How desire abducts and abandons us
Desire abducts with the promise of pleasure and abandons us in the province of trouble. The Bhagavad Gita (18.38) states that sensual desires lead us [...]
Preventing the need for food from becoming greed for food
Detachment arises from understanding that desire can only be dealt with by tolerating it, never by titillating it. We all face sensual desires, and it [...]
What truth will our life story demonstrate?
We can choose what truth our life story will demonstrate: what is possible with God or what is inevitable without him. Our life is defined [...]
Two steps to stop feeling sorry for ourselves
Wherever we go, we will be carrying our sorry self with us; stop feeling sorry for ourselves, and stop being the kind of person that [...]
Tackling impurity from indulgence to transcendence
Impurity needs to be tackled by focusing on transcendence, not tickled by fantasizing about indulgence. Whenever we have any impurity within us that triggers desires [...]
Speaking our mind or speaking with our mind?
Before we speak our mind, we need to speak with our mind; otherwise, it is our mind that will speak—instead of us, and not for [...]
Purity clarity & energy – 3 resources for playing our part in facing the world’s problems
Just because we can't fix all the problems in the world doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to fix any of them. Nor should we feel [...]
The difference between outer achievement and inner achievement
The difference between outer achievement and inner achievement lies in where each seeks to bring our focus. Outer achievement aims to place us at the [...]
Two ways attachment torments us
Attachment sentences us to be taunted by our desires and haunted by our fears. During the routine course of our lives, we often get attached [...]
Countering invisible attacks on our consciousness
Just because we don’t see that we are being attacked does not mean that we are not under attack. The inner war is invisible, but [...]
Focus on who will be responsible not on who was responsible.
Whenever things go wrong, finding someone to blame is a default human tendency. When there isn’t anyone clearly to blame, we tend to presume that [...]
Don’t just condemn the demonic; contemplate how they became demonic
Greedy people often do things for the sake of money that most decent people hesitate to do. Greed can lead people to become not just [...]
Why fearlessness is the first virtue in the godly nature
Fearlessness is a mysterious phenomenon. Fear is a natural and even necessary reaction to danger; it enables us to safeguard ourselves amid the dangerous world [...]
Gita 01.01 – Explanation from Bhakti Shastri Class
Chapter 1 – Overview Total 46 verses, preparation for Krishna to speak His message. In the original Mahabharata written by Srila Vyasa Deva, and the [...]
Why did Dhritarshtra not surrender after seeing the Universal Form?
Although Dhritarashtra saw the universal form, why did he not surrender to Krishna? Because his attachment acted like a blinding cloud. The great vision that [...]
1 Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Poetic rendition
Chapter 1 How, O how, can I fight and kill Those whose pleasure is my heart's will? A kingdom is worth no more than mere [...]
Kalki movie – Making sense with Bhagavad-gita
To make sense of the Kalki movie through the lens of the Bhagavad-gita, let's consider three aspects. Connection, Concoction and Conception. Connection: it is good [...]
Three levels of empowerment
To have options is empowering; To have the intelligence to know which options are good for us is even more empowering; And to have the [...]
When losing peace of mind is good
Lessons that disturbed our peace of mind may well take us toward peace of the heart. Sometimes, we may value peace to such an extent [...]
When people behave strangely…
Just because some actions are inconsiderate does not necessarily mean that they are unwarranted or inappropriate. When someone behaves in a way that does not [...]
Feeling unsettled: Good or bad?
To be unsettled is unhealthy when we are living a life of values and purposes. But it is healthy when we are settling for complacency [...]