How faith and doubt can both be used spiritually
A functional car needs to have both an accelerator and a brake. While driving, when we are on the right track, we can press the [...]
When the tendency to doubt helps
In today’s educated circles, doubt is celebrated as an intellectual strength. Whenever thoughtful people encounter any claim, especially any claim connected with religion or spirituality, [...]
How pride can corrupt both faith and doubt …
We often equate pride with respect-demanding and self-congratulatory hubris. But it can appear much more subtly when it corrupts our two tools for seeking knowledge: [...]
What does it mean to know Krishna?
The Bhagavad-gita repeatedly talks about knowing Krishna — those who know him attain his abode (04.09). What does such knowing mean? To understand, let’s compare [...]
How could past people believe in things we find irrational?
Some people argue, “Past people who believed ancient texts were irrational — that’s why they accepted various fantastic elements found in those texts.” Consider the [...]
Three benefits of fasting
Fasting is a time-honored practice in most of the world’s great traditions. The Bhagavad-gita too urges us to minimize our eating (18.52) — one way [...]
Is the Gita’s declaration about the world’s distressful nature pessimistic?
When we hear the Bhagavad-gita statement (08.15) that the world is a place of distress, we may wonder, “Isn’t this pessimistic?” No, if we understand [...]
When matter and spirit need to be differentiated — and when not
The Bhagavad-gita begins with a rigid differentiation between matter and spirit (02.11-30), wherein the properties of the spiritual particle, the soul, are shown to be [...]
Does devotion result in renunciation?
The bhakti tradition features sterling examples of great saints who became so devoted to Krishna as to completely renounce the world. Simultaneously, bhakti-yoga is celebrated [...]
Is our body fast becoming an ego feast?
Suppose we fast strictly on sacred days, abstaining even from water. When we see others eating normally, we may look down at them, thinking, “These [...]
Are scriptural descriptions of Krishna literal?
When we hear the descriptions of Krishna given in scripture — for example, his complexion is bluish-black — we may wonder: Are such descriptions literal? [...]
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 perceive God, we don’t need any instrument; we only need to become his instrument
On seeing impressive scientific instruments, we may wonder, “Can science develop an instrument sophisticated enough to perceive God?” That’s like asking: will a future telescope [...]
Evil has no independent power, yet it is incredibly powerful
When people do horrible things, we may wonder, “Where does such evil come from? Are some people innately evil? Or are they impelled to evil [...]
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 [...]