Are nostalgia or utopia distracting us from meditation?
Meditation is essentially about connecting with a timeless divine reality that resides and presides beyond the mundane reality, which is constantly subject to change due [...]
Gita 18.54 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now Krishna will talk about [...]
To best defend our consciousness from the world, first raise it above the world
Suppose a city is under attack from powerful plunderers. If that city were at ground level, pushing back the attackers would be difficult. But if [...]
When we realize our deepest identity, we fulfill our highest destiny
When we are born, we get a conception of identity based on our gender, complexion, dynasty, nationality. Associated with this identity comes a conception of [...]
Purity is not just a function of intention – it is also a fruit of devotion
Bhakti-yoga seekers are often encouraged to strive for purity, to connect with Krishna simply for loving him, not for getting some material things from him. [...]
In spiritual growth, bhakti is the process and the purpose
The Bhagavad-gita (14.26) states that bhakti is the process for transcending our material conditionings, that is, for growing in spiritual consciousness. The same Gita (18.54) [...]
In the truth of who we are and what we love lies our deepest fulfillment
We all desire lasting life, lasting love and lasting happiness. We expect certain things from those whom we love and feel disappointed when they don’t [...]
Enlightenment doesn’t terminate devotion, but culminates in it
Some impersonalists say, “Enlightenment terminates devotion. As long as we are conditioned and are habituated to thinking about forms, we can conceive the Absolute Truth [...]
Go beyond the blindness caused by shortage of light – and by its surfeit
Whenever our surroundings go dark, say, due to a power failure, we become as if blind. Something similar happens to us as souls in material [...]
The ceiling of impersonalism is the beginning of transcendental personalism
Impersonalism is the notion that ultimate reality is without any personal attributes. It conceives of spiritual perfection as freedom from all emotions and reciprocations, the [...]
Spiritualization of emotions raises us from duality through equanimity to ecstasy
The Bhagavad-gita repeatedly urges us to view worldly dualities with equanimity. Why? Because our emotional attachments for worldly things bind us. When our emotions run [...]
Devotion is a passion that is beyond passion
The word ‘passion’ has both negative and positive connotations. Negatively, it refers to the mode of passion that induces worldly desires which bind us to [...]
Relief and release – the two fruits of purification
Purification is an oft-heard word in spiritual circles. What does it mean? And what is its benefit? Purification essentially has two aspects: decrease of attraction [...]
Don’t waste time on the mind’s futile pastime: comparison
As soon as people enter our familiarity perimeter, our mind starts comparing us with them. Comparison is its favorite pastime. However, unlike Krishna’s pastimes that [...]