Bhakti requires a radical re-assessment of our deepest desires
Some people equate bhakti with externals – they assume that if they are doing devotional rituals right, they are well-situated. However, the essence of devotion [...]
Everything is not relative – everything is related
Nowadays many people believe in the relativity of everything: “You stay happy with your opinion, I will stay happy with mine.” While we all are [...]
Knowledge about Krishna protects and propels
Sometimes people ask, “What is the practical use of gaining knowledge about Krishna? When we get knowledge about, say, engineering, we can earn a living. [...]
To claim that everything is an illusion is to be in illusion
Some people say that everything is an illusion. But such a statement is self-contradictory. When we say that everything is an illusion, then we are [...]
Gita 07.20 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya That is how one progresses, so [...]
The heart unguided by revelation revels in imagination
We humans have an innate need to worship something bigger than ourselves. Thus, sports fans adore a sports-star, consciously or subconsciously equating their idol with [...]
The God we grasp is different from the God who grasps us
The God we grasp refers to how we understand God: the conception of God we have acquired, be it by conscious contemplation or sub-conscious assimilation [...]
Gita 07.15 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Now the question will come up [...]
We see the present and plan the future – Krishna sees the future and plans the present
When we pray for help amidst problems but our prayer isn’t answered, we ask: “Why is Krishna not helping?” Krishna does help, but his help [...]
God underlies, overlies and outlies the world
What is the relationship of God with the world? This question, pondered by thinkers and theologians throughout history, is illumined by Gita wisdom in three [...]
God is the ultimate source and the ultimate resource
How we function in the world depends primarily on two factors: what brings us to the world and what we bring to the world. What [...]
One soul inspired is better than a thousand souls impressed
When we apply the Bhagavad-gita and become positively transformed, we feel inspired to share its wisdom with others. But while sharing thus, we frequently find [...]
The whole is far greater than the sum of its parts
Modern science often analyzes objects to be the sum of their parts. We may extend this scientific approach to spirituality – on coming to know [...]
We can’t know what the future holds, but we can know who holds the future
We dream of a bright future, but also dread a dark one: what if we lose our job, health or a loved one? Given that [...]
Our mind is influential, but it is also influenceable
Our mind has an enormous influence on us – when we are thinking of one thing, it can take our thoughts in an entirely different [...]
To think that the illusions tempting us are new is an old illusion
The world we live in is a place of illusion. The primary illusion is that sense objects can make us happy. But the illusion runs [...]
See Krishna not just as a shock-absorber, but also as a goal-transformer
Many people treat God as a shock-absorber. Just as a car’s shock-absorber is needed to minimize jolts while driving, they think God is needed to [...]
Renunciation is meant to help us look up at Krishna, not look down at the world
Whenever we become good at anything, our ego tempts us to feel superior to those who are not that good. This same temptation lures us [...]
Channel the spirit of devotion, not the ghost of illusion
In common parlance, the words ghosts and spirits are used to refer to nonphysical beings. Among these, ghosts are often seen negatively, as beings to [...]
Krishna does not stand for the Absolute – he is the Absolute
Some people conceive of the Absolute Truth impersonally. As they associate personality with form and finiteness, they feel that the Absolute, being infinite, cannot be [...]
To see Krishna’s love through the filter of our desires is to blind ourselves to his love
Suppose a child gets infatuated with a toy and demands it from his mother. If she refuses, he cries, “You don’t love me.” The mother [...]