Rise from defiance through reliance to transcendence
Our journey towards Krishna progresses through three stages: Defiance: We start of imagining that we don’t need Krishna, that we can do fine without him. [...]
Be curious, not superstitious; be cautious, not suspicious
Superstitious or suspicious – these are the two approaches many people have towards spirituality. Some people adopt an anti-intellectual approach to spirituality, basing everything on [...]
Accepting that we are ordinary is extraordinary
We all like to think that we are special. And Gita wisdom agrees that we indeed are. Spiritually, each one of us is a unique [...]
We may be broke but we don’t have to be broken
Becoming broke is usually among our worst nightmares. Something that we try our best to avoid. Yet the inscrutable ways of life sometimes make our [...]
Are we mistaking the cause of torture to be the source of shelter?
Suppose we are stranded in an ocean on a sharp jagged rock. The rock seems to be our shelter, but it is actually the cause [...]
See skepticism with skepticism
“I am a skeptic.” Today’s intellectuals often see skepticism as their badge of honor, as the evidence that they are freethinkers, unbound by other’s beliefs [...]
Krishna offers us shelter, not a hiding place
“If I pray to Krishna, he will make all my problems disappear.” We may sometimes hope thus when we practice spiritual life. Of course, we [...]
Throw light on the daylight robbery that doesn’t come to light
If we find a large sum of money missing from our house, we immediately go all out to nab the thief. But if small amounts [...]
Our life takes off when we understand how soon life takes us off
Suppose we have a hired car for a day with us and need to go a long way to reach our destination. The more the [...]
A liberty that ends in slavery
Liberty. Freedom. Independence. These words appeal to us for they express the universal longing of the heart. However, these words have in recent times been [...]
Beyond the love that hides to the love that guides
Parents sometimes hide their financial or familial problems from their children out of love. But there are times that make such a love harmful, not [...]
The first purpose of life is to discover the purpose of life
Suppose we are given a car. Learning how to drive it, refuel it and care for it are important, but not as important as learning [...]
The inner light reveals the worst within – and the best within
We like to think that we are better than what we actually are. Surprisingly, Gita wisdom agrees: we are, in fact, better that what we [...]
Fight the inner war that counters the outer war
“Spiritual life is a war.” As we live in a world torn by violence, the war metaphor for spiritual life can seem alarming, even alienating: [...]
Might we be sentencing to the jail those who need the hospital?
Falling from moral standards is an ever-present danger for all devotee-seekers in this world of temptation. When others don’t live up to our moral expectations, [...]
The futility of utility; the utility of futility
The futility of utility: Utilitarianism is today’s dominant belief system – if something is useful, then that makes it good. Utility is today’s god, the arbiter [...]
Let’s love Krishna too much to be fanatical
Fanatic. That’s among the worst labels a person can get in today’s multi-cultural world. To avoid such labels, some people feel, “Better let me not [...]
Is spiritual shopping taking the place of spiritual seeking?
Ours is an age of obsessive individualism. Everyone wants to do their own thing. This holds true all the more for spirituality, wherein people frequently [...]
Show temptation the red light – not the red carpet
Self-destruction. That’s the bane of humanity. From hot-heads who break hearts due to their urge for speaking thoughtlessly to sex addicts who risk their dignity [...]
An emptiness that is worse than loneliness
When we neglect or reject relationships, we make ourselves lonely. But when we neglect or reject our relationship with Krishna, we make ourselves worse that [...]
We are never too small to do a big service and never too big to do a small service
“I am not qualified to do that service.” Such thoughts may hold us back when the opportunity to render a significant service presents itself. It [...]