On the path of spiritual progress, is humility compatible with a healthy self-esteem? As a family therapist, I counsel people both within and outside the Hare Krishna movement. I recently received an e-mail from a young woman devotee who was unhappy in her relationship with her abusive husband but was conflicted about leaving him. “Maybe […]
Let Go & Let Krishna
Because the origin of all fear and anxiety is separation from Krishna, the cure is to take shelter of Him. I remember as a child climbing up the metal ladder of what seemed like a towering playground slide. With each step up, my legs quivered uncontrollably and my heart beat rapidly. When I reached the […]
Thanks for Being Such a Pain
“Later I’ll be able to understand that Sam is Krishna’s instrument to test my spiritual ideals, but now Sam is really upsetting me.” As I drive the forklift to pick up more freight to load onto the truck, my coworker Sam watches me with a disdain obvious from his body language—scowling, arms folded, rigid like […]
Why Do We Criticize Others?
A look at the causes and cures for faultfinding, a major obstacle to spiritual progress. CONDUCTING A SUMMER therapy group with middle-school boys is always a challenge. Donte calls Michael a retard, and Michael calls Donte’s mother a crackhead. I intervene, sitting the boys down to cool off. This age group (11-14) is notorious for […]
Viagra or Vairagya—Where’s the Bliss?
Sensual pleasures pale in comparison to the higher taste of devotion to Lord Krishna. I SIT AT THE lunch table with some of my colleagues as we say goodbye to one of our co-workers. I’m soon reminded of why I tend to stay away from such gatherings: As usual, the conversation eventually turns to the […]
What is Love?
Our relationships in this world can leave us wondering whether true love really exists. I remember sitting with my boyfriend in his fraternity house, studying for a history exam, struggling to stay focused on pages of notes. “You know,” Tim nonchalantly said, “I really don’t know what love is.” Rather than applaud his astute query, […]
Dealing with Depression
“Within days of chanting the mantra regularly on beads, I felt a lifting of my depressed feelings. Light entered the darkness I was so accustomed to living in.” IN THE EVENING of November 14, 1975, I received a phone call in my dorm room at college. Absorbed in studying for exams, I answered nonchalantly, expecting […]
Wedding Lecture by H.H. Radhanath Swami
At the wedding of Bhavatarine and Govinda Ghosh Govardhana Puja, New Vrndavana, 10/25/02 Today is a very auspicious occasion. These two very wonderful devotees, Govinda Ghosh Prabhu and Maharani Bhavatarini devi have earned the respect and love of so many Vaisnavas all over the world, that New Vrndavana has become a place of pilgrimage. Actually, […]
Lessons from Death
“My co-workers’ reaction to this incident pushed me to examine my own attitude toward suffering.” EARLY THIS YEAR (2002) law enforcement officers, acting on a tip, visited the Tri-State Crematory on sixteen acres in Noble, Georgia, owned by the Marsh family. When police found a skull and a torso floating in a lake on the […]
A Wrinkle in Time: Why old age is a gift from God
WHENEVER I WENT to my best friend’s house, her great-grandmother, Mrs. Werble, would be perched in the same spot, staring at the television. Delighted to have a visitor, Mrs. Werble would insist I sit with her, and she’d ramble on about her past. I was her captive audience, and I would feel sad on seeing […]
