When we find ourselves in trouble, do we also find ourselves?
Arjuna found himself in big trouble at the start of the Bhagavad-gita. He was anguished by the prospect of fighting a war in which he [...]
Bad times test our faith – and so do good times
Bad times test our faith. They raise the question: “When I am serving Krishna, why is he not protecting me?” Gita wisdom answers that Krishna [...]
Let reason be our minister, not our master
We may get the question: “Do I have to give up reason in order to put faith in the Gita?” Not at all, answers Gita [...]
Krishna is responsive; we are responsible
The Bhagavad-gita (15.15) states that Krishna gives us remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. Then when we forget Krishna, is he responsible for our forgetfulness? No, because [...]
Are we rejecting the eternal because the temporary has rejected us?
When we face misfortunes that seem impossible to cope with, we may get the question: “I am trying to be a good person and a [...]
Accidents are no accidents
The word ‘accident’ has become integral to our vocabulary, largely due to the many unfortunate crashes that beset our roads. Words, however, don’t just reflect [...]
Watching TV while a cobra comes to bite?
Suppose a person watching TV sees a cobra slithering close to bite and still goes on watching TV. We would consider such behavior insane, won’t [...]
Scriptural study strengthens the intelligence, stabilizes the mind and sustains the heart
Scripture often talks about times so radically different from ours that we may wonder: is this relevant for me? Yes, definitely. The relevance comes from [...]
Pause is not inaction but action
Ours is an action-oriented culture; we like to be on the move. Of course, action is desirable and essential.But action-centeredness can make us forget that [...]
The call to faith is for focusing,not forsaking, of intelligence
Today’s ethos often treats the word ‘faith’ negatively, as if those who choose faith reject intelligence. Actually however, the call to faith, as given by [...]
Are we changing the world or is the world changing us?
Gita wisdom enables us to make sense of the world as it is – and as it can be. The world is as it is, [...]
When strengths make us weak and weaknesses make us strong
To survive and thrive in our hyper-competitive culture, we usually hide our weaknesses and hype our strengths. Such a strategy may be necessary in material [...]
Are we letting knowledge steal our humility?
When we get introduced to Gita wisdom, we discover a magnificent body of knowledge that answers life’s fundamental questions. As we enrich ourselves with this [...]
Blinded and addicted or illumined and liberated?
Suppose everyone in a country was addicted. With everyone suffering the pulls and falls of addiction, the addiction would seem normal. Because addicts frequently see [...]
Are we putting too much faith in doubt?
Atheists sometimes induce doubts in us by presenting anti-scriptural arguments that seem irrefutable. The Bhagavad-gita (04.42) urges us to slay doubt with the sword of [...]
Sharpen the head, ripen the heart
A fruit-bearing creeper when carefully tended gives a ripe fruit. Similarly, our devotion to Krishna when carefully tended gives an eternal life of love with [...]
The way to transcendence is through tolerance not indulgence
All of us periodically battle urges that damn us: urges born of lust, anger and greed, for example. We want to be free from these [...]
Gita wisdom frees humanity from speciesism
Speciesism refers to discrimination against living beings based on their species. Belief in speciesism is implicit in today’s world. For evidence, we need to look [...]
Learning begins with unlearning
None of us like to feel ignorant. That’s why we try to keep ourselves well-informed about things, even spiritual things. However, our information about spiritual [...]
A package in which the best and the worst aren’t bound together
Pleasure, profit, success. We look forward to these in life. But they are only one part of the package. They are inevitably and inextricably bound [...]
When self-righteousness obscures rightness…
When we share Gita wisdom with others, we sometimes find them arguing for the sake of arguing, holding on to positions that are illogical and [...]