Why to identify with villains in scriptures?
Whenever we study scriptures, we tend to identify with the virtuous characters, whether it is Ram or Sita or Hanuman. That's good, but it's also [...]
Self-importance or importance of the self?
Self-important people are obsessed with the idea of their own greatness in everything that they do. Their sole concern is that everybody knows and remembers [...]
Gita 16.04 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 16.4 dambho darpo ’bhimānaś [...]
When black-and-white analysis helps and when it harms
The Bhagavad-gita analyzes people into two distinct categories: godly and ungodly (16.05). We might wonder, “Are such categories useful when most people fall somewhere in [...]
Pride comes before a fall, but does pride fall?
Pride comes before a fall — this saying is meant to be a warning for those who proudly place themselves in a position higher than [...]
Those who don’t respect themselves are most agitated when others don’t respect them
When others disrespect us, we naturally feel hurt. But some people go beyond feeling hurt to wanting to hurt others, and hurt them disproportionately. Why [...]
To make people suffer for the sake of making them suffer is the very essence of evil
Suppose we accidentally step on someone’s foot. We’ll immediately apologize. But suppose someone deliberately steps on someone else’s foot – and not just steps but [...]
Arrogance keeps us not just in ignorance, but also in ignorance about the extent of our ignorance
Suppose someone swims in an ocean, knowing that the ocean is so vast that they hardly know anything about it. While swimming, they will be [...]
Humility learns even from success; pride, not even from failure
We often learn much more from our failures than from our successes. When we succeed, we may become so full of ourselves as to think, [...]
Being a wizard brings the hazard of belittling others as dullards
Whenever we are wizards at something – superb at doing that thing – our ability can raise us to great heights. While we certainly need [...]
Don’t see through others; see others through
To see through others means to look for faults in others even when none are evident. To see others through means to help others manage [...]
People who are too full of themselves are empty
Egoistic people think and talk only about themselves: “I went here, I achieved this, I experienced this, I am so great.” Even if others talk [...]
Inability to stand others’ weaknesses is our weakness
When we are good at something, we can easily spot others’ weaknesses in that area. For example, if we are good at language, our attention [...]
We may be wired to explode, but we can change our wiring
Short-tempered people are sometimes said to be “wired to explode.” This expression draws metaphorically from technology to imply that our behavior is determined by our [...]
To think that we may become proud suggests that we may already be proud
Suppose we have some special talents by which we can excel in an important service. But we may hesitate to use those talents, fearing that [...]
Those who anger us conquer us
Sports are sometimes marred by unwholesome practices such as sledging. In cricket, for example, fielders may provoke a batsman by taunting. If the batsman gets [...]
Don’t let offense towards others’ faults become a pseudo-defense of one’s own faults
Offense is the best defense, states a common saying. The Bhagavad-gita (02.61) recommends this strategy in our inner war: to attain self-mastery, fix the consciousness [...]
Being unconscious of our faults is the worst unconsciousness and the biggest fault
When a disease infects us, we seek treatment. But if we are unaware of the infection, we won’t seek any treatment. Our various faults, especially [...]
Obsession with fame deprives us of prema
Most people get a rush of exhilaration when they go to a new place and find recognition and admiration for them in the eyes of [...]
Are we trying to control without because of being uncontrolled within?
We all want to control our dependents. And we do need some control to guide them properly. Yet by their very nature people often go [...]
Is the knife cutting to heal or to wound?
The scriptures compare the spiritual master’s words with a surgical knife. Those words cut through the misconceptions and illusions that bind materialistic people, thereby healing [...]