Be cruel to be kind
Suppose we are sick and need a painful treatment. If we undergo that treatment, it may appear as if we are being cruel to ourselves. [...]
Are we trying to move up while looking down?
Seasoned mountaineers who aim to scale a lofty summit avoid looking down unnecessarily. Of course, they stay aware of the terrain below so that they [...]
Are we sending our intelligence on a vacation?
Imagine a person who has a priceless treasure carefully protected by a competent guard. Suppose a thief persuades the owner to send the guard on [...]
Increasing willpower – The only way and the best way
When we fall short while doing something challenging, we often wonder: how can I increase my willpower? The factors that determine our present level of [...]
Better to be exhausted than rusted
With every passing moment time moves forward inexorably and irreversibly. The passage of time causes non-living things to rust. Living beings also age as time [...]
Plans may not work, but planning works
“My plans never work, so I have decided to give up planning.” We may think like this when our plans to balance our material obligations [...]
When attention seems like detention, we need education
Attention is crucial for enjoying anything. When a reputed sports player is in action, fans enjoy by attentively watching all the action and even the [...]
Navigate the troughs of consciousness by focusing on the peak
As aspiring devotees, we may find the state of our consciousness oscillating up and down like a sine wave. We may feel sometimes attracted and [...]
Krishna’s ladder of love helps us rise from wherever we presently are
Love for Krishna may sometimes seem a distant, abstract concept. But Gita wisdom offers a systematic pathway by which we can slowly but surely attain [...]
When we do what we can do, Krishna helps us to do what we can’t do
Spiritual life sometimes presents us with standards that seem impossible to meet. For example, we may feel that thinking of Krishna constantly is impractical. Certainly, [...]
The Bhagavad-gita is infinitely pregnant with wisdom
Good books are a joy to read. Great books are a joy to not just read, but also re-read. During the re-reading of great books [...]
Expecting the default to change by default is a dangerous fault
“Will these immoral thoughts ever go away?” Questions like these may trouble us devotee-seekers when temptations provoke us even after we have adopted purifying spiritual [...]
The mind may stray away; let it not stay away
“Yet again the mind has gone astray. How many times can I keep struggling against it?” This is our common reaction when we try to [...]
Determination is the first thing, the main thing, the only thing
Nothing glorious can be achieved without single-pointed, sustained determination. The Bhagavad-gita (02.41) indicates that determination (drdha-vratah) is essential for the most glorious achievement of life: [...]
We can’t avoid being haunted, but we can choose who haunts us
As aspiring devotees, our devotional determination may waver when we are confronted with temptations of material pleasures. Often these temptations haunt us like ghosts; they [...]
Be restrained to avoid being strained
Many of us feel strained by the pressure of having so many things to do. Actually, our strain frequently originates not as much in how [...]
Don’t let inner burdens add to your outer burdens
We often feel strained by the pressure of having so many things to do. Even if we have a heavy workload, our strain frequently comes [...]
Dwell, Desire, Decide, Degrade – No! Discriminate
The Gita (2.62)(02.63) outlines the path along which illusion tempts us. This fall from virtue happens through a sequence of four d’s: we dwell, we [...]
Gita insights for New Year resolutions
The Bhagavad-gita (18.33)(18.34)(18.35) describes resolution or determination in the three modes of nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. The modes comprise subtle cosmological forces that exert [...]