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 [...]
Standard of longing not standard of living
Happiness comes not by improving our standard of living but by improving our standard of longing. The whole world is centered on economic development, and [...]
The higher taste is not smaller it is subtler
When we strive to practice spirituality and gain the higher taste of spiritual happiness, we sometimes feel that this happiness is much smaller than the [...]
The cure for dissatisfaction
Whenever we feel dissatisfied, we often attribute it to some external cause: 'I don't have this house. I don't have this car. I don't have [...]
What provides happiness – & what doesn’t
Happiness comes not by gaining something enjoyable, but by pursuing something valuable. The world teaches us that when we get desirable objects, especially objects that [...]
How God’s pleasure relates with what is best for us
In the Bhagavad-gita’s conclusion, Arjuna declares that he will do Krishna’s will (18.73). This declaration is an expression of love, for love centers on the [...]
When discipline feels like self-deprivation …
We often think of discipline as something that deprives us of life’s pleasures and comforts. For example, we may fear that waking up early to [...]
The tension between purpose and pleasure
Human existence is characterized by a tension between purpose and pleasure. There is a part of us that wants to do something purposeful — that [...]
How to know when desire becomes dangerous? — Desire management series 8
How to know when desire becomes dangerous? — Desire management series 8 - When we use something powerful like electricity, warning systems such as fuses [...]
The way to a better future
The way to a better future - The future can be better than the present and we can play a part in bringing about that [...]
How are material achievement and spiritual achievement different?
How are material achievement and spiritual achievement different? - We all want to achieve something special. Does this drive to achieve need to be renounced [...]
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 [...]
Why seeking something worthwhile is better than seeking something wonderful
Why seeking something worthwhile is better than seeking something wonderful - Suppose we want to write a best-selling book. Suppose further we start worrying that [...]
What provides fulfillment and what doesn’t
When we seek to do something worthwhile, we often compare what we are able to do with what others are doing. And if others are [...]
Are we devaluing our life?
If someone devalued our life, treating it as if it were worthless, we would oppose, and oppose fiercely. Yet we often unwittingly undervalue the resource [...]
The two endings of the Gita point to the same end
The Bhagavad-gita has two endings based on the two nested conversations that comprise its narrative. The outer, framing conversation is at Hastinapura between Sanjaya and [...]
Enlightenment ends the mind’s search for alternatives to Krishna
We are all searching for some object as a source of love and pleasure. Gita wisdom explains that we are actually searching for Krishna, the [...]
Perceive the way before you pursue the way
http://bhagavadgitaclass.com/bhagavad-gita-chapter-01-text-30/Losing our way is often unnerving. Much more unnerving is feeling so hopelessly lost as to think that there’s no way ahead. This happens when [...]
Spiritual perfection requires detachment from our own body, what to speak of others’ bodies
Contemporary culture revels in glamorizing sex through myriad mind-grabbing means. This pervasive glamorization sometimes even seeps into spiritual circles, wherein appear slogans such as sambhoga [...]
See the pleasure that ends in trouble as trouble, not pleasure
Education enables us to see things as they are, irrespective of how they appear to be. Thus for example a well-informed person, as contrasted with [...]
Sense gratification is a fascinating path to frustration
“Eat this; see this; touch this – and you will enjoy.” The world glamorizes sense gratification thus. In striking contrast, the Bhagavad-gita (05.22) asserts that [...]