How pride blinds and brings as down
Pride doesn't just come before a fall; pride brings the fall -- we will be blasted for the very things about which we boasted. In [...]
Why some people seem to be perpetually outraged
Life often presents tough problems. Even when we genuinely wish to solve them, it’s not easy to pinpoint clear, actionable causes. It’s much easier to [...]
How the divine and the demoniac have opposite conceptions of courage
The demoniac consider standing up to God to be courage, while the divine understand standing up for God to be courage. No one likes to [...]
How ego blocks self-improvement and humility aids self-improvement
How ego blocks self-improvement and humility aids self-improvement - Humility can be an extremely empowering virtue, especially for self-improvement. This might seem counterintuitive because people [...]
Why to identify with villains in scriptures?
Whenever we study scriptures, we tend to identify with the virtuous characters, whether it is Ram or Sita or Hanuman. That's good, but it's also [...]
Self-importance or importance of the self?
Self-important people are obsessed with the idea of their own greatness in everything that they do. Their sole concern is that everybody knows and remembers [...]
Gita 16.04 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 16.4 dambho darpo ’bhimānaś [...]
When black-and-white analysis helps and when it harms
When black-and-white analysis helps and when it harms - The Bhagavad-gita analyzes people into two distinct categories: godly and ungodly (16.05). We might wonder, “Are [...]
Pride comes before a fall but does pride fall?
Pride comes before a fall — this saying is meant to be a warning for those who proudly place themselves in a position higher than [...]
Those who don’t respect themselves are most agitated when others don’t respect them
Those who don't respect themselves are most agitated when others don't respect them When others disrespect us, we naturally feel hurt. But some people go [...]
To make people suffer for the sake of making them suffer is the very essence of evil
To make people suffer for the sake of making them suffer is the very essence of evil Suppose we accidentally step on someone’s foot. We’ll [...]
Arrogance keeps us not just in ignorance, but also in ignorance about the extent of our ignorance
Arrogance keeps us not just in ignorance but also in ignorance about the extent of our ignorance Suppose someone swims in an ocean, knowing that [...]
Humility learns even from success; pride not even from failure
Humility learns even from success; pride not even from failure We often learn much more from our failures than from our successes. When we succeed, [...]
Being a wizard brings the hazard of belittling others as dullards
Being a wizard brings the hazard of belittling others as dullards Whenever we are wizards at something – superb at doing that thing – our [...]
Don’t see through others; see others through
Don’t see through others; see others through To see through others means to look for faults in others even when none are evident. To see [...]
People who are too full of themselves are empty
Egoistic people think and talk only about themselves: “I went here, I achieved this, I experienced this, I am so great.” Even if others talk [...]
Inability to stand others’ weaknesses is our weakness
When we are good at something, we can easily spot others’ weaknesses in that area. For example, if we are good at language, our attention [...]
We may be wired to explode, but we can change our wiring
Short-tempered people are sometimes said to be “wired to explode.” This expression draws metaphorically from technology to imply that our behavior is determined by our [...]
To think that we may become proud suggests that we may already be proud
Suppose we have some special talents by which we can excel in an important service. But we may hesitate to use those talents, fearing that [...]
Those who anger us conquer us
Sports are sometimes marred by unwholesome practices such as sledging. In cricket, for example, fielders may provoke a batsman by taunting. If the batsman gets [...]
Don’t let offense towards others’ faults become a pseudo-defense of one’s own faults
Offense is the best defense, states a common saying. The Bhagavad-gita (02.61) recommends this strategy in our inner war: to attain self-mastery, fix the consciousness [...]