Forgive the unavoidable, avoid the unforgivable
Gita wisdom is eminently practical. It reveals lofty levels of devotional consciousness as our ultimate goal, but also outlines a down-to-earthpath for getting there. Let’s [...]
Are we seeking counsel from our fears instead of from Krishna?
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 [...]
Be cruel to be kind
Suppose we are sick and need a painful treatment. If we undergo that treatment, it may appear as if we are being cruel to ourselves. [...]
The blows that break the shell of our isolation from Krishna
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 [...]
Increasing willpower – The only way and the best way
When we fall short while doing something challenging, we often wonder: how can I increase my willpower? The factors that determine our present level of [...]
Conviction and purification take us from the poison to the nectar
As devotees who wish to rise from the material level to the spiritual level, we often face the question, “How do I sustain myself during [...]
Devotion takes us beyond being hunted and haunted
We sometimes face problems that seem to hunt us externally and passions that seem to haunt us internally. Hunted: We may feel attacked by problems [...]
Ending the perpetual u-turns in our quest for happiness
We sometimes strive for spiritual enjoyment and sometimes indulge in material enjoyment. Thus, we keep taking perpetual u-turns in our quest for happiness. To end [...]
Don’t give up the intelligence; go beyond the intelligence
Intellectuals sometimes feel alienated from scriptures due to what they feel are its inconsistent or illogical statements. As their intellect has been their guide and [...]
Don’t let information overload make relevance irrelevant
Our culture bombards us with irrelevant information. The attack on an embassy in Africa, a tennis tournament in America, an election in Europe – does [...]
Go beyond denial and dismissal to determination
“I fell from the scriptural standards yet again. What should I do now?” We often respond to such predicaments by either denial or dismissal. In [...]
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A security provider who has protected us for millennia from ourselves has now been branded as outdated and unneeded; its very right to existence is [...]
Are our thoughts impoverishing or enriching us?
Few things live as close to us as our thoughts; few things influence us as immediately as our thoughts; few things define us as much [...]
Four stages in Gita study: Veneration, Comprehension, Application, Transformation
The Bhagavad-gita is a profoundly empowering book. To tap its power, we need to develop our relationship with it through four progressive stages: Veneration: Some [...]
“Got big problems?” Krishna is bigger
When life’s problems overwhelm us, our vision becomes distorted. We start feeling that the problems are ultra-big, bigger than even Krishna. Consequently, we become so [...]
The Gita is Categorical and Rhetorical
Many people say, “The Bhagavad-gita is all things to all people; it recommends different paths for different people.” Does it? Reading the Gita shows that [...]
Claiming that the unknown is unknowable is claiming to know the unknown
“God is so great that we tiny creatures can never know him.” So claim some people. At first sight, this position seems reasonable and even [...]
The two wonders of Gita wisdom
Beholding the wonders of the world is often an anti-climactic experience. The splendor of the Taj Mahal is fascinating to see once, maybe twice, just [...]
If we can’t shun senselessness, we can at least shun the senseless mind
Practicing devotional life means embarking on an inward devotional journey to connect with Krishna. On this journey, the mind poses the primary roadblock by constantly [...]
Those who don’t spare time for meditation squander time in frustration
“I just don’t have time.” This is how we often respond to suggestions that we commit ourselves to devotional practices such as mantra meditation. No [...]
Don’t let materialist monomania mess your life
Our life is becoming increasingly dominated by machines, mechanistic thinking and mechanical behavior. Machines: As technology pervades our life, we spend more time with machines [...]