Possessions can’t provide satisfaction – we need purification
Today’s culture indoctrinates us into believing that satisfaction lies in the possessions we don’t have. Indeed, the craving for such possessions is the fuel that [...]
Drive the mind’s chariot – don’t be driven by it
If a charioteer is inattentive, the horses will take the chariot where they want instead of going where the charioteer needs to go. The Bhagavad-gita [...]
If we neglect what we are saved for, we gravitate towards what we were saved from
Today’s sensual culture fills our mind with agitation, dissatisfaction and frustration. When we start living by the Gita’s spiritual wisdom, we become significantly free from [...]
Sensual pleasure is too fleeting to be fulfilling
Suppose we are tormented by thirst in a desert. If someone gives us water, they would appear to be doing us a great favor. But [...]
Within moments, the mind can change awesome to awful
When children get a new video game, they deem it awesome. But when they can’t win it the way they want, they deem it awful. [...]
No loss is as disempowering as the loss of faith in our free will
Our possessions such as properties and positions give us power to do things. Losing any such possession is disempowering. However, among all such losses, the [...]
Imprecision in identifying our enemies increases our enemies
In an area infested with insurgents, suppose the government indiscriminately bombs everyone. Consequently, even peace-loving people feel unfairly targeted and rise in rebellion. By failing [...]
Seeking more is often the cause of our problems, not the solution
Today’s culture propagates that we can solve our problems by getting more – more money, more possessions, more comforts. But does getting more make us [...]
Taking shelter of lust amidst problems is like taking shelter of kidnappers when threatened by thieves
Suppose we are being chased by thieves. While fleeing from them, those who we take shelter of turn out to be kidnappers. The thieves would [...]
Liberation is integration in intention, not identity
Some spiritualists conceive of liberation as a state of oneness or integration with the Absolute. The Bhagavad-gita acknowledges this conception, but also nuances our understanding [...]
Purification means to change our emotional center
Whenever a ball is hit anywhere, it moves. But when it is hit in the center, it moves the furthest. Similarly, when worldly upheavals hit [...]
God is present in our heart, but our consciousness is usually not present there
Some people ask, “Why do we need to go to a temple? God is there in our hearts; we can just remember and worship him [...]
When we resolve, “I will not do this,” the mind erases the “not”
We all have certain unhealthy habits that we resolve to give up. Yet, we frequently find ourselves relapsing. Why does this happen? Because negative resolutions [...]
Learn to see pause as an action
While watching a video, if we press the pause button, the action stops. Regularly operating such digital switches, we tend to think of pause as [...]
The summit of spiritual realization is best attained by sharing spiritual realization
If we approach spiritual life with material calculations, we frequently end up miscalculating things. For example, if we want to become wealthy, we accumulate wealth; [...]
Even if we can’t be grateful for all situations, we can be grateful in all situations
Suppose we have a sickness for which we are being treated. Understandably, we will find it difficult to be grateful for being sick. But we [...]
Gita 18.76 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Bg 18.76 rājan saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya saṁvādam [...]
The Personal Absolute is not a tool to transcendence – he is the summit of transcendence
Some spiritualists think that the ultimate spiritual reality is the impersonal non-differentiated oneness known as Brahman. Such people sometimes pay cursory tribute to the Personal [...]
Glorification of the One brings the unification, elevation and satisfaction of the many
Suppose we have a set of four balls tied to a central point. If we want to lift the set, we can try to individually [...]
Those who bow before the altar of hate can’t bow before the God of love
Some people, being driven by misdirected religious zeal, become inimical and violent towards others. Such people claim to be worshiping God, but they contemplate their [...]
The point of success is to point to the source of all success
The world defines success in terms of possessions and positions. Yet celebrities who have these things sometimes commit suicide. Not infrequently, people feted publically as [...]