Bringing out the best part of ourselves
Self-control is not necessarily suppression of the self, it is selection of what is worthy within the self. When some people are told to discipline [...]
Gita 15.10 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 15.10 utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi [...]
How do the Gita’s eyes of knowledge help Arjuna
In the Bhagavad-gita’s fifteenth chapter (15.07), Krishna cautions that our senses can mislead us, subjecting us to stress and distress. This caution echoes events in [...]
Why self-control isn’t the key to overcoming bad habits …
Whenever we try to overcome any bad habit, we usually think that we need more self-control. Might we be needing something else, however? Our bad [...]
How can we know reality?
Suppose someone is walking on a road with their eyes blindfolded and ears plugged. If they struggled only to remove the ear plugs that blocked [...]
Why some people think consciousness comes from the brain — and why it doesn’t
A child may think that milk comes from a bottle in the fridge or from a rack in the supermarket. We may laugh at such [...]
Knowledge expands the avenues available for us to address those problems
Suppose someone is coughing. If they have no medical knowledge, they might just try to suppress their cough, which might make the disease worse. A [...]
When a danger is less visible, it leaves us more vulnerable
If we are afflicted by some disease with visible symptoms such as TB, we would seek diagnosis and treatment. But suppose we are afflicted by [...]
To believe whatever we see is to live like an animal
Some people assert, “Seeing is believing.” Their intent in making this assertion may be good – they don’t want to unintelligently, gullibly believe anything and [...]
We need the eyes to see what our eyes need to see
When we are sick and in pain, a doctor may immediately see some symptoms that indicate the presence of disease. If during the course of [...]
The senses may be windows to the world, but they are mere portholes to reality
A window gives us the sensation that we are looking at a large part of the outside world through it. In contrast, a porthole, being [...]
Perception is a function of association
Suppose some non-Indians unfamiliar with cricket come to India and enter a cricket stadium. They may find the hullabaloo bewildering, and the noisy, sweaty, jammed [...]
Comprehension comes by the integration of visual perception with intellectual education
We usually consider our eyes as reliable sources of knowledge. In court cases, eyewitness testimonies are deemed strong evidence. Yet valuable as visual perception is, [...]
“Seeing is believing” requires unbelievable believing
Atheists sometimes argue, “Seeing is believing. Only if you show me things like the soul will I believe in them.” The belief underlying this slogan [...]
Metaphysical blindness is more dangerous than physical blindness
Physical blindness makes us unaware of our surroundings, whereas metaphysical blindness makes us unaware of ourselves – our identity and our purpose. The Bhagavad-gita (15.10) [...]
Spirituality values even the fools who find no value in spirituality
To appreciate the value of spirituality requires a sharp and deep intelligence that can penetrate through the surface appearance of things and ponder the core [...]
We need to see intellectually before we can see visually
People ask, “Can you show me the soul?” Yes, answers Gita wisdom. But it underscores that we need to see intellectually before we can see [...]
Strive not to look good in the eyes of the world; strive to get good eyes to look at the world
People often worry whether they look good in the eyes of the world; they fuss about being in tune with the latest fashions. However, the [...]
How can we pursue that which we don’t perceive?
Our vision determines our action. If on a road we don’t see a speed-breaker, we won’t slow down and so get jolted. If at a [...]
Might a 20/20 vision lead to blindness?
Smaller electronic gadgets; greater functionalities; faster net connections. Such advances may make us believe that future technological advances will enable us to become happy and [...]
Blinded and addicted or illumined and liberated?
Suppose everyone in a country was addicted. With everyone suffering the pulls and falls of addiction, the addiction would seem normal. Because addicts frequently see [...]