How we may overestimate the power of speech
Suppose someone’s car stops working. They infer, “The spark plug is the problem,” whereas their friend who is no more a car expert than them [...]
Why we may underestimate the power of words
Suppose a friend comes to us with a black eye, a bleeding nose and a broken tooth. We will be concerned, if not alarmed. We [...]
Why speaking effectively is as difficult as loving authentically
When we love someone authentically, that love involves a dynamic tension between our concern for them as they are presently and our concern for what [...]
When political correctness helps and when it harms
Few things are as polarizing in today’s Left-Right cultural divide as political correctness. The Left often condemns politically incorrect speech, seeing it as evidence that [...]
How our speech becomes ineffective – 2
Suppose a child meets with a terrible accident that permanently damages his legs. Cultured society may avoid referring to him as lame or even as [...]
How our speech becomes ineffective – 1
Speech is effective when it is both sensible and sensitive (Bhagavad-gita 17.15). Our speech becomes ineffective when we are sensible but not sensitive. Let’s understand [...]
Two ways to make our speech more effective
“How can I make my speech more effective?” We all have probably asked ourselves this question, especially after we tried to persuade someone of something [...]
Seek more to connect than to correct
On the brink of the Mahabharata war, Arjuna was overwhelmed by misdirected compassion and was about to abandon his duty. Krishna could simply have corrected [...]
How not to share spirituality
Suppose a blind person is out in the cold, covered only by a thin, torn sheet. Wanting to give them a thick, intact comforter, we [...]
When being truthful makes us unhelpful …
Suppose a first-grade student struggling with math approaches their teacher and says: “This is so difficult.” And the teacher shows the student a 500-page book [...]
Are we using our intelligence intelligently?
When we see someone with intelligence far greater than ours (as measured by some parameter such as IQ), we may feel inferior or insecure. We [...]
When black-and-white analysis helps and when it harms
The Bhagavad-gita analyzes people into two distinct categories: godly and ungodly (16.05). We might wonder, “Are such categories useful when most people fall somewhere in [...]
How to respond when someone hurts us?
When someone speaks harshly or acts cruelly toward us, how we respond depends primarily on their disposition. The Bhagavad-gita (16.04) mentions two distinct dispositions: godly [...]
Get rid of misplaced guilt
Suppose a policeman feels guilty about putting a vicious criminal in solitary confinement. If that criminal has been duly tried and convicted, then the policeman’s [...]
What does growing up mean? – 2
When someone complains too much about how hard things are, they are sometimes told to grow up. What does that mean? It means to understand [...]
What does growing up mean?
If someone is whiny, a candid well-wisher may exhort them: “Grow up.” What does it mean? It refers not to physical growth but to emotional [...]
Two ways to deal with resentment
Resentment is a toxic but telling emotion. To understand what it is telling us, we need to attentively analyze its cause. Usually resentment arises from [...]
How can we be grateful when we don’t feel grateful?
When we strive to cultivate gratitude, we often find it elusive. At one moment, we feel grateful; sometime later, we feel the opposite: fearful, fretful, [...]
How to feel grateful when life gets tough?
Here are two thought-exercises: Dwell on the wonders of life: Though life can be demanding, even devastating, it also features much beauty, artistry and sublimity. [...]
Why gratitude is especially difficult in today’s world
Even when we have enough of the things we need, we don’t always feel grateful for them. Why is that? Because we don’t see the [...]
Why is it so difficult to feel grateful?
If asked specifically to list things we are grateful for, we all can easily list several things. Yet during our daily life, we don’t so [...]