Wisdom of the Sages

The Goddess Laxmi appears from the ocean of milk / Laxmi’s discernment in giving her self entirely to Visnu / Laxmi’s devotional mood brings all good fortune / the coronation of Laxmi / the female energy of God is personified good fortune / be blessed by Laxmi or deal with Durga / Laxmi chooses Vishnu / neglect of lax results in depression, bewilderment and frustration  SB 8.8.9-29

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The party is in Udaipur and its ever-fresh / Raghu confirms Kaustubha’s Krishna Miracle / Unconditional love is our innate operating system / things never go as smoothly as you want- even for the devas / the Goddess of Fortune lives to be enjoyed - does that trigger us? / the idea that we exist for the pleasure of another is triggering - but LOVE REQUIRES IT! / Krishna is waiting for us to come to his level of unconditional love / What’s your peace formula, Smarty pants? / the Goddess Laxmi’s got no issues

SB 8.8.1-8

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Bhakti is caught more than taught / You just gotta ask (for Krishna prasad) /  tenderness of heart towards Kṛṣṇa is bhakti - tenderness of heart towards everyone is compassion / You play the bhakti game there’s no bad luck / Krishna pleased = Shiva pleased = everyone pleased / the highest method of worshiping God, in the heart of everyone, is to accept voluntary suffering to relieve the suffering of others 

SB 8.7.1-46

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Kaustubha interviews his old friend Eddie Stern, a yoga teacher, author, and researcher based in New York City. Eddie has a multi-disciplinary approach to yoga which includes studying traditional texts and combining the application of the practices contained within them to science, research, technology, and collaboration. 

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What are some practical steps for finding teachers and gurus to give practical advice if one lives far from a temple / How should one prepare their mind for physical austerities on the path of Bhakti? / How can I better share Bhakti teachings in my own voice, rather than just parroting what others say?

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The effulgent, beautiful vision of Lord Vishnu melts anxiety / nothing can touch Vishnu’s hear, but devotion / Lord Brahma speaks from that higher level / when Vishnu asks you to be patient, take the high road and cooperate with your enemies / with any great service, the first thing to appear from the churning / the demons agree to a truce

SB 8.6.1-39

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“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost." - J. R. R. Tolkien / the difference between material & spiritual / spiritual endeavors come with rollover credits / Krishna is willing to meet you where you are at / Krishna is the root of all existence, and we are all the leaves / when you love Krishna you love everyone, every dog, even every cockroach / you can’t see the root, but it’s there 

SB 8.5.47-50

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How should I navigate differences of opinions regarding important decisions on my Bhakti path? / How do we balance our material/human reactions & necessities with our spiritual aspirations? / Why don't we chant over the 'guru' bead? 

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becoming aware and contemplative to see miracles everywhere / “when you are grateful, you are happy” - Thich Nhat Hanh / Bhaktivedanta takes spiritual gratitude to its conclusion - who are we grateful to? / I’s collide / Sri Caitanya’s teaching are so illuminating - that we are both one with, and different from, God / should we have learned Sanskrit, or would we have just become more arrogant? / Krishna works through multifarious energies, and has nothing to do (except his transcendental loving adventures) / sweet baby Krishna saved Raghu / when it comes to seeing God, we’ve got dog-eyes / what does it mean to use God’s name in vain? / karmic - people who are convinced that happiness will be found through the external things of this world / hard karmic work leads to dissatisfaction / if we find happiness through service we can always be satisfied / good times in the Philadelphia Temple

SB 8.5.44-47

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security, guidance, wisdom, and power flow from a solid, unchanging core / wherever you look, you can see examples of the rotation around a center as a healthy, harmonious model / Brahma helps the Devas get centered around Vishnu / India’s temples were architecturally designed to center our awareness / Kerala Mural art’s depictions of the universal leaders centered around Vishnu / Rasa dance as a mandala / the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra as a mandala / centering through seeing the universe as the body of Vishnu

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Brahma and the Devas goes to the ocean of milk / Raghunath’s body is a universe / don’t think slave master - think dog master / Vishnu’s omniscience / the material body resembles the wheel of a mental chariot / Brahma establishes the nature of the self in relation to Vishnu, the hub of the wheel of samsara / you are that - and at the same time different / Lila isn’t irritable bowel syndrome / the opportunity to be happy within this material world is illusion / Krishna can call off His illusory energy 

SB 8.5.26-30

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scientific research has determined that people driving luxury cars are 5 times more likely to cut off other drivers / we must consider how the body that we are in is affecting our thoughts and behaviors / through Bhakti one let’s go of all upadhis (false designations) / Lord Indra - the Bhagavatam’s repeated reference to confusion and embarrassment due to pride of opulence / the zoomed-out, pure atmosphere of Brahmaloka / fear and panic is the time for a satva guna check in / Brahma’s mediation on Vishnu / why we need sankirtan in Kali Yuga / Brahma’s not groveling, he’s sharing the love and appreciation in his heart

SB 8.5.17-25

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Raghunath interviews Hrdaya Caitanya about his walking journey from France to India and his realizations along the way. 

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How can I root out my feelings of unworthiness and my need for validation and sympathy, so that I can genuinely  practice Bhakti? / How to apologize and how to forgive in a genuine way? / When I set boundaries, I feel guilt. Is this my codependent nature creeping in?

Dhanya Rico holds a Master’s degree in Counselor Education, and holds a Specialist’s degree in Couples and Family therapy. 

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hearing from our people in Lebanon / we’re all shifting positions / Bhakti is taking our listeners beyond the ignorance of nationalism / laying out the universal staffs / our universe is like a tiny mustard sed in a huge bag of seeds / zooming out to see the Universal rulers as insignificant (and Krishna beyond them) / God comes as a Tortoise!?! / good Karma can ruin your life / Indra in the Vedas vs Indra in the Bhagavatam

SB 8.5.1-16

Check out Thomas Essig's movie Something Divine at 

https://app.entertainmentoxygen.com/feed/27dec5f6-099d-470c-99e3-acf88cc994fb

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Thomas Merton on the greatest need of our time / our ritual morning trance is being set by algorithms / today’s news editors are algorithms, focused on increasing user engagement by exploiting our weakness to click on hate, greed and fear / choose healthy algorithms for your mind / re-engaging the senses in something positive and uplifting / fill your head with beautiful thoughts / the only important thing in existence is the connection between self and God and the love exchanged there / when connected to Krishna, all the details become relevant, valuable, powerful, beautiful, purifying and satisfying

SB 8.4.13-26

Check out Thomas Essig's movie Something Divine at 

https://app.entertainmentoxygen.com/feed/27dec5f6-099d-470c-99e3-acf88cc994fb

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zooming out to get the past-life background stories / the nature of Krishna is that all he does is bless / fear is just the inability to see Krishna’s hand in everything / as different as we are, we all go through the same things / the crocodile is revealed as a former Gandharva / the elephant is revealed as King Indradyumna / King Indradyumna renounces the kingdom to live as a yogi / King Indradyumna receives the sages curse as a blessing

SB 8.4.1-12

Check out Thomas Essig's movie Something Divine at 

https://app.entertainmentoxygen.com/feed/27dec5f6-099d-470c-99e3-acf88cc994fb

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“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.” - The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. / “I'm for truth, no matter who tells it.” - Malcolm X / spiritual knowledge is the only panacea / only those free of materialistic strategies have the bandwidth to absorb their minds in God within their hearts / home, relatives, friends, money, etc. will fail as a strategy for happiness / Tolstoy’s Father Sergius finds true spirituality in a simple housewife

SB 8.3.17-33

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I’ve been a bit concerned about the both side-ism you have maintained regarding U.S. politics. Why don’t you take a clear political stance on your podcast? / How can I root out my need for validation and sympathy, so that I can genuinely  practice Bhakti?

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“Nature has her own logic, her own laws, she has no effect without cause nor invention without necessity.” / nothing makes senses until we understand that there are 2 types of energy, material and spiritual / life (consciousness) doesn’t operate according to material laws / huge atheistic speculations grounded on tiny bits of scientific research / there is a fascinating, philosophical, poetic manual to the universe and what’s beyond / a rhyming, talking, celestial elephant reveals the mystery of the universe / Vishnu as the cause of all causes - beyond time and space / material theories can never reach the origin / Vishnu reveals the spiritual realm to Brahma / reality is seen in relation to Vishnu / reality is reveal in the pure mind / losing faith in material joy

SB 8.3.15-18

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the purifying feeling of satsang / learning spirituality through studying the relationships of Vaishnavas / who am I emulating (among the characters of Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita)? / accepting criticism and correction / “The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.” - Michelangelo / a false presumption among atheists - that God is attached to our worship / Why doesn’t God write “Accept Me” across the sky? / the Bhagavad-gita’s more nuanced idea of God / Krishna says “You do you” - we say “Don’t call me” / A result gives one a glimpse of its cause / what was there before the beginning of time?

SB 8.3.14

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Vishnu can not be known by the mind and senses / Vishnu is know through devotion, pure of material desire / the nondual Supreme Absolute Truth manifests as the avatars, the material energy and as the impersonal, attritubeless brahman / even our own body is not our own / the false presumption that for something to be accepted as real it must be perceivable empirically

SB 8.3.10-13

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we lock our hearts in caskets of selfishness / for the sake of love God becomes vulnerable / to practice Bhakti we need to understand who we are, who Krishna is, and the nature of the relationship / Krishna is the Purusha - the primeval, personal, animating principle / Krishna is the earth, the potter, the potter's wheel and the pot / qualifications to see the truth - vimukta-saṅgāḥ - disinfected of material conditions, bhūta-ātma-bhūtāḥ - equal to all living entities; / suhṛdaḥ - friends to everyone, aloka-vratam avraṇaṁ - flawless in carrying out spiritual vows / the foundation of spiritual knowledge / we’re just little sparks switching seats

SB 8.3.2-10

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At every crossroads on the path that leads to spiritual consciousness, the mind has placed 10,000 thoughts to guard material consciousness / confronting our comforts, pleasures and fears / don’t medicate- meditate / don’t DEflect - REflect / seeing behind the minds of others / karmic reactions, manifest and unmanifest / Gajendra fixed his mind in his heart with perfect intelligence / the revival of divine consciousness from the previous life / capsules of spiritual awareness in the subconscious mind / harmonizing the mind with the devotional nature of the self is called yoga / Raghunath chooses mangala arati

SB 8.2.32 - 8.3.1

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Raghunath and Jiva G discuss hitting rock bottom, finding your higher power, uprooting anarthas, and the importance of a 12 step program. Check out Jiva's Bhakti Recovery podcast.

Learn more at https://www.bhaktirecoverygroup.com

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As someone is not as a formal devotee, I struggle when asked to explain my spirituality. Could you offer any suggestions on how I might describe my spiritual stance to others? / If we can always pick up our spiritual life again in the next life, then what is the urgency of practicing in this lifetime? / Can you explain who is addressed as a maharaj vs a prabhu? What is a bramacari, or a sannyasi? What are the various levels of priests at the temple? Who is allowed to go on the altar?

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All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players. - William Shakespeare / infant, school boy, lover, soldier, justice, old man & infant again / we’re destined to perform a karmic role for a few days / spiritual knowledge helps one to pass through stages of life gracefully / Same substance, but More depth / appreciation sets the mind for knowledge absorption / in our battle with illusion, we need to be in a position which maintains our strength and enthusiasm / Gajendra contemplation: “It’s all coming to an end! I need to seek the real shelter”

SB 8.2.28-31

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examining surrender in various contexts: military, romantic, artistic, spiritual / surrendering the ego / Kaustubha concedes that Raghu is more of a “wood guy” - but they both have to let this identity go / actively choosing to accept our fate / Krishna lets us run til we’re materially exhausted / our real bio: I’m a tiny spirit soul here for a few days, to love / the elephant Gajendra’s alpha existence is about to turn on a dime

SB 8.2.9-27

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Manu and the Devas are the universal staff in service of Vishnu / Manu is preserving the sad-dharma over the course of his age / the 8th canto illustrates what surrender looks like through 3 narrations (Gajendra, the churning of the ocean of milk & Bali Maharaja) / lets not redefine Bhakti in order to sound inclusive / we don’t object to a person's inclination towards the non-personal energy of Krishna (brahman), but when they deny Krishna Himself, and devotion to Him - that’s when we object / a description of the heavenly planets

SB 8.1.17-8.2.8

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“Wisdom is not knowledge, it is a realization of the scheme and of one's own part in it.” - Algernon Blackwood / THE UNIVERSAL SCHEME: you are designed to enjoy divine love (but you're not ready for it until you're free of all selfishness) / we’re doing the material world wrong / the faith of Richard Dawkins / the most fantastic creation myth is that everything came from nothing / the universe is the energy, body, and property of Krishna - work in harmony with that and you never get entangled by karma / great sages get us started by working for good karma in order to connect us with the sacred texts / the same source of knowledge gives different instructions according to our level of evolution

SB 8.1.14-16

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Is it possible that both the Jnana and Bhakti paths are correct in their understanding of “enlightenment“? That some people are naturally inclined towards devotion and due to conditioning and past samskaras some are naturally inclined to the jnana path? And after the dissolution of ego some would experience universal, impersonal, infinite consciousness, and others would experience the bliss of devotion to a personal form of God?

