The present is all that we have – and all that we will ever have. But our mind often distracts us towards the past and the future through fretfulness and fearfulness. Fretful: The mind misdirected towards the past makes us fretful. We agonize over the many things that have gone wrong in our life
Some spiritually-minded people, being engaged in mainstream society with its notions of progress centered on science and technology, pursue bhakti for getting peace, meaning and fulfillment – things elusive in today’s world. They see bhakti as a complement to their present way of living.
Suppose we are walking through an unfamiliar area and suddenly the power goes off. We may rant initially, but soon we will turn on our [...]
The world sometimes afflicts us with reversals such as financial losses, relationship ruptures or devastating diagnoses. The resulting hurt may overwhelm and paralyze us. At [...]
Suppose water flowing in a particular direction is blocked by a stone. The water keeps flowing at the stone, trying to go below, above or [...]
Suppose a hungry boy goes to an orchard and starts shaking an apple tree. Nothing happens. He prays to God for help and shakes the [...]
When we strive to lead a principle-centered life, but falter and fail, we may lament, “I don’t have willpower.” Such feelings are natural and understandable. [...]
Suppose in a cartoon when two characters are fighting, one character keeps becoming bigger; and the other keeps becoming smaller. For the dwarfed fighter, the [...]
If children see a horror movie featuring phantoms, they may become fearful of, say, dark places, dreading that some deadly phantom may spring from some [...]
When we face problems that come arbitrarily, we naturally get the question, “Why?” Religion, at a preliminary level, may answer, “Suffering is the punishment for [...]
We all like to be free – we resent it when we are forced to do something. In fact, many people often hesitate to practice [...]
Blame game usually involves pointing the blaming finger outwards to others whenever things go wrong. The blaming finger can also point upwards or inwards. When [...]
While traveling, sometimes the people sitting next to us are less than pleasant. We may not be able to avoid their company, but we don’t [...]
We live in an age of changing “truths” – theories are often propagated as established truths, but when some contrary information comes up, they are [...]
We all have a lower side that induces shortsighted desires which end in misery. To resist this lower side, our higher ties – our connections [...]
Life is never easy; every day brings new obstacles and some days bring major reversals. We don’t have the power to make life problem-free, but [...]
We often feel irritated, overwhelmed, helpless when our dreams are wrecked by things beyond our control. But there is always something in our control. The [...]
“If I pray to Krishna, he will make all my problems disappear.” We may sometimes hope thus when we practice spiritual life. Of course, we [...]
Sometimes we pray that something important work out right. But it doesn’t. This may make us feel, “Krishna just doesn’t understand me, my needs, my [...]
Suppose in a boxing match a boxer gets knocked down by his opponent. Disheartened by the power of the opponent, the fallen boxer starts doubting [...]
When life moves along smoothly, when we successfully use our talents and our plans to achieve our goals, we frequently build a shell of complacency [...]
