Chemical highs can’t cure life’s lows, we need to go spiritually high
When life’s adversities push people down, they often feel so dejected that they desperately seek something to lift themselves. And often they turn to chemicals [...]
Careless contemplation turns tempting thoughts into time bombs
When a time bomb is placed somewhere, it may not even be noticed by anyone; it might seem just like any other innocuous object lying [...]
Envy targets the envied, but torments the envious
Envy is the inner dark tendency that makes us miserable at others’ successes; it impels us to drag them down and plot their destruction. Envy [...]
Conscience without intelligence is blunt, intelligence without conscience is numb
Conscience and intelligence are two vital components of our inner defense mechanism. Whenever we feel tempted to do something wrong, conscience deters us through feelings [...]
The mind is omnivorous – it devours whatever is present and feels pleasant
Omnivorous creatures are indiscriminate in their eating; they consume whatever is available and feels pleasurable. Our mind is omnivorous in the sensory stimuli it consumes. [...]
We are the makers of our destiny, but not the masters of our destiny
When we strive to achieve something challenging, we soon realize that the results don’t depend on us alone. For example, in cricket, our favorite team [...]
Stop blaming your outer world, start building your inner world
Suppose the weather suddenly turns chilly. We could blame the weather and feel sorry for ourselves. Or we could don warm clothes and get on [...]
Without going deeply into one tradition, we can’t deeply appreciate any tradition
When we start exploring life’s spiritual side, we may hesitate to commit ourselves to any particular spiritual path: “Won’t that make me close-minded and incapable [...]
Comparing is unavoidable, but comparing mentality is undesirable
In our competitive world, comparing is almost universal. In schools with any kind of assessment, who gets higher grades and who lower will be inevitably [...]
Weakness makes us hotheaded, wickedness makes us cold-blooded
We all sometimes act wrongly. But not all wrong actions are equally serious – they fall at different points on a scale that extends from [...]
What is our greatest treasure is often not what we treasure the greatest
Suppose a child is asked to choose between a toy and a million-dollar-check. The child may grab the toy, not knowing that the check can [...]
Detachment is absence of emotional dependence, not absence of emotion
Some people fear, “If I become detached, will I become emotionless, uncaring, stone-hearted?” No, detachment empowers us to care truly for others, for it frees [...]
What differentiates spiritualists from materialists is not absence of pain but presence of healing
Some people ask spiritualists, “You go through the same problems as we do – what do you gain by your spiritual practices?” To understand, consider [...]
Focus on the cause that brings us together, not on the conditions and conditionings that push us apart
We all are irreducibly individual. Naturally, we all have varying opinions on various issues. When these opinions differ strongly, conflicts occur. How can we deal [...]
What the moonlight of reason shows dimly, the sunlight of revelation shows clearly
Some people think, “Reason and revelation are contradictory. If I accept revelation, I will be giving up my rationality and end up believing crazy things.” [...]
Sensual hope deludes, spiritual hope delivers
We all need hope. Without hope, life becomes unbearable, even unlivable. But we need to choose carefully where we pin our hope, lest we are [...]
Keep the mind on one track, don’t keep a one track mind
To keep the mind on one track means to keep our attention focused on one overarching life-purpose, whatever distractions the world may present. Those with [...]
Fanatics don’t see how God is present everywhere; they see how God is absent everywhere
Religious fanatics often attack those whom they deem heretics. They usually justify their actions by claiming that they are fervently devoted to God. However, their [...]
If we think we have no vices, we are novices
A novice housekeeping employee may think that a room that appears to be clean is clean. But some dust may be so settled as to [...]
Time can be a fire in which we burn or a teacher from whom we learn
Time is a formidable, inexorable force that pushes us all towards death when our body will be burnt in the funeral fire. Even if the [...]
To believe whatever we see is to live like an animal
Some people assert, “Seeing is believing.” Their intent in making this assertion may be good – they don’t want to unintelligently, gullibly believe anything and [...]