Fan The Spark

The complete archive

Archive

Every essay, in order of arrival.

  • May 19, 2026 · Reflections

    Fresh and Easy

    A produce store in Southern California sparks a reflection on the ever-fresh, easy nature of bhakti yoga.

  • May 18, 2026 · Reflections

    Overnight Success

    A reflection from a Bangkok airport on Messi's 17 years of training — and the patience required in devotional service.

  • May 18, 2026 · Bhakti Yoga

    Appreciation

    Vaisesika Dasa explores the profound nature of appreciation, particularly in the context of bhakti-yoga, where recognizing the devotional service of others deepens one's own connection to the divine. He highlights how appreciation is an inherent quality of the soul, culminating in pure love for Krishna and His devotees.

  • May 18, 2026 · Bhakti Notes

    Want to change Stress to Serenity? Read this.

    A disturbed mind brings anxiety. Mantra meditation runs like an antivirus program for the mind — clearing the noise so inner peace can surface.

  • May 18, 2026 · Bhakti Notes

    Advent of the Bhagavad-gita

    The Bhagavad-gita is our wake-up call — but we must be ready to hear it. A reflection on Arjuna's surrender and the mood in which Krishna's words can truly enter the heart.

  • May 18, 2026 · Books

    The Four Questions

    Four questions, asked honestly, can quietly rearrange a life. This is a short reading companion to the book that returns to them again and again.

  • May 18, 2026 · Books

    Our Family Business

    Every family is in some kind of business together — the question is what we are quietly producing. This is a small reading companion to the book.

  • May 18, 2026 · FAQ

    A Few Quiet Questions, Briefly Answered

    A short, plain-language FAQ for newer readers — the questions that arrive most often, answered without ceremony.

  • May 18, 2026 · Wisdom

    Serve Selflessly and Be Happy

    I went into the shop for one pair of walking shoes. The salesperson held up two boxes — yellow or blue? — and a small, familiar anxiety arrived right on cue.

  • May 18, 2026 · Wisdom

    Our Preparation Leads Us to Our Destination

    The verb prepare means: to make something ready for use. Wise people, across very different traditions, keep coming back to it.

  • May 18, 2026 · Wisdom

    Two Rabbits

    If you chase two rabbits, the old saying goes, both will escape. The Gita, in its own register, says nearly the same thing.

  • May 18, 2026 · Practice Resources

    A Little More Water, Please

    During a long drought, I dialled the garden's automatic watering down. Two months later it was wilted. A five-percent increase brought it back.

  • May 18, 2026 · Wisdom

    Are You Whole-y?

    The word holy is a near-cousin of whole, of healthy, and of an older English word, hale, meaning strong. Holiday is simply a compound: holy + day.

  • May 18, 2026 · Wisdom

    Cultivate Gratitude

    Greed, whatever you give it, has only one word for you: more. Gratitude is the divine quality that turns toward whatever was given and quietly returns the kindness.

  • May 18, 2026 · Wisdom

    Sunshine Energy in Unlimited Flavors

    All our food is, in the end, sunlight rearranged. The world could have given us one fruit. It gave us thousands.

  • May 18, 2026 · Wisdom

    Is the World Working Against You?

    A small wild bird, frightened by a much larger figure trying to set it free, becomes — for a quiet hour at the kitchen table — a strangely accurate portrait of the soul.

  • May 18, 2026 · Mantra Meditation

    From Stress to Serenity

    The Yoga Sutras describe the mind much the way an engineer describes software — and the impressions our senses absorb each day, the vrittis, behave a great deal like viruses.

  • May 18, 2026 · Intelligent Inquiries

    You Are an Atma

    You are an atma, a spiritual entity that has nothing at all to do with this material world. You cannot be killed, cut, burned, or drowned. You are eternal. Feel better now?

  • May 18, 2026 · Spiritual Fitness

    The Quiet Discipline of the Senses

    Bhakti yogis carefully control their senses and minds — not by force, but by giving them something better to do: service to Krishna and Krishna's devotees.

  • May 16, 2026 · Bhakti Notes

    The Khatvanga Moment

    Measured by geological time, our lifespans are not even a nanosecond. Yet the bhakti scriptures insist this brief flicker is enough for anyone to attain spiritual perfection — provided we do not wait.