How to become more sensitive
The Bhagavad-gita (17.15) recommends increased sensitivity of speech when it urges us to speak non-agitatingly and pleasingly. How can we develop such sensitivity, which essentially [...]
How to deal with the mind’s steady unsteadiness
The Bhagavad-gita (06.33) indicates that the mind’s steady situation (sthithim sthiram) is to be unsteady (cancalatvat). The mind likes one thing today, dislikes it tomorrow [...]
Are we being ‘nonjudgmentally’ judgmental?
Most virtues, when taken to an excess, end up becoming vices. Such is the case with the virtue of being nonjudgmental which protects us from [...]
Why we need to become consciousness-conscious
We live in a world where there’s increasing concern about conserving energy, especially because conventional sources of energy such as fossil fuels are finite. We [...]
Does self-improvement center on fighting against our desires?
Our desires often obstruct us in our efforts to improve ourselves; for example, we may resolve to regulate our diet, but may be sabotaged by [...]
Fostering tolerance by focusing on transcendence (Religious tolerance series 6)
The differences between various faith-traditions are often obvious, sometimes glaringly self-evident. Some traditions worship deities, others condemn such worship as idolatry. Some traditions forbid drinking [...]
What tolerance implies and what it doesn’t (Religious tolerance series 3)
When we cultivate tolerance, we accept others’ right to beliefs and behaviors different from ours. By such tolerance, we harmonize with the way God has [...]
Beyond pragmatic reasons for tolerance (Religious tolerance series 1)
Religious tolerance is a much discussed and desired value in today's world, especially among visionary leaders and reflective followers of the world's many living-faith traditions. [...]
What is your most dangerous distraction?
Though we are exposed to many distractions, some are more harmful than others. How can we know which distraction is most hazardous for us? By [...]
What avoiding sense objects doesn’t mean
When the Bhagavad-gita recommends that those striving for self-discipline should withdraw their senses from sense objects (02.58), this recommendation can be misunderstood in two ways. [...]
When discipline doesn’t seem worthwhile …
When we strive to discipline ourselves, we may falter and fail, sometimes repeatedly. Being disheartened, we may wonder, “Is all this struggle worthwhile? What difference [...]
When discipline feels like self-deprivation …
We often think of discipline as something that deprives us of life’s pleasures and comforts. For example, we may fear that waking up early to [...]
How to focus the mind
We live in an age of unprecedented distraction. When our mind is being so fiercely targeted, how can we focus it? Here are two time-tested [...]
Why is it so difficult to focus?
When we want to do anything important, why do we often find it so difficult to focus? Due to the combined consequence of three forceful [...]
Are we training our mind in distraction or in concentration?
We all have noticed times when we get distracted, sometimes from important things. If only we could concentrate more, we could do so many things [...]
When living in the present helps, and when it harms
“Live in the present” is valuable advice to counter our mind’s tendency to wander off into the past or the future. That wandering can rob [...]
How to get away from the mind when it troubles us?
When someone speaks negative things constantly, we may feel the need to get away from them. We may feel a similar need when our mind [...]
How we become both villains and victims …
Typical movies have two characters: one who acts in villainous ways and one who is victimized by those villainous actions. But suppose a movie featured [...]
Understanding the reflective self and the impulsive self
We often experience an inner tug of war between opposing voices. To better understand these forces, let’s consider the dynamics of our inner world, as [...]
How we end up neglecting life’s important things
When people face sudden disaster or death, they often realize that they have wasted so much of their life on unimportant things while neglecting important [...]
Why do small things irritate us so much?
We may notice that our mood often gets spoiled when some small things go wrong. Why do we get so irritated by small negatives? Because [...]