When morality feels like a burden …
When we try to follow moral standards to live purely, we sometimes feel harassed by temptations that keep coming upon us. And if we compare [...]
When we try to follow moral standards to live purely, we sometimes feel harassed by temptations that keep coming upon us. And if we compare [...]
Suppose we experience a craving that runs contrary to the principles we hold sacred. Faced with this unwanted emotion, we may react by becoming judgmental [...]
We all sometimes experience negative emotions such as loneliness, dejection, resentment, anger or fear. When such emotions arise, we may let ourselves get carried away [...]
Suppose we have to decide about complex and consequential issues such as choosing a career, a life-partner or a spiritual teacher. We may be told, [...]
Many regularly used words have nuances that we rarely ponder. Consider the word “heart.” When we say, “He suffered a heart attack,” we refer to [...]
To understand, consider an analogous question: do sensations reside in the body? Suppose a 20 kg dumbbell is placed in our palm, and we feel [...]
Thoughts and emotions are sometimes seen as sequential — when we think steadily about something, we feel emotions in relationship with it. Pertinently, the Bhagavad-gita [...]
At one level, yes. Because thinking is also a form of activity, and every activity comes under the jurisdiction of karma, we are accountable for [...]
The law of attraction holds that we attract positive and negative things respectively by cultivating positive or negative thoughts. Is this law true? Why does [...]
When a person having unhealthy habits is told to imagine the disasters that may result if they continue with those habits, they worry, “Won’t such [...]
Biologically, we are wired more to fear pain than to savor pleasure. In most enjoyable situations, there’s a self-evident limit to how much pleasure we [...]
We sometimes resolve to not do something, yet end up doing that very thing. For example, we may resolve to avoid binging on food, entertainment [...]
When we make resolutions for self-mastery, we are often thwarted by our emotions and desires. Emotions are largely reactive, arising from the things we perceive [...]
Suppose a person dear to us is sick and in great pain. Suppose further the only available doctor is in a noisy, filthy, smelly place [...]
The future can be better than the present and we can play a part in bringing about that future — this hope empowers us to [...]
Suppose we pray to God for help amid difficulty but the difficulty remains. Does that mean God doesn’t care? God does care. However, any care [...]
When we try to do something worthwhile, if external situations hamper us, we may lament our lack of freedom. Or if internal conditionings hamper us, [...]
Suppose a country’s intelligence agency needs to do a vital mission for which they need a particular spy. Suppose further they suspect that spy to [...]
Pleasure and misery are opposites — how, then, can there be any pleasure in being miserable? Because the mind is a peculiar thing; it can [...]
When parents decide to have a child, they know they are taking up a serious responsibility. Undoubtedly, parenting can be enormously fulfilling; yet it can [...]
Suppose a child is trying to heat some water on a stove and starts stoking the fire. But somehow the fire starts spreading beyond the [...]