Is war evil?
War often has terrible consequences. Seeing these consequences, some people deem war itself evil. Such pronouncements can help if they counter the unhealthy glamorization of [...]
Why couldn’t the Pandavas resolve their conflict peacefully?
Much modern thought, especially liberal thought, holds that all conflicts are caused by misunderstandings and can be resolved by discussions. And this is true on [...]
How individuality matters more than equality
Suppose someone is a champion of equality and is seeking a life-partner. Will they just look at the teeming mass of humanity and pick up [...]
How the search for equality becomes imbalanced
Suppose we are severely sick. Would we care whether the hospital has doctors from various ethnic backgrounds? No, we would care whether it has the [...]
Why helping others doesn’t always help others
Suppose a person had a severe accident that immobilized them for a long time. As they recover, they need to start doing things for themselves, [...]
Why imposing equality backfires?
Suppose a class teacher resolves to do away with all inequality in students’ marks. So they decide to average the marks of all the students [...]
Gita 07.08 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya In fact How He pervades How [...]
Does inequality always arise from discrimination?
Suppose we are watching a sports match. What makes sports entertaining, even captivating, is the capacity of players to excel: to tackle extreme challenges, to [...]
Why all equalities are not equal
We live in an age that cherishes equality, and rightly so. In many ways, we have put behind several forms of discrimination that characterized large [...]
Imposing social equality or inspiring individual spirituality?
Suppose we are organizing an athletic competition. To be fair to all participants, we will want to make the playing field level; no one should [...]
Justice or just is?
Suppose a ship with three hundred people is hit by an iceberg and starts sinking. Suppose further that it only has life-saving equipment for a [...]
How to cultivate equanimity?
In today’s fast-paced world characterized by sudden and massive changes, we often appreciate people who stay cool-headed. How can we too develop such equanimity? Do [...]
How accountability can save us from humiliation
We all may have some unhealthy habits that we grapple with. We may overcome them temporarily, but eventually we relapse. How can we protect ourselves? [...]
Gita 03.40 explained
Krishna describes enemy, the enemy covers our intelligence. Where is that enemy present? BG 3.40 indriyani mano buddhir asyadhishthanam ucyate etair vimohayaty esha jnanam avritya [...]
Why the cause of illusion is not what we usually think it is
When people get captivated by an illusion, such as a bottle of alcohol or a good-looking person, what is the cause of their illusion? A [...]
Winning, whining, wining — or worshiping?
Suppose we strive to do something challenging. If we win, our mind becomes jubilant; if we don't, it often goes into a zone of negativity, [...]
Is God partial?
Some people ask, “In earthly conflicts, as depicted in the Mahabharata, why does God take sides? Is he being partial?” No, he is simply being [...]
Are we holding others to an unrealistically high standard?
Suppose someone we know does something so shocking that we feel, “I don’t want anything to do with such a horrible person.” While our shock [...]
Gita 07.11 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Till now Sri Krishna has talked [...]
Is our knowledge making us prouder or wiser?
We often think that if we gain enough information, we will become knowledgeable. Significantly however, the Bhagavad-gita (14.17) states that knowledge grows by leading a [...]
Gita 02.02 explained
BG 2.2 sri-bhagavan uvaca kutas tva kasmalam idam vishame samupasthitam anarya-jushtam asvargyam akirti-karam arjuna SYNONYMS sri-bhagavan uvaca -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; kutah [...]