Four levels at which the mind can mislead us
Four levels at which the mind can mislead us - The Bhagavad Gita 6.34 describes four characteristics of the mind that make it so difficult [...]
When the mind just doesn’t leave us alone…
We can force the world to leave us alone, but we can't force our mind to leave us alone. The key to mind management is [...]
How to counter the fickle mind with a stable intelligence
How to counter the fickle mind with a stable intelligence - Even if we can't stop our mind from being fickle, we can start making [...]
A Moment of Thought to Evaluate the Thought of the Moment
We are constantly filled with thoughts, many of which pop up and then disappear without us paying much attention. This in itself is not a [...]
Preventing the need for food from becoming greed for food
Detachment arises from understanding that desire can only be dealt with by tolerating it, never by titillating it. We all face sensual desires, and it [...]
Two steps to stop feeling sorry for ourselves
Wherever we go, we will be carrying our sorry self with us; stop feeling sorry for ourselves, and stop being the kind of person that [...]
Countering invisible attacks on our consciousness
Just because we don’t see that we are being attacked does not mean that we are not under attack. The inner war is invisible, but [...]
The mind’s DIE – distraction, invention, exaggeration
Just because the mind's tendency for distraction, invention, or exaggeration does not die, does not mean that our tendency to trust the mind cannot die. [...]
The Dual Vision of the Yogi: Seeing Krishna in Everything & Everything in Krishna
In the Bhagavad-gita (6.30), Krishna describes the vision of the enlightened yogi. Such seers have a dual divine perception: they see Krishna in everything, and [...]
Unmanageable Emotions and Temptation: Seeking Relief Through Indulgence
Our vulnerability to temptation comes not just from unmanageable desires but also from unmanaged emotions. Whenever we succumb to temptation, we tend to think that [...]
Is Krishna with me? Am I with Krishna?
Devotion centers on arriving at an affirmative answer to two questions: Is God with me? And am I with God? The Bhagavad-gita (6.29) and (6.30) [...]
Spontaneous attraction to Krishna
In the Bhagavad-gita (6.43-44), Krishna talks about how yogis who have failed to complete their spiritual journey in one life continue it in the next. [...]
From ‘what if’ to ‘what is’: steadying the mind through spiritual focus
Bhagavad-gita (6.18) depicts how the mind of a purified yogi becomes steady, like a lamp in a windless place. We are often confronted with the [...]
How to sustain our determination in meditation
We can consider meditation to be like any other skill that we seek to learn. Sometimes, we think that to become more determined, we need [...]
The material realization that fosters spiritual immersion
Meditation requires us to turn our attention from the world’s promises of pleasure to a higher reality. Such turning away from the world requires a [...]
When food becomes our enemy
What we eat is meant to energize us, to help us break free from the forces that control us, not energize those forces to control [...]
Importance of intelligence in meditation
Our intelligence is meant to be our protector, akin to an inner guard. We need such a guard because inside us is our mind, which [...]
Hold a mirror to ourselves and feel satisfied
If we don't hold a mirror to ourselves, we may end up having no inclination or even an aversion to holding a mirror to ourselves. [...]
When efforts to concentrate just don’t work …
Whenever we are trying to meditate on Krishna, we may often be challenged by our mind’s wandering here and there. In the Bhagavad-gita (6.26), Krishna [...]
Are we in charge of our inner world?
The Bhagavad Gita (6.6) warns us that our mind can be our enemy if we are not in control of it. In politics, there are [...]
A better place even through a dark phase
In the Bhagavad-gita (6.30), it is said that for the realized yogi, Krishna is never lost to them, nor are they ever lost to him. [...]