To change your life, change the narrative of your life
Suppose three people are carrying bricks. When asked what they are doing, the first replies sullenly, “Can’t you see? I am carrying bricks.” The second [...]
Absorption of consciousness in Krishna brings about expansion of consciousness through Krishna
Expansion of consciousness is an oft-used term in spiritual circles. People seeking deeper fulfillment in life intuit that they can do so by expanding their [...]
Those who don’t have money are poor, but those who have only money are poorer still
To be labeled as poor and be looked down at by others ranks among people’s most dreaded nightmares. Money is essential. However, when it becomes [...]
Don’t rate spiritual wisdom using the laughter test
Some people come to spiritual talks primarily for hearing jokes. Indeed, they rate as best those spiritual teachers who crack the most hilarious jokes. Our [...]
Don’t raise your eyes alone – raise your heart too
When we face overwhelming problems in life, we may lift our eyes and look for help from higher powers, ultimately from God, Krishna. Such lifting [...]
The modes determine the scope of our choices, not our specific choice
The modes, the Bhagavad-gita explains, are subtle forces that shape the interaction between consciousness and matter, thereby inciting us to action. If we act according [...]
Krishna’s avatara is not actually an incarnation
The English word “incarnation” is derived primarily from Abrahamic theology – it describes Jesus who, Christianity holds, is God descended in flesh as a human [...]
Our incarnation is an incarceration — Krishna’s isn’t
At the start of its fourth chapter, the Bhagavad-gita features a striking question-answer round. When Krishna mentions (04.04) that he had shared the Gita’s wisdom [...]
Unborn implies not existence before birth, but existence beyond birth
In common parlance, the word “unborn” refers to existence before birth — specifically to the existence of the embryo in the womb of a mother. [...]
The unborn takes birth to save us from rebirth
God is the source of everything. This foundational definition of God implies that he is the source of time too, for everything includes time. This [...]
Thinking about Krishna is not just redirection of thought but also redefinition of thinking
The Bhagavad-gita’s call to constantly think about Krishna may raise the question, “How is this practical? To grasp the call’s practicality, we need to first [...]
Listen to your Lord, not to your lust
Within all of us lies an evil voice that lies. By promising pleasure, this voice prompts us to pander to our senses. But sensual pleasure [...]
Cosmic administration is like a country’s administration, not a continent’s
Westerners who hear about the many gods within the Vedic pantheon often equate this conception with the polytheism widespread in the Greco-Roman culture that was [...]
Focus on the present, but don’t fragment it from the future
“Live in the present” is a popular self-help slogan that can enhance our concentration and contribution in whatever we do. However, if this slogan becomes [...]
Assimilation and application are essential for transformation
We live in an era of information overload. Being bombarded with news, updates and notifications, we often flip to the next thing even without reading [...]
For self-improvement, go beyond self-criticism and self-congratulation to self-realization
Some people say that to succeed in life, we should be hard on ourselves. We should unrelentingly critique ourselves, unsparingly punish ourselves for our mistakes [...]
Don’t expect illusion to get out — you get out
“Get out” we may tell someone who has hurt us terribly. In the past, kings would exile offenders from their kingdom, with such banishment being [...]
Compartmentalization is a mental mechanism for self-deception
When we strive to live according to some elevated principles, there results an inevitable tension between our precepts and our practices. The level that we [...]
The richness of life is more important than the riches of life
Our culture makes us believe that gaining more and more wealth will make us happy. While riches can ease our life-journey in some ways, obsession [...]
Devotion helps us discover the richness of life
We often go through our lives with a feeling of chronic impoverishment. The culture around us specializes in showing us all the things we don’t [...]
Lust locks the soul in an unholy embrace
When two people engage in an illicit relationship, their embrace is unholy. Lust is such an insidious partner that locks us in an unholy embrace. The [...]