How can we reach God?
How can we reach God? -When we start on our spiritual quest, we may feel that we are far away from God. How can we [...]
What intelligence can and can’t do in bhakti
What intelligence can and can’t do in bhakti: On the devotional path, the ultimate success and the immediate process both center on a personal loving [...]
How remembrance of Krishna is the ultimate spiritual superfood
How remembrance of Krishna is the ultimate spiritual superfood - Superfoods provide multiple benefits, which fall into two broad categories: increasing our energy and decreasing [...]
When we feel devotionally weak …
When we feel devotionally weak - While practicing bhakti, suppose we feel attracted not to Krishna, but to the world’s allurements. Seeing our devotional weakness, [...]
How God’s love is both universal and particular
How God's love is both universal and particular - God loves us — this is the common teaching of the world’s theistic traditions. And this [...]
How Krishna is much bigger than our understanding of Krishna
How Krishna is much bigger than our understanding of Krishna - Krishna may be thought by some as as an image in a temple or [...]
We are already in God’s embrace
We are already in God’s embrace - How we conceive God determines how we relate with him. If we conceive of him as a being [...]
Understanding the relationship between love and freedom
Understanding the relationship between love and freedom Love is founded in freedom: Suppose a boy proposes to a girl saying, “I love you. Will you [...]
How Krishna’s relationship with us differs from our relationship with him
How Krishna’s relationship with us differs from our relationship with him - The Bhagavad-gita’s conclusion contains a disarming declaration: Krishna is determined to love us [...]
What are we focusing on: connection or contribution?
What are we focusing on: connection or contribution? - While practicing bhakti, we may sometimes become discouraged, thinking, “I can’t make any worthwhile contribution.” To [...]
Whose place are we seeking in devotion: ours or someone else’s?
Whose place are we seeking in devotion: ours or someone else’s? - Suppose we see someone speaking Krishna’s message attractively and getting a lot of [...]
Present yourself in the present to the One who is always present
We live in an uncertain world where sudden and severe changes can fill us with fear, even panic. If we get our sense of confidence [...]
To feel small can be disempowering, to feel small in God’s presence is empowering
Suppose we walk on the streets of a giant metropolis, surrounded by huge skyscrapers, thousands of passers-by and hundreds of cars. We may feel small, [...]
Devotion is not just about bringing God into our life; it is also about letting God bring us into his life
Most people nowadays are functionally nontheistic; they may not be explicitly atheistic, but they live as if God doesn’t matter. We start bringing God into [...]
God takes our potential seriously, do we?
Suppose a coach takes the potential of a budding cricketer seriously. That means even if the player goes through a bad patch, the coach stands [...]
When we are praying, know that God is hearing us better than we are speaking
Suppose we are speaking with someone and we sense that they aren’t really hearing us, that they aren’t offering us either an attentive ear or [...]
When we say no to God, it’s mostly because we don’t know God
Contemporary society has largely said no to God — not so much by denying his existence as by relegating him to irrelevance. Most people nowadays [...]
To love values is good, to value love is better, to love the source of all values and love is the best
The world is becoming increasingly materialistic and opportunistic. Such people often have no purpose or value beyond the gratification of their sensual desires (Bhagavad-gita 16.07). [...]
See God’s love in the resources he provides for our spiritual evolution, not the resources he provides for our material gratification
Some people ask, “If God loves us, why does he interfere with our enjoyment?” God doesn’t interfere with our enjoyment; he helps us infer what [...]
God’s transcendence means that he is free from taking sides – and free for taking sides
Some people ask, “Is God impartial? If so, then why does Krishna take the Pandavas’ side in Mahabharata?” Yes, God is impartial. He is transcendental [...]
If Krishna takes away the things that can take us away from him, don’t go away from him
We usually approach God when we need something. If we get it by praying to him, we feel our faith vindicated. But suppose the opposite [...]