Why speaking effectively is as difficult as loving authentically
When we love someone authentically, that love involves a dynamic tension between our concern for them as they are presently and our concern for what [...]
When political correctness helps and when it harms
Few things are as polarizing in today’s Left-Right cultural divide as political correctness. The Left often condemns politically incorrect speech, seeing it as evidence that [...]
How our speech becomes ineffective – 2
Suppose a child meets with a terrible accident that permanently damages his legs. Cultured society may avoid referring to him as lame or even as [...]
How our speech becomes ineffective – 1
Speech is effective when it is both sensible and sensitive (Bhagavad-gita 17.15). Our speech becomes ineffective when we are sensible but not sensitive. Let’s understand [...]
Two ways to make our speech more effective
“How can I make my speech more effective?” We all have probably asked ourselves this question, especially after we tried to persuade someone of something [...]
Why is it so difficult to feel grateful?
If asked specifically to list things we are grateful for, we all can easily list several things. Yet during our daily life, we don’t so [...]
How to speak an unpalatable truth?
Truth is unpalatable — we may quote this saying while speaking to others some truth that is likely to hurt them. Yes, we all are [...]
On words of wisdom: wisdom matters and so do words
We can easily understand the power of wisdom: it can help us choose properly, communicate effectively, live fruitfully. However, we may not so easily understand [...]
How to help others choose wisely?
When we aspire to share some wisdom with others, especially to help them make better choices, we need to balance two things: truth and grace. [...]
Grateful even when we don’t feel full?
Even if we want to feel grateful, that feeling is often elusive. Why? Because we may feel that what we have isn’t enough. And such [...]
Are we committing violence with our mouth?
When we grow in wisdom, we learn to live more consciously. We inspect our habitual actions and their consequences in an interconnected universe. By such [...]
What are we seeking when we are speaking?
When we speak with others to persuade them about something, how can we make our speaking more effective? By remembering that speaking is meant to [...]
How to resolve arguments with our loved ones?
Suppose we get into an argument with someone, specifically a loved one with whom we want a long-lasting relationship. We may try to prove our [...]
Have we earned the right to criticize?
When we see someone doing something that seems wrong to us, we often feel the urge to criticize and correct them. We may feel we [...]
How to deal with feelings of inferiority
Our media often shows us glamorized images whereby we worry about how slim, smart or fluent we are. Naturally, we often feel deficient and become [...]
Gita 17.04 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 17.4 yajante sāttvikā devān [...]
How people are equal — and how they aren’t
We live in a world that cherishes equality. Affirming our innate aspiration, Gita wisdom explains that people themselves are equal in that everybody has a [...]
Two ways to deal with dissatisfaction
When we see some things we don’t have — a bigger house, a faster car, a newer phone — we often feel dissatisfied. And we [...]
Wrong to say others are wrong?
We live in a world where people have varying viewpoints, some that seem acceptable to us and some that seem utterly unacceptable or even unconscionable [...]
Gita 17.20 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan So first Krishna talked about [...]
Light is usually seen before warmth is felt, but spiritual warmth frequently needs to be felt before spiritual light is seen
If we are lost in the dark and cold, we can spot the light of a fire long before we feel its warmth. In the [...]