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“Asceticism is to remain pure amidst impurities.” - Guru Nanak / the yogi’s practice of austerity is like a way of establishing controlled laboratory conditions / the Bhagavad-gita on who is a true renunciate and a true mystic (Bg. 6.1) / the Bhagavad-gita on who is a poser (Bg. 3.6) / more on spiritual communism / Krishna embodies apparently contradictory attributes / as the virtual reality programer remains beyond the encoded laws of the VR, so Krishna lies beyond the laws of the world / 2  prototypes of aging, the Sage and the Karen (sorry, people named Karen)

SB 8.1.10-13

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Has my pursuit of comfort and pleasure clouded my perception of truth? / Why should a yogi stand on one foot? / Patanjali’s Kriya-yoga = austerity + study of the self + surrender to God / “With asceticism, wisdom bears fruit.” - Ali ibn Abi Talib / yogic regulations key in on the animalistic basics of sleeping, eating and sex / Manu’s contemplation - there is a conscious intelligence behind everything, and everything is His property / spiritual communism can’t be legislated, it has to be inspired

SB 8.1.9-10

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Building up to tomorrow's festival of the appearance of Sri Radha, Raghunath and Kaustubha read from Lord Shiva’s poem, The Sri Sri Radha-Kripa-Kataksha Stava (Prayers for the Merciful Side-long Grace of Sri Radha).

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The wisdom of Srimad Bhagavatam is the medicine for our illness and pain / Entering Canto 8 / every one of us has a crocodile glommed on our leg / we need to practice spirituality from a position of strength / every one has a back story / What are the subtle bodies on the higher planets like? / the subtle is the solid / Manu walks away from kingly power to meditate on the truth

Our Goal for 2024 : At least 68,000 Srimad Bhagavatam sets around the world.  We will be happy to share extra sets for those who need them. Here are 4 options:

    1.    They can get a set of Srimad Bhagavatam for themselves.     2.    They can sponsor a set of Srimad Bhagavatam for their friends, family or fellow WOTS listeners     3.    They can sponsor a set of Srimad Bhagavatam and we will find a Recipient who is eagerly waiting for a set. (Hospitals, Prisons, Remote and tribal villages in India, people in Ukraine, people in South America, etc)     4.    If they want to receive a sponsored set we can ship anywhere within USA and Canada   They can text/whatsapp/call Malini at this number: +1 (669) 289-5563 and we will take care of all the requests. 

SB 8.1.1-8

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Raghunath talks with filmmakers Kip Anderson and Kam Waters about the making of their films - Seaspiracy, What the Health, Cowspiracy and their newest film, Christspiracy. They discuss the Dead Sea scrolls, the 'meatrix', music ministry, and the importance of eating a liberated diet.

Learn more at https://www.christspiracy.com

And connect with Kip and Kam at https://www.instagram.com/christspiracy/

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How to deal with family functions which are centered around alcohol and where all the conversations are gossip and superficial? / Is it possible to be humble, tolerant and still set boundaries?

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“The perception of beauty is a moral test.” - Henry David Thoreau / where we find beauty reveals a lot about our character / perceiving beauty from the perspective of selflessness / the immature stage of vedanta denies beauty - the mature stage sees it all in relation to Krishna / kriyādvaita: oneness in actions / dravyādvaita: oneness in objectives / In Narada’s previous life he was a Gandharva intoxicated by beauty / the blessing of losing one’s beauty / the Para Brahman lived in the home of the Pandavas

SB 7.15.64-80

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the satisfaction found in singular focus / seeing oneness in conceptions, actions and objectives lifts one’s awareness beyond the material / Krishna is horizontal and vertical cause of the cosmic manifestation / seeing this world as nothing but God’s energy / Krishna’s message to Arjuna about the highest of all yogis / How to see God everywhere / real liberation is sweet surrender

SB 7.15.62-63

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Educate through love / we are trying to hold onto something solid, in an ever-shifting world / the solid is the subtle and the subtle is the solid / God is the unchanging thread holding the changing world together / Don’t try to redecorate your hotel room- do the inner work and move on / there’s a way to carry god consciousness into your changing world / losing faith in the material world

SB 7.15.59-61

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Chandogya Upanisad tells that what we meditate on we become / Sarva khalvidam brahma - what does it mean, that everything is brahman? / Bhagavad-gita 14.27 - Krishna is the basis of brahman / Bhagavad-gita 10.12 - Krishna is the Supreme Brahman /  all creation is made possible by brahman’s potential power / Brahman manifests as Krishna’s multifarious energies: parasya saktir vividaiva sruyate (Svetasvatara Upanishad 6.8) / 4 ways that Sankara’s Snake-rope metaphor fails - superimposition is impossible without – Similarities in attributes, Independent reality to both things, Prior experience of what is being superimposed, an outside entity coordinating the common superimpositions / the advaitin bliss is merely the neutral stage of relief from suffering / the opposite of being One Million Dollars in debt is not being free of debt, it’s owning one million dollars / Don’t throw Sweet Baby Krishna out with the bathwater

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“We don’t see reality. We see our reality.” - Professor Mercer from The Irrational / the Dartmouth Scar Experiment, sports, and the OJ trial all illustrate how mental impressions shape our perception / Vedanta’s classic metaphor of the snake and the rope / it is impossible to superimpose one idea unto another, if the former doesn’t exist in reality - ergo - the form variety and individual personhood of this reflected in this world must exist in reality

SB 7.15.55-58

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Kaustubha interviews S.B. Keshava Swami about his training and service as a monk, as well as some insights on America through the eyes of a monk and questions on money and careers.

To learn more about HH Keshava Swami Maharaj, go to https://www.keshavaswami.com

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What is the significance of sampradaya?  / Do you see a rise in those choosing to practice Bhakti-yoga or is consumerism too strong? / Why shouldn’t one point their feet at the altar? / Why don’t we pass the guru (or Krishna) bead when we chant on a mala? / What is the signifigance of the Tulsi beads?

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“True sanity entails in one way or another the dissolution of the normal ego.” -  R. D. Laing / the re-establishment of the true identity as servant of the divine / the purpose of ritual is the impression it leaves in the mind / through knowing (jnana) - one naturally lets go (vairagya) / When the senses are illuminated with knowledge ritualistic sacrifice may dissolve / offer sacrifice into the senses - the senses into the mind - the mind into mantra / attaining finer levels of bodies up to the top of the universe / the Bhagavad-gita compares all the yoga practices and, in the end, says - just surrender to Krishna

SB 7.15.52-54

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materialism has no limiting principle in a world of limitations / the yogi places a limiting principle on materialistic drives / E. F. Schumacher as a brahminical voice in a materialistic boom / the flaw of democracy (no one will vote for a limiting principle) / basking in the afterglow of Prabhupada’s appearance day festival / a guru wrings out our disqualifications for devotional service / materialistic expansion vs materialistic reduction / letdown is woven into the path of material enjoyment - it can’t deliver satisfaction / the descent from the heavens back into a human body

SB 7.15.48-51

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until we come under the tutelage of one who has mastered their senses, we remain a slave / resuming our spiritual identity / the promise of happiness through material enjoyment never delivers / the material energy is showing us that there is no hope on the path of material enjoyment / the blessing of regret

SB 7.15.45-47

Find Bali's novel at https://a.co/d/5r0MrrY

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On the anniversary of the day of his birth, Raghunath and Kaustubha discuss the life and contribution of Srila Prabhupada, who first brought the teachings of Bhakti to the West.

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On the occasion of Krishna's appearance, Raghunath talks with Krishna Murari Goswami about the traditions, songs and stories of Nandagram and Vrindavan.

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Learn more at http://www.edwinbryant.org

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What are your thoughts about AI created devotional art? / How are we to look at a relationship between guru and student in a healthy way? / Should we correct other devotees when reading Sanskrit?

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it’s not so much our bad habits that are the obstacle to our spiritual growth, it’s hypocrisy / the renunciants meditate on the future state of our body / bhoga and taiga - shift back and forth between enjoyment and renunciation / bringing back the Upanishadic metaphors / the body is a chariot, the senses are the horses, the mind is the reins, the intelligence is the driver, the self is the passenger / these sacred texts are encouraging us to think about our situation, and then embrace self control based on knowledge of the self / the mantra is the bow, the self is the arrow, and the target is the Supreme Being

SB 7.15.37-44

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Tom Landry’s coaching and the guru principle / guru - the practical and mystical sides / the guru’s conviction instills faith in the disciple / all can be accomplished automatically through faith and devotion to a valid guru / like an ambassador, a guru is a representative / getting past the initial threshold in controlling the mind / controlling the mind and senses in connection to the guru

SB 7.15.23-36

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Narada’s heartfelt instructions on contentment and greed / You won’t experience emptiness when you feel God in the heart / Just one wandering sense is enough for mission drift / guru scandals stemming from lack of contentment / anger can be vented, but greed is never satisfied / approach wealth like a sage / by discussing the disadvantages of accumulating wealth one should give up greed / dealing with our inner Tuco

SB 7.15.20-22

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“Contentment makes poor men rich. Discontentment makes rich men poor”. - Benjamin Franklin / the Gītā informs us that desire is the real enemy of the embodied soul, since it is never satisfied and burns like fire (the more you feed it, the more it grows) / one only has to wear one pair of shoes—one doesn't need to cover the entire earth with leather (in other words - let me adjust myself rather than adjust the world) / the materialist is content with their internal development, the yogi is content externally, but always feeling the need to improve the quality of their internal life / we’re being driven by our senses / a warning for spiritual leaders - without contentment our education, austerity, reputation and knowledge will dwindle and disappear

SB 7.15.15-19

See Raghunath's interview on Soul Ashreya podcast at https://youtu.be/rgn4lelO_fE?si=IUr3o-kpKTZqiWsY

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William Shakespeare on the quality of mercy / seasoning justice with mercy / Bhakti is all about the softening of the heart / our fascination with the moment of awakening / for one who is satisfied in the self - there is no duty / “Vaisnava means one who is able to sit down anywhere, under any conditions, and be happy.” - Srila Prabhupada / bringing discernment into Eastern traditions

SB 7.15.9-14

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Kaustubha interviews author Kripamoya Das about his new book “Sanatana Dharma” and his realizations garnered over 50 years of presenting Bhakti in small groups.

Pre-order Kripamoya Das' book at https://a.co/d/j7ez7mA

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How can to root out our own inner hate? / How can we build faith in Krsna and His benevolence if we don't frequently experience it in this life? / How to understand the topic of chanting silently in the mind vs chanting aloud?

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once you get it, it makes so much sense / diving and surfacing in a blissful river of kirtan /  unless you have knowledge the whole material world is tortuous / we’re in god’s house /  George Harrison on the power of spiritual food / life is just better off when we’re appreciative / passing out prasadam in Jaipur and Govardhana / sharing love through food / the consciousness is developed through offering food to the ancestors / the highest dharma is achieved through giving up all animosity to other living beings, in body, words and mind / the test: do we participate in others' hostility?

