Use introspection as a confession by the self to the self
Confession is a religious practice wherein confessants, people who have done something wrong, admit those wrongs to an authority figure, a confessor. As admitting our [...]
Focus on life, not on the mind’s commentary about life
Suppose a cricket match is accompanied by a special kind of commentary that is heard not just by the spectators, but also by the players. [...]
Respect the dark within you, to keep it within you
Suppose we had a serious enemy out to destroy us. We couldn’t afford to take them lightly; we would need to treat them with respect. [...]
The lesser the structure in our life, the greater the rupture the mind can cause in our life
Our mind is restless (Bhagavad-gita 06.34) – it’s like a child. Children can spend their entire day or even their entire life playing with toys. [...]
To be thoughtful, attribute every thought first to the mind
Our mind is like a thought-factory that churns out thoughts constantly. Most of these thoughts are irrelevant and unproductive, some are dark and destructive, and [...]
Being conscious of the body is not bodily consciousness, being conscious only of the body is
Suppose a car driver is obsessed with their car. They drive around just to parade how attractive it is and to find some ways to [...]
Intelligence means to know which thoughts are to be pinned and which to be binned
Suppose we regularly use sticky notes. If too many notes clutter our notice board, we would need to sort them. We would pin those that [...]
Krishna is just one thought away from us – always
When we practice spiritual life, we may feel forlorn: “I am trapped in this material world and Krishna is in the spiritual world, so far [...]
The mind is restless, reasonless, ruthless, relentless
Why is controlling the mind so difficult? The Bhagavad-gita (06.34) explains using four describers, which can be summarized as four R’s: Restless (canchala): The mind [...]
The mind stops us not just from achieving our dreams, but also from pursuing them
People on the deathbed often have many regrets. The greatest of such regrets center on, “If only I had done this …”. We all dream [...]
Gita 06.45 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya So Krishna will tell in next [...]
Gita 06.43 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya 38-45: If the mind deviates the [...]
What is our greatest treasure is often not what we treasure the greatest
Suppose a child is asked to choose between a toy and a million-dollar-check. The child may grab the toy, not knowing that the check can [...]
Gita 06.24 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya 10-32: From practice to perfection in [...]
Spirituality reveals that our destiny is bigger than the biggest adversity
We all wish to have a better future. Using whatever talents we have, we often dream of achieving something wonderful, thereby fulfilling our destiny. But [...]
We are our greatest hope – and our greatest horror
We all sometimes act like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde; we act sometimes like a principled, selfless benefactor and sometimes like an opportunistic, self-centered malefactor. [...]
If we don’t double-check the mind, it will double-cross us
If we don’t double-check the mind, it will double-cross us Suppose an agent were prodding us to sign an important deal. If that dealer were [...]
The mind doesn’t know what it wants – and is ready to fight against the world to get it
When children become infatuated with a toy, they throw a tantrum till they get it. But on getting it, they play with it for some [...]
Treat the mind like a child – don’t let the mind treat you like a child
Children are fickle. If we tell a child to study, he may do so for a few minutes and may then want to play. If [...]
If we don’t sleep at the right time, we will sleep at the wrong time
When practicing spiritual life, we may equate spiritual advancement with denying our bodily needs such as sleep. We may deprive ourselves of sleep to demonstrate [...]
When the mind engages, it encages; when Krishna engages, he elevates
When deciding whether to work for some employer, we usually evaluate whether serving them will raise our profile or lower it. We can evaluate similarly [...]