How exactly are the Gita’s verses your friends?
"How exactly are the Gita’s verses your friends?" I was asked this question during a recent podcast. The host was a tall, bespectacled young man [...]
Let me treat unwanted temptations like uninvited visitors: even if I have to entertain them, let me neither embrace nor employ them.
My dear Lord, temptations sometimes enter my consciousness unsolicited, triggered by something I perceive externally or remember internally. Whenever possible, help me neglect and reject [...]
How Gita wisdom helped me transcend polio
Recently, during my travels to America, a devotee-doctor in Washington, D.C., suggested that I consult a polio specialist to evaluate the long-term effects I might [...]
A hard look or a hard knock — what will we choose?
If we don’t take a hard look at ourselves, we will soon get a hard knock from ourselves. We often worry about people who are [...]
Loss, guilt, and despair: the trio of emotions that can make our inner world toxic
Life often thrusts upon us difficult, dangerous, or distressing situations that can trigger negative emotions. While most such emotions decline and depart with time as [...]
What does being fearless in the Lord’s service mean?
Faith in God's protection means accepting that what he protects may be different from what we expect him to protect. One of the most celebrated [...]
Let the misdirection of my determination inspire its redirection to you
Bhagavad Gita 18.35 yayā svapnaṁ bhayaṁ śokaṁ viṣādaṁ madam eva ca na vimuñcati durmedhā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī That determination, dark and blind, Clings [...]
Please deepen my determination with devotion and strengthen my devotion with determination
Bhagavad Gita 18.33 dhṛtyā yayā dhārayate manaḥ-prāṇendriya-kriyāḥ yogenāvyabhicāriṇyā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī That determination which sustains; Mind, life-breath, senses—all it restrains; Through yoga practice [...]
1.1 Let me treasure the opportunity, even when bereft of facility
boro-kṛpā kaile kṛṣṇa adhamer prati Such immense mercy have you shown, O Krishna, upon this soul, fallen and forlorn. My dear Lord, how stunning is [...]
3.24 Choose which fear you face
We may fear public speaking. "I might freeze—or be mocked on stage." But if we let that fear stop us we’ll meet another fear: that [...]
1.28 How fear can be an educator
Have you ever met someone who had no tension in a situation you were tense about? Maybe you were coaching them for a critical interview, [...]
1.44 Fear: Factual or fictional?
Have you ever felt the absolute power of fear? You feel a certainty about imminent doom— no doubt that disaster awaits on the path ahead. [...]
3.35 Let fear inform our choices, not deform our values
Fear isn’t always bad. Sometimes it warns us of real dangers to avoid. The Bhagavad Gita (3.35) points to such healthy fear, teaching that choices [...]
15.7 Fear: unavoidable, not unmanageable
Because life is full of uncertainties, we’ll all sometimes feel anxious, insecure, or worried. We can’t remove fear from life— but we can refuse to [...]
5.25 You don’t have to be fear-free to be courageous
Whenever we try to change ourselves for the better, fear whispers, “If you fail, they’ll laugh at you.” Such fear will hold us back, till [...]
16.1 The courage to change
Courage isn’t only found on battlefields or in blockbuster-style heroics. The greater courage is quieter—shown in our daily life, when we dare to face our [...]
Two ways to deal with our past
Even if we can't escape our past, we can still outgrow it We all carry scars from our past—deep wounds that cause fears or impressions [...]
How to expose inner traitors
What makes life dangerous is not just outer threats, but inner traitors What makes life truly dangerous is not merely the external presence or occurrence [...]
Might we be wrong about being strong?
If our ego makes us incapable of even considering that we might be wrong, then we are not being strong. Rather, we are being too [...]
Don’t be difficult while going through difficulties
Our life may be difficult, but that doesn't give us the right to be difficult When we face tough situations, they naturally affect our behavior. [...]
18.35 Three ways to see failure positively
Everyone faces failure in life. However, on failing, some people become shattered and give up. Others bounce back and rise. What differentiates them? It's primarily [...]