Why has God created our mind to act as our enemy so frequently and forcefully?
God has provided us with the mind as a functional tool to link our spiritual selves with our physical bodies. However, the specific way the [...]
Finding our voice shouldn’t become an excuse for funding our vice.
The call for individuality We live in a culture where the call to be an individual is not just encouraged but championed and glamorized. However, [...]
Let the misdirection of my determination inspire its redirection to you
Bhagavad Gita 18.35 yayā svapnaṁ bhayaṁ śokaṁ viṣādaṁ madam eva ca na vimuñcati durmedhā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī That determination, dark and blind, Clings [...]
Make me determined to not just pursue the desirable but also determine what is truly desirable
Bhagavad Gita 18.34 yayā tu dharma-kāmārthān dhṛtyā dhārayate ’rjuna prasaṅgena phalākāṅkṣī dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha rājasī That determination which holds on tight, To pleasure and [...]
Please deepen my determination with devotion and strengthen my devotion with determination
Bhagavad Gita 18.33 dhṛtyā yayā dhārayate manaḥ-prāṇendriya-kriyāḥ yogenāvyabhicāriṇyā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī That determination which sustains; Mind, life-breath, senses—all it restrains; Through yoga practice [...]
Why aligning aspiration with determination is vital
We all have various aspirations, and we often try to increase our determination to pursue our aspirations. However, when our aspiration is misguided, determination alone [...]
Resist the temptation to quit
Resist the temptation to quit on ourselves by recalling the Lord who never quits on us. When striving for self-improvement and facing repeated lapses and [...]
The determination to fight against addiction
When someone is subjected to an addiction, they experience it to be like an unbearable itch. They feel that the only way to get relief [...]
Gita 02.39 explained
2nd ch - 4th sec 38 to 53 -> Now Krishna will answer Arjuna's fear of sinful reaction argument. He will address it by [...]
Faith is seen through both firmness in intention and flexibility in execution
Faith is seen through both firmness in intention and flexibility in execution During a pandemic, if temples are closed to avoid infection, does that indicate [...]
Inability to face life’s challenges may diminish us, but unwillingness to face life’s challenges will demolish us
Inability to face life’s challenges may diminish us but unwillingness to face life’s challenges will demolish us We all face challenges in life. And some [...]
Determination means to place our intention above our emotion
Determination means to place our intention above our emotion We all want to be determined, at least about some things that are important to us. [...]
Bhakti is the treatment that transforms into a treat
When we are sick, we accept the prescribed treatment as an austerity necessary for our recovery. And we often dream about the various treats we [...]
Your mind is the only mind you have – train it
God is sometimes conceived as a being who stays in and rules from his own kingdom. While such a conception addresses one feature of God’s [...]
Don’t stay crying in the night – start crying for the light
A child lost in a strange dark place may start crying helplessly, but an adult similarly lost will instead of collapsing into tears look for [...]
Determination is the fruit of purification – and its root too
The Bhagavad-gita (07.28) indicates that we will become determined in our devotional practices when we live purely and stop impure actions. This begs the question: [...]
When conviction is weak, determination can’t be strong
We often make resolutions to give up our self-defeating indulgences. And when we fail to stick to those resolutions, we often blame our poor determination. [...]
Essential intention is more important than incidental action
To err is human. Whenever we attempt anything worthwhile, we usually go through failures before attaining success. Even children taking their first steps slip and [...]
The past won’t last if to Krishna we hold fast
We are all products of our past. The circumstances we went through and the choices we made have contributed, for better or for worse, to [...]
Restraint is not repression – it is the roadway to real expression
Many people champion self-expression and deride restraint as repression. But is it really repressive? Consider musicians wanting to express themselves. Do they go on stage [...]
When the mind makes the irrational seem rational, catch it in its irrationality
When we do something irrational, we may wonder, “Why did I do such a thing?” Because the mind may have stupefied us by using some [...]