Obsession isn’t just a distractor from absorption; it is also a demonstrator of absorption
Some bhakti seekers ask, “My mind gets so easily distracted by worldly things. Is it possible to become absorbed in Krishna?” Yes, it is. If [...]
See love in the expression of emotions – and in the concealing of emotions too
Our relationships can become dry or even break down if we don’t express the affection we have for our loved ones. As others can’t read [...]
Make God the center and the circumference of your life
To practice bhakti means to center our life on God. The Bhagavad-gita (12.19) substantiates this by indicating that Krishna is the home for the consciousness [...]
Bhakti has to be a choice before it can become a calling
Some people say, “I will become devoted to God when I feel his call from within.” The problem with such thinking is that we are [...]
Change the home page of your mind’s browser
Suppose our computer browser has a particular site set as its default home page. If we don’t want to visit that page, we can close [...]
For getting Krishna, forgetting Krishna is fatal
When we seek anything valuable, we usually desire it and strive for it. Such desiring and striving naturally center on remembering. A person who wants [...]
Love first the creator to love best the creatures
Sometimes people think, “Will loving God make us neglect others? Will focusing on the one who is beyond this world make us uncaring towards those [...]
Krishna is not a passive point of concentration – he is the proactive fount of compassion
Yogis begin their meditation by using various objects as initial points of concentration. The Bhagavad-gita mentions that they may focus on the space between their [...]
The kingdom of God is more than a kingdom
The kingdom of God is a phrase often used in religious circles to refer to the place where God resides, the place that is the [...]
Be not sentimental or judgmental – be transcendental
Sentimentality and judgmentality are two obstacles on the spiritual path. When we are sentimental, we become puppets of our feelings. While practicing bhakti, if we [...]
Contemplation is the natural result of attraction and contemplation naturally results in attraction
When we are attracted to something, we naturally think of it and even mentally live with it. Cricket lovers, for example, often live in their [...]
Gita 12.20 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan After describing these Krishna goes [...]
Gita 12.16 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 12.16 anapekṣaḥ śucir dakṣa [...]
Gita 12.13-14 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Ch 12 overview: 1-7: Worship [...]
Gita 12.06-07 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan So 12.6 and 7 makes [...]
Gita 12.05 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 12.5 kleśo ’dhika-taras teṣām [...]
Gita 12.03-04 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Verse 3 and 4 also [...]
Don’t just push the mind towards the spiritual – let the spiritual pull the mind too
Suppose we were pushing a heavy trolley uphill. It would be a demanding exertion. If we became lax even for a moment, the trolley would [...]
Catch the current of emotion – don’t be caught by it
In an ocean, there are often multiple currents moving in different directions. To give a somewhat simple example for a complex phenomenon, in the Indian [...]
We need a starter of desire more than a stopper of desire
Spiritual seekers often worry about how to restrain their desires so as to adhere to the principles of sadhana. Yet quite often this worry is [...]
The spiritual may be unfamiliar but it’s not unnatural
When we travel through an unfamiliar place, we often feel uncomfortable. Similarly, when we explore spirituality, we may feel uncomfortable because the concepts or customs [...]