The difference between cleverness and wisdom
When we interact with others, we often like to be perceived as lively and witty. Accordingly, we may aspire to come up with clever comments [...]
Effective education: what to NOT focus on
Education requires a dynamic awareness of the level of those being educated. Suppose a math teacher with a triple PhD in calculus is teaching children [...]
Gita 18.20 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 18.20 sarva-bhūteṣu yenaikaṁ bhāvam [...]
Gita 12.12 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan This is single most complicated [...]
Gita 13.26 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 13.26 anye tv evam [...]
Where does Arjuna’s question at the start of the thirteenth chapter come from?
At the start of the thirteenth chapter (13.01), Arjuna asks about six specific terms that Krishna hasn’t referred to as a group anywhere earlier. To [...]
The obligation to endure gives us the right to know
Death is the most covered-up reality in our contemporary world. Of course, what is covered up is not the fact of death per se, but [...]
Devotion makes the head clear and the heart pure
Devotion is essentially the disposition of our heart to love and serve Krishna. And from that devotional desire, all auspiciousness emerges, as the Bhagavad-gita indicates [...]
Learn to see Krishna’s love with the eyes of knowledge
Our culture often bombards us with explicit images of what is considered to be love. If we equate love with such gushy expressions alone, we [...]
In scriptural dissemination, the problem is not in transmission but in reception
When we are watching TV and suddenly the image and sound goes off, we may presume that the problem is in transmission. But if we [...]
The confidentiality of devotion is not due to the frugality of divine grace, but the scarcity of human desire
The Bhagavad-gita (09.01) declares that the knowledge it shares is most confidential. Why confidential? Is Krishna too frugal, even stingy, in sharing his merciful message? [...]
Don’t waste extra thought on people for whom you are extras
“If I do that, what will people think of me?” Such concern over the world’s opinion can sometimes protect us from unworthy actions but it [...]
Devotion raises our knowledge of Krishna from superficial familiarity to substantial understanding
The Bhagavad-gita (04.09) states that those who know in truth the divine birth and activities of Krishna become liberated and return to his eternal abode. [...]
Love is the ultimate knowledge – and is the way to the ultimate knowledge
Love reigns supreme. Not just in matters of the heart, but also in matters of the head. This is the sweet and supreme insight of [...]
Should we be happy when we are happy?
When we are materially happy, we are exhausting our past stock of good karma – something similar to depleting the money in our bank account. [...]
Are we meant to be characters in a cartoon show?
Entertainment. That’s the most eagerly awaited part of life for many people. Movies, soap operas, spectators sports, novels, cartoons – that’s the stuff most people [...]
Religion is meant for God; God is not meant for religion
Some exclusivist religions claim that no one can access God except through them. Such reduction of God to a monopolized commodity in the religious market [...]
Let reason be our minister, not our master
We may get the question: “Do I have to give up reason in order to put faith in the Gita?” Not at all, answers Gita [...]
Blinded and addicted or illumined and liberated?
Suppose everyone in a country was addicted. With everyone suffering the pulls and falls of addiction, the addiction would seem normal. Because addicts frequently see [...]