Four ways people see religion
When people are in the mode of ignorance, they think of religion primarily in terms of grievance and vengeance: that, "Oh, I have been hurt [...]
How NOT to respond to mistakes
Pondering our mistakes is helpful if the focus is on how we can learn, but pondering our mistakes can be harmful if the focus is [...]
Self mastery through leverage not through age
Self-discipline becomes easier not by growing in age, but by gaining leverage. Some people think that when they are trying to battle their lower desires, [...]
Frustration and renunciation differentiated
Externally, frustration and renunciation may both look similar because in both a person is not endeavoring to go towards and gain and enjoy tempting sense [...]
From gifts in life to the gift of life
When striving to cultivate gratitude, we often attempt to look at the things that are good in our life and see those things as gifts. [...]
What is Bhagavad-gita? – 2
The Bhagavad-gita is centered on the ethical and metaphysical conversation between Krishna and Arjuna. Textually, it is presented as a part of a much larger [...]
Understanding the message of silence
Suppose we are discussing an important issue with an expert. To understand their position on the issue, we will contemplate the words they speak. Significantly, [...]
Two ways of surrendering to God’s will
In the Bhagavad-gita’s conclusion, Arjuna responds to Krishna’s call to surrender (18.66) by resolving to do Krishna’s will (18.73). To understand what his declaration means, [...]
What being non-judgmental means and doesn’t means
In today’s multicultural world, being nonjudgmental is highly valued. But some people, specifically those who value the capacity to make judgments,may express some reservations, “In [...]
Gita 18.03 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 18.3 tyājyaṁ doṣa-vad ity [...]
How we can make our life an adventure
We are often attracted to adventure stories, wherein people face formidable odds and do spectacular things. We may even lament that our life is boring. [...]
Something for nothing?
There are no free lunches. So goes a common saying that expresses a reality stated cynically. Some of us may not want to impute selfish [...]
How to deal with feelings of inferiority?
While technology has shrunk the world, it has also expanded the world in the sense that we get constantly compared with the best from various [...]
How to go beyond the extremes of denial and despair?
We live constantly in that fleeting moment where the present gives way to the future. How we look at the present and at the future [...]
Opening our mouth and opening our Gita
Everyday, we open our mouth hundreds of times to speak something. Much of this speech is pointless chit chat. Even if it is functionally useful [...]
Is progress just replacing the problems of poverty with the problems of prosperity?
Today’s world usually equates progress with economic development and prides itself on the number of people raised above the poverty line. Undoubtedly, efforts to help [...]
How to live amid danger
We often worry when visiting dangerous areas infested with terrorists or infected by pandemics. If fear overwhelms us, we can remember that we can never [...]
What is the difference between acceptance and passivity?
Suppose we suddenly get infected by a disease. Amid such adversities, our emotional energy often gets dissipated in resenting what has happened and such negative [...]
How can we be more cheerful?
We often think that we will become happy when some good things happen to us or when our dreams are fulfilled. While that is true, [...]
How can we identify evil?
We often operate with certain stereotypical conceptions of things. For example, in most traditions, evil is depicted as an ugly, grotesque being, maybe with horns [...]
We will give in to outer drives unless we discover our own inner drive
Suppose we are caught in a crowd. We will be pushed by the force of the crowd and we may let ourselves get pushed if [...]