Wasting Time Wishing
Many devotees spend half their time wishing for things they could have… If only they didn’t spend half of their time wishing.
Punishing Yourself
Anyone who inflicts pain upon others suffers himself from that pain. Lord Buddha said that you are not punished for your anger, you are punished by your anger.
Test Drive – A Different Viewpoint
To be right means to make someone else wrong. Sometimes being right is more important to our false ego than knowing what’s right. Be brave. Entertain another viewpoint. Take if for a test drive. You don’t have to buy it; but see how it feels to sit in the driver’s seat.
Is There Anything More Important?
Chanting is the most powerful way to become Krsna conscious. In fact, we cannot become fully Krsna conscious without chanting good quality rounds daily. Despite this fact, we often don’t take our Japa as seriously as we should.
We Are Being Tested
The worst thing that can happen to advanced devotees who are fixed in Krishna consciousness is that they will go back to the spiritual world. Thus, they are enabled by calamitous situations to go back to Krishna more quickly. It is a part of the process of devotion that from time to time everyone must be tested in various ways. When we take to devotional service we are declaring war against Maya. We are on a battlefield, engaged in our own battle of Kuruksetra. We shouldn’t read the Bhagavad-gita and think that it is merely some fascinating ancient history and philosophy. We should also understand that Arjuna is representing every person who is trying to take shelter of Krishna. Arjuna had to undergo bewilderment and serious choices, but Krishna was present to protect him.
Reference: Reflections On Sacred Teachings – Volume Six: Radha-Sunya: Missing Mercy, Chapter 2
Visionary Leaders
A visionary leader seeks to empower others. They continue to search for truth while maintaining their principle-centered focus. Visionary leaders have a good balance between right-brain and leftbrain thinking. The right brain is more feminine, nurturing, intuitive and creative; the left-brain is more masculine and “physical,” interested more in results. Visionary leaders often produce a host of solutions for social, economic and other types of problems.
Reference: Leadership For an Age of Higher Consciousness, Volume 2 – Ten Characteristics of a Servant-Leader
Fools and Transcendentalists
There are only two categories of happy people in the material world: fools and transcendentalists. Fools are so oblivious that they manage to convince themselves that they are happy in this material prison. Transcendentalists are happy because they can see above the material dualities and know that their parole is at hand. Everyone else is essentially miserable. This is because calamity in the material world cannot be avoided, just as water cannot be avoided in the ocean.
Reference: Spiritual Warrior III: Solace for the Heart in Difficult Times, Chapter 6 – A Spiritual Warrior's View of the World
Realization Through Selfless Service
We cannot understand spiritual realities by scholarship alone. Although study is important, the path to spiritual realization is through dedicated, selfless service. As we offer service to others with no expectation of reward, the Lord in the heart becomes more available to us and provides for our needs—because we have removed the veils that hide the truth.
Reference: Spiritual Warrior III: Solace for the Heart in Difficult Times, Chapter 8 – How To Strengthen Ourselves
Protect Yourself First
In the commercial airlines, at takeoff the flight attendants instruct passengers in the use of oxygen masks, reminding them to secure their own masks before assisting others. In the same way, to be effective spiritual warriors we must protect ourselves first. Otherwise we are of no use to anyone. The greatest protection of all comes from our unconditional, unmotivated, uninterrupted devotional service. Such service opens us up to a flow of divine love and protection in all circumstances.
Reference: Spiritual Warrior III: Solace for the Heart in Difficult Times, Chapter 8 – How To Strengthen Ourselves
“Normal” is not Natural
We must resist the temptation to be “normal,” because those who are now considered normal accept the values and practices of an insane world. In modern society, for example, normal people strive to accumulate as many commodities as possible, because they believe that their success and personal worth are linked to the number of possessions they have acquired. As the joke goes, “The one who dies with the most toys, wins.” If we espouse this viewpoint, the toys we have to play with form the measure of our personal worth. Unfortunately, this notion confuses acquired material worth with our inherent worth as spiritual beings.
Reference: Spiritual Warrior III: Solace for the Heart in Difficult Times, Chapter 8 – How To Strengthen Ourselves