The eye can’t find the I as long as the I seeks through the eye
“The eye can’t find the I” means that the eye being material can’t perceive the real I, the soul, which is spiritual. “The I seeks [...]
Express devotion by endeavoring for excellence in service
Devotion is a state of the heart – a state of spontaneous inner attraction to Krishna. Yet that state manifests as outer action too, for [...]
Doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs
When we get doubts, the forces of illusion delude us further into thinking that our doubts are evidences of our intellectual superiority over believers: “I [...]
Expect not the absence of the shadow; embrace the presence of the light
Devotee-seekers sometimes ask, “I am devoting myself to Krishna – why then am I still getting miseries in my life?” Because misery is an intrinsic [...]
See misery as confirmation of scripture – and as impetus to further confirm scripture
Devotee-seekers sometimes ask, “I am living according to scripture, yet I am getting misery. Why?” The occurrence of misery in our life doesn’t falsify scripture [...]
Don’t be exhausted by the mind – be exhausted with the mind
We probably know people who exhaust us by their meaningless prattle or baseless grumbling or senseless demands. Knowing their nature, we often avoid or at [...]
When the mind becomes peaceful, we become joyful
Seekers sometimes ask, “Bhakti is supposed to be joyful. But I don’t get much joy in practicing it. Why?” Because the mind interrupts our practice [...]
When the mind accepts the impure to be impure, we become pure
Impurity is essentially a perception-distorter. The impurity of addiction to alcohol makes alcoholics think that the very alcohol that is the cause of their suffering [...]
Don’t pander; ponder
Some people ask, “Isn’t it our nature to be pleasure-seeking? Why then does the Bhagavad-gita ask us to give up pleasure?” The Gita doesn’t ask [...]
To understand God’s provision, first understand God’s vision
People sometimes ask, “If I devote myself to God, will he provide for my needs?” Yes, definitely; but to understand his provision, we need to [...]
The point of the world is to point beyond the world
When we see the distress, destruction and death that characterize this world, we may get the question: “What is the point of it all?” But [...]
Things may belong, but for how long?
We treasure our belongings, especially those belongings that are worth a lot financially or mean a lot emotionally. Many people go even further, making their [...]
The biggest battle in life is to keep the biggest battle the biggest battle
Life is like a battle. Each day we have to overcome obstacles to achieve our goals. Among these daily battles, the biggest battle is in [...]
Look at the mind before you look with the mind
When a normally cordial friend snaps at us for no reason, we understand sympathetically, “That’s due to a bad mood.” When we identify the bad [...]
Be a part; be not apart
Some people equate becoming spiritual with becoming unambitious. However, bhakti spirituality centers on ambitiousness, albeit of a kind different from the individualistic ambitiousness glamorized by [...]
The war against lust is a war of attrition
A war of attrition refers to a war in which victory requires wearing out the opponent. As spiritual seekers, we need to wage war against [...]
Surrender to Krishna is difficult, but surrender to the body is doomed
Surrender is a word that often brings negative connotations, making us imagine that it involves forced submission to an aggressor. But surrender is simply a [...]
The journey to realizing “I am not the body” begins with living “I am more than the body”
The Bhagavad-gita’s fundamental teaching (02.13) is that we are not material bodies but are spiritual beings. Even when we understand this intellectually, we can’t abruptly [...]
Even when Krishna is in the universe, the universe is still in him
When Krishna descends to the world, he appears to be just like any other person, someone who is limited to one place and needs to [...]