Before playing your part, understand what play you are a part of
Suppose someone practices meticulously for a play, but for a play other than the one they are meant to be a part of. Despite their [...]
Thought is perfected in thinking of that which is beyond the grasp of thought
Some people ask, “Scripture says that God is beyond the grasp of our thought. Yet it asks us to think about him. Why?” Because thinking [...]
The mind may show us a horror movie, but we don’t have to watch it
Suppose someone starts showing us a horror movie. If we find such movies disconcerting or distasteful, we will refuse to watch it. We need to [...]
The Gita doesn’t reject dharma, but raises dharma to its summit
The Bhagavad-gita’s concluding call (18.66: Give up all dharma) often perplexes people. They ask, “Why does the Gita, a book on dharma, ask us to [...]
To tap your potential, expand your awareness
What we are aware of determines what we can do or can’t do. If we become aware that some attacker is sneaking in on us, [...]
Gita 09.17 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now Krishna explains how He [...]
We can’t lose weight just by reading books on how to lose weight
Learning is foundational for doing, but learning itself is not doing. The difference between the two is evident for activities such as weight loss: reading [...]
Don’t just be active – be aware
Some people question the utility of meditation: “Why spend so much time sitting at one place doing nothing except thinking? Why not use that time [...]
Don’t just eradicate the past – engage its product
When revolutionaries seize power from a tyrannical regime, they often go on a destructive spree, wanting to eradicate all reminders of the dark past. Their [...]
Don’t let self-control fuel the illusion of the self as the controller
Self-control is a valuable virtue on the spiritual path. It helps us resist worldly pleasures and focus on higher purposes. But that very self-control may [...]
Even a go-getter needs to know where to go and what to get
Some people refuse to study spiritual books such as the Bhagavad-gita, arguing, “I am a go-getter. I have many things to do in life – [...]
Break free from the small desires that have held you hostage for lifetimes
Abductors who take control of a plane often force it to a destination other than its intended one and hold the passengers hostage there. The [...]
Bhakti makes expanded awareness our enduring awareness
During the course of our life, we may get a glamorized lifestyle product, but find the pleasure thereof pathetically short-lived. Or we may lose something [...]
No enemy is as dangerous as the one we are blind to
An army would be endangered by an invading enemy, but it would be far more endangered by a spy in its own ranks, for the [...]
The senses may be windows to the world, but they are mere portholes to reality
A window gives us the sensation that we are looking at a large part of the outside world through it. In contrast, a porthole, being [...]
Gita 09.09 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 9.9 na ca māṁ [...]
Failure is not catastrophic – to see failure as catastrophic is catastrophic
Our mind often makes problems seem worse than what they actually are. Suppose someone fails in an exam. Their mind may tell them that their [...]
To lose one’s reason is bad, but to lose everything except one’s reason is far worse
Our reason, our rational faculty, is vital for keeping us intelligently regulated and purposefully directed in life. The use of reason has assisted in the [...]
Regulation is the foundation for purification
Suppose we had to clean a water tank. We would need to do two things: clean the water already in the tank and regulate the [...]
Don’t depress yourself – depress your expectation from yourself
A child who wants to become a long-jump champion needs to start by taking tiny jumps that may seem negligibly ordinary. But for that child, [...]
The mind gets us alone – and then gets us
During the Mahabharata war, Arjuna’s sixteen-year-old son, Abhimanyu, battles and bests the greatest Kaurava warriors. Unfortunately, on the thirteenth day of the war, the Kauravas [...]