The difference between humiliation and humility
Humility is sometimes seen negatively because it is equated with humiliation. But they are hugely different – as different as are starving and fasting. Starving [...]
When philosophy seems pessimistic …
Philosophy centers on asking big questions: such as where we came from, where we are meant to go (if anywhere) and how best we can [...]
How thinking about negative truths can stimulate positive thoughts
Our mind often keeps us dissatisfied by looking at those who have more than us. Though such a vision can foster ambition, more often it [...]
How to go beyond denying and dreading death
We often live in denial of death. Of course, if asked directly, we will admit, “I will die one day.” But that admission rings with [...]
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 [...]
Death is meant to point to enlightenment, not be a plot point in entertainment
Death is one of life’s most sobering realities, being the irreversible closing of curtains on our present lifetime. Before that terminal encounter, we frequently encounter [...]
We talk frequently about death without actually talking about death
“Ten things to do before you die” – such lists are often found in self-help circles. Most readers, however, focus on the things to do, [...]
Ignorance of reality may be excusable, ignoring reality isn’t
If we are pulled over for speeding, we may be excused if we didn’t know the speed limit and the road had no speed limit [...]
See the reality of our material situation – and see that reality is bigger than our material situation
Our present situation in material existence is precarious: a quake under our feet or a quake in our heart can kill us at any moment. [...]
Life’s miseries are meant to be analyzed and addressed, not anesthetized
Suppose a distressed person on finding their pain decreased by anesthesia before surgery regularly starts anesthetizing themselves. This would deaden them in their capacity to [...]
Let the sight of death transform into insight about mortality
Death. We see it around us daily, all the more so nowadays with the media bringing global news about natural and manmade disasters. Despite such [...]
A sanitized take on reality can’t take us to spiritual sanity
Sanitization refers to the removal of offensive elements from a work to render it more acceptable to its audience. While sanitization is frequently done for [...]
Don’t just solve the problems of life – solve the problem that is life
Suppose a person while driving a car competently tackles the problems along the way, say, the car breaking down or running out of fuel. But [...]
To reduce suffering to a spectator sport is to perpetuate our suffering
Many movies depict suffering, but in such a way that it seems to be something that happens to those people out there. And watching it [...]
A problem denied is a problem multiplied
Suppose a person feels pain due to serious disease denies the problem. Such a denial gives the disease a free run to spread till finally [...]
The futility of utility; the utility of futility
The futility of utility: Utilitarianism is today’s dominant belief system – if something is useful, then that makes it good. Utility is today’s god, the arbiter [...]
When it requires courage to be afraid
Imagine a group of children playing in an epidemic-struck area without knowing about the disease. When a child gets infected, falls sick and dies, the [...]
Science and Bhagavad-gita both go from the visible to the invisible
The fall of a fruit. Millions of people had seen this specific event that Newton saw. What made Newton different was that he went beyond [...]
We don’t have to stay suspended between the unknowable and the unavoidable
As we rush about on our daily routines, we periodically check the clock to see if we are on time. Yet we rarely check where [...]
Denying our blindfolds keeps us blind
The Bhagavad-gita (13.09) indicates that the wise contemplate seriously the inevitability of death in our present existence. The Gita integrates this pessimistic-seeming contemplation into an [...]