Author: Chaitanya Charan

What I have learned from the Gita

Why does the Gita use a battlefield setting?

​In Gita 17.1, do shraddha and nishtha refer to different things?

Timeless insights, timely re-sights

Appreciating Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura’s historic contributions in historical context

​How can we avoid fear after taking big decisions thoughtfully?

​How can I control anger when I am continuously provoked?

​How can we be strict in sadhana and sensitive with others?

​When faced with difficulty, why do we go away from Krishna?

​How can we practically do abhyasa for focusing the mind?

​How can we develop taste for chanting?

​If devotees have to do research involving animal testing, what should they do?

​When our material obligations make us too busy to practice sadhana strictly, what can we do?

Ramayana Reflection – Hanuman in Lanka 3 – Exceeding Expectations

Ramayana Reflection – Hanuman in Lanka 2 – Discouraged yet determined

Ramayana Reflection – Hanuman in Lanka 1 – Overcoming Obstacles

Ramayana Reflection – Why Rama abandoned Sita

Our decision, our destination (Subhashita commentary)

Does expertise in shabda make one expert in fields in which one may have no practical experience?

Should we preach when we are not feeling devotionally?

Did Shankaracharya accept Krishna’s form as transcendental?

When Krishna disapproves renunciation as it will disturb people’s minds, how can we understand Prabhupada’s giving sannyasa to young disciples?

Is dandiya rasa considered imitation of Krishna’s rasa-lila — is it allowed in ISKCON?

How can spontaneous devotion be practiced in shanta-rasa?

If the Gita is a recorded conversation reported by Sanjaya to Dhritarashtra, how does it contain Sanjaya’s speech?

Did Sanjaya report the Kurukshetra war from Kurukshetra or from Hastinapura?

If the soul gets a body through the semen what happens to it when conception doesn’t occur?

How can atma be translated as the Supreme Lord?

Nothing is in my control – why worry?

What karma should we avoid so that we won’t have to suffer?

What is the use of getting reactions for wrongdoings without knowing those wrongdoings?

When humans kill animals for eating, is it that animal’s destiny or are humans interrupting God’s plan?

If someone commits suicide, was it their destiny or are they interrupting God’s plan?

Why did Rama abandon Sita?

The setting inspires talks on “What cricket can teach us about life”

Feasting on Krishna’s glories on Ekadashi

Modernization Without Westernization – Reflections on the Middle East’s spiritual potential

If bhakti means to give up all designations then how do we see our duties to our country?

How can we cope with enduring sadness?

What is the difference between the mental and the spiritual?

How can we say our thanks to God?

Why does corruption exist in religious organisations – can it be minimized?

What is the essence of the Bhagavad-gita?

How can a bar waiter transform one’s occupational duty into devotional service?

How to deal with devotees in ISKCON who criticize ISKCON?

How can we overcome lust?

How can we avoid distractions amidst today’s internet age?

Is love for our parents, brothers, sisters Maya – does such love have no meaning or value?

Are the sense and mind different – which of them drives us?

Hanuman manifests a combination of bhakti and shakti

How can we remember while serving the Deities that they are persons?

If we don’t have the opportunity to explore, won’t we lose our desire to learn?

If we are in a situation where we can’t develop our talents, what can we do?

Can pursuing our material talents help us in our spiritual life?

How can chanting help us in our life practically?

What cricket can teach us about life Series

How can we know our most dangerous attachments?

What if we want to preach but are given other services? – Hindi

How can we resist temptation? – Hindi

Understanding surrender – Hindi

The world sees results, Krishna sees efforts

​What is the relation between Valimiki Ramayana and Rama-charita-manasa?

​What factors determine the mental pitch we get?

What cricket can teach us about life 3

What cricket can teach us about life 2

​Help your mind to learn using association and intelligence

​When chanting doesn’t feel blissful, how can we make it always blissful?

​What kind of mental pitch is favourable for bhakti?

​How did Prabhupada provide sadhana-bhakti and raganuga bhakti together?

​How can we overcome the tendency to overthink?

​How can we avoid second guessing ourselves while doing creative work?

Before we can evaluate our desire, we end up indulging in it – what to do?

​What cricket can teach us about life 1

​What was the technology of the pollution-free Pushpaka vimana?

How can we avoid falling repeatedly to a wrong desire?

​What is stillness of mind?

If someone says the sparks of Krishna’s splendor are enough for me, how can we connect them with Krishna?

​Where are the mind, intelligence and ego located?

What is the devotional reason why Rama sent Sita away?

​How do prioritize between our duty to our parents and to our wife and children?

​​Why Rama banished Sita – Hindi

Counter the inner negative conversation of doubt and desire

Bhakti yoga – cultural practice or spiritual science?

Won’t cultivating satisfaction take away our urge to improve?

When we make choices, where does our karma fit in?

When God knows the future, is our free will really free?

How can we know what our prescribed duty is in today’s world?

What is wrong with we as God’s children asking him for our material needs?

Does scripture guide us for spiritual decisions or also for material decisions?

Material solutions to problems lead to bigger problems – so, should we seek material solutions?

How can we overcome the infection of karma and jnana?

How can we know whether we are depending on our own endeavors or on Krishna?

Does the mind tempt us because of the modes or do the modes tempt us because of the mind?

How can we maintain our spiritual alertness amidst worldly association?

Bhikshu Gita 6 – See the mind’s aversion to concentration as a trick of illusion (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.23.47)

Don’t identify with the mind – identify the mind

When real problems such as recession threaten us, how can we deal with the anxiety?

Bhakti is not about attachment or detachment but about commitment – please explain.

Is all anxiety bad – can’t anxiety inspire us to perform better?

How can we weaken our bad desires and strengthen our good desires?