Gratitude Is a Gift
At a recent youth retreat in Mayapur, a devotee asked me, "When you became a brahmachari, how did you deal with fear about the future [...]
Let my recitation of your words inspire the redirection of my heart to you
svādhyāyābhyasanaṁ caiva May speaking your words be my training, Knowing their sounds are potent and purifying. Let sacred recitation be my ladder, Drawing my heart [...]
Let my words be illuminating, encouraging, uplifting
satyaṁ priya-hitaṁ ca yat Let me speak to illuminate and appreciate, Never use the truth as a tool to dominate. May kind words become my [...]
Let my speech bring calm to the storm, not begin a second storm
anudvega-karaṁ vākyam Within me, when storms of pain form, Let not my speech bring another storm. May my prayers seek you as my anchor, Then [...]
Help me recognize and realize the power of my words
Bhagavad Gita 17.15 anudvega-karaṁ vākyaṁ satyaṁ priya-hitaṁ ca yat svādhyāyābhyasanaṁ caiva vāṅ-mayaṁ tapa ucyate Words that cause no fear or distress, Truthful, kind, and [...]
Help me take mental discipline as seriously as physical discipline
Bhagavad Gita 17.16 manaḥ-prasādaḥ saumyatvaṁ maunam ātma-vinigrahaḥ bhāva-saṁśuddhir ity etat tapo mānasam ucyate Calmness of mind and gentle grace, Silence and self-restraint in place; [...]
May austerity make my body a better vessel and vehicle for my soul
Bhagavad Gita 17.14 deva-dvija-guru-prājña- pūjanaṁ śaucam ārjavam brahmacaryam ahiṁsā ca] śārīraṁ tapa ucyate Worship of devas, sages, teachers and the wise, Cleanliness, honesty—virtues to help [...]
Help me see how my faith is a matter of fate—and how it is not
Bhagavad Gita 17.3 sattvānurūpā sarvasya śraddhā bhavati bhārata śraddhā-mayo ’yaṁ puruṣo yo yac-chraddhaḥ sa eva saḥ Faith shapes each being from within, According to [...]
Help me deal with differences of faith without sentimentality, yet with sensitivity
Bhagavad Gita 17.2 tri-vidhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṁ sā svabhāva-jā sāttvikī rājasī caiva tāmasī ceti tāṁ śṛṇu Threefold is faith in every soul, Born of [...]
When is keeping a dark secret from our past helpful and when harmful
It takes courage to introspect: Are we keeping a secret to protect our service or to protect our image? We all have secrets—skeletons in the [...]
Three questions to moderate our speech: source, intent, and mode
The power of speaking is an integral part of our lives. To use this power constructively and not destructively, we can ask ourselves three questions [...]
What free speech means and what it does not mean
Free speech is not simply speaking whatever we want to speak. It is carefully speaking what needs to be spoken for a constructive effect. We [...]
Amid a fiasco, when is the passive voice appropriate?
Is the passive voice used to avoid blaming or evade taking responsibility? In situations where something unfortunate has occurred, people often use the passive voice. [...]
How to ensure that the right answer has the right effect
How to ensure that the right answer has the right effect Just because we know the right answers doesn't mean we know the right time [...]
How our speech can enhance our relationships?
How our speech can enhance our relationships? Balancing sensitivity in speech The oversensitive consider even a mild observation to be a condemnation, while the insensitive [...]
How Our Words Can Make Us Strangers To Others And Even To Ourselves
How Our Words Can Make Us Strangers To Others And Even To Ourselves - If we let our yes become no and our no become [...]
Speaking our mind or speaking with our mind?
Before we speak our mind, we need to speak with our mind; otherwise, it is our mind that will speak—instead of us, and not for [...]
Choose silence in these 3 situations
Three situations when silence is our best friend, summarized by the acronym NOT: First is N when we have a negative opinion or attitude or [...]
The discipline of mind that leads to happiness
To know what things are of value is good, to have the things of value is better and to value the things of value that [...]
Surprise gifts: Delighted or disoriented?
Surprise gifts: Delighted or disoriented? When a surprise is truly surprising, appreciate the fact that it is surprising, not the fact that it is disorienting. [...]
Does urgency steal our manners?
Just because we do not have a minute to lose does not mean that we have to lose our manners; we can be both polite [...]