The concentration-point is not the point of concentration
The concentration-point refers to the thing on which we focus, whereas the point of concentration refers to the focus’s ultimate purpose. The Bhagavad-gita, in its [...]
Regulation is the road to realization
Some people ask, “Isn’t regulation deprivation? If we enjoy something, why should we check ourselves in doing it?” The purpose of regulation is not deprivation, [...]
Forgetfulness of life’s emptiness is not happiness
Many people find their lives so boring that they consider as enjoyable anything which helps them forget that emptiness. The entertainment industry serves this purpose; [...]
Gita 16.20 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now Krishna goes on further [...]
Expand your conception of not just life, but also the self
Most religions expand the conception of life by explaining that death is not a termination, but a transition to life at another level of reality. [...]
Don’t give guidance alone – give confidence too
When we practice spiritual life for some time, younger practitioners may come to us for guidance in tackling problems such as the uncontrolled mind. The [...]
Don’t lobotomize ashtanga-yoga to ekanga-yoga
In today’s cultural imagination, yoga is often equated with physical postures meant for shaping and toughening the body. No doubt, practicing postures is better than ingesting [...]
Practice bhakti for experience, not expedience
Those brought up or living in a devotional culture may go through the motions of bhakti for expedience’s sake, for example, to avoid reproach in [...]
The ego’s dissolution is not self-destruction, but the doorway to self-actualization
When we are told that we are wrong, we often resent it. Worse still, when we are told that we are wrong about our core [...]
Don’t use the axe of criticism where the scalpel of correction is needed
When someone commits a mistake, we often feel as if it is our right and our duty to correct that person. Certainly, many situations call [...]
Gita 16.13-15 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now Krishna will say how [...]
Doubts are not the problem – believing them is
Believing doubts might sound like an oxymoron because after all we think of doubts as something centered on disbelief. Yet the truth is that belief [...]
Gita 16.11-12 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Krishna will describe in next [...]
Expand your horizons in vision, but concentrate them in implementation
“Expand your horizons” is a popular saying among the ambitious. The Bhagavad-gita takes this saying to a higher level by expanding our horizons from the [...]
Don’t equate change of position with change of disposition
Many spiritual novices think that living in the world is the cause of entanglement and renouncing the world is the source of liberation. They sometimes [...]
Don’t just talk about the other – talk with the other
The other refers to any person whom we consider as distant from, even hostile to, us. Talking about the other means talking with various people [...]
The spiritual may be unfamiliar but it’s not unnatural
When we travel through an unfamiliar place, we often feel uncomfortable. Similarly, when we explore spirituality, we may feel uncomfortable because the concepts or customs [...]
Happiness comes from sameness – the balance between oneness and otherness
Oneness is a buzzword among spiritual seekers – they often want to feel one with the universe, with nature, with existence. As our lives are [...]
Gita 16.05 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 16.5 daivī sampad vimokṣāya [...]
Impersonalism perpetuates the padlock on the heart
Our heart naturally longs to move outwards in search of a worthy object of love. However, this search often ends in misery when those we [...]
The stars continue to shine even if we can’t see them
Stars brighten and beautify the night-sky. But when thick clouds darken the sky, we can’t see the stars, though we know with out intelligence that [...]