Wisdom of the Sages

How to process disappointing experiences in holy places? / How to view people from different faiths equally when there are long histories of violence and oppression? / How to respond to beggars from a Bhakti perspective?

metalheads are people too / I'm not okay, you're not okay and that's okay / we shouldn't sacrifice long term growth by settling for cheap, temporary positivity / more on Karma-yoga / my child has their own higher power / rituals for conception / Raghu draws the line / burn like the sun / when we are inwardly content, we can move gently and with grace SB 4.22.52-63


there's a Bhakti Tsunami coming / great souls are taking birth / Bhakti recovery group is going to change the world / Karma-yoga 1st requirement - Phalaṁ brahmaṇi sannyasya : giving the fruits of activity to the Supreme / trying to take what's not ours screws everything up / we're just secondhand creators / This consciousness is called nirmama, or "nothing is mine." SB 4.22.51

Raghunath and Paramananda broadcast live from Poland

His Holiness Sacinandana Swami answers live questions from our listeners at the Wisdom of the Sages retreat at Villa Vrindavan

Raghunath and Kaustubha answer live questions from the retreat participants at Villa Vrindavan.

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." - Marcus Tullius Cicero / education steers our choices - our choices become us / we think we are independent, but we've been divinely cared for / Krishna has an eye on you / Bhagavatam teaches us to Zoom out even more / the material world is a fading dream / how many lifetimes have I been through? / let go of the cactus / in bhakt...

4.22.38

What really makes you believe Krishna is real? / What does it mean to surrender to Krishna?

the sublime mixed emotions of Mary in Michelangelo's Piete / Bhakti provides coping mechanisms for the glue traps and tragedies of material world / art is creativity engaged in highlighting and preserving something sacred / "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark" Michelangelo / setting the ba...

with death comes sobriety / Gopal was simple and selfless / don't miss the opportunities and lessons for growth that life is sending / the key to life: humility + tolerance + showing respect to others, not expecting respect for oneself = deep, constant spiritual absorption / the model of a mother's love for her child / Raghu renames the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel / Raphael's appreciation of Mic...

accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the one you're with, with all your heart / treat everyone with the same quality of love that you treat those you love the most / the body is a universe, the universe is a body / Vishnu is the soul of the universe / awareness of the Supersoul in every nook and cranny is uplifting SB 4.22.37

keeping Krishna at the the center of our life of wacky hijinks / do we pick up exactly where we left off in the previous life? / those who understand life, let go of judgment / we have no clue where people are at /stepping out of automated karma / with every choice, we're choosing a new body / dharma, artha, kama & moksha / we don't have to go cold turkey / higher life and lower states of life exi...

Raghunath and Kaustubha talk with Gopi Gita about parenting, teaching, bhakti practices, and her new book Leadership Parenting. More info at www.gopigita.com

How do we practically put Krsna first in our pursuits? / Is personality a superficial aspect of the mind or do we have a transcendental personality? / how can one practice Ekadashi? / What do I do if I just can't connect with the Maha Mantra?

"I neither enjoy the idea of command nor am I frightened of it. It simply exists, and I will do whatever logically needs to be done." - Mr. Spock / make Krishna the end game / detached work leads to liberation / practice letting go / Gopal Chandra's detachment / self realization not sense gratification / receiving the blessing of departing yogis / let go of the material world one more notch SB 4.2...

"Pain is a thing of the mind. The mind can be controlled." - Mr. Spock / being human is an inconvenience, but it is manageable / separating suffering from pain / Vulcans never self-loathe / when we turn fruitive activities into acts of devotion we can understand that we are not different from anyone else, regardless of the form / our real consciousness is getting sucked up / pornography - draw the...

faith develops in small increments / don't be a shooting star be a rising moon / "I'm frequently appalled by the low regard you Earthmen have for life." - Mr. Spock / treat every little being with dignity / transcending distinctions between external and internal / upadhis - false designations / our false designations are unstable / functional and fundamental identities / the perfect conception of...

Let go of your past and future, it's just you and Krishna /  Burning is learning / There's a healthy bitterness in the transition of death / surrender is going to come anyway, best to do it voluntarily with a smile / "In critical moments, men sometimes see exactly what they wish to see" - Mr. Spock / Our perception can be clouded by attachment & fear / become detached through devotion / burning aw...

Raghunath and Kaustubha answer live questions from the audience at Supersoul Farm

Vegan or Vegetarian? / How to Deal with Chronic Pain

get off the mental platform and start identifying as a soul! / he who can control the mind is in charge / Mr. Spock - "we can control the mind, therefore we can control the pain" / "To give free rein to the senses is to shackle the soul." ― Theoleptos /  "The ignorant man passes through the world dead to all pleasures, save those of the senses." - "Sammy" Smiles / kindness and simplicity! / the gr...

human beings are sensation-receiving machines / people have little access to the possible world existing beyond their sensations - or do they? / after the indulgence  - how do you feel? / there's bitter sweetness in self-disgust  / the mind is living in the glue trap of desire / material pleasure is chewing the chewed - spiritual pleasure has newer and newer flavors /  Yamunacarya's devotion is re...

Bhakti is a practice of inviting God to reside in the temple of the mind or heart / have faith in the process / always feel encouraged to go deeper / after one handles the bad habits, next comes the subtle desires / progress not perfection CC Madhya 12.135 https://sanskritsense.thinkific.com/courses Code- wisdom25off