How faith in God’s protection and rational precautions can go together
Faith in God's protection doesn't mean outsourcing our rationality in decision making to God; it means ensuring our rationality doesn't restrict our relationship with God. [...]
When is keeping a dark secret from our past helpful and when harmful
It takes courage to introspect: Are we keeping a secret to protect our service or to protect our image? We all have secrets—skeletons in the [...]
Three questions to moderate our speech: source, intent, and mode
The power of speaking is an integral part of our lives. To use this power constructively and not destructively, we can ask ourselves three questions [...]
Whatever helps me find meaning, let it help me find you, the shelter of ultimate meaning
Bhagavad Gita 15.11 yatanto yoginaś cainaṁ paśyanty ātmany avasthitam yatanto ’py akṛtātmāno nainaṁ paśyanty acetasaḥ Striving yogis seek and see, The Self within, in [...]
Let me not just tire of mundane desire, but also retire from mundane desire
Bhagavad Gita 15.5 nirmāna-mohā jita-saṅga-doṣā adhyātma-nityā vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ dvandvair vimuktāḥ sukha-duḥkha-saṁjñair gacchanty amūḍhāḥ padam avyayaṁ tat Fighting off pride and delusion’s veil, Retiring from attachments [...]
Let me seek not just freedom from the world, but also freedom for loving you
Bhagavad Gita 15.4 tataḥ padaṁ tat parimārgitavyaṁ yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ tam eva cādyaṁ puruṣaṁ prapadye yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī Then seek that [...]
Lead me to see life with a lens that is both wiser and warmer
Bhagavad Gita 15.10 utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi bhuñjānaṁ vā guṇānvitam vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ When soul departs or yet remains, Enjoying nature’s shifting chains; The [...]
Help me to cultivate detachment as acceptance, not as indifference
Bhagavad Gita 15.3 na rūpam asyeha tathopalabhyate nānto na cādir na ca sampratiṣṭhā aśvattham enaṁ su-virūḍha-mūlam asaṅga-śastreṇa dṛḍhena chittvā The form of this tree [...]
Grant me the realization to see what is real and the purification to seek what is real
Bhagavad Gita 15.1 ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham aśvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam chandāṁsi yasya parṇāni yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit A tree with roots above, branches below, Eternal [...]
Let me not be a stranger to my inner world
Bhagavad Gita 14.21 arjuna uvāca kair liṅgais trīn guṇān etān atīto bhavati prabho kim ācāraḥ kathaṁ caitāṁs trīn guṇān ativartate By what signs are [...]
Help me observe you through the world’s events and the mind’s emotions
Bhagavad Gita 14.23 udāsīna-vad āsīno guṇair yo na vicālyate guṇā vartanta ity eva yo ’vatiṣṭhati neṅgate Like one detached, unmoved, aware, Unshaken by the [...]
May the power of desire empower me, not overpower me
Bhagavad Gita 14.19 nānyaṁ guṇebhyaḥ kartāraṁ yadā draṣṭānupaśyati guṇebhyaś ca paraṁ vetti mad-bhāvaṁ so ’dhigacchati When one sees modes as all that act, In [...]
Please break the bond between my illusions and my ego
Bhagavad Gita 14.17 sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṁ rajasaḥ lobha eva ca pramāda-mohau tamaso bhavato ’jñānam eva ca From goodness springs awakened sight, From passion grows [...]
Let the necessary never steal me away from the nourishing
Bhagavad Gita 14.16 karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasyāhuḥ sāttvikaṁ nirmalaṁ phalam rajasas tu phalaṁ duḥkham ajñānaṁ tamasaḥ phalam From righteous acts comes fruit serene, Pure and bright, [...]
Help me see that the conflicts inside me are actually outside me
Bhagavad Gita 14.10 rajas tamaś cābhibhūya sattvaṁ bhavati bhārata rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaś caiva tamaḥ sattvaṁ rajas tathā At times, pure goodness rises high, Subduing [...]
Please shake and break the wall between you and me
Bhagavad Gita 14.13 aprakāśo ’pravṛttiś ca pramādo moha eva ca tamasy etāni jāyante vivṛddhe kuru-nandana When darkness veils the inner sight, No urge to [...]
Let me seek the clarity that invites wisdom, not the certainty that imprisons it
Bhagavad Gita 14.11 sarva-dvāreṣu dehe ’smin prakāśa upajāyate jñānaṁ yadā tadā vidyād vivṛddhaṁ sattvam ity uta When light shines through every gate, Through every [...]
Make my passion an instrument of your compassion
Bhagavad Gita 14.12 lobhaḥ pravṛttir ārambhaḥ karmaṇām aśamaḥ spṛhā rajasy etāni jāyante vivṛddhe bharatarṣabha Greed awakens restless drive, Ceaseless striving to achieve and thrive; [...]
What free speech means and what it does not mean
Free speech is not simply speaking whatever we want to speak. It is carefully speaking what needs to be spoken for a constructive effect. We [...]
Stay calm and carry on: grounding or denial?
When is such a motto keeping us grounded, and when is it keeping us in denial? Whenever things turn out to be different from what [...]
Loss, guilt, and despair: the trio of emotions that can make our inner world toxic
In the face of a problem, if all we can come up with is, "It's not my fault," then that is our fault. Life is [...]