Does devotion make us successful in everything we do?
Devotees sometimes think, “If I can’t do a particular service successfully, that’s because I am insincere; if I had been sufficiently sincere and pure, I [...]
Gita 04.34 explained
We are in concluding section of 4th ch, Shri Krishna has talked about various forms of Yajna by which once can acquire knowledge and knowledge [...]
How faith and doubt can both be used spiritually
A functional car needs to have both an accelerator and a brake. While driving, when we are on the right track, we can press the [...]
When the tendency to doubt helps
In today’s educated circles, doubt is celebrated as an intellectual strength. Whenever thoughtful people encounter any claim, especially any claim connected with religion or spirituality, [...]
How pride can corrupt both faith and doubt …
We often equate pride with respect-demanding and self-congratulatory hubris. But it can appear much more subtly when it corrupts our two tools for seeking knowledge: [...]
Gita 5.25 explained
# BG 5.25 Last portion of the 5th Chapter! In the last section Sri Krishna told how a yogi can attain liberation by [...]
If we lack freedom or willpower, what can we do?
When we try to do something worthwhile, if external situations hamper us, we may lament our lack of freedom. Or if internal conditionings hamper us, [...]
When helping others is compassion and when it isn’t …
Suppose someone is starving. We may help them by giving some money. If they are starving because a recession has left them jobless, they will [...]
What does it mean to know Krishna?
The Bhagavad-gita repeatedly talks about knowing Krishna — those who know him attain his abode (04.09). What does such knowing mean? To understand, let’s compare [...]
How our mind can be a double agent
Suppose a country’s intelligence agency needs to do a vital mission for which they need a particular spy. Suppose further they suspect that spy to [...]
The pleasure of being miserable
Pleasure and misery are opposites — how, then, can there be any pleasure in being miserable? Because the mind is a peculiar thing; it can [...]
How could past people believe in things we find irrational?
Some people argue, “Past people who believed ancient texts were irrational — that’s why they accepted various fantastic elements found in those texts.” Consider the [...]
On parenting the mind
When parents decide to have a child, they know they are taking up a serious responsibility. Undoubtedly, parenting can be enormously fulfilling; yet it can [...]
How our mind misdirects our energies
Suppose a child is trying to heat some water on a stove and starts stoking the fire. But somehow the fire starts spreading beyond the [...]
How we may overestimate the power of speech
Suppose someone’s car stops working. They infer, “The spark plug is the problem,” whereas their friend who is no more a car expert than them [...]
Why we may underestimate the power of words
Suppose a friend comes to us with a black eye, a bleeding nose and a broken tooth. We will be concerned, if not alarmed. We [...]
Why speaking effectively is as difficult as loving authentically
When we love someone authentically, that love involves a dynamic tension between our concern for them as they are presently and our concern for what [...]
When political correctness helps and when it harms
Few things are as polarizing in today’s Left-Right cultural divide as political correctness. The Left often condemns politically incorrect speech, seeing it as evidence that [...]
How our speech becomes ineffective – 2
Suppose a child meets with a terrible accident that permanently damages his legs. Cultured society may avoid referring to him as lame or even as [...]
How our speech becomes ineffective – 1
Speech is effective when it is both sensible and sensitive (Bhagavad-gita 17.15). Our speech becomes ineffective when we are sensible but not sensitive. Let’s understand [...]
Two ways to make our speech more effective
“How can I make my speech more effective?” We all have probably asked ourselves this question, especially after we tried to persuade someone of something [...]