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 [...]
Why we are NOT defined by our desires
One of the Bhagavad Gita’s most life-transforming insights is its clear, categorical, and consistent emphasis on differentiating between us and our mind. While some of [...]
Is our body fast becoming an ego feast?
Is our body fast becoming an ego feast? - Suppose we fast strictly on sacred days, abstaining even from water. When we see others eating [...]
The ego’s default defensiveness doesn’t protect us – it protects the misconceptions that limit us
When someone points out our faults, our ego often makes us respond defensively and deny those faults. Defending is a natural survival instinct – if [...]
Humility means to not let our ego come in the way of our purpose
Humility is sometimes seen negatively, as something weakening or self-denigrating. However, real humility is empowering, for it frees us from dependence on others’ perceptions. Pertinently, [...]
Ego is not the problem – false ego is
In normal parlance, ‘ego’ refers to arrogance and carries negative connotations. The Bhagavad-gita uses its Sanskrit equivalent, ahankara, in this sense (16.18), but also in [...]
Information puffs us up; application builds us up
Devotion requires not the rejection of our material side, but its harmonization with our spiritual purpose. We can use our material abilities and resources in [...]
Be not allured by the blame game or the claim game – stay focused on Krishna
Blame game usually involves pointing the blaming finger outwards to others whenever things go wrong. The blaming finger can also point upwards or inwards. When [...]
Life is meant to be not a race from birth to death but a raise from mortality to immortality
“Is life meant to be a race from birth to death?” If people were asked this question, they would probably reply: “Obviously not. Who [...]
Don’t let offense towards others’ faults become a pseudo-defense of one’s own faults
Offense is the best defense, states a common saying. The Bhagavad-gita (02.61) recommends this strategy in our inner war: to attain self-mastery, fix the consciousness [...]
Life’s supreme success is not to conquer everyone but to be conquered by the lover of everyone
Many people think of success in terms of power – they think that the more people they can conquer, the more successful they have become. [...]
Realizing our dispensability can be a prick for the ego or a balm for the heart
When we have many things to do and many people depending on us to do those things, we may think of ourselves as indispensable: “How [...]
Are we strong enough to admit that we are not strong enough?
When problems assault us, it’s easy to cave in, to lose heart, to give up. It’s easy, but it’s also weak. And we like to [...]
When we best serve Krishna by keeping out of his business
Faultfinding comes easy for most of us; it gives a much-craved boost to our false ego by making us feeling superior to the faulty. And [...]
Is our religion a sanctuary for the soul or a gymnasium for the ego?
“My home altar is more elegant than that of others.” “I pronounce verses more accurately than others.” “I give more donation than others.” Such thoughts [...]
Are we trying to control without because of being uncontrolled within?
We all want to control our dependents. And we do need some control to guide them properly. Yet by their very nature people often go [...]
How humility boosts our self-esteem…
We often feel under-recognized by the world. We frequently think that we have far more talents and much greater potential than what others credit us. [...]
Anahankara = an + aham + car (I am not my car)
“You are your car,” claims a billboard displaying a person driving a flashy car. The ad indicates how one’s car determines one’s image in [...]
Our fear of insignificance traps us in insignificance
“If I give up all my desires and just fulfill Krishna’s desires, won’t I be stripping myself of everything that makes me significant as a [...]