Anticipate spontaneous devotion, but cultivate conscientious devotion
When we read in the scriptures about exalted devotees who spontaneously love Krishna, we as aspiring devotees naturally long for such spontaneous devotion. And we [...]
Rise from defiance through reliance to transcendence
Our journey towards Krishna progresses through three stages: Defiance: We start of imagining that we don’t need Krishna, that we can do fine without him. [...]
Let’s love Krishna too much to be fanatical
Fanatic. That’s among the worst labels a person can get in today’s multi-cultural world. To avoid such labels, some people feel, “Better let me not [...]
Love that is too big to allow room for hatred in the heart
When people reject, cheat or humiliate us, we may feel justified to hate them. No matter how justified our feeling, it doesn’t change the reality [...]
Are we holding on to a straw instead of a lifeline?
Our present material existence is like an ocean – an ocean of misery. Though we can struggle against the waves of life’s miseries for some [...]
If we can’t offer our heart to Krishna, then we can offer what’s in our heart to Krishna
We all long for love. This longing attains lasting and complete fulfillment when we direct it towards Krishna, for he is eternal and all-attractive. And [...]
Belonging that leads to blissful being
Our actions are frequently molded by others’ opinion, especially by the opinion of the social circle we wish to belong to. As we are social [...]
Bad times test our faith – and so do good times
Bad times test our faith. They raise the question: “When I am serving Krishna, why is he not protecting me?” Gita wisdom answers that Krishna [...]
Aspire not for feelings but for relationship
Is bhakti a feeling that arises spontaneously in the heart, a feeling that some people get and some people don’t? We may think thus when [...]
Krishna wants our presence more than our presents
We may injure our relationships by an unwitting error: giving things more of our attention than the people for whom we are doing those things. [...]
Devotion is the switch that activates our dormant virtues
Just by turning on a small switch we can activate a big car. If a small manmade switch can have so much power, then how [...]
Renunciation is not deprivation but emancipation
The prospect of ‘renunciation’ may bring in us a cold, hard, almost scary feeling. We fear that we will have to give up something dear [...]
Be grateful for everything we can live without
We often approach Krishna for getting some things and feel grateful on getting them. This utilitarian and businesslike relationship with Krishna can’t truly satisfy us. [...]
Are we praying for others or preying on others?
Our feelings about others are pointers not just to who they are but also to who we are. When we feel irritated by others’ faults, [...]
The enlightened vision and the benevolent disposition
Spiritual knowledge is a therapy for the soul. Just as medical knowledge brings with it the responsibility to help the sick, so does spiritual knowledge. [...]
Map changes – and change maps
When we take a treatment, we intuitively map changes; we evaluate whether our health improves. Similarly, when we practice spirituality, we need to map changes: [...]
Go beyond the beyond
Many people think that the goal of spirituality is to go beyond emotions and actions, and attain peace by merging in an impersonal light. However, [...]
Spirituality provides us our own inner sanctuary
We all need encouragement. The regular obstacles and occasional reversals that life brings our way tend to be discouraging. To regain our spirits, we need [...]
Navigating our way between the ideal and the real
Life frequently forces us to face the conflict between the ideal and the real: what we want to be ideally and how we are really; [...]
Krishna’s ladder of love helps us rise from wherever we presently are
Love for Krishna may sometimes seem a distant, abstract concept. But Gita wisdom offers a systematic pathway by which we can slowly but surely attain [...]
Change the stories you tell yourself about yourself
Our mind is rarely satisfied with the world and especially with our present position in it. Consequently, it frequently goes into flights of fantasies of [...]