Wisdom of the Sages

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 theol...

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...

"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...

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...

"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 g...

"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 desire...

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...

"If we climb high enough, we will reach a height from which tragedy ceases to look tragic." - Irvin D. Yalom / without the spiritual lens, life's tragedies (and it's meaninglessness) become crushing / tragedy will come- nobody gets a pass / all our hopes for material happiness come with grief as the flip side / grief is the crack where truth can enter / tragedy can break your faith in God or break...

"Tragedy is like strong acid. It dissolves away all but the very gold of truth." - D. H. Lawrence / tragedy can kickstart our spiritual evolution / if we could only see our spiritual trajectories over the course of lifetimes / there's real hope and beauty in material collapse / the material world always puts some sand in your sweet rice / Bhagavatam instructs as a ruler, a friend, and lover / Citr...

"People who sincerely search will find the same truth in every age and culture. The direction is always toward more love and union-in ever widening circles." - Richard Rohr / Sanatana dharma is the ultimate in inclusivity / the soul is never warped / may our actions please lord Krishna / all the same things are happening in the celestial world / our desires got us to this miserable place / good ka...

Kirtan is magic / Krishna will crush your desire to be the center / We just gotta let go…and then it all comes / a devotee's not interested in maintaining some position / Just when we need him most, the avatar appears / Indra recognizes that Vritrasura is a pure devotee SB 6.12.18-35

Is our path more about supporting others or should we be focused more on our own path? / In moments when doubts and hardships were overwhelming how are you able to turn it around?  

After both being sick for 5 days, Raghu and Kaustubha squirrel away for a show about their experiences and thoughts while under the weather. Topics include... • the glory of the devotees of Alachua Fl. • the soon to be released Mahabharata from HD Goswami • Jahnavi Harrisons music descending from the spiritual world • and a dream about the future for Wisdom of the Sages listeners Check out Kaustub...

What does it mean to be an authentic person on a Bhakti path? / Could you share a little advice on raising a child in Bhakti? / Clicker counters vs tulsi beads for counting japa - is one method better than the other?  

"the Matrix can remain our cage or it can become our chrysalis, ... To be free, you cannot change your cage. You have to change yourself." - Neo, The Matrix Screenplay / we lose our dignity and our focus chasing pleasures in the matrix / the world is a virtual reality designed to to train us to love purely / loving purely means entirely selfless, and encompassing everyone / 'Perform your duty equi...

"What is life?… It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time." - Crowfoot / observe nature, reflect and journal / Vritrasura starts blowing Indra's mind! / What is the fruit of devotion mixed with material desire? Enmity, anxiety, mental agitation, pride and belligerence. / we've all got a Crazy Joe Davola / Vritrasura offers his body, words & mind to Vishnu / Vritrasura shares his tender, inn...

thoughts on kirtan / have faith the Maha-mantra will reveal everything / "Our bodies are just temporary vessels for our souls, which will go on forever. You really are an extension of the power that created the whole universe, no matter what drags you have on." -RuPaul / we wear many drags / note what we're leaning into to escape our pain / material focus keeps you on a rollercoaster of ups and do...

we've gotta reject the aspects of religion that prevent us from uniting in kirtan / kirtan can lift us to the spiritual world / once you dress like a cowherd boy you've gotta own it / great personalities are not disturbed by insults / welcome insults as an opportunity / why should anything in this illusory world disturb our connection to Krishna? / let's be ready to die a glorious death / duels ha...

Raghunath and Kaustubha interview their longtime friend, Yogi Charu, about the importance of maintaining a daily sadhana and other practices for physical, spiritual and mental health.  Check out Charu's book, https://a.co/d/3L4z0zB Learn more about Yogi Charu and his latest offerings at http s://www.yogicharu.com/

How to explain Bhakti to a concerned spouse? / Why is religion the cause of so much war? / How to react when through serving others you feel like you are being taken advantage of? / How to explain Bhakti to skeptical family members?

you need your WHY to wake up in a good mood / Meaning comes from serving others / If you're waking up in a bad mood most days, it's not normal / if we're trying to squeeze enjoyment out of sleep we're missing the excitement of spiritual life / Engage your body as an offering for higher purpose / Prabhupada lived it / Bhagavatam is keying into the bhakti disposition / The body must be engaged for t...

"… either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course." - Martin Luther King Jr. / the lives of heros inspire us to make the most of our own / walk through your hell without spite, resentment or revenge / creating a devotional disposition / attachments cloud truth perception / Krishna is easily accessible to the pure and...