Words are not just vehicles of thought but also engines of thought
Words are not just vehicles of thought but also engines of thought We often think of words as tools for expressing our thoughts. When we [...]
Gita 17.02 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 17.2 śrī-bhagavān uvāca tri-vidhā [...]
To speak effectively, speak not just correctly, but also appropriately
To speak effectively speak not just correctly but also appropriately When a doctor prescribes a medicine to a patient, they consider not just the patient’s [...]
Our body is not ours to abuse by arbitrary austerity
We often think of ourselves as our body or at least think of the body as ours. When we get spiritual knowledge, we understand that [...]
We are shaped not just by our ideological faith but also by our functional faith
Nonbelievers sometimes demonize believers, highlighting religious violence. What such demonization overlooks is that the label believers is unhelpfully huge. It encompasses people who brainwash children [...]
Our existence and our faith are related causally, constitutionally and consequentially
Some people say how we live is all that matters, what we believe doesn’t matter. Actually however, the relationship between our life and our faith [...]
Unthinking words reflect an uncaring heart
Our words are like a mirror that give others peeks into our hearts. If the mirror is unclean, it distorts whatever it reflects. Similarly, if [...]
Cultivation of satisfaction requires not the rejection of desire, but the selection of desire
Some people feel, “Dissatisfaction is the spur for performance. If we simply become satisfied and give up the desire to excel, how will we achieve [...]
Anesthesia is meant to help heal sickness, not hide it
Suppose a surgeon is operating on a patient. Naturally, the surgeon needs to give anesthesia so that the patient’s pain while being operated is minimized. [...]
Purity reverses our mental gravity
Gravity refers to the force by which objects fall to the earth. Our mental gravity can refer to the force by which our thoughts naturally [...]
Watch what you talk when you talk to yourself
When we are talking, especially in an important meeting, we watch what we talk, lest we speak inappropriately. Just as we watch what we talk [...]
Mental silence is more defining than verbal silence
Some people, especially those seeking to grow inwards, take a vow of silence, known in Sanskrit as mauna-vrata. The rationale for such a vow is [...]
Gita 17.09 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 17.9 kaṭv-amla-lavaṇāty-uṣṇa- tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ āhārā [...]
We make our faith and then our faith makes us
People are often classified as faithful or faithless. But even the faithless are faithful – faithful to their faithlessness, to their unprovable belief that God [...]
Speak to give people peace of mind, not a piece of your mind
When people do something infuriating, we feel like giving them a piece of our mind, blasting them for being irresponsible, insensitive, intractable or whatever else. [...]
Focus not on the harsh truth, but on the gentle healing
Whenever surgeons operate, they try to minimize the distress caused by the surgery. Physically, they administer pain medicine. And emotionally, they solace the patient by [...]
Speak because you have something to say, not because you have to say something
When we socialize with someone unfamiliar, we may struggle to find things to speak. Such conversations are usually stilted and inane. When they end, both [...]
Delusion makes eating a life-threatening activity
Commensality, the act of eating together with others, is one of the commonest relaxing and rejuvenating activities. While our body gets necessary nourishment through good [...]
To learn to speak well, learn when not to speak
Some of us may lament that we are not fluent in speaking. By training and practice, we all can improve our speaking ability. Even if [...]
Just as food adds to our physical weight, thoughts add to our mental weight
In today’s culture with its largely sedentary lifestyle, people often watch what they eat as they don’t want to put on unwanted weight. Such watchfulness [...]
To gain satisfaction, replace expectation with appreciation
Our satisfaction is often inversely proportional to our expectation. Suppose we go for a feast expecting a particular delicacy. If it is not included in [...]