Help me discern when the world’s attractions are mirages and when oases
Bhagavad Gita 10.17 kathaṁ vidyām ahaṁ yogiṁ tvāṁ sadā paricintayan keṣu keṣu ca bhāveṣu cintyo ’si bhagavan mayā How shall I know you, O [...]
Lead my love for truth to victory over my lust for power
Bhagavad Gita 11.2 bhavāpyayau hi bhūtānāṁ śrutau vistaraśo mayā tvattaḥ kamala-patrākṣa māhātmyam api cāvyayam Of birth and death I’ve heard your lore, Your endless [...]
How self-destructive desire corrupts our intelligence
The Bhagavad Gita (3.43) exhorts us to use our intelligence to fight against self-destructive desires but simultaneously warns (3.40) that even intelligence can be corrupted [...]
Be simple, not naive
Simplicity is often lauded as a virtue in spiritual traditions worldwide. Yet, simplicity is sometimes conflated with naivety, leading people to become uncritical, gullible, and [...]
The difference between opinion and taste
What the uninformed downplay as opinions, the informed celebrate as taste. We live in a world full of relativity—relativity in opinions, preferences, and perceptions. For [...]
Protect me from the desire that rejects boundaries (3.37)
Bhagavad Gita 3.37 śrī-bhagavān uvāca kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ mahāśano mahā-pāpmā viddhy enam iha vairiṇam "It is desire that turns into a relentless [...]
Learn to see what is being shown and what is not being shown
If we see only what we are shown, we never grow in our capacity to think deeply. Conversely, if we never see the things that [...]
Why seeing the good in bad people can be a double-edged sword
Why seeing the good in bad people can be a double-edged sword - Know when seeing the good in bad people is an expression of [...]
Navigating the inner marketplace
Introspection is meant to tune out the louder voices inside us so that we can tune in to the wiser voices inside us. Suppose we [...]
When the mind insinuates, it is often more insidious than when it incites
When the mind insinuates it is often more insidious than when it incites Suppose a politician speaks hate speech against a particular community. Hearers can [...]
An impurity censor makes no sense to those who don’t have even an impurity sensor
An impurity censor makes no sense to those who don't have even an impurity sensor An impurity censor refers to some regulator that filters out [...]
Everyone has values, but not everyone’s values reflect real value
Everyone has values but not everyone’s values reflect real value Many people lament the lack of values in today’s world: “So many corrupt people sacrifice [...]