Losing our way to find our way
Life sometimes brings us to a dead end. In the face of overwhelming obstacles, everything seems lost. We feel as if we have lost our [...]
Let’s learn to laugh with others, not laugh at others
Laughing at others – their fallacies and follies – is something we often enjoy. If not publically, then at least privately. It makes us feel [...]
Satisfaction is not just a condition but also a choice
Job dissatisfaction. Marital dissatisfaction. Monetary Dissatisfaction…. The malaise of dissatisfaction plagues millions. Of course, dissatisfaction is not always a malaise. It can point to a [...]
Should we be happy when we are happy?
When we are materially happy, we are exhausting our past stock of good karma – something similar to depleting the money in our bank account. [...]
True austerity is supplicative not manipulative
Gita wisdom frequently surprises us by taking us beyond surface to the substance of things. Few things illustrate this as graphically as the Bhagavad-gita (17.19) [...]
Are we mistaking an inner lacking for an outer lacking?
We sometimes feel that something is lacking in our life. Before we can soberly investigate what it is that is missing, the culture fills our [...]
Are we conscious that Krishna is conscious of us?
We express love for a person by being mindful of that person. By being conscious of that person as we go about our various duties [...]
The false currency that keeps us trading in the stock exchange of illusion
Money. That’s what people hope to gain by trading in the stock exchange. The trading is often frantic and frenzied. But suppose the currency being [...]
Might a 20/20 vision lead to blindness?
Smaller electronic gadgets; greater functionalities; faster net connections. Such advances may make us believe that future technological advances will enable us to become happy and [...]
Might we be protecting our heart from Krishna instead of for Krishna?
As aspiring devotees, we long to relish the spiritual emotions that the bhakti scriptures extol. Such devotional longing is natural and desirable. However, it comes [...]
Let’s guard our consciousness the way we guard our homes
We guard our homes against trespassers, often warding them off with the notice, “Trespassers will be prosecuted.” Gita wisdom urges us to guard our consciousness [...]
Realization comes by riveting to the relationship, not the ritual
Reciting mantras, worshiping the Deity, fasting on holy days – many such rituals characterize spiritual life. As these rituals are visible and tangible, it is [...]
When we best serve Krishna by keeping out of his business
Faultfinding comes easy for most of us; it gives a much-craved boost to our false ego by making us feeling superior to the faulty. And [...]
Might we be burning the very bridge that we want others to cross?
When we practice devotional service and realize its transformational benefits, we naturally feel inspired to share our faith with others. Such an inspiration is noble. [...]
Are we mistaking the red signal to be the green signal?
To navigate through traffic, we need to understand traffic signals properly. Similarly, to navigate through life, we need to understand the signals during our life-journey. [...]
“Now and then” or “from now on”?
We all have had hobbies. Things that we do ‘now and then’ after we have dealt with the more serious, pressing and unavoidable aspects of [...]
A prison of promises and pretenses
“Purchase this and you will be happy.” “Wear this and you will enjoy.” “Own this and your dreams will be fulfilled.” Ads like these confront [...]
Are we mistaking the lifeline to be a handcuff?
“Why do the scriptures have rules against doing so many enjoyable things?” Such thoughts may come to us when we see people engaging in materialistic [...]
Is our religion a sanctuary for the soul or a gymnasium for the ego?
“My home altar is more elegant than that of others.” “I pronounce verses more accurately than others.” “I give more donation than others.” Such thoughts [...]
Are our desires locking us into a world of frustration or releasing us into the world of fulfillment?
We all may have experiences of how while dreaming and desiring something, we get transported somewhere into the world of our dreams, removed from everything [...]
Seek pleasure in the pursuit of meaning, not meaning in the pursuit of pleasure
Most people live caught up in the pursuit of worldly pleasures. As all such pleasures are destroyed by death, they assume that life has no [...]