Leave temptation – and don’t leave a forwarding address
When troublesome stalkers harass people repeatedly, they may decide to flee. For this strategy to succeed, they need to leave without leaving a forwarding address; [...]
Decrease the perception of effort and increase the anticipation of reward by intellectual conviction
When we practice spiritual life, our mind holds us back by making us feel that the effort is too much and the reward too little. [...]
We may be far away from Krishna, but Krishna is always close to us
The distance between two people in any relationship is a function not of bodily location but of emotional disposition. Family members living under the same [...]
The supposition of subjectivity is sabotaged by the subjectivity of the supposition
“It may be true for you, but it’s not true for me.” This is the reason many people often give for dismissing scriptural revelation of [...]
Even if we can’t be consistent in our devotion, we can still be resilient
When we want to drive to a particular destination, we stay straight on the path that will take us there. But if factors beyond our [...]
Freedom resides not in the right to experience whatever we like, but in the liking for the right experience
“Won’t spiritual discipline take away my freedom by forbidding the things I like?” This apprehension often checks prospective seekers on their spiritual quest. The apprehension [...]
Muster determination to master distraction
Distraction is one of the biggest problems on the path of devotion. When we strive to fix the mind on Krishna internally, then we feel [...]
The mind may replay, but we don’t have to play
Sometimes some nasty images come in our mind and make us feel appalled at ourselves: “What kind of devotee am I to be thinking such [...]
Let the intelligence’s discrimination lead through the mind’s delusion to the heart’s devotion
We all have an inner enemy within us – some mysterious presence that impels us to act against our best interests. Different traditions refer to [...]
Devotion expands meditation to include emotion and action
Many people think that meditation is primarily a way to still the agitated mind. So, they think that any object such as a candle or [...]
The mind needs not what it heeds and heeds not what it needs
The Bhagavad-gita (06.06) cautions us that the mind can be our worst enemy. How does the mind act inimically? By misdirecting our attention and energy [...]
The mind’s misdirection is not just mild but also wild
On the spiritual path, the mind misdirects us from our intended focus on Krishna to thousands of distractions. In fact, the mind distracts not just [...]
The purpose of bodily regulation is not physical deprivation but spiritual connection
Some religious seekers subject the body to deprivation through extreme fasting or even self-flagellation. They think that such deprivation will lead to detachment and eventually [...]
To acquire equal vision externally, cultivate spiritual satisfaction internally – by remembering Krishna devotionally
The Bhagavad-gita repeatedly urges us to see pleasant and unpleasant situations equally. How is this possible? To understand, let’s analyze a Gita verse (06.08) that [...]
The Gita shows the best peak to seek and the best route to reach it
All of us need something to live for, some target to achieve, some mountain peak to seek. Materialistic culture offers us many peaks –wealth, sex, [...]
Weaken your weaknesses – don’t let your weaknesses weaken you
In a war, an army wins not just by the determination of its soldiers fighting on the forefront, but also by the steadiness of the [...]
Worry more about inconsequential intentions than about unintended consequences
“What will happen if I practice spiritual life too seriously, neglect my material life and then things go wrong?” Such worry may trouble us when [...]
The mind may be like a hog in a confectionary, but we don’t have to be
We are all innately pleasure-seeking creatures. Where we seek pleasure defines us and determines our destiny. Normally, due to the influence of the culture externally [...]
Work on mind control enthusiastically while Krishna works on mind conversion expertly
We all have first-hand experience how the mind impels us to self-defeating actions. So when the Bhagavad-gita (06.05) warns us that the mind can be [...]
Bhakti transforms our solitary struggle with the mind into a cooperative conquest
“What is the best way to control the mind?” To this universal question of all spiritual seekers, the Bhagavad-gita answers: bhakti-yoga. Let’s see how and [...]
The assumption of responsibility in our inner life begins with challenging our assumption about our inner life
Our spiritual advancement centers on our taking greater responsibility for our inner life. This assumption of responsibility begins with challenging a core assumption about our [...]