Use the modes to analyze, not criticize
For making sense of the world, the Bhagavad-gita offers an analytical framework centered on the concept of the three modes of material nature. The modes [...]
Our over-reactions reveal our sore spots
Suppose, while we are walking, our shoulder touches a wall, and we find ourselves wincing. Our over-reaction indicates that we have on our shoulder some [...]
Count yourself out of material existence
“Count me out of this,” is an idiomatic way of saying, “I won’t participate in this.” Counting as a precursor to withdrawal comprises the modus [...]
Bhakti is not inaction – it is action with the deepest sense of purpose
Sometimes people think that practicing spirituality means giving up all action. While some forms of spirituality do recommend inaction as a means for minimizing one’s [...]
Change the home page of your mind’s browser
Suppose our computer browser has a particular site set as its default home page. If we don’t want to visit that page, we can close [...]
Unconscious decisions are usually unhealthy decisions
Suppose we suddenly feel hungry. Nearby, we might have some snacks – some fatty, some non-fatty. If we consciously contemplate what we are doing, we [...]
Spiritual wisdom is to be mulled over, not skimmed over
We live in a culture of information overload – updates from various devices, feeds and apps clamor for our attention. We cope by skimming over [...]
Let dreams be a spur for action, not a substitute for them
We often dream of improving things. Among all species, we humans have the distinctive, even unique, capacity to dream of a better future and then [...]
Awareness of lack of self-awareness is also self-awareness
When we practice meditation and strive for spiritual awareness, we often find that our mind wanders here, there and everywhere. We may become discouraged, thinking, [...]
Even if our attachments hold on to us, we can still hold on to Krishna
Suppose a person has fallen in a well and is held there by someone malevolent. When some benevolent person throws a rope down to help [...]
Discipline is the fusion of intention with action
We may sometimes lament: “I could do so much more in my life if I were more disciplined.” To cultivate discipline, we can break it [...]
Purification means changing the mind’s default programming
While practicing spiritual life and striving for purity, we may become disheartened: “Today’s culture fills me with so many impure desires. And my mind too [...]
To gain spiritual momentum, focus on the soul’s nourishment, not the mind’s amusement
Suppose a person driving a car keeps alternately accelerating and braking it. Such intermittent moving and stopping will prevent the car from gaining any substantial [...]
Problems that can’t be solved need to be dissolved
Suppose water flowing in a particular direction is blocked by a stone. The water keeps flowing at the stone, trying to go below, above or [...]
Social activism is the byproduct of spiritual activism, not its purpose
Many people nowadays evaluate spirituality in utilitarian terms – they value it only for its tangible social benefits. Undoubtedly, spirituality does promote social well-being. When [...]
The word will change the world by changing the will
When we study the Bhagavad-gita, some people ask, “How is a book written thousands of years ago going to make any practical difference amidst the [...]
For getting Krishna, forgetting Krishna is fatal
When we seek anything valuable, we usually desire it and strive for it. Such desiring and striving naturally center on remembering. A person who wants [...]
God is the cause of all causes, but not the cause of all effects
On knowing the definition of God as the cause of all causes, we may get the question, “Is he the cause of the wrongs that [...]
The starting point of happiness is selflessness
We all seek happiness – and we all do various things to become happy. Today’s materialist culture, especially with its stress on advertisements, makes us [...]
God acts through us and beyond us – and always for us
When we need to do something difficult, we may pray for help. Skeptics mock such praying: “What is its use? If you have an exam, [...]
Distraction is draining; concentration is energizing
When we practice meditation and strive to focus our mind on higher spiritual reality, the struggle to concentrate can be disheartening. But we don’t have [...]