Pause is not inaction but action
Ours is an action-oriented culture; we like to be on the move. Of course, action is desirable and essential.But action-centeredness can make us forget that [...]
Those who mistake torture to be pleasure sentence themselves to perpetual torture
When a moth sees a fire, it becomes so captivated that it rushes straight towards it. The closer it gets, the hotter it feels. However, [...]
Standards are for inspiration not condemnation
“They are so degraded.” We may think or even speak like this about those who don’t follow scriptural standards of morality. Bysuch a judgmental attitude [...]
Activating our skeptical antenna
Insects usually have their antennae extended and on high alert. All the more so when they sense dangers, especially predators. As spiritual souls residing in [...]
When comforts become ends, life becomes a dead end
Imagine a group of people who board a crowded train. Due to the discomfort, they struggle to first find standing space, then leaning space, then [...]
Why not model the desired example instead of desiring the model example?
Whenever we tread any challenging path, we gain inspiration from model examples. What they have achieved and how they have achieved it motivates us when [...]
The mental avatar of AIDS
AIDS is an extremely dangerous disease, largely because of its sinister method of attack. Normally when a disease attacks the body, the immune system springs [...]
Sensual pleasures are easily visible, rarely relishable
Sensual pleasures tantalize us by their appearance and frustrate us by their experience. They last at the most for a few minutes; so the actual [...]
Where is the glory in a backdoor victory over attachments?
In sports a backdoor victory is universally considered inglorious. If India deliberately schedulesa cricket seriesagainst Pakistan at a time when all the top Pakistaniplayers are [...]
Better to be exhausted than rusted
With every passing moment time moves forward inexorably and irreversibly. The passage of time causes non-living things to rust. Living beings also age as time [...]
Spiritual culture is the bridge from hypocrisy and perversity to purity
We sometimes get impure desires such as sexual attraction towards someone. Many people choose to fulfill these impure desires privately through various secret arrangements. By [...]
Let sleeping tigers sleep – don’t pinch them
“I thought I had become free from that attachment. Why has it come back?” Questions like these often describe our inner trajectory as devotee-seekers. When [...]
Sex is extraordinarily ordinary
Nothing fascinates the human imagination as much as sex. Pictures, articles, TV programs, movies, novels, websites and almost all conceivable means of communication are frequently [...]
Do not make a virtue out of alienating people
When we adopt spiritual practices seriously, we soon gain a bit of self-mastery. This self-mastery may create within us a sense of moral superiority that [...]
Expecting the default to change by default is a dangerous fault
“Will these immoral thoughts ever go away?” Questions like these may trouble us devotee-seekers when temptations provoke us even after we have adopted purifying spiritual [...]
Spiritual advancement comes not by defining, but by refining
Spiritual advancement is essentially a journey of our heart’s affection towards Krishna, a journey that can get sidetracked by many detours. One tempting detour is [...]
When the heat hits, move away from the heat source, not towards it
When the environmental heat hits us, we naturally move away from the heat source. Strangely however, we react in the opposite way to another kind [...]
It is never too late – and it is already too late
Intelligence and experience help us see that material enjoyment is temporary and unsatisfying, whereas Krishna consciousness is eternal and supremely satisfying. This vision inspires us [...]
Take exception to the hope for an exception
Our mind gets excited by any chance for material enjoyment. We have repeatedly experienced for ourselves that material enjoyment is at best an exasperating anti-climax, [...]
The mind traps us materially and trips us spiritually
We like our job one day and detest it the next day; we feel excited about our devotional activities sometimes and bored at other times. [...]
Conviction is the fuel for our resolutions to fly from take-off to landing
We often make resolutions to conquer our lower passions such as selfishness, ego, greed, lust or anger. Most such resolutions for self-improvement often have a [...]