Those who exaggerate material pleasure exacerbate material trouble
Sometimes children playing a video game throw a tantrum on losing. Their parents help them regain perspective, explaining that it’s just a game. Children tend [...]
When we mistake self-pity to be humility, spirituality becomes an exercise in futility
The essence of spirituality is the inner transformation from self-centeredness to Krishna-centeredness. Self-centeredness essentially means installing ourselves at the center of our inner world – [...]
Use intelligence to know Krishna, not to show that we know Krishna
“Just see how much I know.” This prestige-seeking exhibitionist motive frequently underlies intellectual pursuits in material life. People love to parade their encyclopedic knowledge of [...]
Equal disposition doesn’t mean identical action
The Bhagavad-gita repeatedly urges (05.18, 06.09, 12.18, 13.28, 18.54) its readers to have an equal disposition towards all living beings. In fact, the Gita emphatically [...]
Krishna knows the ultimate inside story – and he keeps it inside
Inside stories frequently make big news. The sleazier the story, the bigger the news. The drive for leaking such stories comes not just from money; [...]
We suffer not because we are last but because we are lost
“Everyone is better than me. I am good-for-nothing.” Our mind sometimes discourages us with such thoughts. These thoughts are the tricks of the mind, tricks [...]
The futility of utility; the utility of futility
The futility of utility: Utilitarianism is today’s dominant belief system – if something is useful, then that makes it good. Utility is today’s god, the arbiter [...]
Are we conscious that Krishna is conscious of us?
We express love for a person by being mindful of that person. By being conscious of that person as we go about our various duties [...]
Are we letting knowledge steal our humility?
When we get introduced to Gita wisdom, we discover a magnificent body of knowledge that answers life’s fundamental questions. As we enrich ourselves with this [...]
Is education changing the teacher within?
All of us have an inner teacher: our value system, our set of guiding principles that shape our decisions and determine our actions. For children, [...]
Are we mistaking solitary to be lonely?
Some people fear, “If I become too spiritual, I won’t be able to relate with most people for they are materially-minded. Won’t I end up [...]
How an accountability vacuum can suck our devotion
Some people question: “When Krishna is present in our heart and as devotion is also an inner feeling, what is the need for an external [...]
We see not by staring but by hearing
When our computer breaks down, we can’t see the problem merely by staring at the specific parts of the computer. We need to hear from [...]
When it requires courage to be afraid
Imagine a group of children playing in an epidemic-struck area without knowing about the disease. When a child gets infected, falls sick and dies, the [...]
How humility boosts our self-esteem…
We often feel under-recognized by the world. We frequently think that we have far more talents and much greater potential than what others credit us. [...]
Science and Bhagavad-gita both go from the visible to the invisible
The fall of a fruit. Millions of people had seen this specific event that Newton saw. What made Newton different was that he went beyond [...]
The Gita calls not for blind obedience, but for visionary obedience
The idea of obeying someone often seems repellant to the contemporary mind: “I can think for myself; why should I obey anyone?” This repulsion to [...]
What is the medium through which we experience the world?
In our culture, we mostly experience the real world second-hand: not by directly interacting with it using our senses, but by receiving it as depicted [...]
Humility means to accept but not expect respect
We may sometimes wonder, “How can I stay humble amidst the devotional culture of respectfulness? If nobody would notice me, it would be easier to [...]
Spiritual enforcement reaches where legal enforcement doesn’t
Corruption, crime, cruelty – these are increasing by the day. Faced with this spiral, the law enforcement agencies are often not only overworked, but also [...]
How the world sees us is not as important as how we see the world
We often worry about how the world sees us: “Do people notice me? Which way do heads turn when I arrive?” This outside-in approach seems [...]