Are we connecting the dots or concocting the dots to connect?
Connecting the dots is a sign of perceptive intelligence, while creating the dots that can then be conveniently connected is a sign of deceptive intelligence. [...]
Regrettable but not regretted decisions
Just because a decision is regrettable doesn't mean that it will be regretted. Our life is filled with decisions—some small, some big, some good, some [...]
When meditation seems like a fruitless struggle …
The Bhagavad-gita (18.32) states that intelligence in the mode of ignorance arrives at conclusions which are the opposite of the right conclusions. Navigating Fruitless Struggles [...]
Get out of the intelligence in ignorance
In the Bhagavad-gita (18.32), Krishna states how the buddhi that is in tamas – the intelligence that is in ignorance – arrives at conclusions opposite [...]
Gita 18.32 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Let us look at intelligence [...]
Are we being ‘nonjudgmentally’ judgmental?
Most virtues, when taken to an excess, end up becoming vices. Such is the case with the virtue of being nonjudgmental which protects us from [...]
Are we using our intelligence intelligently?
When we see someone with intelligence far greater than ours (as measured by some parameter such as IQ), we may feel inferior or insecure. We [...]
How to protect ourselves from the wrong, the wrong-headed and the wrong-hearted
Suppose someone gives others wrong advice. Why might they do so? Because of three broad factors: wrong information, wrong intelligence or wrong intention. Let’s understand [...]
Why can’t some people see the obvious?
Why can’t some people see the obvious? When we try to explain something to someone and they just don’t get it, we may wonder, “What’s [...]
Why we remain strangers to ourselves …
We are often fascinated by characters depicted in novels and movies. Fans fill blogs analyzing every single dialogue spoken by fictional characters in, say, Star [...]
We rarely do things without a reason, but reason is rarely behind the things we do
Suppose someone does something stupid or terrible. If they are asked why they did what they did, they usually come up with some justification for [...]
Our intelligence is not like a fixed deposit – it is like a stock market share
Suppose we invest in stocks but think of such an investment to be as stable as a fixed deposit. If the stocks go down, we [...]
To avoid the inner bad feeling, don’t weaken conscience – strengthen willpower
Whenever we do something wrong, we feel bad, “I shouldn’t have done like that.” This bad feeling is the pinch of conscience. Conscience is like [...]
Let technological literacy not lead to intellectual illiteracy
Technological literacy is nowadays spreading rapidly. With machines being used widely at workplaces, knowing how they work is often essential. But interest in devices goes [...]
Don’t treat a game like life or life like a game
Many people treat games as if they are as important as life itself. Human culture has always featured sports as a form of recreation, but [...]
Euphemisms of deception are expressways to degradation
Euphemisms often help express distressing truths sensitively. But sometimes they are abused as tools of deception, as verbal sleights-of-hand to make evil sound good. Consider, [...]
Protect the conscience from being dumbed and numbed and dumped
A security provider who has protected us for millennia from ourselves has now been branded as outdated and unneeded; its very right to existence is [...]
Lewdness is not “boldness”
“This movie is filled with bold scenes.” Sentences like these are common in movie reviews. It is now standard to use “boldness” as a rationalization [...]