That means even if the player goes through a bad patch, the coach stands [...]
The more our consciousness is crowded, the more our conscience becomes clouded
Suppose we are walking through a crowded place where people are pushing each other. In that crush, if a pickpocket reaches into our purse and [...]
To get the consequences of our wrongdoings may feel like misfortune, but it can save us from misfortune
Suppose someone gambles for the first time. If they lose, they will consider it a misfortune. Actually however, it can save them from the misfortune [...]
Gita 18.54 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now Krishna will talk about [...]
If we start dwelling on whatever our mind is thinking, our thinking starts stinking
Suppose something is stinking in our home. We will immediately find and remove it. We need to do the same when our thinking starts stinking. [...]
Raised fists or linked arms don’t transform as effectively as folded hands
Suppose we see something terribly wrong in the world around us. It may impel us to raise our fists in shocked protest. Or it may [...]
More important than staying in touch with the world is staying in touch with ourselves
We often want to stay in touch with the world, ostensibly to be prepared in case something happens somewhere that is likely to impact us. [...]
Philosophical education teaches us how to think, ideological indoctrination tells us what to think
We all speak, but that doesn’t mean we know how to speak effectively. Similarly, we all think, but that doesn’t mean we know how to [...]
Even if we can’t drive away inner impurities, we can still drive away from inner impurities
Suppose an obscene billboard comes up in our neighborhood. If we want our locality to be family-friendly, we will want that image removed. But if [...]
Power needs to be kept out of the hands of those who worship power
To do anything at all, we need power, be it physical, electrical, political or whatever else. On seeing how much can be done with power, [...]
When we are praying, know that God is hearing us better than we are speaking
Suppose we are speaking with someone and we sense that they aren’t really hearing us, that they aren’t offering us either an attentive ear or [...]
Gita 18.45 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now after discussing about all [...]
When we say no to God, it’s mostly because we don’t know God
Contemporary society has largely said no to God — not so much by denying his existence as by relegating him to irrelevance. Most people nowadays [...]
If we are defeated by temptation, it doesn’t mean we can’t win — it just means we can’t win alone
Suppose we resolve to reject a temptation, but fail, and fail repeatedly. We may become disheartened thinking, “I can never win against this temptation.” Our [...]
Gita 06.36 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya 33-37: Dealing with the mind, the [...]
To perceive God, we don’t need any instrument; we only need to become his instrument
On seeing impressive scientific instruments, we may wonder, “Can science develop an instrument sophisticated enough to perceive God?” That’s like asking: will a future telescope [...]