Serving when we don’t feel like serving
Serving when we don't feel like serving is an expression of determination, not of deception. Sometimes, when we don't feel like doing something, for example, [...]
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 [...]
Gratitude demanded is gratitude diminished
Many virtues, like gratitude, are difficult to cultivate and easy to lose. One counterintuitive way we may lose gratitude is by our overzealousness in insisting [...]
Outer thanks inner greed — how gratitude may be subverted
When we strive to practice a virtue like gratitude, it is very easy to make it into a ritual that is done externally without [...]
Love without sacrifice?
Love is one of the most common themes in popular media such as movies and novels. As today’s culture is increasingly moving toward individualism, sometimes [...]
Is our need to nurture aiding or impeding those whom we nurture?
We living beings have a deep need to nurture. That noble need is what inspires us to become parents, even if caring for infants sometimes involves sleepless [...]
The difference between compassion and compromise
Suppose we are building a staircase to a scenic spot on a hilltop. Suppose we make the steps so big that people have to pull [...]
How to be detached in our relationships
We are social creatures who need relationships to be emotionally nourished. Yet many traditions emphasize detachment as a primary requirement for spiritual growth. For example, [...]
Gita 12.12 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan This is single most complicated [...]
Gita 11.55 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan After this Krishna will summarize [...]
Gita 07.18 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Now Sri Krishna will describe that [...]
Why does Krishna call those who approach him charitable?
While describing four kinds of people who approach him, Krishna appreciates them as pious and large-hearted. They are large-hearted in the sense that they are [...]
How humility protects us from the ego’s trident?
Our ego often acts like a trident that pierces us with three prongs: grandiosity, blame and shame. Grandiosity: When we set out to achieve something, [...]
The more we consider others’ need the more we can free ourselves from our greed
Suppose we come to our home and are starving. We see some food in our fridge and devour it all, even though it is more [...]
Focus on the cause that brings us together not on the conditions and conditionings that push us apart
Focus on the cause that brings us together not on the conditions and conditionings that push us apart We all are irreducibly individual. Naturally, we [...]
To stop defeating yourself, stop deceiving yourself
Suppose a sick person denies their sickness not just to others but also to themselves. By their denial, they deprive themselves of the good health [...]
Process produces progress – focus on process, not progress
Sometimes parents tell their children who are reluctant to eat: “Eat, then your muscles will become big – like those of your favorite heroes.” The [...]