You are not a negative thinker, even if your mind is
“You are such a negative thinker.” We may receive this discouraging feedback if we tend to look at problems in a given situation. Such labels [...]
Is our knowledge making us prouder or wiser?
We often think that if we gain enough information, we will become knowledgeable. Significantly however, the Bhagavad-gita (14.17) states that knowledge grows by leading a [...]
Why does happiness often lead to distress?
We all want to be happy. And we often think that if we get enjoyable worldly objects, we will become happy. Yes, those things can [...]
Gita 14.06 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 14.6 tatra sattvaṁ nirmalatvāt [...]
As long as we lack purity, we live in poverty, no matter how much money we have
We often equate poverty with a lack of money. And that's true at one level. If we don't have food, if we don't have clothes [...]
We can’t foresee every consequence of our actions, but we can foresee their probable consequences — and we should
Suppose we are driving a huge truck and a drunk person suddenly comes in the middle of the road. If an accident occurs, the law [...]
Might nature be teaching us to stop believing that we humans alone matter on the earth?
For the last few centuries, we humans have used the power of technology to exploit nature indiscriminately and disrupt delicate ecological balances. Underlying our actions [...]
The less we identify with our thoughts, the less we act thoughtlessly
Whenever we do something regrettable, we wonder, “Why did I act so thoughtlessly?” First, we are never literally thoughtless, for we are never without thoughts. [...]
If we don’t fix the broken doors to our consciousness, we will be robbed
Suppose our home has a broken door. If we don’t want to be robbed, we need to fix that door asap. Our inner homes often [...]
Just because a wound is painless doesn’t mean it is harmless – even when we are not hurting, we still need healing
Suppose we had a painless injury. We would go on living normally, while the wound would worsen, eventually felling us. We all are souls who [...]
Gita 14.20 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Previous verse explains that when [...]
Don’t be annoyed that people are so bad, be amazed that they aren’t worse
People can annoy us in innumerable ways – they can be incompetent, insensitive, forgetful, lazy, dumb. If we let ourselves get annoyed by them, we [...]
Don’t let the craving for clarity distract us from working with whatever clarity we have
Suppose we are driving through a storm. If water, sleet and dust obscure our front window, we will keep navigating the car with whatever clarity [...]
Gita 14.01 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Chp13 Jnana Chakshu Overview 27 [...]
Our urges aren’t like endlessly rising lines, they are like endlessly recurring waves – surf them patiently
Whenever some self-destructive urge attacks, we tend to think: “This urge is becoming stronger and stronger. Soon, it will become irresistible. When I will have [...]
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 [...]
Even if we can’t control our emotions, we can control the attention we give to our emotions
Suppose some hawker comes near our property and starts peddling their wares. If we pay attention to them, they will start promoting more loudly, excitedly, [...]
How to communicate effectively – an example from the Bhagavad-gita
Suppose we are guiding someone about how to take a complicated treatment that involves various medicines at various times. In one sense, every step of [...]
Managing our emotions – shift focus from emotions to actions
Stop trying to control how you feel, start taking control of what you do Our emotions often interfere with our purposes. We may resolve to [...]
Our thoughts have no power on us till we give them our thought
The word ‘thought’ can refer to an idea popping up in our consciousness, as in “I got a thought.” Or it can refer to steady [...]
Our mind is like our inbox – focus on the thoughts that matter
When we check our inbox, if we find any junk mails, we neglect them. Our mind is like an inbox, wherein various stimuli come in, [...]