Author: Gurpreet Sethy

  • Living Wisdom, Not Erudition, Matters

    Living Wisdom, Not Erudition, Matters

    In the pursuit of spiritual wisdom, it’s easy for seekers to become entangled in intellectual disputes between factions that were once the guardians of sacred traditions. Unfortunately, these conflicts often strip away the essence of the teachings, leaving behind dry intellectualism and a struggle for dominance. This begs the question: Who is right? And how…

  • Raksha | Draupadi’s grouse with Lord Krishna

    Raksha | Draupadi’s grouse with Lord Krishna

    In the rich wisdom traditions of India, the bond between Krishna and Draupadi is an outstanding example of divine friendship and trust*. One day Draupadi posed a question to Lord Krishna about something that was deeply troubling her. She asked “You are my Sakha. And I have complete trust in you. You protected my honor…

  • Pain as medicine

    Pain as medicine

    Spiritual traditions have affirmed time and again the inevitability of ‘dukkha’ in life – that there are definitive causes that give rise to ‘dukkha’, that peace is possible, and that there is a path that leads to peace.  In fact, in his first composition – the ‘Jap’, reverentially called the Jap Ji Sahib by the…

  • Accolades of the world

    Accolades of the world

    In an age where self-promotion reigns supreme, we don’t seem to tire of awards, honors, and endorsements. Yet, many of these accolades celebrate achievements of questionable merit, exchanged between individuals more interested in bolstering their own image than in recognizing genuine accomplishment. Aesop’s fable of the weasels and the mice.  Aesop’s fable of the weasels…

  • The sparrow that eats half a grain

    The sparrow that eats half a grain

    Do we appreciate the gifts we receive every day? The fact that we are alive and have one more day is a gift. In the busyness of making plans and anticipating the future, we often forget to appreciate the present. On one such morning, after days of running a series of workshops in the peak…

  • Dealing with difficult people | Buffalo meditation

    Dealing with difficult people | Buffalo meditation

    Many spiritual traditions have stories that caution us against dwelling on negative reactions of others or their personality flaws. Such responses of the mind usually don’t help solve the problem. In fact, they strain the relationship and drain our emotional reserves. While it is important to surround ourselves with positive influences, it is also important…