Don’t give Krishna your leftovers
The very idea of giving Krishna our leftovers may shock out devotional sensibilities – we usually give leftovers such as food to beggars, not to [...]
Realization harmonizes scientific experimentation with spiritual revelation
Some people ask, “Isn’t it better to acquire knowledge through scientific experimentation rather than scriptural revelation because by experimentation we can actively participate and verify [...]
Let repetition be a re-petition
Chanting mantras is a standard religious practice based on the philosophical understanding that sacred sound is packed with power. Different mantras are meant for different [...]
Prayerfulness is not the replacer of prayer, but its reinforcer
Some people say, “Prayer is a state of being – it’s not something that you do; it’s something that you are.” Actually, this state refers [...]
Don’t just see the provision – see the provider
As eco-awareness is spreading, people are increasingly appreciating how dependent we all are on nature. Without nature’s provision of our basic necessities, we wouldn’t be [...]
When karma runs its course, karmic flyers crash down to earth by force
When a plane flies high in the sky, its flight is due to not just the expertise of the pilot but also the fuel put [...]
Devotion’s simplicity is the refuge for the empty-handed, not the subterfuge for the close-fisted
The empty-handed refers to those who have very little material resources. So, when they come to Krishna, they come with next to nothing. Yet Krishna [...]
Expect not the absence of the shadow; embrace the presence of the light
Devotee-seekers sometimes ask, “I am devoting myself to Krishna – why then am I still getting miseries in my life?” Because misery is an intrinsic [...]
Devotion passes and surpasses the intellect
The path of devotion passes the intellect meaning that its explanation of life’s purpose can survive the scrutiny of the intellect. In fact, the Bhagavad-gita, [...]
Krishna underlies and oversees, pervades and transcends, cherishes and releases
The human mind has conceived of the Absolute Truth in different ways in various traditions. Further, in the world’s great theistic traditions, God has been [...]
Expect not the absence of the shadow; embrace the presence of the light
Devotee-seekers sometimes ask, “I am devoting myself to Krishna – why then am I still getting miseries in my life?” Because misery is an intrinsic [...]
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 [...]