Relief and release – the two fruits of purification
Purification is an oft-heard word in spiritual circles. What does it mean? And what is its benefit? Purification essentially has two aspects: decrease of attraction [...]
One who rides a tiger into its lair becomes its dinner
Riding something that moves fast can be exhilarating. To get that thrill, many people drive bikes or horses at high speed. But suppose a person [...]
Do the extraordinary for the extraordinary, not the ordinary
We all want to do something special, and thereby get some special happiness. To get this happiness, we need to re-educate ourselves about what is [...]
When we have a feeling of failure instead of a failure of feeling, we have a success
Failure in any field, be it academics, sports or work, often makes us feel disappointed, rejected, unworthy even. A similar distress may dog us when [...]
No prison imprisons as badly as the prison of doubt
Suppose a patient has been fleeced by a doctor and so can’t trust any doctor. That cynicism imprisons the patient perpetually in disease. A far [...]
The purpose of service is not productivity or popularity but purity
In our rushed lives, we often have so many things to do that we are caught in getting them done, not in enjoying doing them. [...]
Bhakti-yoga transforms roadblocks to reality into roadways
“Cool down; otherwise you won’t be able to think clearly.” Common statements like these indicate that emotions often act as roadblocks to perception of reality; [...]
To become devotionally responsive, become intellectually responsible
Responsive refers to those who respond and are capable of responding, whereas responsible refers to those who are ‘response + able’, able to choose an [...]
The yogi’s transcendence of scripture is not due to defiance or ignorance or negligence but due to scripture’s irrelevance
Just as we need a manual to best handle a technological device, we need a manual to best handle the ultimate cosmological device – the [...]
Evil never wins as thoroughly as when it wins in the heart
Crime, terrorism, brutality. Whenever we hear about such evil things happening in the world, we naturally feel angry at the evil perpetrators. While such reactions [...]
Is our assumption about love blocking our realization of love?
Love is what novels and movies talk about. Such depictions of love conjure images of sensual highs and emotional crests. But real love is [...]
Devotional culture sets us free from our emotional cocoons
Loneliness is a widespread problem nowadays. Not loneliness in a physical sense; many people live in crowded matchbox-like apartments in skyscraper building. But loneliness in [...]
Slave not to get worldly recognition; strive to give Krishna recognition
We all feel sometimes that our abilities are not adequately recognized, that we are underappreciated. Most people spend their entire lives trying to correct this [...]
Those who take a strong stand internally stand strong externally
Two buildings may look equally firm, yet when a devastating storm comes, one crumbles, while the other stands strong. Why the difference? Because their foundations [...]
When one makes lust a god, lust makes one a devil
“No problem’s so big that sex can’t solve it.” So believe the materialists whose minds are filled with endless sexual fantasies. The Bhagavad-gita (16.10) indicates [...]
Charity is not just an activity but also a mentality
Charity is usually thought of as an activity, the action of contributing to some worthy cause. But the Bhagavad-gita (16.01) lists charity as a quality. [...]
Let the thoughts that go away from Krishna take our thoughts towards Krishna
Suppose while swimming in a river in one direction, we find ourselves swept away suddenly and dangerously in the opposite direction. Though we may panic [...]
Krishna is not a dispensable filler; he is an indispensable shelter
“I don’t have time.” That’s how we often respond whenever we are urged to give devotion to Krishna its due place in our lives. This [...]
The mind makes us a stranger to ourselves
If we look in a mirror and find a stranger looking back at us, we will be disturbed. That’s what sometimes happens to us when [...]
When worry accelerates the imagination, let faith become the brake
Worry accelerates our imagination. When we face problems, worry paints dreadful pictures of the many further things that may go wrong, thereby sucking our mental [...]
Our bonds are not prisoner’s shackles, but puppeteer’s strings
We treasure freedom as an inalienable right and resist anything that threatens it. However, we think of freedom largely in terms of the freedom [...]