The material realization that fosters spiritual immersion
Meditation requires us to turn our attention from the world’s promises of pleasure to a higher reality. Such turning away from the world requires a [...]
Temptations are like precision-guided missiles
In a war, the enemy is not just passively waiting to be attacked by us, nor is it hyper-angrily racing to attack us. If the [...]
When food becomes our enemy
What we eat is meant to energize us, to help us break free from the forces that control us, not energize those forces to control [...]
How meditation differs from obsession and frees us from obsession
The Bhagavad-gita (18.22) describes knowledge in the mode of ignorance, which leads people to obsess over one thing as if it were everything. Such an [...]
Importance of intelligence in meditation
Our intelligence is meant to be our protector, akin to an inner guard. We need such a guard because inside us is our mind, which [...]
Krishna is equal – be encouraged, not discouraged
The Bhagavad-gita 9.29 asserts that Krishna is equal to all; there is no one that he favors or disfavors. This assurance of Krishna's equality can [...]
Does surrender mean that God manages our life for us?
The Bhagavad-gita begins and ends with surrender. But these two forms of surrender are significantly different. The initial surrender in 2.7 happens when Arjuna acknowledges [...]
An exam where the examiner is on our side
The Bhagavad-gita (8.27) urges us not to worry about specifics regarding the moment of our death and to instead focus on the universal principle of [...]
Krishna is present in the present
The Bhagavad-gita (12.8) states that those whose mind and intelligence are absorbed in Krishna live in Krishna already. The emphasis is that Krishna is not [...]
When meditation seems like a fruitless struggle …
The Bhagavad-gita (18.32) states that intelligence in the mode of ignorance arrives at conclusions which are the opposite of the right conclusions. Navigating Fruitless Struggles [...]
Meditation & life – compartmentalized or integrated
Our love needs to be seen, not just through the words that we speak but also through the actions that we do. The Bhagavad Gita [...]
Hold a mirror to ourselves and feel satisfied
If we don't hold a mirror to ourselves, we may end up having no inclination or even an aversion to holding a mirror to ourselves. [...]
Get off the slippery slope of random inner desires
To get into a desire is far more difficult than getting out of a desire. Better to exercise our intelligence to decide whether to get [...]
When efforts to concentrate just don’t work …
Whenever we are trying to meditate on Krishna, we may often be challenged by our mind’s wandering here and there. In the Bhagavad-gita (6.26), Krishna [...]
Four ways our mind and intelligence may relate with Krishna
The Bhagavad Gita (8.7) states that to remember Krishna throughout our life, we need to dedicate our mind and intelligence to Him. Our mind is [...]
Cultivating emotions toward Krishna: An acquired taste
The Bhagavad Gita (15.19) declares that those who understand Krishna as the Supreme Person, worship Him with all the emotions of their hearts. What is [...]
From visible to invisible — challenges in meditation on Krishna
The Bhagavad Gita (7.7) states that Krishna is the invisible thread in the necklace of this world. When we are trying to meditate on Krishna, [...]
Are we in charge of our inner world?
The Bhagavad Gita (6.6) warns us that our mind can be our enemy if we are not in control of it. In politics, there are [...]
Gita 01.01 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
Chapter 1 – Overview Total 46 verses, preparation for Krishna to speak His message. In the original Mahabharata written by Srila Vyasa Deva, and the [...]
From material emotion to spiritual emotion
In the Bhagavad-gita verse (4.10), Krishna describes how we can move from material emotion to spiritual emotion. Broadly, the various emotions we have in association [...]
Get out of the intelligence in ignorance
In the Bhagavad-gita (18.32), Krishna states how the buddhi that is in tamas – the intelligence that is in ignorance – arrives at conclusions opposite [...]