Pray to gain purpose not pleasure
Pray to God—not for pleasure, but for purpose. When we approach God through prayers, we often seek pleasure or, more specifically, the objects that we [...]
The right to be unhappy
Just because we have a right to be unhappy does not mean that we are right to be unhappy. Sometimes, such terrible things may happen [...]
Receptive + Submissive = Pathway to wisdom
To grow in knowledge, we need to be not just receptive, but also submissive. When we learn from someone who is an expert, at that [...]
Curiosity & humility: an empowering combination
Curiosity is often recommended and even celebrated as a great virtue for those who wish to keep learning and growing in their lives. Curiosity ensures [...]
The capacity to appreciate our blessings
The capacity to appreciate our blessings is the greatest blessing. We are all surrounded by blessings in our lives, be they small or big. Yet [...]
How gratitude brings happiness
Happiness comes not by increasing what we have but by increasing our appreciation for what we have. The world often teaches us that to be [...]
What provides happiness – & what doesn’t
Happiness comes not by gaining something enjoyable, but by pursuing something valuable. The world teaches us that when we get desirable objects, especially objects that [...]
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 [...]
Courage to fight our inner demons
It takes courage to fight against our inner demons. It's much easier to pretend that they don't exist and to pretend that we are good [...]
Self-importance or importance of the self?
Self-important people are obsessed with the idea of their own greatness in everything that they do. Their sole concern is that everybody knows and remembers [...]
How to not be discouraged by our imperfections
As we function in life, we quickly come to realize our deficiencies and defects. Deficiencies refer to areas in which we can't do things as [...]
Indian Independence Day Special: The Fulfillment of Freedom
The idea of freedom captivates the human mind. Stories of freedom fighters frequently become legends. National independence struggles often become inspirational memories for citizens. Most [...]
Conviction due to courage of conviction?
Suppose we have the courage of conviction — that is, we are convinced about the greatness of a cause and ready to endure difficulties for [...]
The courage that may not look like courage
We often associate courage with physically heroic deeds, such as running into a burning building to save a trapped child. While such courage is undoubtedly [...]
Unmasking the sinister strategy of fear
Suppose we are lost in a dangerous forest, trying in vain to find a way back to safety. Suppose further we find a way that [...]
Courage by regulated and regular exposure to fear
Suppose someone has claustrophobia. Whenever they come near an enclosed space such as an elevator, they start feeling immense dread internally, and their body starts [...]
When fear locks our consciousness …
Suppose we face some outer danger, which makes us feel overwhelmed by fear. That a cautionary note sounds inside us in such situations is natural, [...]
Stopping the mind’s horror movie
Suppose we are in our home theater, and we find a horror movie playing on our TV when we had no desire to watch such [...]
How to grow in courage
When we seek to become more courageous, we may believe that we have to uproot fear from our heart. But courage doesn’t require fear to [...]
Courage in the absence of danger?
We all sometimes dream of situations in which we act bravely and offer great help, even life-saving help, to someone in need. Whenever we think [...]
How to be courageous in the presence of fear
Whenever we strive to be courageous, we may think that we need to be free from fear. But this conception of courage and fear as [...]