Choose to act your way to feelings, not feel your way to actions
“Acting our way to feelings” means choosing conscientiously to act based on our intelligence, even when our feelings don’t agree, till eventually those actions engender [...]
To eliminate mental phantoms, contemplate the transcendental person
The mind often makes problems far bigger than what they actually are. We get a negative appraisal, but the mind chews and stews on it [...]
Don’t equate what is in scripture with what scripture teaches
Some people think that everything in scripture is the teaching of scripture. But scripture gives the thoughts, words and actions of not just God and his [...]
The worship of the demigods reaches Krishna, but the worshiper doesn’t
An oft-quoted Sanskrit saying states, “Just as water falling from the sky reaches the ocean, the worship offered to the various gods reaches Keshava.” Does [...]
Krishna is disinterested, but not uninterested
Disinterested refers to neutrality, a lack of partisanship, whereas uninterested refers to apathy, a lack of concern. Krishna is disinterested in the sense that he [...]
Krishna is not an explanation for the unexplainable – he is the explanation for explanability
Some people conceive of God as an explanatory alternative to science: “There’s so much about the world that science can’t explain; we need God to [...]
Don’t hide the devotion in the heart; hide the heart in the devotion
As we live in largely materialistic society, we may sometimes hide our devotion to avoid any unnecessary conflicts with others who don’t share our values. [...]
Faith requires not the rejection of logic, but its subordination
Some people ask, “Faith in God requires believing illogical things such as his lifting a mountain. How can we reject logic like this?” Faith in [...]
Don’t read so much between the lines as to miss the lines
Erudite Gita commentators throughout history have unpacked its wisdom-filled verses in multiple ways. By examining the context, tone, word usage and similar details, they reveal [...]
Krishna’s mercy enables us to find him – and to find him fulfilling
The world we live in is like a maze. It offers us so many alternatives of what we can do, so many promises of what [...]
The confidentiality of devotion is not due to the frugality of divine grace, but the scarcity of human desire
The Bhagavad-gita (09.01) declares that the knowledge it shares is most confidential. Why confidential? Is Krishna too frugal, even stingy, in sharing his merciful message? [...]
Spirituality is the culmination, not the contradiction, of science
Atheists claim, “Science and spirituality are contradictory because science is founded on facts; spirituality, on faith.” Actually however, the bedrock of science is not facts, [...]
The essence of empowerment is not disappearance of obstacles, but persistence amidst obstacles
“Krishna empowers his devotees to do wonderful things.” This statement is frequently heard in devotional circles. What does empowerment mean? Is it a miraculous disappearance [...]
The head is the prelude to the heart, not the substitute
Our innermost need is the need to love and be loved. All our faculties including our intellectual faculty are meant to fulfill that innermost need. [...]
The supposition that we have spontaneous devotion sentences us to sporadic devotion
Some people ask, “What is the use of chanting Krishna’s holy names mechanically, keeping track of the count on beads? True lovers of Krishna will [...]
To ascribe omnipotence to the laws of nature is poor – and pure – fiction
Atheists often claim that the laws of nature alone have brought into existence the whole universe and all the life in it. But laws are [...]
Let our deficiencies be not sinking pits for depression, but launching pads for devotion
We are often plagued by deficiencies of some kind or the other. And given our materialistic culture that glamorizes idealized specimens of various material attributes, [...]
Krishna is not neutral but reciprocal
What is Krishna’s relationship with the world? The Bhagavad-gita addresses this question repeatedly in its several chapters, especially in its ninth chapter. That discussion culminates [...]
Krishna’s glory is inconceivable yet relishable
The Bhagavad-gita’s ninth chapter makes two seemingly self-contradictory assertions. First, it states (09.04: mat sthani sarva bhutani) that all living beings are situated in Krishna. [...]
To grow in devotion, focus not on emotion but on dedication
The Bhagavad-gita features an intriguing paradox. On one hand, it repeatedly urges seekers to stay unaffected amidst emotions such as pleasure and pain (02.56, 12.19, [...]
Process produces progress – focus on process, not progress
Sometimes parents tell their children who are reluctant to eat: “Eat, then your muscles will become big – like those of your favorite heroes.” The [...]