The richness of life is more important than the riches of life
Our culture makes us believe that gaining more and more wealth will make us happy. While riches can ease our life-journey in some ways, obsession [...]
Walking away from problems is not the same as running away from them
When we are driving for an important and urgent meeting, if someone cuts ahead of us, we may decide not to chastise or sue that [...]
Don’t take everything literally – use your intelligence
“Put your money where your mouth is,” we may tell someone who recommends big things without making any practical commitment. Suppose they respond by taking [...]
Distraction is an invitation for temptation and degradation
Suppose we are rowing a boat in an area where the current is going in a direction different from where we wish to go. Suppose [...]
Discipline is the fusion of intention with action
We may sometimes lament: “I could do so much more in my life if I were more disciplined.” To cultivate discipline, we can break it [...]
Spirituality is not about suppressing grief – it is about transcending grief
The Bhagavad-gita (02.13) states that the spiritually enlightened are not bewildered by death. Does this mean that spiritualists shouldn’t grieve the death of their loved [...]
Tolerance is not passivity – it is maturity
Some people ask, “Does tolerance, as recommended in the Bhagavad-gita, mean that I just passively accept everything, even injustice?” No, tolerance is not at all [...]
The journey from contemplation to captivation is powered by imagination
When some self-defeating habit captivates people, that captivation is usually powered by imagination. For example, when students get hooked to drinking, such captivation doesn’t happen [...]
Ceaseless visual temptation causes pointless mental agitation
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Success in one field can’t compensate for failure in another
In today’s work-centered culture, some people achieve stupendous success in their professional lives – but often at great cost to their personal lives. Their relationships [...]
Death is a comma, not a full stop
Most people dread the prospect of death because they think that it implies losing everything they hold dear and losing their very existence. Thankfully however, [...]
In the mystery that is spirituality, the investigator is the investigated
Suppose an investigator is asked to solve the mystery of the missing heir of a dynasty – and after due investigation, he discovers that he [...]
Unconsciousness is a state of consciousness – not an absence of consciousness
People who undergo near-death experiences (NDEs) sometimes report that they perceived, from an out-of-body perspective, things that happened while they were medically unconscious. Occasionally, they [...]
Our destiny is bigger than our biology
People are often eager to know their destiny – what lies ahead in their life. This eagerness accounts for the widespread fascination with astrology, numerology, [...]
Be detached from results, not goals
People familiar with the Bhagavad-gita often question the practicality of its instruction (02.47) to work without attachment to results: “If we are detached from results, [...]
Be mentally fit, not mentally fat
When fat accumulates in our body, we feel burdened because of having to lug around all that extra weight. We are often concerned about physical [...]
Rules free you to be you
Most reputed authors make a rule to write daily a certain minimum number of words, irrespective of how they feel or even how the words [...]
Detachment from results culminates in attachment to something bigger than results
Some people ask, “The Bhagavad-gita recommends detachment from the results of work. But how can we work responsibly if we don’t care for the results?” [...]
Don’t resolve what you will not fall for – resolve what you will stand for
When we succumb to a temptation, we may resolve, “Never again will I fall for that temptation.” While such a resolve is well-intentioned, it is [...]
Our desires are not just linear, but also triangular
We usually think of our desires as linear, as connectors between us and our desired objects. The Bhagavad-gita (02.62) supports this linear view when it [...]
To make our mind grow up, we need to realize that we are grown-up
Suppose an adult were playing in the dirt with a child, doing whatever caught the child’s fancy. If occasional, such frivolous behavior might be funny; [...]