Deepen detachment by discernment
Often when we are unable to resist our lower desires, we may blame ourselves for not being adequately detached. While this may be true, we [...]
The mind makes the exhausting seem exciting and the exciting seem exhausting
The mind is often declared in scripture to be an enemy, as for example in the Bhagavad-gita (06.06). One way the mind acts inimically is [...]
We need a starter of desire more than a stopper of desire
Spiritual seekers often worry about how to restrain their desires so as to adhere to the principles of sadhana. Yet quite often this worry is [...]
Gita 15.06 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 start speaking [...]
Don’t just ask for decisions; ask for the education for making decisions
The Bhagavad-gita begins with Arjuna facing a specific problem: to fight or not to fight. This problem, though ethically entangling, asks for a straightforward decision: [...]
Growth for growth’s sake is cancerous
The idea of growth usually evokes positive images, yet when growth is disproportionate, it can be destructive. This is perhaps best illustrated in the growth [...]
Gita 15.03-04 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Now Krishna is saying don’t [...]
Spiritual happiness never goes away – it just pushes us on the way
Seekers sometimes ask, “It is said that material happiness is temporary, whereas spiritual happiness is eternal. But even spiritual happiness seems temporary – sometimes we [...]
Gita 15.02 explained
Bg 15.2 adhaś cordhvaṁ prasṛtās tasya śākhā guṇa-pravṛddhā viṣaya-pravālāḥ adhaś ca mūlāny anusantatāni karmānubandhīni manuṣya-loke Synonyms: adhaḥ — downward; ca — and; ūrdhvam — upward; prasṛtāḥ — extended; tasya — its; śākhāḥ — branches; guṇa— by the [...]
Gita 15.01 explained
We are in the Jyana section and in this section, Krishna is systematically establishing how Jyana culminates in Bhakti. In the 13th chapter, He talked [...]
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 [...]