Sharing spiritual knowledge is about not just delivery but also discovery
If we are told to deliver something to someone, we may feel belittled: “I have better things to do than act as a deliveryman.” We [...]
Use the modes to analyze, not criticize
For making sense of the world, the Bhagavad-gita offers an analytical framework centered on the concept of the three modes of material nature. The modes [...]
Spiritual wisdom is to be mulled over, not skimmed over
We live in a culture of information overload – updates from various devices, feeds and apps clamor for our attention. We cope by skimming over [...]
Let dreams be a spur for action, not a substitute for them
We often dream of improving things. Among all species, we humans have the distinctive, even unique, capacity to dream of a better future and then [...]
Problems that can’t be solved need to be dissolved
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 [...]
The word will change the world by changing the will
When we study the Bhagavad-gita, some people ask, “How is a book written thousands of years ago going to make any practical difference amidst the [...]
Don’t try to be too good for your own good
We may sometimes become impractically idealistic, “I will never do anything wrong in my life.” Such an aspiration is good, but it needs to be [...]
The value of our work is not determined by our work’s market value
Our market-driven culture places a price tag on everything, even things such as artistic talents whose value is often not reducible to monetary terms. Such [...]
Surrender to God is not the suppression of human will, but its perfection
Some people hold that surrender to God is demeaning, for it suppresses human will. Their argument assumes that all surrender happens amidst antagonism, as [...]
We can’t survive for long on secondhand faith
Secondhand faith refers to the faith we have developed in something because of our faith in those who tell us to do that thing. Such [...]
The best way to fix the mind on Krishna is to take up responsibilities in his service
The Bhagavad-gita repeatedly urges us to fix the mind on Krishna. The specific phrase man-mana (“fix the mind on me”) occurs twice in the Gita [...]
Intellectual gluttony causes spiritual lethargy
When we eat gluttonously, our eating often does the opposite of what it is intended to do – rather than giving us energy, it takes [...]
Bhakti is the treatment that transforms into a treat
When we are sick, we accept the prescribed treatment as an austerity necessary for our recovery. And we often dream about the various treats we [...]
When you shake an apple tree, don’t be blind to the falling of mangoes
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 [...]
Don’t go through the motions – go through to the emotions
Going through the motions refers to doing things superficially, perfunctorily, mechanically – akin to the way a machine moves, without any emotional involvement. Bhakti is [...]
Note consciously what you notice unconsciously
In the Mahabharata, when Arjuna disguised as a brahmana won Draupadi’s hand in the svayamvara, Drupada sensed that his to-be son-in-law was actually a kshatriya. [...]
Human will is founded and fulfilled in the divine will
Some people think that human will and divine will are opposed to each other – when we submit to God’s rules, we lose our freedom [...]
Work to live – avoid work that eats you alive
Work is essential for survival, as the Bhagavad-gita (03.08) acknowledges. Yet the same work that is vital can become vitality-sapping if done excessively. When work [...]
Don’t superimpose the negativity of proselytizing on sharing
Some people, alarmed by reports of overzealous missionaries, feel that proselytizing should be banned. It’s sadly true that some proselytizers do convert by hook or [...]
When we discuss a subject close to our hearts, our hearts come close
Suppose we have to attend some talk on a subject that doesn’t interest us. And suppose even the speaker is apathetic and is delivering the [...]
Go beyond excusing yourself and accusing yourself to realizing your self
When something we are doing goes wrong, our mind often pushes us towards two broad thought-patterns: excusing ourselves and accusing ourselves. In the first, we [...]