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 [...]
Even if we can’t change the content of our experience, we can change its context
Sometimes people ask spiritualists, “What do you gain in this life by your spiritual practices? You too face the same problems as we do – [...]
Just because something is persistent doesn’t make it pertinent
Advertising blitzes that repeatedly expose us to particular products exploit an innate weakness in human psychology: familiarity is the gateway to credibility. That is, when [...]
Blind people can be cured – people proud of their blindness can’t be
Suppose a blind person considered their blindness as a matter of pride to be paraded. We would wonder: would anyone do such a thing? Yes, [...]
Worry is the interest we pay on loans we haven’t yet taken
Suppose a friend is worried about paying the interest on a loan. On enquiry, we come to know that they haven’t yet taken that loan. [...]
Don’t underestimate the difficulty of the spiritual journey, but don’t underestimate the opportunity either
When people go sailing on the high seas to some distant land of legendary prosperity, they often conceive navigation more romantically than realistically. They see [...]
God is not a being who exists in time – he is the being because of whom time exists
Some people ask, “How can we know that God is still living?” The notion that God can cease to exist is like the idea that [...]
To be distracted is to be disempowered
Whatever power we have to do anything depends on our foundational power to focus. For example, a batsman may have phenomenal talent, but if he [...]
When we rationalize, we indulge in rational lies
To rationalize is to give some fallacious reasoning to prove as right something that is wrong and that we know is wrong. We resort to [...]