How to be true to ourselves
We often want to be true to ourselves. Unfortunately, the way some people conceive of authenticity places it at loggerheads with discipline. If being authentic [...]
How to deal with the mind’s steady unsteadiness
The Bhagavad-gita (06.33) indicates that the mind’s steady situation (sthithim sthiram) is to be unsteady (cancalatvat). The mind likes one thing today, dislikes it tomorrow [...]
Is the Gita’s conclusion meant only for Arjuna?
The Bhagavad-gita concludes with a call for Arjuna to surrender (18.66) — such surrender is underscored to be a central component of bhakti-yoga. Is the [...]
How to be detached in our relationships
We are social creatures who need relationships to be emotionally nourished. Yet many traditions emphasize detachment as a primary requirement for spiritual growth. For example, [...]
Are we being ‘nonjudgmentally’ judgmental?
Most virtues, when taken to an excess, end up becoming vices. Such is the case with the virtue of being nonjudgmental which protects us from [...]
What being non-judgmental means and doesn’t means
In today’s multicultural world, being nonjudgmental is highly valued. But some people, specifically those who value the capacity to make judgments,may express some reservations, “In [...]
How purification and willpower relate with self-transformation
Whenever we try to change ourselves for the better, we often feel that we need willpower. And we may think of purification as something other-worldly, [...]
Why it is difficult to be broad-minded
When perceiving things, our mind routinely reduces reality to not just convenient categories but also judgemental labels. Because our mind is inside us, it is [...]
Why it’s easy to be narrow-minded
The world around us is so complex that we need to reduce it to some simple functional categories. For example, suppose we need to ask [...]
Why conserving the energy of our consciousness is difficult
While there is increasing social support, even social pressure, for conserving forms of energy such as fossil fuels and electricity, there is disturbingly little social [...]
Why we need to become consciousness-conscious
We live in a world where there’s increasing concern about conserving energy, especially because conventional sources of energy such as fossil fuels are finite. We [...]
Does self-improvement center on fighting against our desires?
Our desires often obstruct us in our efforts to improve ourselves; for example, we may resolve to regulate our diet, but may be sabotaged by [...]
Fostering tolerance by focusing on transcendence (Religious tolerance series 6)
The differences between various faith-traditions are often obvious, sometimes glaringly self-evident. Some traditions worship deities, others condemn such worship as idolatry. Some traditions forbid drinking [...]
How conceptions of the Divine affect religious tolerance (Religious tolerance series 5)
If the followers of a tradition have internalized an exclusivist conception of the Divine, then they will see those who don’t worship their God as [...]
Beyond tolerating to appreciating (Religious tolerance series 4)
In modern history, religious tolerance was promoted primarily to stop the religions in power from persecuting other religions. Though such tolerance is necessary, it is [...]
What tolerance implies and what it doesn’t (Religious tolerance series 3)
When we cultivate tolerance, we accept others’ right to beliefs and behaviors different from ours. By such tolerance, we harmonize with the way God has [...]
Shifting focus from certainty to curiosity (Religious tolerance series 2)
“God said it; I accept it; that settles it.” Some people presume that such statements of absolute certainty demonstrate their strong faith. But might certainty [...]
Beyond pragmatic reasons for tolerance (Religious tolerance series 1)
Religious tolerance is a much discussed and desired value in today's world, especially among visionary leaders and reflective followers of the world's many living-faith traditions. [...]
How faith can make us open-minded
We live in a vast and complex world, wherein we seek safety and happiness by rearranging things according to our desires and plans. Our desires, [...]
What is your most dangerous distraction?
Though we are exposed to many distractions, some are more harmful than others. How can we know which distraction is most hazardous for us? By [...]
How to distance ourselves from the wants induced by the world
By reflection, we can understand that many of our wants are actually the world’s inducements, not our core aspirations. Despite gaining this insight, we may [...]