How To Be Happy
“When we seek happiness through something, then the thing becomes pf greater value than happiness itself. . . we have never asked ourselves if this can be found through things made by the hand or the mind. . . There is happiness only when the search for it ceases.” — J. Krishnamurti
Don’t Resist The Moment
“Was Krishna cunning? No. . . . He tried his best to prevent the war. . . But, when once in the thing, you should not recede – that is the man of duty. Do not run away, it is cowardice. . . You should not budge an inch – of course not for a wrong thing; this war was a righteous war.” — Swami Vivekananda
Time To Get off the Hedonic Treadmill
“We think the soul is for nature, we identify ourselves with nature, that spirit is for flesh and man ‘lives to eat’ rather than ‘“’eats to live.’ We are continually making this mistake; we are regarding nature as ourselves as nature and becoming attached to it. This attachment creates a deep impression on the soul, making us work like slaves.”
— Swami Vivekananda
When You Should Not Go With the Flow
“Everything is conscious which rebels against nature: there, consciousness is manifested. Just try to kill a little ant, even it will once resist to save its life.” — Swami Vivekananda It’s become our nature to get distracted by notifications. When we are working on a task that requires focus — reviewing data, researching a project, […]
The Antidote to Self-Destructive Behavior
“We deny that the individual life is as sacred as national life; the smaller cannot be so sacred as the greater, self cannot be so sacred as others, and to say that it sacred quite for its own purposes is to deify selfishness. Our lives are useful only in proportion as they help others by […]
Without Uncertainty There Can Be No Growth
People get diagnosed with clinical conditions like PTSD and ADHD. But lately, a trend has begun where people start applying such terms to themselves without medical proof. We’re anxious about the future because we didn’t do well in our exams, but we call it PTSD. Staring at our phones and a lack of exercise has […]
Raise An Opposing Wave
“When a big wave of anger has come into the mind, how are we to control that? Just by raising an opposing wave… When the idea of stealing comes, non-stealing should be thought of; when the idea of receiving gifts comes, replace it with a contrary thought.” — Swami Vivekananda Imagine that you visit a […]
Will Bitterness Make Things Better?
“Hate begets hate, ill will begets ill will. Very often in our relationships, this spirit of retaliation breeds only more violence and more antagonism.” — J. Krishnamurti You have a friend who speaks without thinking when she gets angry (which is often). Sometimes, her words hurt you or embarrass you in public. To teach her […]
The Expression of Intelligence
“Giving importance to self-expression causes frustration. The individual expresses himself through his conditioning, and that limitation which he insists is his self-expression, is but sorrow and frustration.” — J. Krishnamurti Much of what we call self-expression is just stating our opinions which, in turn, are often based on our conditioning, memory, and personal experiences. We […]
Who Is Steering Your Ship?
“When a bubble is rising from the bottom of the lake, we do not see it… it’s only when it bursts and makes a ripple that we know it is there. We shall only be successful in grappling with the waves when we can get a hold of them in their fine causes… To control […]