Tackling impurity from indulgence to transcendence
Impurity needs to be tackled by focusing on transcendence, not tickled by fantasizing about indulgence. Whenever we have any impurity within us that triggers desires [...]
Impurity needs to be tackled by focusing on transcendence, not tickled by fantasizing about indulgence. Whenever we have any impurity within us that triggers desires [...]
Suppose we are studying for an important exam the next day. Suppose further that success in this exam can launch our career in a field [...]
The mind is omnivorous – it devours whatever is present and feels pleasant Omnivorous creatures are indiscriminate in their eating; they consume whatever is available [...]
Suppose an alcoholic has become sick because of excessive alcohol indulgence. While the disease is a danger that needs treatment, an equal, if not greater, [...]
“You are depriving yourself of so much pleasure,” the mind whispers when we practice spiritual life seriously and regulate sense gratification. We may neglect the [...]
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 we do something irrational, we may wonder, “Why did I do such a thing?” Because the mind may have stupefied us by using some [...]
Battling over our choices refers to struggling to make the right choice while staying in the presence of temptation. Choosing our battles refers to deciding [...]
Our intelligence is like a knife. It can cut through the surface appearance of things and see their deeper nature. Just as a knife with [...]
To practice spiritual life means to wage an inner war against the illusion created by our lower desires, especially lust. The Bhagavad-gita (03.36-43) vividly outlines [...]
Suppose thieves steal all the property from their victims. Still, the victims can get relief by, say, withdrawing money from their bank by using their [...]
Lust is ubiquitous in today’s society with billboards depicting prurient images and movies enacting explicit scenes. Displays that would have appalled people even a few [...]
When troublesome stalkers harass people repeatedly, they may decide to flee. For this strategy to succeed, they need to leave without leaving a forwarding address; [...]
Euphemisms often help express distressing truths sensitively. But sometimes they are abused as tools of deception, as verbal sleights-of-hand to make evil sound good. Consider, [...]
The life of a spiritual seeker is the life of a warrior – a warrior defending the territory of the consciousness against the forces of [...]
When anti-devotional worldly pleasures tempt and torment us repeatedly, we may feel that indulging in them will bring relief, getting them out of our way. [...]
Gita wisdom frequently surprises us by taking us beyond surface to the substance of things. Few things illustrate this as graphically as the Bhagavad-gita (17.19) [...]
The world defines us by our possessions – what we wear, where we stay, what we drive in, for example. However, these things are external [...]
“Veg or non-veg?” A caterer may ask us in a train or a plane. Most people consider such choices to be casual. However, Gita wisdom [...]
All of us periodically battle urges that damn us: urges born of lust, anger and greed, for example. We want to be free from these [...]