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
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 [...]
How pride can corrupt both faith and doubt …
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 [...]
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?
If we lack freedom or willpower what can we do? - When we try to do something worthwhile, if external situations hamper us, we may [...]
When helping others is compassion and when it isn’t …
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 [...]
What does it mean to know Krishna?
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 [...]
How our mind can be a double agent
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 [...]
The pleasure of being miserable
The pleasure of being miserable - Pleasure and misery are opposites — how, then, can there be any pleasure in being miserable? Because the mind [...]
How could past people believe in things we find irrational?
How could past people believe in things we find irrational? - Some people argue, “Past people who believed ancient texts were irrational — that’s why [...]
On parenting the mind
On parenting the mind - When parents decide to have a child, they know they are taking up a serious responsibility. Undoubtedly, parenting can be [...]
How our mind misdirects our energies
How our mind misdirects our energies - Suppose a child is trying to heat some water on a stove and starts stoking the fire. But [...]
How we may overestimate the power of speech
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 [...]
Why we may underestimate the power of words
Why we may underestimate the power of words - Suppose a friend comes to us with a black eye, a bleeding nose and a broken [...]
Why speaking effectively is as difficult as loving authentically
Why speaking effectively is as difficult as loving authentically - When we love someone authentically, that love involves a dynamic tension between our concern for [...]
When political correctness helps and when it harms
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 [...]
How our speech becomes ineffective – 2
How our speech becomes ineffective - 2 - Suppose a child meets with a terrible accident that permanently damages his legs. Cultured society may avoid [...]
How our speech becomes ineffective – 1
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 [...]
Two ways to make our speech more effective
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 [...]
Seek more to connect than to correct
Seek more to connect than to correct - On the brink of the Mahabharata war, Arjuna was overwhelmed by misdirected compassion and was about to [...]
How not to share spirituality
How not to share spirituality - Suppose a blind person is out in the cold, covered only by a thin, torn sheet. Wanting to give [...]