How ego blocks self-improvement and humility aids self-improvement - Humility can be an extremely empowering virtue, especially for self-improvement. This might seem counterintuitive because people [...]
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-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 [...]
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 [...]
Pride comes before a fall — this saying is meant to be a warning for those who proudly place themselves in a position higher than [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
Whenever we are wizards at something – superb at doing that thing – our ability can raise us to great heights. While we certainly need [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
