Don’t just read the Gita – heed the Gita
The Bhagavad-gita is a profoundly philosophical book, yet it is also an eminently action-calling book. This pragmatic nature of the Gita is seen in its [...]
Enter the war, but don’t let the war enter you
“How can one act without being bound?” This is Arjuna’s essential question at the start of the Bhagavad-gita. And the whole Gita addresses it at [...]
Expect meditation to be challenging before it becomes comforting
Seekers often ask, “Meditation is supposed to be rejuvenating, but I sometimes find it boring, even tiring. Why is that?” Because our misdirected mind distracts [...]
The use of force to convert doesn’t expand faith – it reduces faith
Some religious groups force others to convert to their faith, “Convert or die.” But faith is a choice of the heart that can’t be forced. [...]
See beyond the diversity of forms to the unity of substance and purpose
Racial, religious and other forms of sectarian violence rend the world today. Such violence may have complex social, economic, cultural and political causes, but underlying [...]
Be not allured by the blame game or the claim game – stay focused on Krishna
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 [...]
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, [...]
Don’t let disagreement degenerate into disrespect
“How can we best deal with our disagreers?” The Bhagavad-gita (18.03) offers a healthy model. Here Krishna states the position of those who recommend renunciation [...]
Knowledge in ignorance is tiny, at best vastly tiny
‘Knowledge in ignorance’ is an oxymoron, the placing of contradictory words next to each other to convey a deeper meaning. To understand this oxymoron, let’s [...]
Learning from life is not just a matter of individual creativity; it is a feature of universal reality
“Learn from life” is a popular and valuable saying. We all can learn by thoughtfully observing our own life, the lives of those around us, [...]
Surrender may frustrate our surface desires, but it fulfills our deepest longings
Some people ask, “Surrender to Krishna requires abandoning our desires and abiding by his will. Isn’t that frustrating?” No, it isn’t frustrating if we just [...]
We don’t have any choice except to believe in our power of choice
“Do we have the power to choose our actions or are they determined by factors beyond us?” This question confronts thinking humans, whatever their beliefs. [...]
Passion polarizes positions and paralyzes discussions
When two parties quarrel bitterly, other people can frequently see that the differences are not all that big and that the issues are resolvable. But [...]
Loving unconditionally doesn’t mean being unconditionally liberal; it means being unconditionally available
Some people ask, “If God loves us, why is his love conditional? Why does he forbid us from doing many enjoyable things?” Krishna’s love is [...]
Surrender is not giving up but letting go
The notion of surrendering to someone often jars us because we mentally associate it with giving up. Consequently, when the Bhagavad-gita (18.66) concludes with a [...]
To be wistful is to be wasteful
We know that it is undesirable to be wasteful – whether it is in terms of water by leaving the tap on, or electricity by [...]
The perfection of dharma is not to fall in line with cosmic law, but to fall in love with the trans-cosmic lover
The Bhagavad-gita (18.66) concludes with a surprising call to give up all dharma. Why is this call surprising? Because the protection of dharma is the [...]
Focus not on the reach of your outreach; focus on how much you reach Krishna through your outreach
The Bhagavad-gita (18.68) proclaims that those who share its message of love get pure devotion to Krishna. The next verse (18.69) further declares that such [...]
Be not alarmed by the presence of impurities; be heartened by the presence of the alarm
The presence of impure desires in our consciousness can alarm us: “If despite my practice of bhakti, such dirty things are still there in my [...]
Devotion is deepened, not depleted, by distribution
When donors give money to someone, their own reserve of money decreases. If they are religious, the knowledge that they have gained pious credits solaces [...]