Loving the unlovable is the characteristic of God – and the character of the godly
Most of us know someone who annoys, irritates or enrages us. We may even feel that if only that person would be out of our [...]
Love is a prize far bigger than the palliative of peace
Some spiritual aspirants ask: “I had thought of spirituality as a state of peaceful withdrawal from the world while seated in a smart yogic posture. [...]
Krishna walks with us, but not for us
When we strive to live spiritually, we often find ourselves succumbing to materialism, despite our prayers to Krishna for protection. At such times, we may [...]
Devotion implies meditation independent of location
Many of us tend to compartmentalize our lives into the material side and the spiritual side. Such compartmentalization is initially helpful in ensuring that we [...]
Catch the eye, catch the I
Our eyes are often like voracious heat-seekers scanning the horizon for sensually hot objects. Our materialistic culture fully exploits our visual hunger. By planting seductive [...]
Be adept to adopt and adapt
Many of us may have suspected that the Bhagavad-gita being an ancient book might not be practical in our times. Some of us may have [...]
Those who dismiss the invisible as insubstantial dissipate their lives in the insubstantial
We human beings have an intelligence more advanced than our nonhuman fellow beings. This developed intelligence enables us to think beyond the immediate issues that [...]
Glue the mind to meditation, not mediation
Many of our problems often seem to have an inbuilt mental glue. They stick to our minds constantly. Especially during our mantra meditation, we frequently [...]
Bhakti offers emotional liquidity that is above, not below, intellectual solidity
We may sometimes wonder how to harmonize the two aspects of our human personality: the head and the heart. A preponderance of the head makes [...]
Our heart deserves more than a consolation prize
Our heart is flooded with many desires for happiness. However, most of these desires are unfulfillable due to the limitations of time, financial resources, bodily [...]
Bhakti purifies, sanctifies and amplifies our emotions
Emotions differentiate us conscious beings from unconscious things. As matter doesn’t have the capacity to experience emotions, the presence of that capacity in us suggests [...]
Let’s make our memory our treasury
When the present presents us with difficulties, we often turn to our memories of past emotionally fulfilling moments for inspiration. As our culture bombards us [...]
Be a part; be not apart
Some people equate becoming spiritual with becoming unambitious. However, bhakti spirituality centers on ambitiousness, albeit of a kind different from the individualistic ambitiousness glamorized by [...]
When the immediate encroaches repeatedly on the ultimate, we need an immediate reality check
We often get caught in the exigencies and emergencies that keep coming up in our lives. Despite knowing the importance of developing our relationship with [...]
The Gita lives through those who live the Gita
Many people hesitate to apply the Bhagavad-gita in their lives because they doubt whether its guidelines given thousands of years ago are practical today. Their [...]
Cultivate the love that goes as far as the head goes – and also goes beyond it
To love anything in this temporary world, we need to suspend our head and close our eyes to the misery that will inevitably result because [...]
We can do better than to join the society of materialistic fanatics
Rampant corruption and blatant inequity characterize our current socioeconomic system. What is their cause? They are symptoms of the materialistic fanaticism afflicting humanity. Just as [...]
Go beyond rapidity and vapidity to clarity and serenity
Our current materialistic culture impels us to lead lives characterized by rapidity and vapidity: Rapidity: In the rapid mode, we are in a tearing hurry [...]
Can’t set things right? See things right
Whenever things go wrong in life, we can generally do something to set them right. But when death strikes, there’s nothing that we can do [...]
The way to say no to temptation is to say yes to devotion
We may hesitate to adopt authentic scripture-based spirituality because of the fear that we will have to give up too many worldly pleasures. Such fears [...]
Avoid a void within
In our introspective moments, we often sense a void within: a feeling of incompleteness, even emptiness. This void in our heart is due to our [...]