Focus not on life’s unfairness; focus on Krishna’s mercifulness
Focus not on life’s unfairness; focus on Krishna’s mercifulness Life sometimes seems terribly unfair. For no good reason, people accuse, cheat or hurt us. When [...]
Godliness is both a decision and a disposition
Godliness is both a decision and a disposition When we strive to lead a godly life, we soon realize that some of us are innately [...]
Turn to God not to get something, but to be with Someone
Turn to God not to get something but to be with Someone When we face problems beyond our power to solve, we often seek God’s [...]
When the mind shows us all that we don’t have, the intelligence needs to show us all that we do have
Our mind frequently craves for the things we don’t have. And such craving is aggravated by today’s media which dangles before us images of thousands [...]
The mind is a great storyteller, but what it tells are just stories, not realities
Some people narrate stories with such animation and emotion that they completely captivate their audiences. While we may appreciate their storytelling expertise, we won’t assume [...]
Personhood is innate to consciousness; it’s not a stage of manifestation of consciousness
Some spiritualists hold that our sense of personhood (“I am a person”) is just a stage in the evolution of consciousness – when consciousness evolves [...]
Materialism reduces human life to an inhuman race from nowhere to nowhere
Many people adopt a materialistic lifestyle without thinking about its implications. A materialistic worldview implies that we have come from nowhere because we didn’t exist [...]
We can’t always control how we feel, but we can control how we act
We all face situations wherein our emotions go wild and push us to act impulsively, say, angrily. Regretting such actions, we resolve to become self-controlled. [...]
Passion increases desire not just in intensity but also in quantity
We may see responsible people become alcoholics and wonder: how can anyone get so bound by desire? Gita wisdom explains that our desires grow by [...]
Our body is not ours to abuse by arbitrary austerity
We often think of ourselves as our body or at least think of the body as ours. When we get spiritual knowledge, we understand that [...]
Evidence is only as good as the person evaluating it
Suppose someone infected by a disease is in denial. Even when their physician shows them the relevant reports, if they aren’t medically well-read enough to [...]
Happiness is found not in sensation but in absorption
We often equate happiness with sensations. If something tastes good, if something looks attractive, if something smells delightful, we think that by getting those things, [...]
Krishna already has the result – what he seeks is our endeavor
Some people think that Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to persuade Arjuna to fight for establishing dharma. However, the Gita (11.33) reveals that the opponents of [...]
Don’t ascribe to God’s will that which happens due to free will or evil
When someone does something terrible, we may ask, “Why did God let this happen?” The Bhagavad-gita (05.15) indicates that people’s actions can’t be attributed to [...]
Atheism claims to reject God, but only replaces him
Atheists often devote themselves to their atheistic theories that serve as their surrogate gods. For example, to explain the working of the universe, they propose [...]
Not every thought is worth our thought
The word “thought” can mean two different things: an idea that has appeared in our consciousness (“I got a thought”) or our calm conscious deliberation [...]
The best motivation for ambition is realization, not recognition
Some aspiring spiritualists fear, “Will becoming spiritual mean that I have to give up my ambitions?” No, to grow spiritually, we don’t need to give [...]
See the mind as a predator, not a protector
Suppose a farmer has a guard dog. But if that dog turns into a predator who devours the farm poultry, the farmer would be in [...]
Gita 14.18 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 give some [...]
Comparing various paths up a mountain can’t take us up the mountain
Prospective spiritual seekers are often perplexed by a question: which path to follow? This important question merits deep deliberation. Still, if agonized over for too [...]
Bhakti requires a radical re-assessment of our deepest desires
Some people equate bhakti with externals – they assume that if they are doing devotional rituals right, they are well-situated. However, the essence of devotion [...]