Devotion takes us beyond being hunted and haunted
We sometimes face problems that seem to hunt us externally and passions that seem to haunt us internally. Hunted: We may feel attacked by problems [...]
Are my attachments holding me or am I holding my attachments?
As aspiring devotees, we often find that our attachments abduct and drag our consciousness away from Krishna, as the Bhagavad-gita (2.44) outlines. Consequently, we may [...]
Don’t eternalize the present; contextualize it
When we face problems, they sometimes overwhelm us so much that we can’t think of anything else. We feel as if the problem will never [...]
Train yourself to avoid mental potholes
When we travel regularly along a pothole-filled road, we carefully avoid the potholes, thereby saving ourselves of unnecessary jolts. By analogy, when the Bhagavad-gita (02.58) [...]
Use technology – don’t be used by technology
In today’s society, living without technology is almost impossible. As aspiring devotees living in a techno-centric society, we usually think of technology as a neutral [...]
Place Krishna at the center of your secret life
All of us have a public life where we interact with the world and a personal life where we interact with our loved ones. Additionally, [...]
Transform disappointment into his-appointment
When life confronts us with disappointments, we can transform them into his-appointments, into opportunities to connect with Krishna at a deeper level and thereby enrich [...]
The world is a station, not a destination
We may find the Bhagavad-gita’s injunction to stay equipoised amidst success and failure (2.38) perplexing: “Isn’t it natural to feel happy when we succeed and [...]
Navigate the troughs of consciousness by focusing on the peak
As aspiring devotees, we may find the state of our consciousness oscillating up and down like a sine wave. We may feel sometimes attracted and [...]
Materialism is wrong – and wrongheaded
Materialism, the idea that matter is all that exists, is on a mass seduction campaign nowadays, especially through the media. To see through its seduction, [...]
Dig the grave of materialism, functional and fanatical
Materialism comes in two main brands: fanatical materialism which claims that matter is all that exists; and functional materialism which claims that matter is all [...]
Devotion is Krishna’s appetizer
Some people ask, “God is complete and doesn’t need anything. As he never feels hungry, what is the need to offer him food?” This question [...]
To equate the shadow of scripture with its light is to shadow scripture
Some new Gita students get the question, “Why do some Gita teachers disrespect others who interpret the Gita in a different way?” Because authentic Gita [...]
To access the Absolute Truth, reject the absolute rejection of absolute truths
Due to the spread of postmodernism, many people tend towards metaphysical relativism: the idea that absolute truths are impossible because cultural, historical and intellectual biases [...]
The Gita calls not for blind obedience, but for visionary obedience
The idea of obeying someone often seems repellant to the contemporary mind: “I can think for myself; why should I obey anyone?” This repulsion to [...]
What is the medium through which we experience the world?
In our culture, we mostly experience the real world second-hand: not by directly interacting with it using our senses, but by receiving it as depicted [...]
Materialism centers on gaining; spirituality centers on regaining
All of us have the drive to achieve, which we can direct either materially or spiritually. To aid us in choosing correctly, the Bhagavad-gita contrasts [...]
Humility means to accept but not expect respect
We may sometimes wonder, “How can I stay humble amidst the devotional culture of respectfulness? If nobody would notice me, it would be easier to [...]
Bhakti is not just cultural or historical but also universal and eternal
The historical dating of spiritually significant events is often an exercise in irrelevance. Consider, for example, the mainstream academic opinion that characterizes bhakti as a [...]
Material nature is characterized by cyclic proces, not linear progress
Our mainstream culture makes us believe that life at the material level is linearly progressive; so, our efforts can make things better materially. This belief [...]
Do others have to pay for our enjoyment?
When we enjoy materially, we often fail to notice that others have to pay for our enjoyment. Here are a few examples: 1. When one [...]