The idea that choosing God costs nothing reduces God to nothing
Some people argue, “God is so great and so accommodating that he will love us, no matter what we do.” Yes, the point of contention [...]
Renunciation is not a function of frustration – it is a fruit of realization
Some people think that those people take to renunciation who have become frustrated with material life, especially with their inability to become successful in material [...]
Scripture makes our sight right
Our eyes are among our most used and most relied sources of perception. To make sense of things and make decisions, we want to see [...]
Holding on to the Lord internally is more important than beholding him externally
Some people feel, “If I could see God, my faith would increase so much.” While beholding God externally can be special and thrilling, in our [...]
The mind makes us unthinkingly do the unthinkable
The unthinkable refers to actions so bad, so shocking, so reprehensible that they are not even worth thinking, leave alone intending to do, and leave [...]
Don’t just renounce the material for the spiritual – bring the spiritual to the material
The Bhagavad-gita in its sixth chapter analyzes the process of ashtanga-yoga. While such yoga is nowadays seen primarily as a tool for shaping and strengthening [...]
Let the Gita lead from the voluminous ambiguous expanse of the Vedas to their essence
The Vedas are a voluminous body of knowledge. Often compared to a desire tree, they provide guidelines for people at all levels of consciousness to [...]
Suppression causes aggravation, not rectification
Suppose a person with cough decides to suppress it. Such suppression is unsustainable – one can’t suppress the urge to cough for long – and [...]
There’s more to life than this life
“This life” can refer to both the duration of our present life and our present conception of life. When referring to our lifespan, “there’s more [...]
Don’t just hear the mind – mind what you hear
The mind often misdirects our energy. It makes us crave for trivial things or makes us worry about things that haven’t materialized and may never [...]
Devotion is not just a calling but also a choice
Many people treat devotion as a calling to which some are called and some (they) aren’t. Thus, they rationalize delaying their practice of devotion till [...]
Inner calm activates the intercom to God
We often use intercom to connect with people with whom we cannot talk directly. The process of bhakti-yoga acts like a spiritual intercom to connect [...]
The mind is naughty and haughty
Naughtiness is an attribute frequently associated with children, who often restlessly move from serious things to frivolous things. The Bhagavad-gita (06.34) points to the mind’s [...]
To endure karma, embrace dharma
To endure karma refers to dealing gracefully with the adversities that come in our life as karmic reactions to our past misdeeds. When such miseries [...]
Choose words that make the heart soar, not sore
The human heart is very sensitive to words. Few things can dishearten an inspired heart as much as callous or critical words. And conversely, few [...]
Make the mind wonder spiritually, not wander materially
The mind tends to wander to various worldly objects, going here, there and everywhere – except where it should be for constructive engagement. By its [...]
The world of love manifests through the words of love
The world of love refers ultimately to the spiritual world, Krishna’s personal abode where there is endless love. There, Krishna exists eternally, the soul exists [...]
Intention instills intensity
Intention refers to conscious determination to do a particular thing. Intensity refers to wholehearted absorption in doing that thing. Our spiritual practices frequently lack intensity. [...]
Seek balance through dynamic determination, not frozen formula
We need to balance our various obligations and aspirations, material and spiritual. Pertinently, the Bhagavad-gita (06.17) recommends regulation in attending to bodily needs. In seeking [...]
Falling down is not failure – staying down is
Some devotee-seekers ask, “While striving to live according to devotional principles, we sometimes slip and fall. How can we best deal with such falls?” Not [...]
Enlightenment means to replace oneself with Krishna as the center
Different people conceive enlightenment differently – as experiencing peace, as perceiving a white light, as merging into a cosmic oneness, for example. However, the Bhagavad-gita [...]