Treat life like a movie that you don’t have to always watch
Suppose we were watching a movie and suddenly discovered that it is a horror movie filled with ghastly scenes. We would naturally stop watching it. [...]
See through the mind’s troika of denial, misdirection and self-victimization
The mind often sabotages us by making us do foolish things. Pertinently, the Bhagavad-gita (06.06) cautions that the mind can be our enemy. The mind [...]
Our conviction that happiness is our right is right
We all long for happiness and are deeply convinced that we have a right to be happy. But this conviction runs contrary to our lived [...]
Spirituality complements talent with temperament
Success requires not just talent but also temperament. Many talented people crack under pressure due to their weak temperament. While temperament has many components, its [...]
Resentment of reality can hurt more than reality
Suppose we plan to go for a picnic, but suddenly get fever and have to abandon our plan. And we lie on a bed resenting [...]
Devotion is the culmination of intellectual illumination and emotional connection
Some people downplay devotion deeming it a feeling enjoyed by non-intellectual sentimentalists. Yes, devotion is a feeling that is accessible even to non-intellectuals. But it [...]
Events are not in our control, but experiences are
When things outside our control go wrong, we may get overwhelmed by feelings of helplessness. Such feelings can be crushing especially when things that matter [...]
The mind is a universe – not everything in it is relevant
The universe’s vastness and our smallness render irrelevant much of what happens in the universe. We don’t let, say, a comet shooting through the solar [...]
No rite can make us right with God – we need to make our heart right
Some people reduce religion down to a set of rituals, “If you just do the rites right, God will be pleased with you.” Such a [...]
Don’t just tell it like it is – tell it like it can be
People who speak candidly often say, “I just tell it like it is.” In an increasingly spin-doctored world, hearing the truth spoken unvarnished can be [...]
You will see it when you first believe it
Some people say, “I will believe in the soul when I see it. Seeing is believing.” Actually, the converse holds true, especially for subtle things – [...]
We help ourselves best by remembering that we are helpless without God
The saying “God helps those who help themselves” conveys validly that we shouldn’t expect God to do everything for us, but should strive to do [...]
God’s infinitude makes him not unknowable, but inexhaustible
Some people argue, “God is infinite, so we can never know him.” Such an argument, while apparently preserving God’s infinitude, makes loving him difficult, if [...]
Where we are determines what we see
To a person on the North Pole, the equator is towards the south. But to a person on the South Pole, the same equator is [...]
Scriptural regulation is productive, not restrictive
Suppose a gold-seeker digs at a place where there’s no gold and is told by a geologist to not dig there. Is such a direction [...]
We may let go of Krishna, but Krishna will never let go of us
A person falling off a cliff can be saved by holding on to another person standing on the cliff. We are like the falling person, [...]
Happiness comes not by collecting the material, but by recollecting the spiritual
We live in a materialistic culture that aggressively propagates the notion that we will become happy by gaining more and more material things. Being seduced [...]
Contemplation is the natural result of attraction and contemplation naturally results in attraction
When we are attracted to something, we naturally think of it and even mentally live with it. Cricket lovers, for example, often live in their [...]
Don’t let net surfing degenerate to suffering in the net
When we travel to an unfamiliar place, we are alert to dangers such as muggers. When we surf the net, our consciousness travels to whatever [...]
What we think of at our death is more important than what others think about us after our death
Some teachers recommend that we visualize our funeral and contemplate what others will say about us at that time. The difference between what others say [...]
Dissatisfaction is more often caused by inner instability than by outer incompatibility
The nature of the mind is to always keep us dissatisfied, to make us feel that something is wrong out there. Under its influence, we [...]