When the part offers its whole to the Whole, the Whole makes the part whole
We often feel a sense of incompleteness, a feeling that something is missing in our lives. Usually, we try to overcome this feeling by getting [...]
Even if your better choices don’t create a better world, they will create a better you
The daily news of destruction, deceit and death can dishearten us: “In this big bad world, I am so tiny; I can’t make any difference.” [...]
Find your own story or you will become a bit player in someone else’s story
Suppose we have a significant part in a story being enacted in a mega-theater where multiple plays are going on simultaneously. But suppose someone misleads [...]
To put ourselves together, put aside the things that pull us apart
Suppose we are driving and come across an intersection with many roads ahead. We need to choose the road that takes us to our destination. [...]
When the mind takes charge, the only thing that works is we: hard
Suppose a competent leader takes charge of a project. They ensure that everyone works hard and productively. But if the leader is incompetent, no one [...]
Devotion is not just reverential deference to God’s greatness; it is also passionate advocacy of his sweetness
Some people think that to be devoted means to perpetually bow down to God, being awed by his greatness. Yes, appreciating God’s greatness and submitting [...]
We may be victimized, but we don’t have to be victims
We may sometimes be victimized. How can we deal with the resulting devastation? By ensuring that the emotional dimension of the victimization doesn’t aggravate our [...]
See weakness as woundedness, not wickedness
Suppose our hand is fractured, thereby weakening its connection with our arm. Then our capacity to move it according to our will decreases. And if [...]
Technological progress can’t fill the hole created by spiritual emptiness
We all are inherently pleasure-seeking. Usually, we seek pleasure through stimulating objects in the outer world. Today, technology has given us access to stimulation from [...]
We are conditioned not by what we are, but by what we are missing
We all have our conditionings that sometimes make us act unwisely, even self-destructively. When some people get overpowered by their conditionings repeatedly, they start being [...]
We are in a dream, but we are not a dream
Some people say that everything is an illusion, like a dream. Yes, spiritual traditions do compare our present existence to a dream. But such comparison [...]
The mind’s barriers for the entry of nonsense are ludicrously low
A field vulnerable to flooding needs to be protected by barriers. But if the barring walls are very low, the protection will be largely illusory. [...]
Desire for the Lord buffers us from desires for the world
When a boat is in the ocean, it can be buffeted by waves. The world we live in is often compared to an ocean. Herein, [...]
Self-improvement is best achieved through spiritual development
We often seek to improve ourselves in specific areas. For example, to improve our elocution, we may enroll for a public speaking course. Improving our [...]
Integration inspires integrity
To live with integrity means to commit to live according to certain principles and thereafter conscientiously live accordingly. Integrity is best inspired by integration. For [...]
We can’t avoid being controlled, but we can choose our controller
We all are controlled by our mind and senses. They allure us with promises of pleasure, and drag us here, there and everywhere. Addicts become [...]
Our connection with Krishna is both constitutional and cognitional
A fundamental insight of spiritual life is that everything is inter-connected. We are not isolated chance products existing temporarily, alone in the vast infinity of [...]
To master your senses, make Krishna your master
Suppose our boss is a taskmaster. He promises us raises, but hardly ever delivers those promises; he just keeps demanding backbreaking work. If we are [...]
Our individuality is meant to lead us towards our spirituality, not away from it
In today’s individualistic culture, people feel, “I want to be who I am. And no one should stop me.” The intention underlying this feeling is [...]
Freedom comes not by rejecting all restrictions, but by respecting the right restrictions
Some people advocate that we reject all restrictions, claiming that only by such rejection will we attain freedom. Yes, restrictions can take away our freedom, [...]
The mind gets us alone – and then gets us
During the Mahabharata war, Arjuna’s sixteen-year-old son, Abhimanyu, battles and bests the greatest Kaurava warriors. Unfortunately, on the thirteenth day of the war, the Kauravas [...]