“Learn to trust the journey, even when you do not understand it.” – Lolly Daskal
“But I don’t see anybody else doing this kind of preaching, while
serving as a monk!” he sighed.
“But that’s not his problem” I said. “He is transforming hearts and I
know five reasons why he is right.”
“And what are these?” he asked, this…
“Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Two essential qualities to make spiritual advancement are: enthusiasm and gratitude.
Emperor Parikshit was cursed to die in seven days. He took the curse as a blessing and engrossed himself in hearing about Krishna. At that time, he was…
If you notice there’s a subtle, yet powerful principle in play here: be present, now. Srila Prabhupada always lived in the present. A successful sportsman wouldn’t allow his mind to cheat him when he is down by analysing the points he lost or the lost cause he was contending with. For lesser mortals, the inner…
Srila Prabhupada thus was a perfect, transcendental opportunist, who never missed to score a goal or win a point, even in the most adverse circumstances. Once two of his close disciples were scheduled to meet the Prime Minster but Mr. Rajda, the senior politician who was scheduled to take them to the PM got delayed…
July 14’ 2019 marks a historical moment in Tennis history when after a five hour epic battle, Novak Djokovic successfully defended his title at the Wimbledon championships. In one of the most dramatic finishes where he was two championship points down against the Tennis legend Roger Federer- a high pressure situation, and while the packed…
Later his anger subsided and he shifted to Mr Mahadevia’s house where he was sensitive to his host and his family members. Once Mr. Mahadevia mentioned how the sound quality of Srila Prabhupada’s tape recorder was good, and Srila Prabhupada smiled. He interacted with his wife and daughter, and exchanged pleasantries with the servants of…
Srila Prabhupada challenged us to raise our consciousness – he wanted us to see the larger picture of life that is beyond our daily duties. He helped us evolve in our aspirations by presenting Krishna as a tangible reality and Krishna consciousness as a veritable life-enhancing experience. Yet, amazingly he was very much part of…
In our world of tragedies and horrors, we seek to achieve success that’s as fleeting as water on a lotus leaf. Instead, when we live beyond the ‘I’ field and enter the arena of transcendence- just for a brief period daily, we move to lasting fulfillment. From achieve to receive During confusions, we’d like to…
Seeking substance to develop our inner lives The more things change in this world, the more we need to embrace the changeless within- there’s something that doesn’t deteriorate with time. Attentive reading or listening to insightful books of yore help us connect to an unearthly dimension of our lives- an existence beyond the mortal body…
Many intelligent teachers, therefore, seek to connect past literature to modern times; they help students move from the known to the unknown; from where they are to where the guide wants them to be. My mentors in monastery racked their brains to make classical books exciting. They took us from things familiar and near to…
“Keep your eyes on the stars but remember to keep your feet on the ground.” – Theodore Roosevelt (President of the USA during the early twentieth century) “Oh, the class was so practical,” complimented a friend after I offered eight tips to deal with the mind. “The acronyms made it easier to remember,” he said exuberantly.…
Although it’s crucial we don’t drown ourselves in commonplace glooms of this world, to deny them is the other extreme of inauthenticity. It’s worse than to immerse in little pleasures and pains of this world. When we squelch our natural state, while falsely assuring that we have gone beyond them, we are going far away…