If we don’t make time for time-saving activities, we stay hard-pressed for time
We frequently feel pressured because we have too many things to do and too little time to do them in. And our devotional engagements may [...]
Gita 06.38 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya 38-45: If the mind deviates the [...]
Don’t go through the motions – go through to the emotions
Going through the motions refers to doing things superficially, perfunctorily, mechanically – akin to the way a machine moves, without any emotional involvement. Bhakti is [...]
Death is a comma, not a full stop
Most people dread the prospect of death because they think that it implies losing everything they hold dear and losing their very existence. Thankfully however, [...]
New book release: Belong – Gita daily series book 3
Belong addresses our heart’s longing to belong to something bigger than ourselves – a longing that is nourished and fulfilled by the Bhagavad-gita’s transformational message [...]
Thinking is natural, but thinking about thinking is special
All living beings think – thinking is a natural characteristic of consciousness. Though natural, thinking doesn’t naturally go in desirable directions. Misdirected thoughts can make [...]
Work – don’t carry workload
When we see our work as workload, we feel burdened. We can’t avoid our work, but we can avoid seeing it as a load. How? [...]
In the mystery that is spirituality, the investigator is the investigated
Suppose an investigator is asked to solve the mystery of the missing heir of a dynasty – and after due investigation, he discovers that he [...]
Gita 13.31 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now the focus is shifting [...]
Our spirituality is bigger than our humanity
We humans have something special that other species don’t have – something that has enabled us to do distinctive things such as compose literature, develop [...]
Don’t let the mind play truant in the school of bhakti
Suppose a mother sends her child to school, but the child after wearing the uniform and carrying the satchel slips off to play instead of [...]
Gita 06.31 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Now there could be confusion between [...]
When the mind functions primarily as a mirror instead of as a window, we gain self-realization
Suppose a cosmonaut is in a spacecraft that has a window for seeing outside but is pitch-dark inside. Similar is our present position. We are [...]
Unconsciousness is a state of consciousness – not an absence of consciousness
People who undergo near-death experiences (NDEs) sometimes report that they perceived, from an out-of-body perspective, things that happened while they were medically unconscious. Occasionally, they [...]
Maya is not just illusion – it is also the agency that brings about illusion
The word “Maya” is common in yogic philosophy. Though often translated as illusion, Maya is also the agency that brings about illusion. The Bhagavad-gita (07.14) [...]
Gita 06.29 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya 10-32: From practice to perfection in [...]
Note consciously what you notice unconsciously
In the Mahabharata, when Arjuna disguised as a brahmana won Draupadi’s hand in the svayamvara, Drupada sensed that his to-be son-in-law was actually a kshatriya. [...]
The mind is the TV – and the TV-thief
Suppose a person is watching TV, and a thief sneaks into the house and starts carrying the TV away. However, the person is so engrossed [...]
Our destiny is bigger than our biology
People are often eager to know their destiny – what lies ahead in their life. This eagerness accounts for the widespread fascination with astrology, numerology, [...]
Krishna is not a passive point of concentration – he is the proactive fount of compassion
Yogis begin their meditation by using various objects as initial points of concentration. The Bhagavad-gita mentions that they may focus on the space between their [...]
Expansion of consciousness opens the self to the self
When we are so caught in watching a movie as to be oblivious to everything else, our consciousness shrinks to the movie screen. But when [...]