Even if we can’t flatten the pandemic curve, we can flatten the panic curve
When the world is caught in a pandemic, the government may impose social distancing or even lockdown. We can and should do our part in [...]
Even though we have more enemies than we realize, we also have more friends than we realize
Suppose we are confronting someone. To face them effectively, we need to know our friends and our enemies. If someone we had overlooked turns out [...]
Gita 16.07 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 16.7 pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ [...]
The more we consider others’ need, the more we can free ourselves from our greed
Suppose we come to our home and are starving. We see some food in our fridge and devour it all, even though it is more [...]
Even if we can’t elevate our consciousness, we can still expand our consciousness
Suppose we are looking at the ground level of a skyscraper building. If we look up, we may be either impressed or intimidated to see [...]
As long as we lack purity, we live in poverty, no matter how much money we have
We often equate poverty with a lack of money. And that's true at one level. If we don't have food, if we don't have clothes [...]
Appreciating our spiritual identity can anchor us amid the turbulence of contemporary society
In today's world, people grow up bereft of many of the supports that grounded and guided their formation of identity and the development of their [...]
Respond to moral failure not by mental punishment, but by spiritual reinstatement
Life can be a constant moral struggle. We are prone to hundreds and thousands of temptation that incite us to immoral indulgence. We may resolve [...]
By overemphasizing identity, identity politics ends up obscuring identity
The word identity politics can have two distinct meanings. One is that it is a politics based on asserting identity as contrasted with asserting class [...]
Without spiritual direction, religious regulation seems like pointless restriction or even painful repression
Suppose we're walking along a road through mountainous territory toward a beautiful resort on the top of a mountain. On both sides of the road [...]
We can’t foresee every consequence of our actions, but we can foresee their probable consequences — and we should
Suppose we are driving a huge truck and a drunk person suddenly comes in the middle of the road. If an accident occurs, the law [...]
Transform depressing loneliness into nourishing solitude by seeking spiritual purpose
When we are placed in situations that distance us from others, we may naturally feel lonely. And that loneliness can drain and depress us. But [...]
Gita 09.14 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 9.14 satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ [...]
Faith is seen through both firmness in intention and flexibility in execution
During a pandemic, if temples are closed to avoid infection, does that indicate a lack of faith among the devoted? Not necessarily. The essence of [...]
Might nature be teaching us to stop believing that we humans alone matter on the earth?
For the last few centuries, we humans have used the power of technology to exploit nature indiscriminately and disrupt delicate ecological balances. Underlying our actions [...]
Gita 5.22 explained
Now Sri Krishna will talk about on what basis a person will become bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā. Why one should give up outer pleasures Sri Krishna says [...]
Gita 5.9 explained
BG 5.8 Bg 5.8-9 naiva kiñcit karomīti yukto manyeta tattva-vit paśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrann aśnan gacchan svapañ śvasan pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann unmiṣan nimiṣann api indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu [...]
Gita 17.20 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan So first Krishna talked about [...]
If saving lives means something more than delaying death, then we all have the opportunity to save lives
During a pandemic, the medical care providers are the frontline warriors. By their courageous and competent actions, they can save people's lives. When the pandemic [...]
For protection amid pandemics, seek not just a hand sanitizer, but also a mind sanitizer
During pandemics, we protect ourselves from germs using a hand sanitizer. Simultaneously, we need to protect ourselves from unhealthy emotions such as panic; these emotions [...]
Gita 06.10 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya 6.10-32: From practice to perfection in [...]