To resist sense indulgence, resist the hype around sense indulgence
When scripture urges us to regulate sensual indulgence, our mind objects: “Why shouldn’t I enjoy?” This question misleads by invoking a sense of deprivation. To [...]
Spirituality is not about suppressing grief – it is about transcending grief
The Bhagavad-gita (02.13) states that the spiritually enlightened are not bewildered by death. Does this mean that spiritualists shouldn’t grieve the death of their loved [...]
Love first the creator to love best the creatures
Sometimes people think, “Will loving God make us neglect others? Will focusing on the one who is beyond this world make us uncaring towards those [...]
Just as food adds to our physical weight, thoughts add to our mental weight
In today’s culture with its largely sedentary lifestyle, people often watch what they eat as they don’t want to put on unwanted weight. Such watchfulness [...]
Seeming scriptural contradictions are counterbalances, not counters
Some people argue, “The world is a place of entanglement that needs to be renounced to attain liberation.” Others argue, “Our duties in this world [...]
Krishna’s supervision happens by his super-vision
Supervision refers normally to overseeing, but it can also refer to a vision that sees far beyond the ordinary, just as the word superman refers [...]
Spirituality transforms our journey into an odyssey
During our life, we sometimes go on journeys. But we may not realize that life itself is a journey. It is essentially a journey of [...]
Genealogy shapes mentality, but doesn’t determine it
The caste system widespread in India operates on the notion that people’s caste is determined solely by their birth. However, birth didn’t define the original [...]
Just because we can’t light the world doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t light our corner of the world
Suppose suddenly the power goes off all over our city. We don’t think, “Everywhere, there is darkness; what difference is lighting my small corner going [...]
By looking further horizontally, we can’t see vertically
Suppose a person walking along a road wants to see ahead – and does so using binoculars. But as long as they are looking ahead, [...]
Education provides insight; experience provides taste
Spiritual growth results from a harmonious combination of education and experience. Spiritual education helps us understand the higher reality existing beyond the visible. The reality [...]
Seek security not just in the soul but in Krishna
Life’s uncertainties often make us feel insecure. Our insecurities can be grouped into two broad categories: those related with providing for what we need and [...]
If you can’t offer with a pure heart, offer to get a pure heart
Devotional growth is essentially the growth of our loving relationship with Krishna. To make this relationship mutually satisfying and spiritually liberating, we need to connect [...]
Don’t just solve the problems of life – solve the problem that is life
Suppose a person while driving a car competently tackles the problems along the way, say, the car breaking down or running out of fuel. But [...]
Tolerance is not passivity – it is maturity
Some people ask, “Does tolerance, as recommended in the Bhagavad-gita, mean that I just passively accept everything, even injustice?” No, tolerance is not at all [...]
The journey from contemplation to captivation is powered by imagination
When some self-defeating habit captivates people, that captivation is usually powered by imagination. For example, when students get hooked to drinking, such captivation doesn’t happen [...]
Asanas cannot free us from vasanas
Asanas (physical postures) are nowadays gaining popularity as means for improving fitness and figure. Bodily improvement, however desirable, is just a fringe benefit of the [...]
God is not one cause among many causes – he is the one cause underlying the many causes
When we cook something, say, sweet rice, we use ingredients such as rice, sugar, milk, camphor – and God. No, God is not one of [...]
Why look at a mirage when heading to the oasis?
It’s bad to be lost in a desert. It’s worse to be chasing a mirage. But it’s worst of all to be nearing an oasis [...]
Maya is not just illusion in perception – it is essentially illusion in conception
Thoughtful people know that our perceptions can illusion us. Such illusions are, say, mirages or the apparent bending of a stick kept partially in water. [...]
Direct your curiosity radar towards Krishna
Curiosity is natural to us as conscious beings. We all could be said to have a radar that zooms in on the things that we [...]