Krishna is the master before whom we stand truly erect
“Krishna is our master and we are his servants.” This scriptural tenet can evoke resentment within us: “Why should I bow down to God?” The [...]
We help ourselves best by remembering that we are helpless without God
The saying “God helps those who help themselves” conveys validly that we shouldn’t expect God to do everything for us, but should strive to do [...]
Our sense of beauty points to our transcendence
We have an innate sense of beauty – beautiful things naturally attract our heart. But where does this sense come from? If we are just [...]
The rest of me is no rest for me
The "rest of me" refers to our physical and mental side – the two other levels of our present three-level existence as embodied souls. Our [...]
Don’t divorce who you are from whose you are
“Who we are” is the first philosophical message of the Bhagavad-gita. It explains that we are at our core eternal souls. Understanding this can free [...]
Break free from the material conception of the external and the internal
Suppose a thief has broken into a house’s premises. In one sense, the thief is outside the house, being in the courtyard. But in another [...]
Don’t wait for God – wait on God
Many people want God to give them a special signal for commencing their spiritual life: “When God calls me, I will begin.” However, such an [...]
Rift with God makes us drift with the mind
We are pleasure-seeking beings. And we are intrinsically the eternal parts of Krishna, as the Bhagavad-gita (15.07) states. Because Krishna is the all-attractive reservoir of [...]
Defiance of God dooms us to dependence on matter
Some people openly defy God and claim, “I am independent – I will do whatever I want and enjoy whichever way I choose to.” While [...]
God we cannot be, but godly we can be
Some spiritualists claim that we, as eternal spiritual beings, are God, or will become God on attaining liberation. But the Bhagavad-gita (15.07) declares that we [...]
The Gita’s choice is not about nonviolence or violence – it’s about disintegration or integration
The Bhagavad-gita’s asking Arjuna to fight understandably unnerves many people. Though the Gita’s framing narrative involves choosing violence over nonviolence, its core is far deeper. [...]
Service is unavoidable – why not make it relishable?
The scriptural teaching that we are servants of God often seems unpalatable to our ego: “Why should I serve God?” Rarely do we grasp the [...]
By recognizing our identity and redefining our activity, we revolutionize our destiny
Our identity, activity and destiny are our defining features. But do our names, jobs and dreams actually define us? After all, we can change them [...]
Play the part of the part and the whole will fill the hole
We sometimes feel a hole within – a sense of emptiness that gnaws especially when we aren’t deadening ourselves internally with the racehorse pace and [...]
The more Krishna seems unnecessary, the more worldly unnecessities seem necessary
What we internally conceive as necessary, we externally pursue. Thus, an alcoholic internally thinks of alcohol as essential and externally chases it. What are our [...]
Live not for gratification; live for contribution
We are all innately pleasure-seeking whatever we do, we do it for gaining pleasure. But pleasure has a peculiar nature it eludes those who pursue [...]
Meditation minimizes inner friction and maximizes outer contribution
“I have so many things to do. How can I spare time for meditation?” This apprehension often troubles aspiring spiritualists. Paradoxically, it is when we have [...]
By seeing God as a competitor, we devalue ourselves
Some people ask: “Why should I serve God? Why can’t I enjoy independently, as he does?” We can seek enjoyment independent of God, for he [...]
Change not just the state of mind – change also the state of being
Many popular self-help books claim that we will become happy if we just change our state of mind from negative to positive. Is this true? [...]
When fulfilling desires doesn’t translate into fulfillment
We all have so many desires for so many worldly things. However, because we live in a world of finite resources and a body with [...]
Completeness comes not by material amelioration or mechanical reconnection, but by emotional redirection
We all frequently feel that something is missing in our life. In fact, our entire life with its varied pursuits – career, wealth, position, spouse, [...]