Giving others what they deserve is not love
Love means to give others what they need, not what they deserve or even what they desire. When we try to show our affection to [...]
How to see desire as a blessing not as a burden?
On the spiritual path, we often think of desire as a burden that needs to be shed. And yes, many of our desires do impede [...]
In bhakti, we don’t just make the offering – we are ourselves the offering
To connect personally with anyone, we usually offer them something with love. The same principle applies to the process of bhakti-yoga, wherein we aspire to [...]
Human will is founded and fulfilled in the divine will
Some people think that human will and divine will are opposed to each other – when we submit to God’s rules, we lose our freedom [...]
When we discuss a subject close to our hearts, our hearts come close
Suppose we have to attend some talk on a subject that doesn’t interest us. And suppose even the speaker is apathetic and is delivering the [...]
Our belonging is more important than our belongings
We often want to own more and more things. While those things may sometimes be functional necessities, we desire them not so much for what [...]
Anger can be an expression of love – and so can be the determination to control anger
Anger often makes us speak and do things that hurt others, things that we regret later. Aptly, the Bhagavad-gita (16.21) deems anger one of the [...]
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 [...]
Spirituality complements talent with temperament
Success requires not just talent but also temperament. Many talented people crack under pressure due to their weak temperament. While temperament has many components, its [...]
Suffering defines the human condition, but the human condition doesn’t define us
Suffering is an undeniable reality of the human condition, as the daily news of death and disease and destruction demonstrate. And these are just the [...]
God is not a concept to be learnt – he is a person to be loved
The subject of God or, more generally, the concept of a supreme controller or an ultimate cause, has frequently intrigued the human mind. But what [...]
See beyond the provision to the provider
A newborn infant sees everything as potential food. It suckles the mother’s breasts and sees it as a source of nourishment. Only after some growth [...]
Krishna is nearest – let us make him dearest
When someone loves us, they may express that love with a tight hug, wanting to come as close as possible to us. But no one [...]
The idea that choosing God costs nothing reduces God to nothing
Some people argue, “God is so great and so accommodating that he will love us, no matter what we do.” Yes, the point of contention [...]
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 [...]
Don’t treat a game like life or life like a game
Many people treat games as if they are as important as life itself. Human culture has always featured sports as a form of recreation, but [...]
Focus not on the reach of your outreach; focus on how much you reach Krishna through your outreach
The Bhagavad-gita (18.68) proclaims that those who share its message of love get pure devotion to Krishna. The next verse (18.69) further declares that such [...]
The head is the prelude to the heart, not the substitute
Our innermost need is the need to love and be loved. All our faculties including our intellectual faculty are meant to fulfill that innermost need. [...]
Krishna’s purpose is not to catch us when we do wrong, but to catch us when we fall
When we are in the public eye, especially with critics present, we frequently become self-conscious. Even when we are in a private room, if we [...]
The yoga of the heart reveals the heart of yoga
The yoga of the heart refers to bhakti-yoga, the yoga that centers on spiritualizing our heart’s central force: love. The heart of yoga refers to [...]