Are we strong enough to admit that we are not strong enough?
When problems assault us, it’s easy to cave in, to lose heart, to give up. It’s easy, but it’s also weak. And we like to [...]
Might we be blocking the progress of a work in progress?
Suppose a child lying on a mother’s lap sees her mother stitching and weaving a cloth. The needle seems to come in and out of [...]
Why sentence ourselves to meaninglessness, purposelessness and joylessness?
Skeptics often ask, “What is the use of devoting so much time to God?” Little do they understand that Krishna brings meaning, purpose and joy [...]
How can we pursue that which we don’t perceive?
Our vision determines our action. If on a road we don’t see a speed-breaker, we won’t slow down and so get jolted. If at a [...]
Send resentment to retirement
Few things can check and choke us as badly as resentment. When things go wrong, resentment builds up within us, seeking a target – outwards, [...]
Love is the ultimate knowledge – and is the way to the ultimate knowledge
Love reigns supreme. Not just in matters of the heart, but also in matters of the head. This is the sweet and supreme insight of [...]
Is nothing the place where something is hiding?
Some people say, “When we do nothing, then we will become free from all external preoccupations and thereby discover our true self.” Will we? Yes, [...]
Do we need to lose our way to find our way?
Life sometimes brings us to a dead end. In the face of overwhelming obstacles, everything seems lost. Not knowing where to go or what to [...]
Losing our way to find our way
Life sometimes brings us to a dead end. In the face of overwhelming obstacles, everything seems lost. We feel as if we have lost our [...]
Let’s learn to laugh with others, not laugh at others
Laughing at others – their fallacies and follies – is something we often enjoy. If not publically, then at least privately. It makes us feel [...]
Satisfaction is not just a condition but also a choice
Job dissatisfaction. Marital dissatisfaction. Monetary Dissatisfaction…. The malaise of dissatisfaction plagues millions. Of course, dissatisfaction is not always a malaise. It can point to a [...]
Should we be happy when we are happy?
When we are materially happy, we are exhausting our past stock of good karma – something similar to depleting the money in our bank account. [...]
True austerity is supplicative not manipulative
Gita wisdom frequently surprises us by taking us beyond surface to the substance of things. Few things illustrate this as graphically as the Bhagavad-gita (17.19) [...]
Are we mistaking an inner lacking for an outer lacking?
We sometimes feel that something is lacking in our life. Before we can soberly investigate what it is that is missing, the culture fills our [...]
Are we conscious that Krishna is conscious of us?
We express love for a person by being mindful of that person. By being conscious of that person as we go about our various duties [...]
The false currency that keeps us trading in the stock exchange of illusion
Money. That’s what people hope to gain by trading in the stock exchange. The trading is often frantic and frenzied. But suppose the currency being [...]
Might a 20/20 vision lead to blindness?
Smaller electronic gadgets; greater functionalities; faster net connections. Such advances may make us believe that future technological advances will enable us to become happy and [...]
Might we be protecting our heart from Krishna instead of for Krishna?
As aspiring devotees, we long to relish the spiritual emotions that the bhakti scriptures extol. Such devotional longing is natural and desirable. However, it comes [...]
Let’s guard our consciousness the way we guard our homes
We guard our homes against trespassers, often warding them off with the notice, “Trespassers will be prosecuted.” Gita wisdom urges us to guard our consciousness [...]
Realization comes by riveting to the relationship, not the ritual
Reciting mantras, worshiping the Deity, fasting on holy days – many such rituals characterize spiritual life. As these rituals are visible and tangible, it is [...]
When we best serve Krishna by keeping out of his business
Faultfinding comes easy for most of us; it gives a much-craved boost to our false ego by making us feeling superior to the faulty. And [...]