When we seem to be on the losing side
Spirituality may seem to be like the losing side, but it is the ultimately winning side. When we start practicing spirituality, and especially when we [...]
Gita 02.08 explained
BG 2.8na hi prapasyami mamapanudyadyac chokam ucchoshanam indriyanamavapya bhumav asapatnam riddhamrajyam suranam api cadhipatyamSYNONYMSna -- do not; hi -- certainly; prapasyami -- I see; mama [...]
How Krishna respects Arjuna’s independence before giving guidance (Balancing independence and guidance series 4)
Suppose we can give good advice to someone whom we are not officially or relationally obligated to advice. If we advise them before they seek [...]
When achievement translates into fulfillment
We all want to do something worthwhile, something that the world will notice and appreciate. Unfortunately, that isn’t easy. What is even more perplexing and [...]
When achievement doesn’t provide fulfillment — and when it does
Whenever we achieve something special, we may feel elated. Yet often achievement turns out to be anticlimactic; the thrill is short-lived. Why achievement may not [...]
If what we live with becomes what we live for, we end up having nothing to live for
While driving, we need two things: the fuel we drive with and the destination we drive for. If we don’t have any fuel, what we [...]
The human spirit is too big to stay satisfied within any material cage, however grand
Birds naturally long to fly. Even if kept in the most comfortable cages, they still look for ways to escape into the sky and fly [...]
Pleasure is too fragile a purpose to sustain us through life’s troubles
We all seek pleasure. Yet life can put us in such dilemmas and traumas that pleasure can become utterly unavailable. In such situations, if we [...]
Our losses empty our heart for God to fill
Suppose our house is filled with junk. If we buy some good furniture, we won’t have any space to keep it till we get rid [...]
Be ready to wait in the confusing in-between till it becomes illuminating
When driving, if we come to an intersection and don’t know which way to go, we need to wait till we get some guidance. In [...]
The more things spin out of control, the more we need to get our thoughts in control
When a fire breaks out in a crowded place, casualties are caused not so much by the fire itself as by the stampede when panicky [...]
The richness of life is more important than the riches of life
Our culture makes us believe that gaining more and more wealth will make us happy. While riches can ease our life-journey in some ways, obsession [...]
Success in one field can’t compensate for failure in another
In today’s work-centered culture, some people achieve stupendous success in their professional lives – but often at great cost to their personal lives. Their relationships [...]
Accepting our powerlessness can be most empowering
When people fall sick, a lot of their misery comes from resenting their sickness, “Why am I suffering when everyone else is enjoying?” Such resenting [...]
Don’t let being well-off come in the way of being well
In today’s materialistic culture, being well-off is enthroned as life’s primary, if not only, goal. The pressure on us to accumulate the trappings of success [...]
Do we need to lose our way to find our way?
Life sometimes brings us to a dead end. In the face of overwhelming obstacles, everything seems lost. Not knowing where to go or what to [...]
Losing our way to find our way
Life sometimes brings us to a dead end. In the face of overwhelming obstacles, everything seems lost. We feel as if we have lost our [...]
Our values are our real valuables
Our happiness depends not on our valuables, but on our values. Why? Because our values shapehow we use our valuables, which actually determines our happiness. [...]
When we find ourselves in trouble, do we also find ourselves?
Arjuna found himself in big trouble at the start of the Bhagavad-gita. He was anguished by the prospect of fighting a war in which he [...]