Technological advancement without spiritual advancement makes us powerfully powerless
Being powerful and being powerless are usually opposite states. But when someone has a power they can’t control — say, an automatic gun whose trigger [...]
Attachment makes us blind, arrogance keeps us blind
Suppose someone allures an unsuspecting passerby into a dark alley and then attacks them so brutally as to blind them. That would be terrible. But [...]
When we react to atrocity with fury, we give the forces of illusion control over both sides of the war
Suppose two countries start fighting because one of them has done something terrible. Suppose further that one side is usually good and the other routinely [...]
The more our consciousness is crowded, the more our conscience becomes clouded
Suppose we are walking through a crowded place where people are pushing each other. In that crush, if a pickpocket reaches into our purse and [...]
To love values is good, to value love is better, to love the source of all values and love is the best
The world is becoming increasingly materialistic and opportunistic. Such people often have no purpose or value beyond the gratification of their sensual desires (Bhagavad-gita 16.07). [...]
The more outer power we get, the more inner power we need
Today technology has increased enormously the outer power accessible to us humans. By a few clicks, we can change the temperature around us, talk with [...]
To be truly non-judgmental, stop being judgmental about those who are judgmental
If we are judgmental, we make snap judgments about people. We blame them for actions that were almost inevitable for them given their circumstances which [...]
If we gauge how good we are solely by how good we feel about ourselves, we rob ourselves of our goodness
We all want to feel good about ourselves. And wanting to feel good is in itself not a bad thing. It becomes bad when it [...]
Manifesting our individuality should fill our heart, not empty our pocket
“Be yourself.” This is an oft-repeated mantra nowadays. While the call to be true to oneself is enriching, the path to self-expression, as charted by [...]
Better to endure cravings that seem unbearable than to endure consequences that are unbearable
Suppose someone is trying to recover from alcoholism. They may still be subjected to strong cravings to drink. Suppose they feel that those cravings are [...]
To understand what is wrong in the world, look first in the mirror, not the newspaper
When we hear about the many things wrong in the world, we may feel distressed and disheartened. To make sense of things, we may read [...]
Moral relativism makes wrongdoing tough to identify, tougher to rectify and toughest to purify
Many people nowadays argue for moral relativism: “What is wrong and what is right is relative; if something feels right to me, then you have [...]
Those who don’t find the reprehensible reprehensible, are reprehensible
Suppose someone sits and works and lives in a place that is dirty and stinky. If they don't find anything wrong with their surroundings, we [...]
The causes of anger rarely hurt us as much as the consequences of anger
Suppose someone insults us. Feeling angry, we lash out at them. They feel hurt and react defensively or aggressively, doing things that hurt us further. [...]
Passing blame is easy but disempowering, accepting responsibility is tough but empowering
Whenever things go wrong, our mind naturally looks for a scapegoat. We want to blame others because it seems to be an easy escape-way: “If [...]
Even if we cover the tracks we make externally, the tracks we make internally still cover us
Suppose we wanted to hide what we are doing from others while we are going on a trek through the wilderness. We would cover our [...]
If we put gravity to test, gravity will put us to rest
Suppose someone decides to test gravity by walking off the parapet wall of a fifty-story building. Gravity will soon put them to rest, stripped of [...]
Fanatics use God’s name to give God a bad name
The news often reports how religious fanatics kill innocent people and justify their barbarity in the name of God. Such reports, coupled with ghastly imagery, [...]
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 [...]
Some people get many insights from one sight, others don’t get even one insight from many sights
Some people learn so much from small incidents in daily life, whereas others forget the lessons learned through big blunders. Why the difference? Are some [...]
Materialism reduces you to a number and glamorizes things that make you number
Most people nowadays are materialistic: they live to seek materialistic sensations and possessions. Yet most of them haven’t thought through the philosophical implications of materialism. [...]