Disdain the pain that is a pain to miss
We often think of self-restraint as a pain: “I have to give up so many of the pleasures of the world.” Factually however, for us [...]
Are our desires locking us into a world of frustration or releasing us into the world of fulfillment?
We all may have experiences of how while dreaming and desiring something, we get transported somewhere into the world of our dreams, removed from everything [...]
The road that turns into a roadblock
Our culture indoctrinates us with the belief that the body is the road to enjoyment, especially sexual enjoyment. The sexual experience seems exhilaratingwhile it lasts.But [...]
We can’t reach new planets without leaving the earth
The prospect of traveling to new planets is both stimulating and unnerving. It’s stimulating because of the excitement ofexploring uncharted territory. And it’s unnerving because [...]
Do others have to pay for our enjoyment?
When we enjoy materially, we often fail to notice that others have to pay for our enjoyment. Here are a few examples: 1. When one [...]
Happiness through a perpetual tickling machine?
When children are tickled, they start laughing. Does their laughter indicate that they are happy? Not really. If happiness could be had just by tickling, [...]
Don’t let your assumptions about happiness deprive you of happiness
“I want to go closer to Krishna, but it requires following so many rules that will restrict my happiness. How can I give up happiness?” [...]
Renunciation is super-ambitious, not un-ambitious
Many people assume that renunciation symptomizes a lack of the ambition to struggle for material pleasures. Such people deride as unambitious those who renounce worldly [...]
To give up the ocean for a drop is a rank bad bargain
“I would like to make spiritual advancement, but giving up worldly pleasures is too much of a price to pay for it.” Such thoughts may [...]
Self-denial opens the door to self-fulfillment
Whenever Gita wisdom encourages us to perform any act of self-denial like fasting on certain holy days, the purpose is not self-torture, but self-fulfillment. Fulfilling [...]