We can’t lose weight just by reading books on how to lose weight
Learning is foundational for doing, but learning itself is not doing. The difference between the two is evident for activities such as weight loss: reading [...]
Don’t just be active – be aware
Some people question the utility of meditation: “Why spend so much time sitting at one place doing nothing except thinking? Why not use that time [...]
Don’t just eradicate the past – engage its product
When revolutionaries seize power from a tyrannical regime, they often go on a destructive spree, wanting to eradicate all reminders of the dark past. Their [...]
Don’t let self-control fuel the illusion of the self as the controller
Self-control is a valuable virtue on the spiritual path. It helps us resist worldly pleasures and focus on higher purposes. But that very self-control may [...]
Even a go-getter needs to know where to go and what to get
Some people refuse to study spiritual books such as the Bhagavad-gita, arguing, “I am a go-getter. I have many things to do in life – [...]
Break free from the small desires that have held you hostage for lifetimes
Abductors who take control of a plane often force it to a destination other than its intended one and hold the passengers hostage there. The [...]
Bhakti makes expanded awareness our enduring awareness
During the course of our life, we may get a glamorized lifestyle product, but find the pleasure thereof pathetically short-lived. Or we may lose something [...]
No enemy is as dangerous as the one we are blind to
An army would be endangered by an invading enemy, but it would be far more endangered by a spy in its own ranks, for the [...]
The senses may be windows to the world, but they are mere portholes to reality
A window gives us the sensation that we are looking at a large part of the outside world through it. In contrast, a porthole, being [...]
Failure is not catastrophic – to see failure as catastrophic is catastrophic
Our mind often makes problems seem worse than what they actually are. Suppose someone fails in an exam. Their mind may tell them that their [...]
To lose one’s reason is bad, but to lose everything except one’s reason is far worse
Our reason, our rational faculty, is vital for keeping us intelligently regulated and purposefully directed in life. The use of reason has assisted in the [...]
Regulation is the foundation for purification
Suppose we had to clean a water tank. We would need to do two things: clean the water already in the tank and regulate the [...]
Don’t depress yourself – depress your expectation from yourself
A child who wants to become a long-jump champion needs to start by taking tiny jumps that may seem negligibly ordinary. But for that child, [...]
The mind gets us alone – and then gets us
During the Mahabharata war, Arjuna’s sixteen-year-old son, Abhimanyu, battles and bests the greatest Kaurava warriors. Unfortunately, on the thirteenth day of the war, the Kauravas [...]
God is not like an undiscovered satellite around Jupiter
If Jupiter had some undiscovered satellite, we could detect it if we just developed the necessary material technology. Some people think that we could similarly [...]
Digging for gold requires dealing with dirt
Few activities captivate the human imagination as much as the hope of finding underground gold. However, such fantasies often overlook the reality that that gold [...]
Bhakti is beyond feminism – and beyond male chauvinism too
Gender roles are becoming increasingly intermingled and blurred nowadays. Conservatives blame feminism for various social problems such as marital ruptures and teenage delinquency. Liberals counter [...]
In meditation, the way to relaxation is through concentration
Many people try out meditation for de-stressing and relaxing themselves. However, when they start meditating, they often find concentrating during meditation demanding, even draining. And [...]
In bhakti, understanding and practice are not just sequential, but also symbiotic
When we understand how some process works, say, how a particular fitness regimen works, our motivation to practice it increases. Thus, understanding inspires and intensifies [...]
A sanitized take on reality can’t take us to spiritual sanity
Sanitization refers to the removal of offensive elements from a work to render it more acceptable to its audience. While sanitization is frequently done for [...]
Delusion makes eating a life-threatening activity
Commensality, the act of eating together with others, is one of the commonest relaxing and rejuvenating activities. While our body gets necessary nourishment through good [...]