SB 7.15.7-8

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James Baldwin on the self-destructive nature of hate / hatred negatively impacts the nervous system, immune system, and endocrine system / if you sit in (media) mud, you’re gonna get dirty / bringing bad habits into sacred circles destroys spiritual life / remedy for hate - see everyone as connected to God and feed them prasadam / replace the wafer with a gulab jamun cooked with love / we can barely handle even a tiny fraction of Krishna’s opulences /  the art of reminding others who they are without condescension

SB 7.15.1-6

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the futility in external worship that lacks spiritual vision / we’re all worshiping and meditating on someone / the worshipper sees the object of their affection everywhere / seeing God in the brahmanas / Krishna worships His devotees

SB 7.14.41-42

https://venablesvalleywildfire.com

http://Saranagatiwildfire.com

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Clarance Clemons on the calm mind and connecting with the inner self / inner connection isn’t cheap - austerity and renunciation aid contemplation and meditation / God in the heart gives intelligence to the individual soul according to his capacity for understanding / when we could no longer access God in the heart through samadhi, the sages provided temple worship / the evolution from karma to jnana to bhakti is a natural progression, widely observed in areas of spiritual evolution, but most clearly and thouroughly articulated in Srimad Bhagavatam / temple worship without respecting God in the heart of everyone, is like pouring ghee into ashes

SB 7.14.38-40

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“The end of all knowledge should be service to others.” – Cesar Chavez / our individuality is eternal / when Arjun’s illusion was dispelled he didn’t merge into Krishna / Narada anticipates the shallow approach to the ritual and recommends service to others / the formula is to come together for Kirtan and prasad / auspicious times for ceremonies / auspicious places for ceremonies / a Vaiṣṇava is a walking holy place / The key to the universe - the universe is like a tree whose root is Krishna - by serving Him you serve everyone

SB 7.14.17-37

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How to find liberation from the false ego / Transformation happens on the other side of new experiences / Find your Krishna confidence / It’s between you and God / Learn to fly your own plane and enjoy your own company / It’s you and me (baby) Krishna

Find more at https://www.radhikadas.com

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What is the meaning of “faith”? / The separation of church and state-- is God the enemy?

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"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth." - Muhammad Ali / how arranged marriages work / through duty, love develops / wealth should be engaged in service others to avoid the pit of entitlement / “What are all these people doing at our wedding?” / worship the Supreme Being in the core of everyone’s heart by service to others / service to the Devas / service to the saintly people / service to everyone / service to the animals and plants / serve and feed everyone

SB 7.14.15-16

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A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.- Aesop / A person who has given up all sense of proprietorship can alone attain real peace. - Bhagavad-gita 2.71 / minimize needs to minimize anxiety / Giving up the sense of proprietorship - right down to the food we eat / don’t underestimate the power of prasad / Kaustubha’s garlic misadventure / Gracias Madre - I only wan’t Krishna’s prasadam / be like the Cataka bird / Raghu’s eucharist stealing misadventure

SB 7.14.14

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the non-pretentiousness of the Bhakti-yogi / the diplomacy of the Bhakti-yogi / the simplicity of the Bhakti-yogi / the communal spirit of the Bhakti-yogi / the Bhakti-yogi conquers over lust

SB 7.14.6-13

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“the glories of our blood and state, are shadows, not substantial things” James Shirley / shadows, reflections, mirages and Virtual realities, are all derived from something real / keep hearing wisdom and some of it will stick / offering mind, body and home  / Raghu on “The Hands of Time” / the “affection” of family life / the medicine of hearing Bhagavatam again and again / how to practice Bhakti in the presence of those who don’t? / will we be with loved ones after death? / Druhva’s mother follows him to the spiritual realm / expanding the family tree to all living beings / don’t worry about the jell-o! 

SB 7.14.1-5

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take false ideas about what we need and false ideas about who we are, and offer them into the total material energy / bewildered by dualities arisen from attraction and repulsion / we’re not the body, we’re not the mind / taking shelter of the big bird / the simple idea that we are not the body is the beginning of living together in peace / being heroic through not letting public opinion limit us / the growth of Bhakti is facilitated by favorable conceptions, favorable sentiments and favorable lifestyle

SB 7.13.44-46

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How is Vishnu the same or different than Krishna? / How to understand self loathing and toxic shame in Kali Yuga, and how to take shelter of Radharani?

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Power portrayed as Changing fate vs Power portrayed as accepting fate / How much energy can by saved (and redirected towards life’s spiritual goal) through acceptance? / the industrious bee vs the python who accepts his fate / acceptance applied to food / acceptance applied to clothes / acceptance applied to shelter and vehicles / acceptance applied to one's feelings and reactions to other people / through acceptance the python man became the well wisher of everyone - and merged his mind and ego into the material energy / the heroism of the priests of the Titanic

SB 7.13.37-43

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simplicity is essential for the yogi’s focused mind / the root of our problems is the desire for unnecessary prestige and money / The bee is super industrious - but so distracted that it doesn’t realize that everything it is working for is taken away / the python is accepting whatever comes

SB 7.13.33-37

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The American Psychological Association discovers that the more you endorse materialistic values, the more you suffer / big house means big problems / no matter how hard we work for prosperity, we are still living in an incredible vulnerable body / we are victimized by our material desires / Bhagavatam offers an access point of samsara cakra / are you ready for the moment when everything will be taken away? / the greedy suffer from insomnia / the bee works so hard to accumulate the honey, and then it all gets taken away

SB 7.11.30-32

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Wassily Kandinsky’s thoughts on materialism / materialism as a value and materialism as an ideology / prosperity gospel as the hucksters materialism in the guise of spirituality / prosperity gospel in the realm of Bhakti / Jesus, Krishna, Buddha and the saints are on the side of self control - on the other side are the hucksters / forgetfulness (of our spiritual nature) leads to misery / you think about what you think about / running after happiness in the material world / matter grows from life / the water were searching for is Krishna

SB 7.13.28-29

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When practicing Bhakti-yoga, is it normal to become increasingly disengaged in idle talk and uninterested or disturbed by gossip? And how can I control my thoughts and emotions when spending time with the people I love and care about, but who engage that way? / Does at least part of the subtle body travel with the soul to the next body?

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the story of Shanti Devi, one of the most thoroughly documented and authenticated cases of reincarnation / a little girl in Delhi remembers her previous life in Mathura / Shanti meets her husband and son from the past life / Shanti returns to Mathura / Gandhi appoints a committee of 15 prominent parliamentarians, national leaders, and members from the media to study the case / Kaustubha isn’t real / how many children with memories of past lives will it take to convince a skeptic? / the timeless wisdom of the Bhaavad-gita is where we start to figure out what is the meaning of this life

see more at https://www.carolbowman.com/reincarnation-forum

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Observe the nature of material enjoyment to see its false promise  / Expectations cause stress / attachments lead to anger / seeing the power of male/female connection beyond material enjoyment / happiness of the self is natural / the happiness born of the contact of the senses with objects is a mental concoction / Is there any happiness in a cigarette?

SB 7.13.26-27

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Lao Tzu - “When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you” / sattva guna conditions one with a sense of happiness and knowledge - raja guna is born of unlimited desires and longings / we can’t snuff out our desires, we need to refine them / “When speaking in spiritual circles, one's statements must be upheld by the scriptures. One should at once quote from scriptural authority to back up what he is saying.” A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami / seek the blessings of the Vaishnavas at important forks in the road / desires cause transmigration through the different species of life / human life is the junction - where you can break free / you don’t want to be reborn as a dove! Or a deer! Or a human for that matter!

SB 7.13.23-25

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Thoreau experiences the unearthly nature of the Vedas / Thoreau’s balance of contemplation and activism / The Vedas feel nonsectarian, because Vyasadeva isn’t trying to wrestle you into immediate submission to the highest truth - he nudges you to take the next step in your evolution / Prahlad was able to recognize the Python man as special, because Vishnu instructed him in the heart / Kaustubha goes to jail / Krishna gives instructions in the heart according to the manner of their surrender / everyone follows Krishna’s path in all respects / karmis, jnanis, yogis, and bhaktas all all on the same path at different degrees of success

SB 7.13.22

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Raghunath interviews the award winning (and his personal favorite) musical group Madhava’s Rock Band!

Find out more about Madhavas Rock Band at https://www.youtube.com/madhavasrockband

and support their girls' education initiative in Nandagao at https://www.projectkrish.com

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How can I transition from a spiritual seeker into a deeper Bhakti practitioner, and quell my doubts when reading sacred texts? / How to stay even minded and not lose relationships during a divisive election season? / How to know where to put your spiritual focus / Why do bad things happen to good people?

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becoming aware of yourself as the witness of the mind / pause and ask yourself, “where is my mind right now?” / change your thoughts, change your life / when Narayana predominates one’s heart, then their transcendental eyes are revealed / make some room for Krishna in the heart / Krishna is simultaneously eager for us to turn to him, and accommodating to our will to choose not to / The journey to reach Krishna through the layers of the cosmos / Krishna’s embrace and sweet words when we return

SB 7.13.19-22

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"There are the saints of every day, the 'hidden' saints, to which we can all belong" - Pope Francis / Tolstoy's hidden saint Pashenka / our sincerity is soiled by desire for human praise / Pralahd goes in search of the hidden saints / we shouldn't attempt to understand the pas of a Vaisnava / a saintly person may not expose himself to the vision of human society / the most humble are the most glorious

SB: 7.13.10-13

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6 things a sannyasi should avoid / even non-sannyasis can take some essential teachings from the sannyasi regulations / we need some people, with both feet in the spiritual realm, wandering around the material realm / avoid literature without spiritual benefit / avoid making a living by making a living / avoid indulging in arguments and counterarguments / Daniel Dennett's the 4 steps to arguing intelligently / Bhaktivedanta Swami's multi-faceted approaches / Sri Caitanya's method of argument / avoid alluring disciples with material benefits / avoid reading many books / avoid increasing material opulences unnecssarily

SB: 7.13.7-9

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a vow of silence can mean simply refraining from mundane talk / The power of our words, thoughts and presence / a little self-disgust can be a big breakthrough / our thoughts can move us through the universe and beyond / Raghu and Kaustubha communicate nonviolently / wherever you are, you can be in a holy place / Pilgrimage shows a world revolving around God / Arjuna asks Krishna about one whose consciousness is merged in transcendence. How does he speak? - how neither praises or criticizes the pleasant and unpleasant aspects of this world / not getting caught up in praise or criticism allows space to observe the power of time - Krishna impersonal representation

SB 7.13.5-6

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dealing with the assassination attempt - wishing well for both the shooter and the shot / appreciating the compassion of care-givers / the power of the Bhagavad-gita’s vibration / the regulations are designed to facilitate essential realizations / be like the dried coconut – embodied but detached from the body / the magic happens when we stretch out of our comfort zone / sannyasi regulations - wander every day, go naked, carry no bags / sannyasi realizations - satisfied in the self, peaceful, well-wishing friend of everyone, dependent solely on God / see God in everything and everything in God

SB 7.13.1-4

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Alexandra Tirsu is recognized as one of the leading violinists of her generation and a devoted Bhakti-yogini. Here, Kaustubha interviews her about the intersection of her two worlds, that of Bhakti-yoga and the high pressure world as a solo violinist in classical music. Topics include….

•⁠  ⁠Feeling spirituality in music •⁠  ⁠Self discipline in music & Bhakti •⁠  ⁠The power of repetition in practice •⁠  ⁠The affection between teacher and student •⁠  ⁠How Bhakti helps one to negotiate high pressure environments

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Is Good Karma Bad & Bad Karma Good? / What if I’m  not attracted to Krsna for some of His qualities like wealth and fame?

