Why imposing equality backfires?
Suppose a class teacher resolves to do away with all inequality in students’ marks. So they decide to average the marks of all the students [...]
Is hurt = harm?
We often equate hurt, the sensation of pain, with harm: injury or damage. And they do frequently correlate. If our hand goes too close to [...]
What do we need to be happier?
Many people think that to be happy, they need to become richer and thinner. By their wealth, they believe they can buy the things that [...]
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 with the one who is the source of [...]
Without spiritual direction, religious regulation seems like pointless restriction or even painful repression
Suppose we're walking along a road through mountainous territory toward a beautiful resort on the top of a mountain. On both sides of the road [...]
We can’t always go outside, but we can always go inside
The outer world is subject to uncontrollable change that can limit our physical freedom. If we can’t go outside, we might go stir-crazy, becoming bored, [...]
If we wait till we feel inspired, we will definitely wait indefinitely
Suppose we want to develop a good habit centered on doing something creative or constructive such as meditate, study wisdom-texts, journal or write. Even when [...]
See God’s love in the resources he provides for our spiritual evolution, not the resources he provides for our material gratification
Some people ask, “If God loves us, why does he interfere with our enjoyment?” God doesn’t interfere with our enjoyment; he helps us infer what [...]
The mind often recasts antipathy as inability – what it doesn’t want to do, it presents as if it can’t do
Suppose a child doesn’t want to study a particular subject, say, math. He may protest to his mother, “I can’t do this.” If the mother [...]
We have to risk going too far to know how far we can go
Suppose we are seeking something that requires effort and involves risk. When we start stretching ourselves, others may caution us, “You are going too far [...]
To savor what is most sweet, we often need to shed the most sweat
If we want to eat food, we need to earn it. If we want to eat sweet food, we need to pay more, that is, [...]
Learn to wonder and ponder, not wander and pander
Babies tend to wander and pander. They wander wherever they can without considering where they are going and why. They typically pander to their tongue, [...]
Even if we can’t close the door to temptation permanently, we can close it presently
Suppose we live in a thief-infested locality. We will want a strong, permanent lock for our home door. But if somehow we can’t have such [...]
Stop resenting your struggles, start habituating yourselves to them – and they will start hurting less
Suppose we have to do something difficult, be it physical such as push-ups or intellectual such as complicated assignments or spiritual such as mantra meditation. [...]
Sensual pleasure feels fine, but it comes with a fine
Youths often like to drive their bikes superfast, way above the speed limit. They get a thrill when they feel the wind whistling through their [...]
Fear not the loss of sensual pleasure – fear the loss of spiritual pleasure
We don’t like to lose things. If a choice entails some loss, we recoil from it. Such recoiling can make us miss out on choices [...]
Digging for gold requires dealing with dirt
Few activities captivate the human imagination as much as the hope of finding underground gold. However, such fantasies often overlook the reality that that gold [...]
Even if bhakti is not joyful, it is still fruitful
When we hear scriptural descriptions about the immense, intense bliss of bhakti, we may get the question, “Is this for real?” This question may become [...]
Let dreams be a spur for action, not a substitute for them
We often dream of improving things. Among all species, we humans have the distinctive, even unique, capacity to dream of a better future and then [...]
Bhakti is the treatment that transforms into a treat
When we are sick, we accept the prescribed treatment as an austerity necessary for our recovery. And we often dream about the various treats we [...]
Don’t go through the motions – go through to the emotions
Going through the motions refers to doing things superficially, perfunctorily, mechanically – akin to the way a machine moves, without any emotional involvement. Bhakti is [...]