How to avoid unhealthy reactions to unwanted emotions
Suppose we experience a craving that runs contrary to the principles we hold sacred. Faced with this unwanted emotion, we may react by becoming judgmental [...]
How to see negative emotions positively
We all sometimes experience negative emotions such as loneliness, dejection, resentment, anger or fear. When such emotions arise, we may let ourselves get carried away [...]
Gita 02.52 explained
Now, after describing this, Krishna will again come to the point of how this attainment of anamayam (2.51) is beyond even the Vedas. It is [...]
How intelligence and scripture may increase our illusions
The Bhagavad-gita (02.53) cautions that our intelligence can get lost in the forest of illusion created by words. Consider two striking points in this verse. [...]
What does it mean to “follow our heart”?
Suppose we have to decide about complex and consequential issues such as choosing a career, a life-partner or a spiritual teacher. We may be told, [...]
What is the heart?
Many regularly used words have nuances that we rarely ponder. Consider the word “heart.” When we say, “He suffered a heart attack,” we refer to [...]
How to expand our God consciousness in our relationships
When we strive to become God conscious by doing various devotional practices, we often start evaluating the God consciousness of those around us. We strive [...]
Do emotions reside in the mind?
To understand, consider an analogous question: do sensations reside in the body? Suppose a 20 kg dumbbell is placed in our palm, and we feel [...]
How are thoughts and emotions related
Thoughts and emotions are sometimes seen as sequential — when we think steadily about something, we feel emotions in relationship with it. Pertinently, the Bhagavad-gita [...]
Do bad thoughts comprise bad karma?
At one level, yes. Because thinking is also a form of activity, and every activity comes under the jurisdiction of karma, we are accountable for [...]
Are thoughts things?
The word “thing” has multiple meanings. It can refer to an object, especially an inanimate object, as in: “There wasn't a thing in sight.” If [...]
The law of attraction and Gita wisdom
The law of attraction holds that we attract positive and negative things respectively by cultivating positive or negative thoughts. Is this law true? Why does [...]
Will negative imagination lead to self-fulfilling prophecies?
When a person having unhealthy habits is told to imagine the disasters that may result if they continue with those habits, they worry, “Won’t such [...]
Gita 02.63 explained
BG 2.63 krodhad bhavati sammohah sammohat smriti-vibhramah smriti-bhramsad buddhi-naso buddhi-nasat pranasyati SYNONYMS krodhat -- from anger; bhavati -- takes place; sammohah -- perfect illusion; sammohat [...]
The power of negative imagination
Biologically, we are wired more to fear pain than to savor pleasure. In most enjoyable situations, there’s a self-evident limit to how much pleasure we [...]
Use imagination to reinforce resolution
We sometimes resolve to not do something, yet end up doing that very thing. For example, we may resolve to avoid binging on food, entertainment [...]
We are already in God’s embrace
How we conceive God determines how we relate with him. If we conceive of him as a being who exists far away, high in the [...]
Why compassion matters more than erudition
Suppose we discuss spirituality with a loved one whose conceptions differ from what we have learnt in sacred texts like the Bhagavad-gita. We may feel [...]
Understanding the relationship between love and freedom
Love is founded in freedom: Suppose a boy proposes to a girl saying, “I love you. Will you marry me?” Suppose she declines. And he [...]
How Krishna’s relationship with us differs from our relationship with him
The Bhagavad-gita’s conclusion contains a disarming declaration: Krishna is determined to love us (18.64: ishto ‘si drdham iti). This is no empty claim — he [...]
How desires differ from emotions — and why the difference matters
When we make resolutions for self-mastery, we are often thwarted by our emotions and desires. Emotions are largely reactive, arising from the things we perceive [...]