When the mind’s greed masquerades as the body’s need …
Suppose our car fuel indicator alerted us that our gas tank was becoming empty. We would naturally seek a gas station. But suppose we noticed [...]
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Suppose we are living with a moody person who has extreme negative mood swings — during those dark moods, they tend to be both deceptive [...]
When the world is a place of distress how should we deal with distress in our life?
When the Bhagavad-gita (08.15) deems the world a place of distress (dukhalaya), what does this imply for our efforts to combat distress in our life? [...]
Gita 02.60 explained
BG 2.60 yatato hy api kaunteya purushasya vipascitah indriyani pramathini haranti prasabham manah SYNONYMS yatatah -- while endeavoring; hi -- certainly; api -- in [...]
Gita 5.23 explained
Now Arjuna gets a question at this point, yes I know, even if I agree that material enjoyment leads to misery but still by knowing [...]
When self-talk is counterproductive and when productive
Self-talk can refer to two broad things: Something inside us talks to us: We all have a voice inside us that keeps commenting about the [...]
How to better manage our emotions
Our emotions are an essential part of who we are; without them, we would be reduced to a flavorless, robotic existence. Though they add value [...]
How curiosity can increase our self-awareness
We all are naturally curious: the many breaking news are just one among hundreds of things that cater to our curiosity. That universally present faculty [...]
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 [...]