Check out Bhaktivedanta Institute's inaugural summer school at https://www.youtube.com/@bihstudies/streams

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the Universal plot - consciousness trapped in ego-based self interest gradually becoming free / a better way to frame out the world / “why me?” and “it’s not fair!” are mantras of maya / these social codes and austerities prepare one to see God everywhere / codes for retirement to the forest / dissolving the body & mind by meditation / standing alone as spirit - in the body but separate from it / our bodies, senses, mind, etc. have all been loaned to us and must be returned to their owners, the Devas / perfect knowledge of the self constitutes merging of the material body into the five material elements

SB 7.12.16-31

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"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." - Marcus Aurelius  / So why do we always try to find happiness by adjusting the externals? / what if everyone was thinking higher thoughts? / the yoga mat is just the doormat / all the regulations of the yoga culture are designed for improving the quality of our thoughts - if we forget that, we miss the point / the conception of duality, which is epitomized by the duality between man and woman / the sage sees everyone with equal vision / all the leaders need spiritual training / Mahabharata and the Puranas are validated by the Upanishads as "Panchama Veda" - the 5th Veda / Srimad Bhagavatam is the commentary of the Vedanta Sutra by the author himself / all the regulations are there to help us see how God is in everything, and not in everything

SB: 7.12.10-15

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Raghunath's early enthusiasm self-discipline / Kaustubha leaves NY behind / mind over matter and spirit over mind / understanding the high guardrails of Vedic culture / everyone loves a doting mother / Prabhupada's cultural flexibility

SB: 7.12.8-9

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there is  the pain of discipline or the pain of regret / reflecting with appreciation at our training as young monks / the power of the discipline of rising early / phone discipline / the connection between rising late and depression / the tradition of begging on behalf of the guru / the thoughtfulness of the approaching sexuality in yoga culture / becoming a virtuous, well-disciplined young man / the guru's intolerance of incompetence is just what we needed / how boys think and speak about girls - with self-discipline (as a yogi) or without self-discipline (the modern West) / the 7 mothers

SB: 7.12.4-7

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the social codes found in the yoga tradition are designed to facilitate ease in self-discipline and higher thoughts / the only requirement to be in this club is an affection for Krishna / followers of the Veda claim that it is apaurusheya, "not created by any person" / in meditative trance, sages became living receptors of the vibrating knowledge of the cosmos / reading minds & controlling the minds of others - it's all real! / days-rasa - the genuine affection felt for a teacher or master / hypocrisy creates skepticism a healthy type of submission / when Western people portray a healthy form of submission they commonly look toward the East

SB: 7.12.1-3

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Acyuta Gopi is a legendary kirtan singer, writer, award winning poet, storyteller and mother. In this interview she and Kaustubha discuss her feelings of isolation as a young devotee in New York City's public schools, her growing faith in Bhakti in her teens, the profound experience of childbirth, developing inner dialogues with God, and how spiritual practice opens us up to finding "perfect moments" any time, anywhere.

Find more information from Acyuta Gopi at the following:

WEBSITE: https://www.acyutagopi.me/about

YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@acyutagopi

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INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/govindagirl_acyutagopi

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How to get through heartbreak? / Is the "Ritvik" idea of disciple succession legitimate?

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"Earn your success based on service to others, not at the expense of others" - Horace Jackson Brown Jr. / antah sukha (inner happiness) - when you understand that your happiness is not dependent on anything external you'll no longer feel that you have to impose your needs on others, or change others / sometimes God tags a person, a podcast, or a pakora / inner happiness frees up the mind and heart to care for others / the caveat - if everyone's not playing their roles it all falls apart / drops can feed a fire and a flood can extinguish it / birth in a particular family helps shape us, but doesn't confirm our qualifications

SB: 7.11.28-35

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SB: 7.11.18-27

'I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everythign else' / the faulty logic that demands empiric evidence / "Mother is all around us" / the symptoms of a brahmana / the sympoms of a warrior / the symptoms of the business leader / the symptoms of the employee / the qualities of a dharmic wife

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pure, naked spiritual encounter vs designer label spiritual fads / the real stumbling block to Bhakti is hypocrisy / dealing with the Western triggers to Eastern thought / understanding Vedic hierarchies / respect is both functional and fundamental / why is it better to do your own duty imperfectly, than another's perfectly? / the world is in a state of emergency - we need more Brahmanas

SB:7.11.15-17

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Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love...and then we return home / the quality of our questions determines the quality of our lives / when we become capable of loving we return home / are the ancient ethical codes relevant to us today? / wouldn't it be better if our leaders were trained in leadership? / all ethics and codes are meant to bring you to devotion / the Vedic solution to toxic masculinity / the spiritual leaders are meant to direct the business leaders in caring for their employees

SB:7.11.13-15

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How to share the wisdom of Bhakti with someone who is afraid of death? / How to process the experience of seeing people leave the path of Bhakti?

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Consciousness has building blocks? OK, then go ahead and build us some / Why not admit that the Bhagavad-gita's presentation on consciousness still holds up? / you can't observe spirit with material instruments / consciousness is the irreducible symptom of spirtiual energy / originally it wasn't a "caste system", it was a code of ethics and leadership training / want the power and fame? You can be number 2. Wanna be number one? You've gotta give up everything.

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The Surgeon General calls for warning labels on social media platforms / social media scrolling is like injecting stupidity straight into our veins / unsubscribe, unfollow turn it off and go outside / sattva doesn’t sell anymore / Mara is reprograming Raghu’s phone / until we regulate our senses we’re just polished animals / remaining silent and grave / contemplate whether one is the body or the soul / Give in charity if you wanna be human / contemplate that every one is part of god / hearing about the activities and instructions given by Krishna

SB 7.11.8-11

Sign up now for 5th Annual Wisdom of the Sages in Tuscany-- 30 June - 7th July, 2025.

https://retreatsquare.wetravel.com/trips/wisdom-of-the-sages-2025-5th-anniversary-retreat-square-21368255

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the pristine consciousness  of the sage Narada / the best of the A list sages / 2 ways in which Krishna is the root of all dharma / the formula for satisfying the soul / Don’t end up majoring in minor things / let's not water down the meaning of ahimsa / how rendering service to saintly persons saved Raghunath & Kaustubha / we’ve been living like kids in candy stores with credit cards

SB 7.11.1-10

Ayurveda Mama: A Comprehensive Guide to Preparing for Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum https://a.co/d/08GfbCnZ

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Willow’s “Symptom of Life” is bringing Vedic contemplation into Pop culture / The Bhagavad-gita’s art of work - give your full effort, and be resigned to destiny / just hear Krishna’s pastimes to understand the highest absolute truth / We’ve got everything- breathwork, shape shifting, exercise, cooking, wisdom, conspiracy theories… / pushing and peeling myself out of my disguise / pushing and peeling the layers that cover my mind  / pain as the prompt to change  / all you know has vanished again / transcending virtue and sin

SB 7.10.64-70

See Willow's Tiny Desk concert at 

https://youtu.be/DmC2QQESN6E?si=KaLDwgJX22-Fd4Uw

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What does it mean to belong to Radha & Krishna? / Questions around feasting and fasting in Bhakti-yoga

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astrology: mature vs superficial applications / Srimad Bhagavatam is the key to understanding all of the Vedic sacred texts / Krishna is the person behind the spiritual energy / Krishna is beyond the demigods / Shiva and the Devas saved by Krishna / The unseen power of providence can turn our agenda upside down / bypassing the logical malfunction that reality must be according to our liking / we are tiny, and dependent, but we also have a type of unlimited power

SB 7.10.50-64

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on friendship / on forgiveness / on aging / on prayer / on pain / on death

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How to understand the fate of one who has taken their own life? / How to help our children become God conscious? / Is there a place for hallucinogens in Bhakti?

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Inferring the Divine string holding everything together / 3 levels of the absolute truth / Krishna is the most attentive friend / Krishna’s not our stepping stone / We are individual, eternal sparks of the divine / Sacrifice means understanding we are not the center / Krishna is the unconditional love we’re looking for

SB 7.10.48-49

the ability to ask a question of great consequence is a power laying dormant within us / ask the BIG questions / in order to receive rewarding answers, what is important for the questioner? / marrying our purpose / enjoyment, renunciation or dedication? / what is the lesson? - an aphorism to shift from negative to positive thinking / our power is always in the present moment / full attention

How can we transcend karma? / How should someone on a spiritual path react when todl they are being passive aggressive? / Why does Krishan appeal to Arjuna on a materialistic level in the Bhagavad-gita?

Bhrigupad Das (Mans Broo) is a lecturer in Religious Studies at Abo Akademi University. He gained his PhD in 2003 with a thesis on the guru in Gaudiya Vaishnavism. 

What if this isn’t THE reality? / Leo Tolstoy - “Our life is but one of the dreams of that more real life, and so it is endlessly, until the very last one, the very real life of God.” / video games are double illusion / our desire for movies, VR, and fantasy reveal that illusion doesn’t satisfy - we need to go back to reality / even the evil king Sishupala has a back story / karma - acknowledging our own responsibility in our suffering helps us heal and cultivates virtue / how to develop a spiritual body - full absorption in seeing God everywhere / there’s regular Dharma, and then there is Bhagavat Dharma / just by hearing about Krishna one is liberated / the truth will set you free

SB 7.10.40-47

a traditional yogi's appreciation of Bhakti in the West / the irony of how the claim of cultural appropriation can play into the hands of the oppressors / reincarnation in Johnathon Livingston Seagull / the fallacy of original sin / the fallacy of eternal damnation / the logical strength of reincarnation / the fallacy of reunion in heaven / Raghunath brings the Dhammapada to His Christian Club / contemplate and feel the distinction between your self, mind and body / the full evolution is love / our meditation on determines our destination

SB 7.10.36-39

“In order to love your enemies, you must begin by analyzing your self." — Martin Luther King Jr. / the worst thing you can do for your spiritual life / in the healthy state of awareness, Krishna’s name makes us cry / resentment and anger shrivels us up / cultivating gratitude - we can’t control other people, but we can control our attitudes / best to leave murders and psychopaths for professionals / shifting from the vision of bodily differences to spiritual commonality / except for the uncontrolled and misguided mind, there is no enemy within this world / We need to feel “All These people are here, but primarily, I’m always living with God in my heart.”

SB 7.10.30-35

Check out www.Kavachadesigns.com and use Coupon code wots30 for 30% off — valid for three days only !

George Harrison on the only reason we’re on this planet / we live in a virtual reality governed by the law of karma / breaking the addiction to external pleasures through addiction to internal experience / stay in the kirtan and keep the vibe high / when Raghu and Kaustubha will be like when they get old / Krishna gets personally involved in the karmic destiny of His devotees / tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam - do that as an offering to Me / Bhakti relieves the fever of anxiety /  Guru nishta can change our karmic destiny / the automated penal system of Karma / from the germ up to Indra, they all get their karma / what if we could see the karmic course of our own past lives?

SB 7.10.27-29

“Getting distracted by trifles is the easiest thing in the world… Focus on your main duty.” - Epictetus / if you sincerely want Truth, that’s god consciousness / duty drags you back on track / western vs eastern attitudes toward duty / Too much choice makes a person miserable / duty makes the mind more peaceful / duty is prescribed specifically according to one’s mindset / the days of the employer / we’re indebted to our forefathers, the great sages, human society, etc. / one connected with the Supreme has no more debts / Brahma’s non-envious demeanor / all yogic rules and regulations serve one goal - to always remember Krishna

SB 7.10.23-26

I want to be initiated into the path of Bhakti but I struggle to chant the required 16 rounds per day, so I feel guilty - can you please share some advice? / How can I keep myself and my daughter on the path of Bhakti when we live far away from other devotees? / Can you explain the analogy from Srimad Bhagavatam - that when one’s face is decorated, the reflection of one’s face in a mirror is also decorated?

