Don’t just push the mind towards the spiritual – let the spiritual pull the mind too
Suppose we were pushing a heavy trolley uphill. It would be a demanding exertion. If we became lax even for a moment, the trolley would [...]
Don’t equate the confusing with the confused
When we hear someone speaking something confusing, we may infer that the speaker is confused. Such a situation though possible isn’t probable especially if the [...]
What is not eternal is eternally inconsequential
Success in any field requires focus on the important things while putting aside the unimportant things. When we understand our eternal spiritual identity and strive [...]
Use Krishna’s mercy to wash yourself, not whitewash yourself
When we start practicing bhakti-yoga, we get access to Krishna’s mercy. We gain intellectual understanding and devotional experience of his unflinching, unfailing love for us. [...]
At death, we don’t have to leave home; we can go home
If we have to leave our home for a long time, we feel agonized. That agony is multiplied manifold when we have to face death, [...]
If we don’t recognize the mind, it will make us unrecognizable to ourselves
Recognizing the mind means to recognize the voice coming from within us to be the voice of the mind and not our own voice. When [...]
Absorption is a function of not just attraction but also determination
Sometimes during our devotional practices we may find our mind slipping away to other things that we are more attracted to and may wonder, “How [...]
Don’t obstruct bhakti with an intellectual filter – or with an anti-intellectual filter either
An intellectual filter in bhakti refers to giving our intelligence the role of arbiter in deciding what is acceptable and what isn’t. But the intelligence [...]
Reflect on time’s cyclicity to reduce the mind’s imbecility
The mind’s imbecility is to believe that the things that haven’t provided fulfillment till now will provide fulfillment next time round. It imagines that the [...]
Break free from the material conception of the external and the internal
Suppose a thief has broken into a house’s premises. In one sense, the thief is outside the house, being in the courtyard. But in another [...]
We can’t become pure devotees without becoming devotees
When we hear how pure devotees don’t ask Krishna for anything material, we may aspire for similar selfless love. While this aspiration is wonderful, we [...]
If we let the mind fill in the blanks, it will overwrite the sentence
We all have during our schedules certain slots that are filled with obligatory engagements and certain slots that are freer. Though we may have lots [...]
The ego shifts our focus in “I am so fallen” from “fallen” to “I”
Usually, the ego afflicts us with megalomania, making us believe that we are far greater than what we actually are. But when we understand the [...]
Learning according to leaning nurtures growing
We all have a natural leaning towards certain things. We often feel good about and are good at doing some things. Such comfort and competence [...]
The mind is illusion’s internal advertising agent
Much of today’s materialistic culture runs through advertising. Most multinational companies often spend far more on product promotion than on quality control. Advertising agents are [...]
When Krishna feels far away, don’t doubt Krishna – doubt your feelings
When we practice bhakti-yoga, our practice may at times seem tasteless and lifeless, prompting the doubt: “Why does Krishna feel so far away?” Actually, Krishna [...]
Absent-minded means not that the mind is absent, but that our control on it is absent
In common parlance, the word ‘mind’ refers to one’s attention, as in, “Give your full mind to what you are doing.” In the Bhagavad-gita’s philosophical [...]
Strive for not the good life but God’s life
The good life is a life of material success and happiness accompanied by religious piety. God’s life is the life that God wants us to [...]
Don’t give the mind power of attorney – and don’t let it grab it either
Power of attorney refers to the power given by the owner to someone else to act in a legal capacity on one’s behalf. As the [...]
Every trial is a teacher
In life, we all go through various trials. A trial seems especially trying is when it appears pointless, when it seems as if that trial [...]
Don’t wait for God – wait on God
Many people want God to give them a special signal for commencing their spiritual life: “When God calls me, I will begin.” However, such an [...]