When Convenience Becomes Dependence
“Your flight has already departed.” The Air Canada staff member at the Frankfurt Airport transfer counter told me this in a flat, nonchalant voice. I [...]
Why You Need a Metaphysical Orientation
Just as our bodies require physical nutrition to survive, our minds require a metaphysical orientation to thrive. Metaphysical orientation provides us with a profound sense [...]
Even Go-Getters Must Pause: Arjuna’s Ultimate Dilemma
When the Bhagavad Gita opens, the great warrior Arjuna develops a sudden case of nerves, putting down his weapons and stating, "I cannot fight." It [...]
The Battlefield Metaphor: Why Intellectual Shortcuts Fail
The setting of the Bhagavad Gita is inherently jarring. Just before the climactic war of the epic Mahabharata is about to begin, the leading warrior, [...]
Death is a Comma, Not a Full Stop
If we identify ourselves solely by our biology, our existence seems terribly fragile. We believe that birth is the absolute beginning and death is the [...]
Why We Must Not Reduce Ourselves to Our Roles
In life, we wear many hats and play many roles. We possess functional identities based on our gender, age, profession, nationality, and relationship status. While [...]
Adversity, Atrocity, and the True Source of Agony
We often face problems in life at three different levels of acuteness: adversity, atrocity, and agony. Adversity is what life naturally throws at us, such [...]
Why Do We Fall Short When Trying to Change?
Even when we want to change ourselves by giving up unhealthy habits and developing healthy habits, why do we fall short? How can we overcome [...]
Why speech needs to be more than truthful
The Bhagavad Gita teaches that the discipline of speech involves much more than simply speaking truthfully. Along with truthfulness, it identifies three other qualities of [...]
If we have made some terrible mistake, why and how should we forgive ourselves?
Answer: There are psychological, spiritual, and devotional reasons for forgiving ourselves. Psychologically, as long as we do not forgive ourselves, we continue to hold on [...]
Should we be strict with ourselves and lenient with others?
Answer: First, there is no scriptural basis for the idea that we should always be strict with ourselves and lenient with others. It may be [...]
The Bhagavad Gita on Overthinking
Bhagavad-gita 18.35 describes determination in the mode of ignorance through five mental habits that together provide a remarkably comprehensive picture of how thinking goes wrong [...]
Question: Why exactly did Arjuna collapse at the start of the Bhagavad Gita? What made him so indecisive that he became paralyzed?
Answer: Decision-making is hard when there is no good choice. That was Arjuna's dilemma, because both fighting and not fighting were painful options. Fighting meant [...]
Are life’s reversals karma, tests by Maya, or Krishna’s push to surrender?
When we face reversals in life, we often wonder whether these are the results of our past karma, tests by Maya, or Krishna pushing us [...]
How Gita wisdom helped me transcend polio
Recently, during my travels to America, a devotee-doctor in Washington, D.C., suggested that I consult a polio specialist to evaluate the long-term effects I might [...]
What AI Can’t Take Away
Does work have an irreplaceable worth that we might unnecessarily give away because of AI alarmism? "I just lost my job because of AI." A [...]
Release me from the voice inside my head that endlessly craves empty pleasures
Bhagavad-gita 6.6 bandhur ātmātmanas tasya yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ anātmanas tu śatrutve vartetātmaiva śatru-vat A voice inside leads me astray; It steals my life day by [...]
Why Do You Laugh at Your Own Humor?
This question came from a friend who had just attended one of my talks. He explained, “Normally, in executive humor—that which is appropriate for workplace [...]
From “Thank God” to “Thank You, God”
During one of my flights on my last tour of Australia, I found myself in the middle seat. As the departure time drew near, neither [...]
Question: What are the differences between the needs of the body and the needs of the soul?
Answer: They are two distinct levels of reality. Just as a car and a driver have different needs, the body and the soul also have [...]
Question: Considering the case of Ketan Agarwal, is murder destined or is it because of poor judgment?
Answer: Such a question has no simple answer. As the Bhagavad Gita itself acknowledges, gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ—the workings of karma are profound and difficult to [...]