Check out our new website at www.wisdomofthesages.com

It does not matter that you are in the material world - so long as you stay connected through hearing spiritual content / St. Francis’s counterintuitive formula for life / the courage to lead a spiritual life / St. Francis gets naked / your net worth is your spirit to contribute / by bringing your awareness to the purity of a devotee's love, our own awareness is purified / decorating oneself with the qualities of patience, tolerance, and kindness, etc. / devotees purify all places

SB 7.10.13-22

Thomas Merton on climbing the ladder of success / analyze what your win is before you start the hustle / in a generation or two we will be forgotten / the Bhakti-yogi’s goal is a pure, soft heart / accepting that we are both very close and very far from the goal / “As soon as we have material desires, we lose our spiritual identity.” - Bhaktivedanta Swami / even as we live in the material world, by regularly hearing the sacred texts, our hearts and minds remain absorbed in spirit

SB 7.10.8-12

Can there be competition on the spiritual platform? / can there be fear on the spiritual platform? / “Your problem is that you are not afraid enough of maya” A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami / by contemplating the objects of the senses ……. / 2 types of perfected Bhakti Yogis - the eternally perfect and those who achieve perfection through practice / “love” desiring material benefit in exchange for their devotional service is no better than a merchant / a “master” who bestows benedictions motivated by a desire for prestigious is just as bad / filtering out all the impurities that contaminate pure love in the heart / We’re all searching for unconditional love

SB 7.10.1-7

"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart." - Kahlil Gibran / if external beauty is our currency, the market is gonna crash / for the Bhakti-yogi - the primary concern is the quality of their own heart / somehow, winning the lottery doesn’t buy happiness / one can reframe life’s struggle and pain as a purification of the heart / if we lean into Bhakti (and focused on the internal work) we could solve the world’s problems / religion doesn’t cause war - but the superficial understanding of it does / you’ve gotta start working on not being a dirty old man when you’re young / the more entitled we are, the less happy / satisfy the root, all the leaves are satisfied / foreshadowing the rasa of the 10th canto

SB 7.9.52-54

It’s not ALL about the journey - there is a goal to yoga / OM is the bow;  the self is the arrow; God is said to the target / Marcus Aurelius on having a purpose to direct every thought and impulse toward / when Raghu received the pretentious “Do less” instruction / Bhagavad-gita showed how to focus all of your worldly responsibilities as part of your spiritual goal / the hodgepodge lodge of spirituality / the relative value of silence, vows, study, austerities, duties, mantras, etc. / spiritual posers / all becomes revealed through love and service

SB 7.9.46-51

Where does desire reside, in the mind or in the self? / Is everything Krishna’s grace, or are there pockets of free will where His Grace doesn’t penetrate? / How to give life advice to someone who is resistant? / How to keep an elevated mind when experiencing chronic pain? / How to make my life an offering?

How can I learn tolerance and not get upset with people? / What should I keep in mind when raising my children? / How to explain my Bhakti practice to people who don’t like the fact that I have changed?

“Caught in that sensual music all neglect, Monuments of unageing intellect.” – William Butler Yeats / all the great wisdom traditions were able to recognize the inability for sense gratification to deliver happiness / the devotee has one optimistic eye and one pessimistic eye / your senses have their own agenda for you / Prahlad doesn’t want to be delivered alone / sex desire is like an itch - the more you scratch it the more it itches

SB 7.9.40-45

John Coltrane – “God breathes through us so completely, so gently we hardly feel it, yet, it is our everything.” / spirituality starts as a vague intuition there’s more / Coltrane’s symbolism of Divine love in all 12 keys / the greatest secret of the sacred text -  there is a person behind everything and He can be connected to through love / Vishnu as the soul of the universe / the universe manifests as a tree grows from a seed / Brahma meditates and discovers God spread throughout his own body and senses / Little Prahlad drops the universal manual in our laps!

SB 7.9.32-38

The Nrisimha Avatara’s heart frolics with his own playful pastimes / He fascinates the great sages / He enlightens His devotees from within their hearts / although ferocious, He is very soft and kind to devotees / He is here and there and everywhere / Prahlad’s gratitude to his guru / Prahlad identifies Vishnu as the designer behind the universe’s design / the inconceivable brilliance in the design of the elm seed / we are not creators we are manipulators

SB 7.9.28-31

A Girl Can Touch The Sky continues its theatrical release following sold-out screenings with Q & A sessions in Birmingham, U.K., and Dublin, Ireland.

The NYC screening with Q & A chaired by Shikha Uberoi (India’s former No.1 professional tennis player and social entrepreneur) has been confirmed for Saturday, June 22nd, 6-8 pm as part of the Her Vision International Film Festival at Slate, Manhattan.

Tickets can be purchased at https://slate.ticketsauce.com/e/4th-annual-her-vision-international-film-festival/tickets

You can see the trailer, reviews and the link to book tickets at www.agirlcantouchthesky.com

Leo Tolstoy - “Joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.” / figuring  out how to use your gift as an offering / material enjoyment is junk food-  service is nourishment / the unique Bhakti idea of serving the servant / the whole point is to be connected / desires for future happiness are like a mirage in the desert / the counterintuitive truth - true happiness is derived though serving other (not through being served) / Lord Vishnu is impartial

SB 7.9.24-27

all the great wisdom cultures draw our attention to our helplessness to the force of time / all your money won't another minute buy / the 3 modes of material nature - without our knowledge, external influences are working their way into your mind / basically, we’re all like defiant teenagers / ahem… um, debating Christian and atheist philosophers, the concept of karma kind of solves the whole thing / we’re being crushed by the wheel of time / Prahlad’s perspective as a witness of the destruction of a materialist at the highest level

SB 7.9.20-23

While serving in active duty as a sergeant in the US Army in war-torn Iraq, Partha-sarathi Dasa maintained his devotion and encouraged it in the hearts of others.

Why don’t you guys present a higher Vedic standard? / Why don’t you guys present a more tolerant standard? / How can I support someone who doesn't share my beliefs?

reading the world's patterns, recognizing the truths operating through them, coming to terms with those truths / the Taoist law of reverted effort - when humans try to fix things by their actions, the effect will be the exact opposite of that desired / the great paradox of our time: everything is both better and worse than ever before / material pursuit guarantees material problems / are we resisting the internal growth our problems are designed to initiate / happiness is found in the never changing, misery is found in the ever-changing

SB 7.9.17-19

"Your future, your hard dangerous path is this: to mature and to find God in yourselves.” Herman Hesse / we’ve gone from letters, to emails, to written text messages, to emojis / we’ve gone from Shakespeare, to movies, to YouTube, to scrolling reels / focus on the higher call – let go of petty annoyances / Michael Jordan’s vices and virtues  / Vishnu’s nature is innately, completely satisfied / frustration through resistance to the flow of giving to Krishna / the comfort in atheism

SB 7.9.10-17

selfishness is the core of our bondage / the quality of your heart, while giving, makes a difference / world peace can’t be done? / why Bhakti is translated as devotional service / faith without works is dead / eternal love is a higher aspiration than eternal peace / Prahlad's prayer with a heart softened by love / why our material opulences can’t touch the heart of God

SB 7.9.4-9

“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, love.” - St. Augustine / in fighting over inessential details we miss the essence / Bhagavatam is sarva-vedānta-sāraṁ - the essence of all the Vedic literature / if the inessential details aren’t bringing us to the essence, we can drop them / the mind unburdened by material concerns can appreciate the mercy of Vishnu / even anger and thievery can bring you closer to God / the paw or the claw

SB 7.8.54 - 7.9.3

“We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are.” – origin unknown / we each perceive the world through a uniquely programed mind /  Religion = regulation for the purpose of checking sin, Yoga = regulation for purpose of clear perception / one must carefully choose and maintain the files downloaded to the mind / the Nagas are concerned with wealth and sex / the yogi will voluntarily give up wealth and sex for truth perception / prayers from different planetary perspectives

SB 7.8.47-53

Where Does All the Darkness in the world come from? / How to deal with the struggle of re-integrating after returning from a spiritual pilgrimage? / Who were the 6 Goswami’s of Vrindavan and what was their role?

the burdens of hate and resentment / “Some of the worst things in my life never even happened” - Mark Twain / the attractiveness of the unburdened / Bhagavatam juxtaposes the burdened and the unburdened / Brahma expresses wonder / brahma gives credit for creation to Vishnu / Shiva gives credit for destruction to Vishnu / Indra’s prayer and lamentation of mixed devotion / Vishnu dissipates the gloom in our hearts / austerity can bring about creative power and lucid thought / The forefathers were burdened with concerned about sacrifice / The siddha yogis were concerned about their mystic abilities being restored / The Vidyādharas were concerned about the knowledge they attain through meditation

SB 7.8.40-46

“Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.” - Miles Davis / Krishna gets lost in his own play / first we follow the rules until we can play spontaneously / Lila is both playful and didactic / our divine love is warped by the element of selfishness / understanding the false representations of the original rasas reflected in the material world / boiling away the ego and programing in the mind to get to the self / we’re practicing to fall in love out of this world / they had better airplanes in the past / the joyful scene of the fall of the tyrant / sages, yogis, singers, dancers, zombies, snake people, bird people - Vishnu’s Dharshan make the Met Gala seem pale in comparison

SB 7.8.32-39

Lila refers to Krishna's play, in the dramatic sense, as well as in the sense of child's play or ease / Rasa refers to the particular loving mood relished in the exchange of love with Krishna / it's not that Krishna's lila is modeled after the drama of this world, rather it's the other way around / the sages borrowed construct from the Sanskrit dramatist to explain Krishna's lilas / it's all happening to heighten the experience of love / Hiranyakasipu's horrific threat / Nrisimhadeva's rasa of anger / Nrisimhadeva's heightens the love and satisfies Pralad, Brahma, and the Devas / without the darkness of this world we would never develop the determination to let it all go

SB 7.8.24-30

“Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe.” - Albert Einstein / both the believer and the skeptic are investing faith / Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help.” - May Sarton / climbing the hill at Tirupati / “Is your God in this pillar?” / all varieties of Avatars spring from Krishna / Sri Nrsimhadeva appears to taste the ferocious anger of pure love / demons get the claw, devotees get the paw / when your ego collapses.

SB 7.8.11-24

“The clue to the meaning of ultimate reality is found in personality.” Dr. Martin Luther King / our understanding of our shared connection to God dissolves our divisive mentalities / denial of the Personality behind the Universe removes the element of gratitude from our thinking / Ishvara in the yoga sutras is a “special person” / the Supreme Person energizes our senses, bodies and minds / “Except for the uncontrolled and misguided mind, there is no enemy within this world.” - Sri Prahlad / the real enemies are within

SB 7.8.7-10

How do I find a Krishna a conscious way to prepare my family pet and the environment for his death? / I know we place significant importance on actually saying the mantra out loud, but is my method a legitimate way to chant? / How can one meet a guru if they live far from a temple?

If you have a question, e-mail us at [email protected]

Is self-replication the measure of life? / is there a sufficient level of intelligence for matter to become conscious? / is there an “emergent property” that creates consciousness? / is Brian Cox really “damn sure” that consciousness is physical (our could it be that it is just very subtle)? / “Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know.” - Bhagavad-gita 13.16 / “the living entity, even though situated in varieties of bodies, is aloof from them due to his subtle nature… therefore it is impossible to see with the material eyes … no one in science can ascertain this.” - Bhaktivedanta Swami / what is the compulsion of empiricists to deny the existence of the soul? / Prahlad converts his school / Prahlad triggers his father / just as different grades of fire all derive heat and light from the sun, we all drive our power from the same source

SB 7.8.1-7

seeing life’s problems as tests, and rising to meet them / even-mindedness when all are losing their heads / all the great saints had to respond to persecution / the impostors of Triumph and Disaster / pretentiousness as the next level of the test / always responding with positive energy / passing through the world, uncorrupted / no one is barred from Bhakti / neither charity, austerity, sacrifice, cleanliness, etc. can move Krishna - he’s waiting for pure love / the mature vision - beyond religious symbols and externals - recognizing God in everyone

SB 7.7.48-55

“Beware of over-concern for money, or position, or glory. Someday you will meet a man who cares for none of these things. Then you will know how poor you are.” - Rudyard Kipling / the emptiness that drives us to seek fulfillment through externals / the treasure in the heart of the sadhu / affection for others running through affection for Krishna / prema is the wealth that makes everything else appear pale / the steady engagement in releasing, accepting and stepping up one notch / the ocean of eternal happiness / “This is misery, but it gives me a laugh…. All that is left of this family life is a list of names.” - Bhaktivedanta Swami / “I gradually take away all the wealth of those upon whom I am merciful.” - Krishna / with Krishna, there’s beauty in destitution

SB 7.7.45-47

“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.” - Friedrich Nietzsche / don’t be afraid to turn it all upside down / “It makes no material sense” / The George Costanza Approach - do the opposite /  these mantras are timeless / the pessimistic eye (towards the material world) and the optimistic eye (towards the spiritual world) / 2 radically different ways of thinking about the body - (1) it’s destined to be food for the worms, (2) it belongs to others / there are 2 people in your body (and the other one created it) / Truth Blockers - Attachment, Fear & Resentment / sorry, we don’t accommodate those kind of thoughts in this mind

SB 7.7.43-45

all our conveniences are making our minds less patient / less patient minds are less happy / as soon as you endeavor for happiness it backfires / change your algorithms / you can’t be happy unless you’re satvic / break the doomscrolling cycles / a zoomed out perspective of history / a wise person develops simplicity / for small things we complicate our lives / this AI isn’t the future we hoped for

SB 7.7.40-42

Check out Raghunath on the Rich Roll podcast at https://youtu.be/BLopUQdMIGk?si=xNJMpiZ-46qqLK2c

What is your Bhakti-yoga elevator pitch? / Did Sri Chaitanya know He was Krishna? /  If we are not the body, why is it important that our ashes are thrown in the Ganges river after we die?

