Comparing is unavoidable, but comparing mentality is undesirable
In our competitive world, comparing is almost universal. In schools with any kind of assessment, who gets higher grades and who lower will be inevitably [...]
If we think we have no vices, we are novices
A novice housekeeping employee may think that a room that appears to be clean is clean. But some dust may be so settled as to [...]
Ritualists see hierarchy above equality, spiritualists see equality above hierarchy
We cherish equality; we don’t want anyone to be discriminated against. Simultaneously, our hard-nosed side cautions that some hierarchies are essential for the orderly conduct [...]
Don’t run from pain or rush towards pleasure – refocus on your purpose
Suppose we are driving on a road to a destination. If the road is filled with traffic moving at a snail’s pace, we may find [...]
Our longing for equality points to our spirituality
In today’s world, equality is among the most cherished values. Few things provoke as much indignation as incidents of discrimination or even allegations of discrimination. [...]
Happiness is not a product of gratification, it is a byproduct of dedication
We all long for happiness. Today’s culture declares that we can become happy by gratifying our senses. The more gratification we have, the happier we [...]
Failure is a bump on the road, not the end of the road
When we fail at anything, we feel disheartened. Some people, however, become so disheartened as to become chronically depressed. Some youths, on failing in an [...]
See failure as a practical problem, not as an existential problem
During life, we all fail sometime or the other. How we respond to a failure depends on how we see that failure. Suppose a student [...]
Don’t work for or against the body – work with it for Krishna
If we were given a car, we would learn how it functions so as to smoothly drive it to our destination. At birth, we all [...]
We can’t always control how we feel, but we can control how we act
We all face situations wherein our emotions go wild and push us to act impulsively, say, angrily. Regretting such actions, we resolve to become self-controlled. [...]
Happiness is found not in sensation but in absorption
We often equate happiness with sensations. If something tastes good, if something looks attractive, if something smells delightful, we think that by getting those things, [...]
Don’t ascribe to God’s will that which happens due to free will or evil
When someone does something terrible, we may ask, “Why did God let this happen?” The Bhagavad-gita (05.15) indicates that people’s actions can’t be attributed to [...]
Even if we can’t change our desires, we can change our attitude towards our desires
When we aspire to live a principle-centered life, our worldly desires often tempt and divert us. How can we deal with them? We can learn [...]
The heart that delights in the ephemeral can’t delve into the eternal
If we are searching for something in the dark, we need to focus our flashlight in the direction where that thing is located. If the [...]
Learn to see material attachments as negative equity
An asset that costs more than what it yields is a negative equity. If we learn that a prospective asset will become a negative equity, [...]
The monkey may not be on our back, but it is inside our head
When a hiker is climbing a mountain, suppose a monkey comes, sits on their back and refuses to let go. They would feel burdened, even [...]
Subtler joys aren’t smaller – they are just softer
Affection can be conveyed by both a long, tight hug as well as by a quick, gentle squeeze of the shoulder. To appreciate the affection [...]
Sensual pleasure is too fleeting to be fulfilling
Suppose we are tormented by thirst in a desert. If someone gives us water, they would appear to be doing us a great favor. But [...]
Sensual pleasure ends, but it doesn’t end with pleasure
In today’s materialistic culture, countless images of attractive sense objects allure us incessantly. Our mind imagines that the pleasure therein is immense and irresistible. Believing [...]
What we need to give up is not material life but the materialistic conception of life
Some people think that becoming spiritual requires giving up material life. However, their apprehension arises from a misunderstanding of spirituality. The foundational spiritual text, Bhagavad-gita, [...]
Go beyond two equalities to true equality
A modern social critic, George Orwell, highlighted how the illusoriness of the equality that communism tried to create: “In communism all people are equal, but [...]