Mind
Looking for happiness in the air
General

Where Does the Drive for Happiness Come From?

Every living being, not just human beings, has a drive for happiness. It is a natural tendency from birth and is not something acquired by training. Whether someone is learned or illiterate, cultured or uncultured, rich or poor, theist or an atheist—everyone hankers to be happy.  The nonhumans such as birds, animals, and aquatics avoid

Read More
Rasa Lila performance
Questions & Answers Vedic Psychology

Interactions between the Ātmā and the Mind

Question: Who feels pain and pleasure in the conditioned stage? Is it the soul or the mind? Answer: The mind feels it. Question: From where does viveka or the faculty to choose between wrong and right come? Does it come from the buddhi or ātmā? Answer: It comes from buddhi. Question: Does the soul have intrinsic

Read More
Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

Are We Biased to Believe?

Many years ago, while studying Nyāya and Vedānta, my Nyāya teacher said:   tattva-pakṣa-pāto hi dhiyāṁ svabhāvaḥ “The nature of the intellect is definitely biased towards truth.” At the time, I did not understand the deep implications of this statement. Recently, while teaching Sāṅkhya-kārikā (64), I came across the same statement in Vācaspati Miśrā’s commentary. I

Read More