Watch the watchdog of conscience that watches for us and watches us
During our spiritual journey, we face dangers from worldly temptations. When we encounter things that seem delightful but are actually painful, our conscience acts like [...]
The more Krishna seems unnecessary, the more worldly unnecessities seem necessary
What we internally conceive as necessary, we externally pursue. Thus, an alcoholic internally thinks of alcohol as essential and externally chases it. What are our [...]
The ceiling of impersonalism is the beginning of transcendental personalism
Impersonalism is the notion that ultimate reality is without any personal attributes. It conceives of spiritual perfection as freedom from all emotions and reciprocations, the [...]
Focus not on what we have to renounce for spirituality; focus on what serious spiritualists get that enables them to renounce
Prospective spiritualists sometimes fear, “If I practice spirituality, I will have to give up so many enjoyable activities. How can I live without them?” Such [...]
Detachment is not hard-heartedness, but clear-headedness
Some people ask: “When the Gita (13.10) asked Arjuna to become detached from family members such as sons, why did he become so distraught after [...]
Don’t let offense towards others’ faults become a pseudo-defense of one’s own faults
Offense is the best defense, states a common saying. The Bhagavad-gita (02.61) recommends this strategy in our inner war: to attain self-mastery, fix the consciousness [...]
Those who make pleasure the purpose of their life make their life purposeless
We are all innately pleasure-seeking. Gita wisdom explains that we being souls, eternal parts of Krishna, can find the supreme pleasure by serving him with [...]
Let the intelligence’s discrimination lead through the mind’s delusion to the heart’s devotion
We all have an inner enemy within us – some mysterious presence that impels us to act against our best interests. Different traditions refer to [...]
Devotion expands meditation to include emotion and action
Many people think that meditation is primarily a way to still the agitated mind. So, they think that any object such as a candle or [...]
The defect of distraction distorts the defender into a defector
The life of a spiritual seeker is the life of a warrior – a warrior defending the territory of the consciousness against the forces of [...]
Material bondage is a restriction not in location, but in conception
The word ‘bondage’ often evokes an image of someone bound to a particular location, say, a hostage tied to a chair. Our bondage in material [...]
We have to live our lives ourselves and live with ourselves
People whose lives are messed up often long for a magic wand type solution – just one touch and everything becomes wonderful. Gita wisdom doesn’t [...]
For the cynic, the truth lies in the heart
Some people are inveterate cynics who ascribe the darkest motives to even the noblest actions. When such cynics target religion, they see God as a [...]
Take emotions into account but don’t let them be the only thing in the account
At the start of the Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna is overcome by myriad complex emotions that bring him on the verge of an emotional breakdown. By the [...]
The mind needs not what it heeds and heeds not what it needs
The Bhagavad-gita (06.06) cautions us that the mind can be our worst enemy. How does the mind act inimically? By misdirecting our attention and energy [...]
The bird may be encaged, but its desires stay engaged in the field
A bird may be physically restrained by a cage, but it can’t be mentally restrained from dreaming and craving about the grains it could have [...]
To understand that we can’t understand Krishna is the key to understanding him
In the Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna admits (10.14) that even superhuman beings such as gods can’t understand Krishna. Thereby, he conveys that he too can’t understand Krishna. [...]
Devotees left with nothing are right with Krishna
Some people believe that material prosperity is a sign of God’s pleasure and material adversity, a sign of his displeasure. Such beliefs are typical of [...]
Those who insist that the contextual is universal become fanatical
Most people dread fanaticism, for our world is scarred by many religious conflicts. What makes religious practitioners fanatical? Obsession with the externals of their [...]
Ignorance makes the insufferable seem irresistible
Drunkards suffer terribly due to their addiction – the hangover, the mortification at finding oneself crazed out, the humiliation when one becomes an object of [...]
To let the nourishing water of truth irrigate the heart, break the dam of misconception
Devotee-seekers sometimes get the question: “If Krishna is all-attractive, then why is everyone not attracted to him?” Because they do not wish to be attracted [...]