Celebrate Episode 1300 with us as we hear testimonials from Wisdom of the Sages listeners about how the podcast, Bhakti & Srimad Bhagavatam have transformed their lives.

Check out Timothy Todd's t shirts at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Timothytoddtshirts

We don’t realize the burden that’s weighing us down (resentment, anger, fear, etc.) like a dreadlocked, homeless dog / "It's motive alone which gives character to the actions of men." - Jean de la Bruyere / Jatayu was a complete success / evolution of motive from Karma to Jnana to Bhakti / good intentions are everything / Bhakti delivers brahma-nirvāṇa / Krishna is easily accessible, being the friend in the heart of everyone / material good fortune is flickering / Krishna gives us what we need- we don’t need to save clutter / cluttered space means cluttered mind

SB 7.7.37-39

Can you kindly explain the “three principal energies?” -Internal, External and Marginal? / Can you speak on the dance between faith in guru vs. having a relationship that is overly dependent? / As a neophyte devotee, how do I get the taste for praying?

Is dancing in your home as powerful as dancing in the temple?

Raghunath’s dream instruction / definitions of humility / Kaustubha’s dream instruction / time changes everything - take care not to devalue or hurt anyone / the material world prunes our self image / Lexus today, Gremlin tomorrow / the challenge to the ego of shaving the head / advanced spirituality appearing as madness / advanced spirituality appearing as material attachment / just one wandering sense can send you completely adrift / burning the seeds of material desires to ashes / transforming matter to spirit SB 7.7.35-36

don’t just be a critic - plant a seed in the ground - do something, no matter how small! / the shame in the game of the critic / the tension, the waiting period, the resolution / focus on growth in the waiting period / Sri Caitanya’s visit to Varanasi / humility through understanding one’s blissful nature / the sannyasis of Varanasi discover the nectar of Bhakti Vedanta

SB 7.7.34

Bhagvatam’s prescription - focus the mind on Krishna, see Krishna in everyone / Yoga Sutra’s prescription - focus the mind in general, relate to others with sattvic clarity / the disinterest of the referee / comparison is the thief of joy - the dangers of social media / friendship toward those who are happy, compassion toward those in distress, joy toward those who are virtuous, equanimity toward those who are non-virtuous / the evolution from equanimity to empathy / the dissolution of one’s lower nature

SB 7.7.30-33

Kaustubha explores questions about the application of modern mental health therapies in the context of the practice of Bhakti-yoga with Relationship Counselor, Dhanya Rico and Hospital Chaplain, Kula Pradipa Das.

Find Dhanya's newest song at 

https://open.spotify.com/album/17HCyp59thGRtJPUhyKAUi?si=iczTCsYTRPCefe4vvILAew

Bhakti is the confidential teachings of Vedanta / the heart needs to be opened to understand Bhakti / compassion through not asking “what is their karma?”, but instead asking “what is my dharma?” / individuality should not be suppressed / Education not indoctrination - how to think, not what to think / the role of menial service / understanding bhakti is not merely academic - it involves both inquiry (to gain information), and service (to purify the heart) / Eastern vs Western attitudes towards hierarchies

SB 7.7.29-31

the self is a flashlight; wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep are the layers that cover its illumination / are we any less helpless in the waking state, than we are in the dream? / just as the changing body is not me, the same is true for the changing mind / anchoring our awareness in something beyond change / 2 yogas - turning consciousness away from the world and directing it to the source of the world / moving through this world as an actor with awareness of the director and the nature of the film / our fundamental identities and our functional identities / extending the duration of our moments of spiritual awareness / harmonizing our external pursuits with our internal values / moving forward with balance

SB 7.7.28-29

Kaustubha Interviews Krishna Kshetra Swami (Dr Kenneth Valpey) on the specialty of the Srimad Bhagavatam and the importance of the reoccurring theme of hospitality found in its narratives.

Find his upcoming course at 

https://ochsonline.org/course/bhagavata-purana-sacred-text-tradition/

On the day of its official release, Raghunath and Kaustubha read from and discuss Raghunath's memoir From Punk to Monk, available at https://a.co/d/bqccpnS

Is it primitive to believe that the eclipse is inauspicious?

If you have questions, e-mail us at [email protected]

Its okay to be a dented can / de-mything the sacred texts / in whatever you shine in, you become an influencer / our karma gives us a recipe for future experiences / as changing aromas are evidence of the air that carries them, changing states of awareness are evidence of the soul that experiences them / just as one knows all things made of clay by knowing a piece of clay, one can know everything by knowing Krishna / our material experience is like a bad dream (unwanted and temporary)

SB 7.7.25-27

to understand “what is the meaning of life?”, we first need to understand “who am I?” / Is our happiness coming from the soul or the ego? / purifying the mind through self analysis / the self is distinct from from all things that undergo creation, maintenance and destruction / life doesn’t develop from the body - the body develops from life / what’s the real creation myth? / attachment, fear and anger block perception of the divine / Einstein’s humility

SB 7.7.24

Can you clarify the practice of japa for a relative newcomer like me? / What does it mean to "take shelter” of Krishna & Radha?

“I don't know why we are here, but I'm pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves”? - Ludwig Wittgenstein / athāto brahma-jijñāsā - now is the time to inquire about the Absolute Truth / people get intoxicated by their good karma / the soul is the observer / a spiritually advanced person can understand how the spiritual particle exists within the body / One must find the soul by analysis, saying, “This is not it. This is not it.” / My body and mind are shape shifters / Epstein Island and the dark places we go when we are drunk on the world 

SB 7.7.21-23

Follow our podcast schedule at https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaQQ4xcGehEHtihNwq1X

http://bit.ly/WOTSCAL

win the hearts of Brijbasis / there are no external disqualifications for Bhakti / hearing with faith is the key / figuring out life begins with “I’m not my body” and ends with seeing Krishna everywhere / artificial consciousness is a bluff / the empiricists have moved the goalposts / the most important questions of life lie beyond the scope of material science / if this philosophy is right, everything I know is wrong / look deeper into the Autostereogram until you see the self realization 

SB 7.7.17-20

“The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy… and to deal with those we need a spiritual and cultural transformation and we, (Lawyers) and scientists, don’t know how to do that.” - Gus Speth / God has empowered all of us in different ways (the politician has a role and the monk has a role) / the material world is designed to crack your shell / Narada instructs Prahlad in the womb / are women less intelligent than men? / cold-hearted, analytical Jnana vs the tender affection of Bhakti / Srimad Bhagavatam elevates the feminine disposition / Srila Prabhupada’s pride in his tradition breaking female disciples

SB 7.7.1-16

Raghunath and Kaustubha interview HD Goswami about his new translation of the Mahabharata.

On the occasion of the appearance anniversary of Sri Chaitanya, Raghunath and Kaustubha discuss how special and important He is, even among the avatars of Krishna.

Is it ok to have friendships with people who are not Krishna bhaktas / Is it ok to get wisdom and truths from teachers who are not Krishna bhaktas / What are your recommendations for a devotee who lives too far from a Temple?

being used for a mighty purpose vs being a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances / the power of revolving around the Divine principle / we avoid diversions such as nonconstructive criticism, gossip, and politics / the world is our reform school / the essence that lies beyond religion / Sri Caitanya’s talks with Ramananda Raya / the false expectations of love we receive from films / sage level 4 / Bhakti is understood not simply by reading books, but by receiving it from someone who embodies it / becoming endowed you with all the favors bestowed upon a gentle disciple

SB 7.6.26-30

“Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being.” - Albert Camus / find philosophy you can live / Prahlad is pure to the core and entirely rebellious / what is the use of following the principles of religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation? / Bhagavatam rebels against the message of the previous Vedic texts / In the Vedas Indra is the hero - in the Bhagavatam Vritrasura is the hero / the innocence of Sukadeva / the pure-hearteness of Pariksit / you’ve gotta want Krishna  / liberation is like going to a water park all by yourself

SB 7.6.25

"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" 1 Corinthians 3.16 / religion is more concerned with salvation - spirituality is more concerned with transformation / access to God is easy because 1) you are intimately related to Him 2) He is present everywhere 3) He is always aware of you / nature arranges to keep the secrets of transcendence concealed from the intrusions of mundane intelligence / the theology is that God is in everyone - the practice is to act without enmity or duality, showing mercy to all / let the mantra be the stick shift / you stalk Krishna and He will stalk you

SB 7.6.19-24

My head is in the philosophy of Krishna Bhakti, but my heart is with Jesus and the saints. Is that ok? / How can we tell the difference between satisfaction, happiness, and peace stemming from the mode of goodness, and that from actual spiritual advancement? / “With the upcoming solar eclipse could you speak a little to significance of solar eclipses in this tradition and what actions can be taken to divert any negative forces that may come with it?

Uncompromised brahmins should engage the military powers - not the other way around / Einstein as the brahmin in the film Oppenheimer (framed in nature, speaking distilled, essential thought, removed from urgent, fear-based thinking) / beware the separatist conception / Prahlad shines light on the dangers of family attachments / Prahlad as 5 year old revolutionary / we won’t be indoctrinated into separatist thinking! / revolution sans-hatred / separatist thought leads to cruelty / our rulers should be inspired and tethered by higher thinkers / if your goal is sense gratification, you’ll stay in bondage / find a roadmap to liberation / we can be both monk and revolutionary

SB 7.6.16-18

it’s what we put in our consciousness in our downtime that shapes who we are / sacred literature is ever fresh and always relevant / sometimes goodness can cheat you out of greatness / Bhagavatam is one big intervention for the material world / hear Bhagavatam on a regular basis in youth and old age, in good health and bad / our daily activities are what change us / add a sense of urgency to your spiritual life / the current of material family life can pull you down the beach / morning Sadhana is like a daily pilgrimage  / let God be your God (not someone else) / where does our mind go in extreme situations? / find great souls who know how to harness the energy 

SB 7.6.11-15

https://bit.ly/vanigita

Prabhupada didn’t mince words / everything is meant to support our relationship with God / don’t sacrifice the whisper of the heart to the contaminant of the mind / now is the time for self reflection / taking care of a baby and putting a kid in a car seat is real tolerance / renunciation or frustration and arrogance? / material nature lops and prunes your attachments / it’s not your wife or husband- it’s the beloved of Krishna entrusted to your care / chisel off the hard edges of the ego to serve family / marriage is meant to make you holy not happy / Raghu is not a narcissist 

SB 7.6.6-9

https://bit.ly/vanigita

Kaustubha’s Vrindavan wanderings / Prayer is about saying what needs to be said / Vrindavan is the culture of Bhagavatam / While you’re healthy, focus on Bhakti and don’t waste any time / Train the mind to ease your suffering / “We must engage in the supreme practices of training the mind. There is no other way.” - Geshe Kelsang Gyatso / Kaustubha’s affirmation: “We don’t think like that.” / Raghu’s affirmation: “We don’t criticize.” / Discern but don’t criticize / If I don’t live that internal life, then I’m just an artificial, showbottle, so-called bhakti practitioner / Advanced Bhakti-yogis don’t waste time. / Join AA just for the affirmations!

SB 7.6.5

Meander into random temples / focus and simplicity / move the internal mountains of attachment and petty grievances / everywhere we turn someone is trying to sell  us happiness / kindness saves a ton of mental baggage / simplicity saves us issues with stuff - kindness saves us from issues with people / when you become very focused on spiritual life, it affects everyone / we’re off the leash looking for distractions / Vishnu is our real soulmate / game-changer: happiness is automatically obtained without endeavor, just as we obtain distress

SB 7.6.1-5

How does puruṣārtha (the Vedic concept of 4 human pursuits) relate to Bhakti? / Is it true that one can be liberated in this life, even though you live a “normal” householder life, or do you have to become a monk? / Do you have a good book recommendation which simply outlines Bhakti in a way that is completely approachable?

