Why things seem to happen to us not for us
We sometimes feel, “Good things rarely happen to me, but bad things happen repeatedly. Things happen to me, never for me. If only [...]
How to deal with our inability to resist temptation
Suppose a person is so sick as to not have the strength to lift even small objects. We won’t condemn them for being weak; we [...]
When people pigeonhole us …
Suppose we are walking along a road and get pushed by some passerby into a ditch. We will be disturbed, but we will soon pick [...]
Are we silencing our watchdog?
Suppose we have a watchdog guarding our house. If a suspicious-looking stranger appears, that dog would bark to alert us. But if we neglect and [...]
What is the difference between acceptance and passivity?
Suppose we suddenly get infected by a disease. Amid such adversities, our emotional energy often gets dissipated in resenting what has happened and such negative [...]
Our potential for stupidity
We all are prone to temptation, especially to the temptations that we have indulged in the past and that we are habituated to. If we [...]
Why progress is accompanied by distress …
Why progress is accompanied by distress ... We humans are naturally progress-seeking. The hope that tomorrow will be better than today is what fuels most [...]
Gita 12.10 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Ch 12 overview: 1-7: Worship [...]
How morality and moralizing affect our spiritual growth differently
We all need morality as a behavioral safeguard. If we indulge in some unhealthy pleasure indiscriminately and repeatedly, we become attached, even addicted. Over time, [...]
Why we need to scan our consciousness regularly
When somebody is canned from their job, that means they are dismissed, often unceremoniously. Our conscience is our inner watchdog that sometimes gets canned, even [...]
How to use down-time positively?
We all sometimes become frustrated when we are forced into downtime because the Internet or the power go off or because a pandemic forces us [...]
Why our determination falters when faced with temptation
We all have a certain capacity for determination that enables us to resist temptation. Still, we are innately pleasure-seeking. To resist temptation steadily, we need [...]
How to change our inner frequency
We all have a certain frequency to our thoughts. Roughly speaking, this correlates with the thoughts that most often frequent our mind. If we frequently [...]
Are you trying to be peaceful or purposeful?
We live in a world that often agitates us with many anxieties and perplexities. Naturally, therefore, we seek peace of mind. Significantly however, we need [...]
How to be moral without becoming judgmental
How to be moral without becoming judgmental Morality essentially centers on discerning which activities are acceptable and which aren't. If we can’t or don’t make [...]
How to endure phases of tastelessness in bhakti
How to endure phases of tastelessness in bhakti When we start practicing bhakti yoga, we may expect to relish great joy because we are connecting [...]
Desire — curbed or cured?
Our desires sometimes get us into big trouble, as when we get lured into an addictive indulgence or a toxic relationship. On being thus misled, [...]
How attachment blinds without letting us realize that we are blinded
Suppose an aggressor attacks a person and brutally destroys their eyes. We would consider that aggressor atrocious. Shockingly, we all are attacked by a terrible [...]
Meditation can shut things up and out — and can do more
Different people approach meditation for different purposes. Some people feel drained by the world's constant demands and turn toward meditation, hoping to shut things out [...]
Contemplating death — life-denying or life-affirming?
We, as a society, live largely in denial of death. Those who contemplate death are often deemed life-denying and hope-sapping pessimists. In marked contrast, the [...]
Even if we can’t elevate our consciousness we can still expand our consciousness
Suppose we are looking at the ground level of a skyscraper building. If we look up, we may be either impressed or intimidated to see [...]