What intelligence can and can’t do in bhakti
What intelligence can’t do: On the devotional path, the ultimate success and the immediate process both center on a personal loving relationship with the Lord. [...]
How remembrance of Krishna is the ultimate spiritual superfood
Superfoods provide multiple benefits, which fall into two broad categories: increasing our energy and decreasing our vulnerability to diseases. Let’s understand how remembrance of Krishna [...]
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, we may lament: “I don’t love [...]
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 teaching is expanded in the bhakti tradition through the [...]
When scripture seems unbelievable …
On reading that the Bhagavad-gita was spoken to the solar deity (04.01), we may get the question, “How can any being live in the sun’s [...]
Should education be realistic or idealistic?
Suppose schools started teaching kids, “The world is such a terrible place that you can’t even survive unless you learn to lie.” When parents express [...]
Three levels of tension in the Bhagavad-gita
The Bhagavad-gita’s first chapter depicts Arjuna subjected to three increasingly intense tensions: emotional, ethical and existential. Emotional tension: Arjuna was torn between jubilation and apprehension. [...]
Three kinds of blindness in the Gita’s first chapter
Dhritarashtra’s blindness — physical: His blindness, being physical, was the most self-evident. It prevented him from ascending the throne and left him with an unfulfillable [...]
How perception is an ethical act
We usually think of perception as a merely mechanical act; when some object comes within our visual range, we see it. However, at every moment, [...]
When form and substance are different — and when they aren’t
All that glitters is not gold. Such sayings which are present in almost every human culture, highlight a vital reality in this world: form doesn’t [...]
Does the Gita discourage material solutions to problems?
Some people ask, “When the Bhagavad-gita (08.15) states that the world is a place of misery, does that mean we can never avoid misery and [...]
Is the world really a place of misery?
Sometimes, the Bhagavad-gita statement that the world is a place of misery (08.15) is seen as a prescription for pessimism. To better understand this statement, [...]
How Krishna is much bigger than our understanding of Krishna
Krishna may be thought by some as as an image in a temple or as a historical figure. Gita wisdom reveals how he is actually [...]
How to gain insight into complicated situations?
When confronted with complicated situations, we can gain insight into them by using two principles. Let’s apply these principles for understanding the setting of the [...]
How intelligence and scripture may increase our illusions
The Bhagavad-gita (02.53) cautions that our intelligence can get lost in the forest of illusion created by words. Consider two striking points in this verse. [...]
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 who exists far away, high in the [...]
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 marry me?” Suppose she declines. And he [...]
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 (18.64: ishto ‘si drdham iti). This is no empty claim — he [...]
How the Gita demonstrates its teaching
The Bhagavad-gita concludes, in one sense, with Arjuna agreeing to do Krishna’s will (18.73). Yet the Gita continues for five more verses describing the realizations [...]
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 avoid such discouragement, we need to get our priorities [...]
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 appreciation and glorification. Feeling inspired, we seek to do the same service. [...]