How Long Will Krishna Keep Punishing Me?
This question was the first thing a young European woman had asked me during my conversation with her husband and her. During one of my [...]
If both sequences of the mahā-mantra are scripturally valid, can someone chant the Rāma-first version and still be initiated in the Gauḍīya tradition?
The distinction here is between validity and fidelity. Something can be accepted as valid without being the particular practice to which we commit ourselves when [...]
Ganesh Chaturthi and the Universal Call of the Divine
“Ganpati Bappa Morya!” “Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh Deva!” The voices of young Indian students filled the hall at Boston University during a Ganesh Chaturthi celebration. [...]
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 [...]
How Not to Let the Darkness of the Human Heart Become Activated
Whenever we start looking into the abyss, we need to even more urgently and regularly start looking into the mirror. The term abyss is often [...]
Faith in God’s protection
Faith in God's protection means that we are not paralyzed by fear when called to act in His service, even when faced with significant challenges. [...]
Can destiny cause someone to fall down morally or spiritually?
Whenever we try to live a life of principles, we may often feel haunted by the possibility of fall downs. This concern becomes especially poignant [...]
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 [...]
Why has God created our mind to act as our enemy so frequently and forcefully?
God has provided us with the mind as a functional tool to link our spiritual selves with our physical bodies. However, the specific way the [...]
When others hurt me, let me give them the benefit of the doubt, not shut them out
uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet ātmaiva hyātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ When others hurt me and my mind rushes to judgment, Help me meet its [...]
Let my recitation of your words inspire the redirection of my heart to you
svādhyāyābhyasanaṁ caiva May speaking your words be my training, Knowing their sounds are potent and purifying. Let sacred recitation be my ladder, Drawing my heart [...]
Our mind deserves better than its present contents
Suppose we travel extensively and come across a place that is exquisitely beautiful, naturally rich with resources, and yet feels desolate and desperate. This could [...]
Let my words be illuminating, encouraging, uplifting
satyaṁ priya-hitaṁ ca yat Let me speak to illuminate and appreciate, Never use the truth as a tool to dominate. May kind words become my [...]
Lead me out of my ego’s web by your love’s WEB: wisdom, expertise, benevolence
Bhagavad Gita 18.58 mac-cittaḥ sarva-durgāṇi mat-prasādāt tariṣyasi atha cet tvam ahaṅkārān na śroṣyasi vinaṅkṣyasi "Focus on me, and all duality you will transcend, By [...]
Let the realization of your position transform my conviction and aspiration
Bhagavad Gita 18.78 yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ tatra śrīr vijayo bhūtir dhruvā nītir matir mama Where Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of mystic perfection, [...]
You alone fulfill my heart’s hopes for healing and homecoming
Bhagavad Gita 18.66 sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ Give up all confusion about what is to be [...]
Lead me to see you not just as a dispassionate teacher but also as a passionate lover
Bhagavad Gita 18.64 sarva-guhyatamaṁ bhūyaḥ śṛṇu me paramaṁ vacaḥ iṣṭo ’si me dṛḍham iti tato vakṣyāmi te hitam Now hear from me the most secret [...]
Let me see your love both in your inclusivity and in your exclusivity
Bhagavad Gita 18.56 sarva-karmāṇy api sadā kurvāṇo mad-vyapāśrayaḥ mat-prasādād avāpnoti śāśvataṁ padam avyayam Though engaged in all kinds of deed, Taking full shelter in me [...]
Free me from all pain, even the pain for which I have no name
Bhagavad Gita 12.19 tulya-nindā-stutir maunī santuṣṭo yena kenacit aniketaḥ sthira-matir bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ Alike in praise and blame, Silent, content in any frame; [...]
Free me from the expectation that you will make my path obstacle-free
Bhagavad Gita 9.14 satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā nitya-yuktā upāsate Forever, they sing my glories unending, Endeavor for me [...]