People may worship one God, but they don’t necessarily worship the same God
The word “God” is used across the world’s various monotheistic traditions to refer to the Supreme Being. Although all monotheists profess to worship one God, [...]
Service attitude is the torch that lights the next step amidst the darkness of perplexity
Suppose we are walking through an unfamiliar area and suddenly the power goes off. We may rant initially, but soon we will turn on our [...]
Spirituality empowers us to reclaim our destiny
Suppose a person had got a huge legacy that they could claim by traveling by ship to a distant place. They wouldn’t get their destined [...]
To forget that one is forgetful is to become a fool
We may know people who are notoriously forgetful. They forget scheduled meetings and when we exasperatedly call them, they reply predictably, “I forgot.” If we [...]
Reformation requires reformulation
Suppose we want to grow vegetables in a land where only weeds have been growing. We may uproot the weeds and plant the vegetables, but [...]
To claim that nothing should be generalized is to generalize something
Some people argue, “Everything is relative; nothing should be generalized.” But this argument begs the question: “Nothing should be generalized – should this statement be [...]
What we can know depends on what we know
People sometimes ask, “Can you show me the soul?” Before we can see the soul, we need to know enough to know what to see. [...]
Before you put others in their place, put yourself in their place
When we teach something and find that some people keep objecting, we may feel impelled to speak cuttingly and put them in their place. However, [...]
Focus not on the harsh truth, but on the gentle healing
Whenever surgeons operate, they try to minimize the distress caused by the surgery. Physically, they administer pain medicine. And emotionally, they solace the patient by [...]
Understand the thought-wave under the thought
On the spiritual path, we strive to lead a pure life and to cultivate pure thoughts. But nasty thoughts sometimes come in our mind. We [...]
The mind often acts mindlessly – mind it
In common parlance, the word “mind” has multiple meanings such as attention (“Mind your head”) or intelligence (“Don’t act mindlessly”). In the Bhagavad-gita, the mind [...]
Greater than the world’s power to hurt is God’s power to heal
The world sometimes afflicts us with reversals such as financial losses, relationship ruptures or devastating diagnoses. The resulting hurt may overwhelm and paralyze us. At [...]
Those who see in history only their own reflection can’t see the trans-historical
History is often a fiercely disputed territory. Many people see history as an extension of their present into the past. Thus, for example, two countries [...]
Fight for your faith within more than without
Some religious people are over-zealous to fight for their faith – they quickly raise arms whenever they feel that their sacred icons have been slurred, [...]
To understand God, begin with definition, not depiction
On seeing God depicted in temples, we may get the question, “Who created God?” This question arises from a fundamental misunderstanding about God’s nature. To [...]
Our happiness depends not as much on our standard of living as on our standard of longing
We usually seek to improve our standard of living. If we have a high standard of living, we will have the trappings of success; society [...]
Devotion grants vision through a combination of perception and comprehension
The Bhagavad-gita (11.52) states that the form of Krishna is very difficult to see. This may raise the question, “But wasn’t he seen by all [...]
Children will be childish, but parents don’t have to be childish
Children are temperamental, mischievous, rash. They may want to stick their neck out of a car, but their parents are meant to stop their foolhardiness. [...]
Speak because you have something to say, not because you have to say something
When we socialize with someone unfamiliar, we may struggle to find things to speak. Such conversations are usually stilted and inane. When they end, both [...]
Bhakti is not a rejection of human values, but a progression above them
The Bhagavad-gita (18.66) asks us to give up all dharma, which contextually means ordinary conceptions of right and wrong, and just surrender to God. Does [...]
The soul can’t be dried up, but our soul can be
A defining characteristic of the soul is its indestructibility. The Bhagavad-gita, while listing the ways in which the soul is beyond destruction, states specifically that [...]