Begin each day by putting on our armor
If we were fighting a war, we would begin each day by putting on our armor. Actually, we all are at war internally against negative [...]
Why do good people do bad things
When people do bad things, especially if they are normally good people, then their bad actions can shock us. If we had trusted them and [...]
How we can learn from history to shape our history
Modern history is often a compilation of facts and figures, wars and conquests, births and deaths. Traditionally however, especially in spiritual cultures, history was studied [...]
What we believe vs how we behave
We may try to share our beliefs with [...]
How to know if we are standing for God?
Many people want to or claim to stand for God. That means they want to represent God and to challenge those who malign [...]
Why spirituality isn’t world-rejecting…
Why spirituality isn’t world-rejecting… Some people think that jumping over the world, with all its problems and complications, is the way to reach God. Yes, [...]
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 [...]
Why those who agitate for equality are often prone to envy
Why those who agitate for equality are often prone to envy The equality of all people is enshrined as a sacred modern value. This contrasts [...]
Gita 17.20 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan So first Krishna talked about [...]
The divine descent is meant to inspire the human ascent
Among the oft-quoted verses of the Bhagavad-gita are those describing God’s periodic descent (04.07-08): Whenever adharma predominates, he descends and re-establishes dharma, cosmic order. Still, [...]
Anger-aggravating religion is the antithesis of religion
Some people perpetrate terrorism in the name of religion. Being angry with others about past wrongs – factual, exaggerated or imagined – they misappropriate religion [...]
Krishna’s instruction is not disruptive, but restorative
At the start of the Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna is agonized at the thought of fighting in a fratricidal war that will kill most of his loved [...]
Krishna is the ultimate knight in shining armor
The knight in shining armor is a staple theme in fiction. Usually appearing as the savior of a damsel in distress, the knight fights to [...]
To grow through problems, go beyond the circumstantial to the existential
“What should I do now?” When we face this question, we usually answer based on practical concerns. But when confronting dilemmas that have no practical [...]
A self-answering question points to factors beyond the self-evident
A question that contains the answer within itself raises questions about the question. For example, suppose someone asks, “After the diners sat down at the [...]
The perfection of dharma is not to fall in line with cosmic law, but to fall in love with the trans-cosmic lover
The Bhagavad-gita (18.66) concludes with a surprising call to give up all dharma. Why is this call surprising? Because the protection of dharma is the [...]
Krishna descends to delineate, demonstrate and disseminate dharma
“God descends to establish dharma.” Those familiar with the Gita know this well, with some even quoting the relevant Bhagavad-gita verses (04.07 - 04.08). A careful [...]
As a basis of faith, miracles may supplement, but not supplant, philosophy
Miracles are integral to the lore of the world’s religions. God’s miraculous interventions to protect his beleaguered devotees bolster the faith of not just those [...]
The purpose of establishing dharma in the world is to establish us in dharma
One of the Gita’s most-quoted verses (04.08) describes how Krishna descends to establish dharma. Less quoted, but no less significant is the next verse declaring [...]
Materialism in a religious costume is still materialism
The Bhagavad-gita (02.42-43) deems as undiscriminating (avipashcitah) and shortsighted those people who think that religion has no purpose other than to provide material gains. These [...]