We can’t change our past, but we can change how we see and explain our past
We often have things in our past that we resent. If terrible things have happened to us, we may feel that we are so damaged [...]
Education is meant to remove ignorance and restore innocence, not remove innocence and reinforce ignorance
Education is a central part of human society. We get educated for several decades early on in our life when we have the most energy. [...]
Commitment is emotional investment, attachment is emotional dependence
During the course of our relationship with our loved ones, we may get the question: How can we be committed without being attached? By being [...]
Value those who value you and don’t overvalue those who devalue you
Suppose we are giving a talk. If the audience is responsive and appreciative, we feel enthused to speak. But if the audience starts frowning and [...]
The mind burdens us and deems as burdens those who offer to relieve our burdens
Suppose someone thrusts a huge burden upon us. We’ll feel annoyed, even angered, thinking: “Why do I have to carry this?” But, if they force [...]
Everything that happens may not be God’s plan, but God can make his plan work through everything that happens
When something terrible happens, we may question, “Is this God’s plan? Did God want this thing to happen?” Some people answer firmly in the affirmative, [...]
Solutions that try to satisfy everyone usually sway no one and solve nothing
Whenever we face problems, different people suggest different solutions. Because everyone is irreducibly individual, people often have irreducibly different opinions. While deciding which solution to [...]
If we let our mind devalue our efforts to improve our life, it will end up devaluing our entire life
We sometimes try to do some things to improve our life. Though we start enthusiastically, soon our mind starts devaluing our efforts: “Even if you [...]
Humility frees us from dependence on our own power and grants us access to God’s power
Some people think of humility as weakness, “If I am humble, people will walk all over me.” Such an understanding arises from a misunderstanding of [...]
Mind your mind before you mind anyone else’s mind
Suppose someone’s misbehavior irritates us. We may tell them off: “Why are you letting your mind take you for a ride?” Even if what we [...]
Gita 13.21 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan So in this verse Krishna [...]
Humility means to focus on how we can serve, not on what we deserve
In life, we frequently feel that we don’t get what we deserve. For example, we may work tirelessly on a project, yet our team may [...]
Life may be full of problems, but we don’t have to be one of them
Life is tough. We all face problems. When multiple problems attack us, we may feel overwhelmed, resentful, hopeless. These feelings can induce knee-jerk reactions that [...]
Death is meant to point to enlightenment, not be a plot point in entertainment
Death is one of life’s most sobering realities, being the irreversible closing of curtains on our present lifetime. Before that terminal encounter, we frequently encounter [...]
Thinking that thinking is troublesome, is troublesome
Some people avoid thinking about life’s big questions such as: “What is life meant for? What happens after death? What really counts?” They deem such [...]
Insight comes by catching sight of the link between things already in sight
Whenever we encounter some especially insightful people, we may wonder, “How do they get such insights?” Insightfulness may be an inborn gift in some, but [...]
Education centers not on building our resume, but on broadening our reality
Today’s academic culture often makes students obsessed with building their resume. When they have to decide which course to take or which co-curricular or extracurricular [...]
Those who are not humble often help us to become humble
Dealing with arrogant people can be annoying and draining. To view such people positively, we can see interactions with them as opportunities to become humble. [...]
Be mindful of people’s perceptions, but don’t make your mind full of their perceptions
When we practice spiritual life, we go against the overall materialistic current of the world. The road less traveled is the road we choose to [...]
Materialism reduces organism to mechanism
Materialism is the ideology that matter is all that exists. Mechanism is a material system that works according to material laws, with certain causes producing [...]
We talk frequently about death without actually talking about death
“Ten things to do before you die” – such lists are often found in self-help circles. Most readers, however, focus on the things to do, [...]