Help me see that the conflicts inside me are actually outside me
Bhagavad Gita 14.10 rajas tamaś cābhibhūya sattvaṁ bhavati bhārata rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaś caiva tamaḥ sattvaṁ rajas tathā At times, pure goodness rises high, Subduing [...]
A Gita lens on the Tariff War: Practicing C.A.R.
As the tariff war initiated by Trump continues to escalate, how might we view this through the lens of the Bhagavad Gita? One helpful approach [...]
Gita 14.10 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Next verse Sri Krishna describes [...]
How Krishna helps Arjuna make philosophical sense of his inner conflict
Krishna demonstrates how to make philosophy relevant when presenting the concept of the modes in the Bhagavad-gita’s fourteenth chapter. Krishna first outlines the main characteristics [...]
Where do we draw the line that separates the good from the bad? (Beyond black and white conceptions series 7)
Where do we draw the line that separates the good from the bad? - When someone wrongs us, we often tend to paint ourselves as [...]
How black and white conceptions disempower us (Beyond black and white conceptions series 1)
How black and white conceptions disempower us - When a small child learns to recognize black and white colors, that’s a step forward in their [...]
Don’t reduce people to their group identity – differences within groups often exceed differences across groups
We often have certain preconceptions about certain groups of people. Driven by such preconceptions, when we come to know a person’s group identity, we presume [...]
The intellectual temptation for quick comprehension leads to erroneous generalization
We all feel an innate need to gain some understanding of things in our life. When things don’t make sense, we resort to our preferred [...]
The modes determine the scope of our choices, not our specific choice
The modes, the Bhagavad-gita explains, are subtle forces that shape the interaction between consciousness and matter, thereby inciting us to action. If we act according [...]
False dichotomies keep us in real illusion
One of the favorite strategies of emotional manipulators is setting up false dichotomies. For example, a former US president who launched a war against terror [...]
Competing illusions are still illusions
Suppose while driving a car we come to a fork and worry about which turn to take. But if we learn that we are on [...]
Go beyond indecision and indiscretion to introspection and inspiration
“What should I do now?” We frequently face this question when life’s perplexities disrupt our routines. We usually respond based on not just the external [...]
Self-help can’t help without divine help
The Bhagavad-gita (14.10) indicates how the subtle forces of nature known as the modes exert competing psychological influences on us. Their contrary influences cause our [...]