Chapter 02

For us as aspiring devotees, worldly temptations pose formidable challenges to our spiritual integrity. The Bhagavad-gita (02.67) indicates that these temptations are like stormy winds [...]

One of our innermost drives is the drive to show the world that we are someone significant. This drive impels us to win medals, which [...]

When dust enters into the carburetor of a finely tuned engine, the engine can no longer function optimally. Though the dust initially seems inconsequential, after [...]

Bending our impulses to our principles and thereby attaining self-mastery is vital for us to make tangible spiritual progress. At the same time, it is [...]

Our media continuously offers us high-octane sensory stimulation, especially for our eyes. As compared to the rapidly changing and colorfully overdressed images that are dished [...]

“Why is Krishna doing this?” We may sometimes get this question when things go wrong and life doesn’t make sense. To help us make sense [...]

Our culture seems to offer us so much sensual pleasure for free. Alluring images in tantalizing poses invite us to enjoy them with our eyes [...]

Our life-story is essentially the story of our quest for happiness. This quest is directed by a driving question. For spiritualists, the question frequently is, [...]

Daydreaming. It’s so easy. Taking it easy in our thought-lives is one of life’s most deluding distracters. We tend to think that nothing is wrong [...]

Cutting-edge technology prides itself for opening new avenues for enjoyment: so many TV channels, websites and video games, for example. However, might the freedom offered [...]

Is life a doomed journey from a station called birth to a station called death with a bit of pleasure and a lot of pain [...]

The pace and pressure of our contemporary lifestyle often makes us stressed. This tension is a nag that lurks constantly in the background of our [...]

All material pleasures are essentially chemical highs. Whenever we perceive any attractive objects with our senses, the corresponding sensory mechanisms secrete certain chemicals. This chemical [...]

Our eyes are often like voracious heat-seekers scanning the horizon for sensually hot objects. Our materialistic culture fully exploits our visual hunger. By planting seductive [...]

Whenever things go wrong in life, we can generally do something to set them right. But when death strikes, there’s nothing that we can do [...]

We may hesitate to adopt authentic scripture-based spirituality because of the fear that we will have to give up too many worldly pleasures. Such fears [...]

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 [...]