Eat, sing and dance to create community  / “Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before - it takes something from him.” -  Louis L'Amour / anger leaves you dirty and depleted / The greater the ego the greater the rage / It’s our behavior through the day that affects japa / Chat thread arguments drain integrity and harden hearts / Hiranyakashipu’s rage against little Prahlad 

SB 7.5.33-57

“These people were so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes. They were embracing material things and expecting a sort of hug back.” - Tuesdays With Morrie / everyone is starving - but not for food -  for love / the highest dharma is divine love / addiction to material life leads to darkness / Yamunacharya squirrel / take the dust of the feet of the Vaishnavas / we’re just a tiny blade of grass in a huge meadow / arrogance is a truth blocker / Krishna’s presence accumulates in the heart, and we draw from that when we chant

SB 7.5.30-32

“People haven’t found meaning in their lives, so they’re running all the time looking for it. They think the next car, the next house, the next job. Then they find these things are empty too.” - Tuesdays With Morrie / we’ve gotta figure out what success looks like before we start climbing the ladder / the old musk deer analogy / externals just won’t make us happy / am I chewing the chewed? / your new car is chewing the chewed / Krishna’s name is heart deep not lip deep / Bhakti is an everlasting ever sweetening gobstopper / can we be happy with nothing? / Bhakti gets more bubblelicious as you go

SB 7.5.25-30

You get an authentic experience through an authentic lineage / “Everybody is looking for Krishna. Some don't realize that they are, but they are.” - George Harrison / Rishikesh Kirtan mela / the love is in the details / one incarnation for one devotee / just by remembering the great souls before us we get pulled in their draft / a little self disgust can be healthy / service is a natural expression of love / the Vedas have already given us a map / don’t be a Kramer to Krishna / love in the mood of service, love in the mood of a friend

SB 7.5.23-24

No more inattentive chanting / hear and chant here to prepare to hear and chant in holy places (and vice versa) / India is messy but pure / accept that our life is in Krishna’s hands and get on the Uber motorcycle / see God in the temple to practice seeing God everywhere / there has to be someone in the center of existence, to create harmony, otherwise we just battle in competition - Krishna is that center / we have to accept responsibility for the evil in the world / the devotion is in the details / It’s hard to find God in the heart, but easy to find God in the temple

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Raghu and Mara chant Yamunastakam on the banks of the river / Kaustubha says goodbye to Sri Dham Mayapur / PULL THE TRIGGER! / concentrate your thoughts like the sun’s rays through a magnifying glass / the practices of Bhakti are not mere religious rituals, they are yogic practices designed to focus the mind on the most satisfying object / “Let my mind, with attention fixed on no other object, repeatedly carry its affection to Krishna, just as the Ganga carries a full stream of water to the ocean“ - Queen Kunti / Bhagavatam is one royal calamity after another / never let go of desperation even when things are rosy / bathing in the dust of Vrindavan

the power in hearing about lives of the great saints / the sun is setting, move along / the power in eating saffron filled gulab jamuns / Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati’s vision / You cannot vibrate the holy name simply by moving the lips and tongue. The pure name of krishna is not lip deep, but heart deep / the sound descends from the transcendental world into the heart, then rises through the lips and tongue - that vibration is the holy name of Krishna / "Maintain your worldly obligations in whatever way you can, but make the eternal principle, devotion to Krishna, the true provision for your voyage through life” / we’re wasting time trying to beautify a reflection

“Each one of us matters, has a role to play, and makes a difference.” - Jane Goodall / both Hanuman and the little squirrel were equal, because both were giving their all / “Krishna has some plan for you. Always think in that way, and very soon he will provide everything to your heart's desire.” - Srila Prabhupada / Kaustubha is not Taylor Swift / lose faith in the material world providing us happiness / trade your expectations for appreciation BrahmaJi! / the chanting and hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are transcendentally full of mellows / we don’t need a high birth or good karma to advance in spiritual life - just chant

SB 7.5.19-24

let resentment go to free up the mind in chanting meditation  / What are the qualities of a Bhakti-yogi? They are like a rooster, a crane, salt, and you! / a rooster picks out the valuable nourishment even in the dung / salt enhances all the other flavors and yet takes no credit / the crane ignores the petty little fish and stays focused on what counts / in the end, Radha and Krishna are the only “Big Fish” / don’t let validation from others be your food / we can be the handle of the Vishnu axe / dharma, artha, kama, moksha, and beyond that is prema - the highest goal / don’t go to the jewelry store and walk out with some plastic - don’t go to the Vedas or the sadhu for material wealth

SB 7.5.15-18

Bhagavatam presents the theology of devotion in the context of the creation of the universe and the following lineages of demigods, sages and royal lines descending from the gods of the sun and moon / omniscience helps in debate / to the extent we are sectarian, we’re rowing the boat but the anchor is down / party line spirit blocks  perception of the Paramatma / Krishna’s like a magnet, we’re like iron - when the rust of our illusory desires is removed we are naturally attracted / our love attracts even Krishna

SB 7.5.11-14

“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” - William Blake / “…when the good is a furlong off, and we with our beetle eyes can only see three inches, it takes some confidence in general principles to pull us through.” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle / confidence in the principle of aham
bramasmi / the pandit sees everyone equally / saintly persons try to emulate Prahlada’s character by practicing freedom from animosity / only devotion grants access to the greatest secrets of the Vedic wisdom / the last snare of illusion

B 7.5.6-12

Creeps are out there  / what it takes to be an instrument of healing / “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” - Jesus / it’s not spoken allegiance that makes one a son of God, it's aligning one's heart with His / Kaustubha runs with the Squirrel / the innocence which can tame the spirit of the unicorn / The 1st illusion - identifying with the body; leads directly to the 2nd illusion - seeing in terms of friends and enemies / having no enemies is based on perceiving inherent spiritual equality of all life / “What did you learn in school today?” - “That any person who has accepted a temporary body and temporary household life is certainly embarrassed by anxiety because of having fallen in a dark well where there is no water but only suffering"

SB 7.4.40-7.5.5

How do you introduce higher dimensions of consciousness into your awareness? / Bhagavatam isn’t valid because it's ancient. It's ancient because it's valid. / growth means seeing your circumstances through a higher lens / the planets have a pull - so add the Krishna graha into your life / thesis: we are completely different from God - antithesis: we are one with God - synthesis: we are both one with and different from God / 3 levels of God realization: Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan / “God is my baby” - you can’t make this stuff up!

SB 7.4.37-40

"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." - Marcus Aurelius / temples (and ritual) are all about elevating the quality of our thoughts / 
clearing the head and heart of resentment, anger and bitterness / we find what we’re looking for / the Vastu Purusha /  you can’t change the planets you were born under, but you can make Krishna the predominating planet that shines auspiciousness in your life /  how the great devotees see Krishna everywhere / stop relying on our good karma for happiness

SB 7.4.35-37

How can we best face our own mortality? / Can you speak on the relationship between Radha and Krishna / Are there any stories of Krisna with cats?

"Humans doing the hard jobs on minimum wage, while the robots write poetry and paint, is not the future I wanted." - Karl Sharro / ya can’t beat the system / simplicity & kindness / because we remain servants of our senses, we can never be satisfied / the Devas give up food and sleep, meditating to connect with Vishnu / connection with Vishnu dissipates the fear / the qualities that facilitate spiritual experience - sense control, mind control, kindness, respect, giving shelter, deep friendship, freedom from pride

SB 7.4.18-34

Anything we have to conquer can be integrated as part of our Bhakti practice / give it your best effort and be detached from the results / mastering an even mind, equal vision and inner happiness / becoming successful emotion managers / Hiraṇyakaśipu terrorizes the universe / pass on praise or it’ll kill you / broken egos search for satellites

SB 7.4.1-17

seek employment in the field, and with the kind of people you would select if you had no need for money / religion has been stripped of the sacrifice of ones body, words and mind / do you need to erase your conscience to enjoy? / the demonic mentality can’t recognize one’s dependence on the higher power / work in harmony with the system - because you can’t cheat it

SB 7.3.17-38

Andrew C. Thornton II’s unbridled greed - how much cocaine do you need to sell to be happy? / Dr Bruce Alexander and the Rat Park Experiments /  
“One should accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.” / All there is to satisfy the senses, can’t satisfy one who’s senses are uncontrolled / The demonic mentality is taking Vishnu out of the picture /  the soul gives life to the body, not the other way around / Hiranyakashipu is no better than the Cocaine Bear

SB 7.3.6-16

As an adoptee, how can I understand the longing I have to meet my birth mother in the context of Bhakti-yoga? / Does a yogi just accept their ADHD, or do they try to mitigate it? / Is it too early to speak to my 5 year old about death and reincarnation? /  How to process life’s curses?

How do we become normalized to suffering, however abominable it may be? / Will you please explain ISKCON’s view of the Trimurti? (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) / How important is it for us to desire to go back to Godhead?

the Vrindavan flower vendor / if daily, love infused seva became mandatory in New York City / aligning one’s heart with the heart of God / the service itself is the payment / we see God in the deity to see God in the heart of every / Raghu would use the mystic powers only for good / the great commentators speak on austerity / don’t lay out during the meteor shower

SB 7.2.58 - 7.3.5

Raghunath interviews Giridhari Das, an American who left his past behind, moved to Holy India, built his own cob house, grows his own food, and practices Bhakti-yoga.

“Sometimes a dream almost whispers.” - Steven Spielberg / are we asking for advice, or for an instruction? / we're being driven around in a rental car / you can have Krishna consciousness right now, if you really want it / if we had a psychiatrist and a guru with us in the movie theater / the message is everywhere - that we’re all gonna die / śmaśāna-vairāgya - the detachment in a cemetery

SB 7.2.45-57

“God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.” – Mother Teresa / there’s a lot of crazy talk in our mind / sometimes God’s plan is for Raghu to keep the stage dive money / never consider yourself to be the Ultimate cause / put in the effort, but understand there’s a greater plan / we grow by applying wisdom to misfortune, death, grief, betrayal, etc. / real truth is the medicine

SB 7.2.39-44

we’re living out the dream of Bhaktivinode Thakura / what good are my beauty products when this body burns? / isn’t it just sane to recognize and appreciate all that’s provided for me? / because we lack conviction in our spiritual nature, we focus on the differences and suffer / we follow our mind like a slave until we find truth / our thoughts and meditations are creating our next body right now

SB 7.2.22-38

How can Sri Chaitanya give the highest gift to the most unqualified? / Please explain, who are the Pancha Tattva? / Is loving God as Father a lower type of love?

“The one who plants trees knowing that he or she will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.” — Rabindranath Tagore / As pouring water on the root of a tree energizes the trunk, branches, twigs and everything else, simply worshiping the Supreme Person through Bhakti automatically satisfies the demigods / don’t cut down trees- just build around them /   take special care of your initiation beads / trees are sacred and so are squirrels / we’re like straws being washed down a river

SB 7.2.13-21

one who is content enjoys transcendental happiness without endeavoring / for one who has mastered ahimsa, others become nonviolent in their presence / We need a class of pure hearted spiritualists without a material agenda / It’s simple math to see the value of a cow / There’s gotta be an adult in the room to stop all the junk mail / no good comes after 10 pm / Srila Prabhupada’s beautiful devotional audacity

SB 7.2.1-12

(may God) deliver you from externals, and bestow upon you an inward occupation, which will absorb you so that your attention is not drawn away - Rumi / Begging for the removal of envy and animosity / let your meditation be thick like honey on Krishna / may our minds go to Krishna spontaneously / our inner meditation will deliver us to our spiritual body / it’s hard to be kind when you’re a hornet / the curse of a Bhakti-yogi is ultimately a blessing / the background history of the demon Shishupal

SB 7.1.30-48

What are some of the do’s and don’ts when attending a temple? / Can you tell us about Sri Caitanya?

