We need to retire from lust before it will retire from us
Suppose we have a beloved pet dog. If we discover that it has contagious incurable rabies that could be lethal for us, we would have [...]
Is our assumption about love blocking our realization of love?
Love is what novels and movies talk about. Such depictions of love conjure images of sensual highs and emotional crests. But real love is [...]
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 [...]
Dissatisfaction is caused not by bhakti’s impotence but by the mind’s petulance
“This meditation stuff doesn’t work.” We may think like this when we don’t feel happy while chanting the holy names of Krishna. The problem, however, [...]
As long as we desire to bring matter under our captivity, we remain in its captivity
Our bad habits, our attachments to base material things, are often extremely difficult to give up. The resulting struggle may raise the question: “I am [...]
Change not just the state of mind – change also the state of being
Many popular self-help books claim that we will become happy if we just change our state of mind from negative to positive. Is this true? [...]
When fulfilling desires doesn’t translate into fulfillment
We all have so many desires for so many worldly things. However, because we live in a world of finite resources and a body with [...]
Life’s driving force is existence’s crowning reality
Love is life’s driving force. We all want to love and be loved. Our longing for love drives our lives and our dreams – to [...]
Krishna’s inner presence is to coach us, not catch us
“Krishna is present in my heart. That means he has the best vantage point to catch all the wrongs that I do.” If such fears [...]
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 [...]
Completeness comes not by material amelioration or mechanical reconnection, but by emotional redirection
We all frequently feel that something is missing in our life. In fact, our entire life with its varied pursuits – career, wealth, position, spouse, [...]
The best direction for the motion of emotion
Emotion. That’s what brings spice to our life. And love, the richest and deepest of all emotions makes life, with all its headaches and heartbreaks, [...]
Nothing can separate us from the infinite love of the infinite
We all fear loss– loss of job, money, health, looks, things. Most of all, we fear the loss of love. Love is what all of [...]
Krishna is responsive; we are responsible
The Bhagavad-gita (15.15) states that Krishna gives us remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. Then when we forget Krishna, is he responsible for our forgetfulness? No, because [...]
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 [...]
Sharpen the head, ripen the heart
A fruit-bearing creeper when carefully tended gives a ripe fruit. Similarly, our devotion to Krishna when carefully tended gives an eternal life of love with [...]
No time to learn the language of faith?
Suppose students at a school don’t understand the subjects that are taught because they don’t the language in which the lessons are taught. When a [...]
Playing God or playing with God?
Be it attempts to create artificial rains or create artificial life, modern technology frequently aims to bend nature to human will. This desire is essentially [...]
Is the noise without muting the voice within?
All of us have an inner voice that expresses our deepest concerns, our noblest values, our highest aspirations. That inner voice is the voice of [...]
When will the over-estimate be over?
Our culture gives us a highly inflated estimate of material enjoyment. Believing this over-estimate, we make material enjoyment the essence and purpose of our life. [...]