Attaining an unalienable wealth
We often presume that to become happy, we need lots of wealth. However, the pursuit of wealth as a source of happiness inevitably frustrates us [...]
Krishna is a coach, not a critic
The Bhagavad-gita (09.18) states that Krishna is present in the hearts of all of us as the witness. Fortunately for us, he is present there [...]
Seek the true tool to your self before you seek to be true to yourself
The Bhagavad-gita (18.58) indicates that all of us have essentially two choices in making our life's decisions: to act according to the voice of Krishna [...]
Ignorance with intellectual wings is the worst ignorance
The Bhagavad-gita (16.09) indicates that the atheistic, being possessed by their meager intelligence, flourish in self-destructive and world-destructive activities. In these people, ignorance not only [...]
Conquer Provocative Mind with Evocative Mantra
We may sometimes doubt: “The mind is so wild. Will I ever be able to conquer it?” Surely we can, reassures the Bhagavad-gita (06.36), provided [...]
By living for animal pleasures, we violate our human rights
The Bhagavad-gita (07.15) uses the word mudhas, meaning asses, to refer to those unfortunate people who violate their own human rights. Our society exalts as [...]
The mind can impel, but not compel
The Bhagavad-gita (06.06) points out the two opposite roles that the mind can play in shaping our destiny: if controlled, it can be our friend; [...]
Excess makes a good thing worse than bad
The Bhagavad-gita (7.24) indicates that impersonalists who consider Krishna’s form to be a temporary and illusory product of the impersonal Brahman are abuddhayah, bankrupt of [...]
The war against lust is a war of attrition
A war of attrition refers to a war in which victory requires wearing out the opponent. As spiritual seekers, we need to wage war against [...]
Surrender to Krishna is difficult, but surrender to the body is doomed
Surrender is a word that often brings negative connotations, making us imagine that it involves forced submission to an aggressor. But surrender is simply a [...]
The journey to realizing “I am not the body” begins with living “I am more than the body”
The Bhagavad-gita’s fundamental teaching (02.13) is that we are not material bodies but are spiritual beings. Even when we understand this intellectually, we can’t abruptly [...]
Even when Krishna is in the universe, the universe is still in him
When Krishna descends to the world, he appears to be just like any other person, someone who is limited to one place and needs to [...]
Humiliation is false ego frustrated, humility is false ego rejected
The Bhagavad-gita (13.08) lists humility as the first of the twenty qualities that comprise wisdom. Significantly, the Gita mentions humility in a negative way to [...]
Stop running away from Krishna – run down the mind instead
The Bhagavad-gita (06.44) indicates that those who have tasted the sweetness of Krishna, even if they subsequently get deviated from the path to him, are [...]
Searching for the villain can’t help us in finding the hero
When things start going wrong in our life, our false ego goes into a default defensive, scheming to find a villain on whom to lay [...]
Krishna is everything, but everything is not Krishna
The Bhagavad-gita (7.19) states that the wise surrender to Krishna, understanding him to be everything (vasudevah sarvam iti). Does this verse describe a naïve pantheism [...]
Are we desiring the worthy or the trendy?
Our capacity to desire is our most powerful resource, second only to our capacity to access Krishna’s grace. Our desires shape our life’s direction and [...]
A game that we can’t win and can’t quit
We may get the question: “Why do we need to give up material desires like lust and greed?” Because of their two deadly characteristics: insatiability [...]
Let temptation trigger an alarm bell, not a welcome tune
The Bhagavad-gita (03.41) urges us to recognize carnal temptation as a symbol of sin (papamanam) and to curb it as soon as it rears its [...]
Krishna’s love is unconditional yet conditional
The Bhagavad-gita (09.30) urges us to recognize as saintly a devotee who, though guilty of grievous misconduct, is still determined to serve Krishna. The next [...]
Love is in the SOUND
The Bhagavad-gita (09.14) states that advanced devotees engage constantly and determinedly in speaking and singing about Krishna. The fact that they focus so much on [...]