Blunt the desire for enjoyment with engagement
The greatest obstacle on the spiritual path for most of us is the desire to enjoy material pleasures, especially anti-devotional material pleasures. Because most of [...]
Don’t let the mind eat your head
The mind sometimes makes us do self-defeating, short-sighted, stupid things. How? By making us headless. The Bhagavad-gita (02.62) indicates that when the mind contemplates sense [...]
Change the stories you tell yourself about yourself
Our mind is rarely satisfied with the world and especially with our present position in it. Consequently, it frequently goes into flights of fantasies of [...]
Worldly beauty agitates, dissatisfies, pollutes; Krishna’s beauty pacifies, satisfies, cleanses
Beauty ranks among the world’s most fascinating – and frustrating – features. History is filled with stories of ill-fatedcaptivation by beauty. Can we not relish [...]
Hell is not meant to cause us suffering but to save us from suffering
Some exclusivist religions claim that those who don’t accept their dogmatic beliefs will be sent by God to hell forever. In refreshing contrast to such [...]
When we do what we can do, Krishna helps us to do what we can’t do
Spiritual life sometimes presents us with standards that seem impossible to meet. For example, we may feel that thinking of Krishna constantly is impractical. Certainly, [...]
The Bhagavad-gita is infinitely pregnant with wisdom
Good books are a joy to read. Great books are a joy to not just read, but also re-read. During the re-reading of great books [...]
Expecting the default to change by default is a dangerous fault
“Will these immoral thoughts ever go away?” Questions like these may trouble us devotee-seekers when temptations provoke us even after we have adopted purifying spiritual [...]
See eye-to-eye with Krishna to gain an enlightened eye and an enlivened I
When we are sick and seek treatment, we need to see eye-to-eye with the doctor. We need to understand and accept the diagnosis and the [...]
Spiritual advancement comes not by defining, but by refining
Spiritual advancement is essentially a journey of our heart’s affection towards Krishna, a journey that can get sidetracked by many detours. One tempting detour is [...]
Guard against the tiny crack – it can end in mighty crash
A tiny crack in a dam is not a tiny thing. The massive pressure of all the dam water forces the crack to enlarge till [...]
Insanity is not compulsory
All of us have witnessed normal sane people suddenly behaving abnormally, even insanely. We may have seen this happening to ourselves. For some people, this [...]
Checked, but never checkmated
Practicing spiritual life in the material world is challenging. This challenge exists at all times because materialism is inherent to the material world. The challenge [...]
The Gita centers on neither rituals nor doctrines but on a love affair
The Bhagavad-gita (18.66) concludes with the radical call to abandon all dharmas and just surrender to Krishna alone. What is the rationale for this call? [...]