We need mentors who understand our mind and who can help us understand our mind
Whatever be our specific inclination – which stems from the nature of our mind – that mental inclination presents distinctive challenges in our life in [...]
See the effort in focusing the mind as an exercise, not an exertion
Suppose a person arriving at an airport finds that they don’t have any porter to carry their luggage from the carousal to the car. They [...]
We live in a broken world, but we don’t have to live broken lives
The world we live in is a broken place. No matter how hard we work and how well we plan, even the best work that [...]
The mind should do our work, not make us do its work
Suppose we need to know some information and so open the browser on our phone to visit a particular site. But while going there, suppose [...]
Be a spiritual worker, not a material shirker
Some people who become spiritual but don’t have an inclusive understanding of spirituality start neglecting their work and their worldly responsibilities in the name of [...]
Our caliber is seen not just when we give our best but also when life gives us its worst
The caliber of sports players is revealed when they are in a flow, when they exhibit their peak performances. Their caliber is also revealed in [...]
See the mind not as too strong for us to resist, but as too weak to resist the world’s toys
When we wish to do something constructive, the mind often diverts us here, there and everywhere. Seeing how forcefully the mind distracts us can be [...]
To change the way you feel, change the way you think
Suppose someone wants to rid a field of weeds – and they get a lawn mower. They may remove the weeds, but the roots will [...]
Being grateful in general is like being married in general
With the increasing secularization or more specifically desacralization of mainstream culture, many of the uplifting values that comprised the core character of respectable people in the past have been divorced from the fabric of the spiritual worldview on which they had been based. Thus, for example,
Whatever we feel we need, we need Krishna
What we feel we need varies according to our situations and our dispositions. We all have the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter – and money to get these needs. But what we feel we need often exceeds far beyond what we need. We need food, but we may feel that we need a particular delicacy.
Strong security means that unusual activity triggers immediate inquiry
Suppose we log in to our mail id from a new place or device. If we have set a high level of security for our id, we will be immediately asked to pass through some verification option. Such vetting is meant not to prevent us from logging in, but to decrease our vulnerability to hackers.
Bhakti practice leads to attraction to Krishna through repetition, purification and revelation
Some people ask, “Bhakti practice involves doing the same activities again and again. How does such practice make us attracted to Krishna?” Bhakti practice leads to attraction for Krishna through repetition, purification and revelation.
Even in paradise, the mind will say, “Yes, but …”
We may know people who are habitual faultfinders. No matter how well a thing is done, they harp on some wrong that is irrelevant, insignificant or even imaginary. Being with such people is a recipe for misery. Unfortunately, we have to live with one such inveterate faultfinder: our own mind. It finds faults with the things we have, with the way people treat us, with the way life turns out.
Study the Gita for transformational spirituality, not material technicality
The Bhagavad-gita is encyclopedic – not in length, but in scope. It addresses a wide variety of subjects, explaining them all in the context of a theistic devotional worldview. One such subject referenced by the Gita (07.04-05, 13.06-07) is Sankhya, a system of philosophy that analyzes material nature into various components.
The mind can make us blind, even when our eyes can see
Suppose we are in a disturbed frame of mind and are driving to a meeting. Our map tells us that we have reached our destination, but we can’t see the meeting venue anywhere. Despair starts overpowering us. Somehow, we get the idea to close our eyes, breathe deeply and pray. When we open our eyes, we find the venue right in front of us
Improving the hardware can’t remove software problems
Suppose we have a problem in the software of our computer because of which we are getting a blurred or blank screen. If we purchase a new monitor, that won’t solve our problem. We need to tackle the software problem at the level of the software.
Information doesn’t have to be new to be helpful – it just has to be timely
We live in a culture where the new is incessantly glamorized – new gadgets, new fashions, new data, new news. But we don’t always need new information – what we need is timely access to the known. If students have prepared for an exam, they don’t need any new information at the time of the exam – they just need to recollect what they already know.
Spiritual knowledge elevates us above misery – and eliminates misery too
The Bhagavad-gita uses two metaphors for illustrating the transformational potency of spiritual knowledge. Just as a sturdy boat helps us to cross over an ocean, the boat of spiritual knowledge helps us cross over the ocean of misery (04.36). And just as fire reduces the debris put in it to ashes, so does the fire of transcendental knowledge reduce the impurities within to ashes (04.37).
Whenever things seem to fall apart, remember when things have fallen in place
Sometimes, life seems to hand out one reversal after another and all that we are doing seems to be falling apart. We may feel that the universe is hostile; we may question the benevolence or even the existence of God. At such times, it’s important to note that life hasn’t always given us a raw deal – we have had things fall in place for us. Whenever we have achieved anything substantial,
To those living sensually, living simply seems simply boring
Simple living is a virtue lauded by thinkers since time immemorial. This virtue was mocked as primitive with the spread of the modern culture of lifestyle products, wherein people equated possession of state-of-the-art luxuries with success. While wealth has always been flaunted as a marker of success, most modern luxuries were unprecedented in the ecological destruction that went into making them.
Problems are like leeches – don’t overreact
When a leech bites us, we may be panic-struck to sense its tentacles sucking our blood. If we impulsively try to pull it out, it may have such a strong grip that we will end up pulling out a sizeable part of our own skin. If, however, we just stay calm and let the leech do its work, its tubules are not infinite; it can’t suck all our blood. Once its tubule is filled, it will itself let go and we can flick it off.