"If something can corrupt you, you’re corrupted already." — Bob Marley / Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. — Bob Marley / get obsessed with things that lift you up / knowledge frees one from the pain of insults / our issues all stem from our bodily concepts / enmity is a powerful meditation / Through song, ritual, music or meditation, bring your mind to Krishna

SB 7.1.22-29

Raghu’s official apology to Bob Marley / “We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.” - Earl Nightingale / Only if one contemplates something continuously does it become fixed as internal consciousness and manifest as a part of one’s nature. - Sri Madhvacharya / spiritual culture makes it easy to meditate all the time / Krishna is the most purifying force / Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail / “Everything is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa and is acting and moving by the supreme desire of Kṛṣṇa. This understanding, this consciousness, is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” - Srila Prabhupada / Raghu would be looking for Sisupala’s head

SB 7.1.16-21

the wisdom in accepting our fate / it’s the strong person who can accepts reversals in life without complaint / we have very little control beyond our own mind / entering Sage Level 3 / Sisupala’s focused hatred of Krishna / Krishna’s cool headed tolerance of Sisupala’s insults / right in the mists of the worlds great kings and sages, Krishna effortlessly takes Sisupala’s life / how did a deamon like Sisupala receive the moksha of merging into the body of Krishna?

SB 7.1.13-15

‘Have your heart always turned towards the Divine…. It is not exterior silence that makes a monk, but silence of the heart.’ - Theodora of Alexandria / how to guard your snow globe heart / love God above all things, preserve tranquility, be meek and without malice, avoid obscenity and silliness, love non-covetousness, don’t neglect communal prayer - Theodora of Alexandria / Raghu Has Forgiven Elvis Costello & Moved On
 / It’s one thing to align with God externally, but it’s a life’s work to align entirely internally / Krishna is never partial / How did a demon like Sisupala get liberated?

SB 7.1.7-11

How can I clear the bad karma accumulated through activities of the past? / If one of the pillars of Bhakti is to take no offense, why does the SB speak about the danger of offending pure devotees? / What is the Bhakti viewpoint on chanting japa silently?

“In ancient India, soul-searching crisis was not concealed or imbued with shame, but viewed as an important time of transition, a deep rite of passage.” - Simon Hass / passing through the gates of soul searching crisis to the next level of spiritual advancement / sacred literature- it’s one crisis after another / Krishna is independent, but likes to be dependent on devotees / there is growing evidence that depression is linked to television watching / why not binge out on the sacred texts? / binging Krishna gives you life, binging tv gives you depression

SB 7.1.1-6

“I have tried to be impartial, though I know that a man's past always colors his views.“ - Will Durant / only the impartial can see the truth / true impartiality is found through seeing the soul within the body and behind the mind / Vishnu is both a cat and a dog person / the result of mixed devotion is fear, the result of our devotion is freedom / What is the way to get pure devotion? / because the body of the conditioned soul is infected by the three qualities of nature, dualities arise such as enmity and friendship, attachment and detachment

My question is about the difference between Shaivism and Vaishnavism? / Should we pray for others? / What advice should I give families as a hospice nurse?

when two enemies are talking, they're not fighting / if you spend five minutes with your worst enemy you will find that you both have something in common / Bhakti rituals destroy cruelty in the heart / Wanna change the world? Change yourself / Radhanath Swami's internal purity is changing the world externally / Understanding and respect leads to change / When the talking ceases the ground becomes fertile for violence / Vishnu and Laxmi are the original power couple

SB 6.18.1-6.19.28

love others and God above all / Hate the greed, tyranny and animal appetite within ourselves / Spiritual freedom is the true happiness / See ourselves with the big I identity / We’re just concocting mental turbo scenarios / Our mind creates happiness and distress in illusion / Understand we’re living within a movie / Tragedy is around the corner and nobody gets a pass / We need to fully understand this illusory world in order to navigate and transcend it /  Knowledge and detachment come naturally to bhakti yogis / No one is dear or inimical, but he’s an auspicious friend to all / We need to be free of attachment to be free of hatred / Pull a Citraketu to disarm your haters / Vaishnavas don’t retaliate

SB 6.17.31-41

You can choose your destiny by who you hang out with / What can ya do when truth comes in an uncool package? / There’s magic to be had / Take advantage of spirituality and connection however you can (even in Catholic school) / Don’t be worried about world wars and corruption, acharyas are being born/  You can lose the taste for the forbidden fruit / Take radical responsibility- I got what I got, now what? / Stop blaming to find peace / Be fixed only in the service to God / Once you have a deep spiritual connection, good and bad don’t affect you so much / When you’re out of the prison, you don’t care about extra jello / Tolerate hardship in the service of Narayana / Rise above negativity and respond like Citraketu

SB 6.17.22-30

How to deal with feelings of inauthenticity when social obligations seem to get in the way of spiritual commitment? / How does my job fit in with my spiritual practice?

"The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance." - Nathaniel Branden  /  the 5 stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance / shooting straight to acceptance / the comedy of when we can’t accept / Just because you join the Bhakti club doesn’t mean you’re liberated / As spiritual ambition rises, resentment anger and depression decreases / Am I capable of shooting straight for acceptance? / You get what you get and don’t be upset / However and wherever I can serve, please let me serve

SB 6.17.17-21

“It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem” - GK Chesterton /  don’t just fix the symptoms, get to the root of the disease / our problem is that we see ourselves as disconnected from the root of all existence / Citraketu gracefully accepted his curse / Pariksit gracefully accepted his curse / Prithu gracefully responded to Indra’s offenses / Indra lacked grace, and always tried to hold onto his position / the more we try to rectify reversals, the more we enter into the darkest region of materialistic thought

SB 6.17.1-16

“To love or to have loved, that is enough. Ask nothing further. There is no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life.” - Victor Hugo / Our desires drive us to pursue pleasure - but we end up getting the opposite results / pride in one's material experience brings contradictory results / a living being’s sense of identity apart from Kṛṣṇa is called māyā / having forgotten our purpose since time immemorial, we are situated in different bodies, as men, animals, demigods, etc. / when one is engaged in transcendental service one becomes at once liberated from this illusion

SB 6.16.59-65

without self knowledge we are slaves / don’t let our senses carjack us / yoga starts with understanding how our machines work / the world isn’t our paradise, it’s our university / I’m not the enjoyer, I’m the student / Vishnu to the soul “Um, both you, and the world, are produced, pervaded and supported by Me / deep sleep, dreaming and wakefulness are insubstantial phases of conditional life / “Pay now or pay later.” - Raghunath / forgetfulness of our oneness with God is the cause of transmigration / we can try to tweak tradition, but instead we blow it up

SB 6.16.52-58

Should I be attached or detached as a parent? /  Where do the gunas first get mentioned? / Are the different ages in life linked to the gunas? / How can we prepare to die in relation to the gunas? / How should we interact with people who are visibly affected by the lower gunas?

Bhagavad-gita is common sensical and profound / books change the world / Krishna was the original thought leader-influencer / what the world needs now is love via BG / just hear carefully / consult the Gita in all critical times / the Bhagavad-gita is impregnated with instructions for relieving the burning heart in all circumstances of time and space

Goal: 3.7 Million Gita’s around the world.  https://livetogive.webflow.io/

To donate, text/whatsapp/call Malini at this number: +1 (669) 289-5563

"The quest for liberation from this bondage [or illusion] (of seeing ourselves as separate) is the only object of true religion." - Albert Einstein / our nature is intrinsically connected the whole / Krishna is the hub (holding everything together) and the root (nourishing everything) / “Persons who are too materialistic always see separateness.” - Srimad Bhagavatam / substantial relationships are built on spiritual truth / chant japa with attention and intention to open the safe / the key to confidential Vedanta is not renunciation, austerity or learning - it has to do the the state of our heart / Krishna reveals his love when we come correct / 2 keys to the safe - spiritual sound and form

SB 6.16.47-51

reaching out when struggling over the holidays / I can’t save my face and my butt at the same time / praying for more stuff within the prison cell / it’s not sectarianism, it’s orienting our minds to higher thinking in whatever tradition one is from / frying out the seeds of material desire / freedom from the mentalities of “you and I” and “yours and mine”

SB 6.16.36-46

response to a Stephen Hawking anti-nugget - we get it that computers don’t have an afterlife, but their users do / response to a Christopher Hitchens anti-nugget - we get it that germs cause disease, but where did the germs come from? / the forgotten past of microbiology from Sage Scientist Kanva in the Atharvaveda / nobody has a monopoly on truth / It takes a scientist, a  philosopher and a theologian / If we’re just bags of chemicals, why give holiday gifts? / Sattvika-bhavas - unpremeditated, involuntary expression arising directly from the spiritually surcharged consciousness / unconquerable Krishna is conquered by love / even Brahma is a secondhand God

SB 6.16.31-35

Um, sorry Kiss, but your digital avatars don’t make you immortal / centrifugal vs centripetal force / glowworms only appear bright in the dark / the truth is we are fallible, vulnerable and dependent / finding meaning and happiness in truth, not illusion / sometimes our tragedy is just a little karma left to burn / clearing all the corrupted files in the mind

SB 6.16.21-31

Can you please clarify the difference between imperfect senses and being illusioned as described in Vedic epistemology? / Can you share your thoughts about depression and the need for a guide to study Bhagavad-gita? / Is there any scriptural advice for a situation regarding the heart hardening to those who have done us wrong? / Do you have any practical guidance on studying Bhagavad-gita?

“You have something in you more powerful and miraculous than the things that affect you and make you dance like a puppet.” – Marcus Aurelius / We are all made of the superior energy of God. / We are far more effulgent than the sun! / we can be permeated and vitalized by God’s ever-blissful spiritual rasa / Social media has us dancing like puppets / You want resurrection? We got resurrection / our senses and mind are nothing but trouble / we’re qualitatively one with god, and quantitatively different / hear the sage’s wisdom, watch the body burn, and come out of the river a different person

SB 6.16.11-20

“It’s better to conquer grief than to deceive it.” —Seneca / Citraketu conquers grief / deluded by ignorance, the living entity wanders in the forest of this material world, enjoying the happiness and distress resulting from his past deeds / let grief open you up to truth / Excuse Me Indian Gentlemen in the Back, but This is Satyam / “and this schizophrenia, we call pleasure” / we can love but we can’t possess / if I was a director I would cut to the faces of the co-wives / Krishna has a better plan / Bhagavatam solves the world’s problems

SB 6.16.7-10

the gift of the association of pure devotees / mantras change your vision / Has your lord ever manifested into a boar or a dwarf?! / to the degree you want to be closer to Krishna he comes closer to you / our children are our children for a moment / See past the temporary roles and love the soul beneath / to love an actor you need to see beyond the illusion of the roles they play / be cold to the illusion but warm to the spirit

SB 6.16.1-6

“You have no choice. You must leave your ego on the doorstep before you enter love.” ― Kamand Kojouri / Bhaktivedanta is the fullest expression of the self / To the degree there’s ego, there’s no room for intimacy / looking at our own pain with the discernment of a stone cold Vendantin and a soft heart of a Bhakti-yogi / ask the sages for knowledge during times of pain / wisdom eases the pain of grief / “All that is left of this family life is a list of names.” - Srila Prabhupada / when you’re wailing on the floor, you’ve just got a little karma to burn

SB 6.15.17-28

“Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.” - Colin Powell / I identify only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa / “The ego is like a clever monkey, which can co-opt anything, even the most spiritual practices, so as to expand itself.” ― Jean-Yves Leloup / because the individual soul has desired to act in forgetfulness of his original identity since time immemorial, he is accepting different positions in material bodies and being designated according to many divisions of nationality, community, society, species and so on / 2 two side effects of Bhakti - 1. freedom from material designations 2. and one’s senses are purified (of the drivers of desire)

SB 6.15.8-16

How to come to the point where I do everything purely the love of Krishna? / Should I be putting my chanting first before any other aspects of my Sadhana/Seva? / I have lost most access to long term memory so have a hard time maintaining a steady practice. Can you help?

“Your children are not your children. They come through you but not from you.” - Kahlil Gibran / Share what’s valuable but give them breathing room / the litmus test for what’s real - does it exist in all 3 phases in time? / We are not the body; we are spiritual beings trapped in the body / our massive problems are actually tiny / We have no independent potency to create / take this to your bosom

SB 6.15.1-7