Wisdom of the Sages

Latest Episodes:

21: Earth, Animals & Humanity Jan 23, 2020

Show notes

a brief history of Gaura's mother, Rukmini Devi / the cooperation of earth, animals and humanity / we've made the earth a ghetto / you can't force bhakti / kindness is practical / the sages ask about Sukadeva Goswami - the naked sadhu speaker of the Srimad Bhagavatam / the oneness, the divine light, is just one aspect of the Absolute Truth / the birth of Vyasadeva / ladies have a creep radar / Raghu's meditation broken by monkey love / crazy wisdom is crazy / suppressing the senses vs engaging the senses

20: Raghunath's Dating Advice for Yogis Jan 22, 2020

Show notes

It's all one – but it's different too / our objective and subjective faith / Krishna comes as Chaitanya to understand the love of the Gopis / Hunuman's incarnation in Chaitanya's pastimes / spiritual knowledge descends - you don't climb up to it / positive peer pressure in spiritual community / real friends share our values and lift us up / dating advice from Raghunath / Bhagavatam is not just a book, it's a person / letting go of bad habits one step at a time / Don't be a frog in the well - broaden your mind / Vyasadeva spoke Bhagavatam to Sukadeva who spoke it to Maharaja Pariksit - Suta Goswami overheard it and spoke it to the sages in the forest called Naimisarana / Bhagavatm is the cream or ripened fruit of all the Vedic literature / bogus Bhagavatam reciters / Mahabharata - the best story you will ever read! / parampara - chain of discipline succession / Srimad Bhagavatam is a brilliant as the sun /

19: Carrying Kirtan Tattva with Special Guest Gaura Vani Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

creating a framework for raising our kids with bhakti-yoga / offerings with both skill and devotion / carrying kirtan-tattva – delivering the Shakti in the holy names / ISKCON's 2nd generation of kirtan leaders are crushing it! / if Raghu & Kaustubha wrestled who would win? - the power of the brahmin / devotion, not learning or even piety, is the qualification for understanding God / Bhakti isn't sectarian - devotion is the qualification in all traditions / who cares what you know! / the material world as a refugee camp or a house of mirrors / devotional nicknames / Krishna's joke with Rukmini / the contrast between material & spiritual vision / prayer to the Sacred Heart Bhakti in the Christian tradition / Krishna breaks His word for love

18: There's No Truth to the Programing in the Mind Jan 19, 2020

Show notes

yoga is not so much about moving beautifully, it's about thinking beautifully / The mind is like a computer / the impulsive mind (manas) false ego (ahankara) and intellect (buddhi) / the nature of the self is sat (eternal) chit (fixed in truth) ananda (bliss) / break down the walls! (of labels that divide us) / I love you - eat a cricket! / have some cockroach scampi / there's no truth to the programing in the mind / we totally identify with a body that we pass through for just a quick blip in time / asana is to get the systems in the body flowing smooth so that the mind can think better / work out the buddhi (reflective mind) by immersing it in sacred literature / blind faith collapses like a tree without roots / if this is Jeopardy I'm not choosing the Upanishads! / you can't hear the yoga basics enough / yogis focus on kindness and simplicity, so they can absorb the mind / don't read a sentence without understanding what you just read / the Lord within the heart is discovered not through learning, but through devotion / meditation on the pastimes of Krishna is the most convenient and palatable way to meditate on Brahman

17: Answering the Calling in the Heart Jan 18, 2020

Show notes

our Indian wedding / connection on the spiritual level / nihilism / in Bhakti-yoga we can be both a monk and an activist / the sacredness of all life / which came first (from the prajapatis) - the chicken or the egg? / sweet baby Krishna is the source of all the avatars / answering the calling in the heart / insights arise in a peaceful, even mind / Thoreau & Emerson appreciate the Bhagavad-gita / bathing our minds in the morning & evening / seeing God in nature / to see the ocean destroys bad karma / what are dreams?

16: It's Not What You Got, It's What You Do With What You Got! Jan 17, 2020

Show notes

Raghu's crash and how he reconnected with Radhanath Swami / further mystical stories from Raghu's life / It's all real! / Kaustaubha defeats mundane scholars with a Beatles analogy / in spiritual life it's not you got it's what you do with what you've got / the story of Jatayu from Ramayana/ the story of the squirrels from Ramayana

15: Churning the Heart with Radhanath Swami Jan 16, 2020

Show notes

Who is Radhanath Swami? / the process of yoga is to purity the heart - it's not always easy - it takes determination and patience / as we churn our hearts, so many things will come out - don't be afraid, attached or distracted / reversals open doors to great benedictions / the material nature brings out the conflict in us / the greatest spiritual progress comes when through the sincerity of our will, God is pleased / the greatest way to please the Lord is to accept suffering in order to bring others happiness - compassion is the ultimate service / we all need a compass to keep us focused on moving in the direction of divine love /Radhanath Swami shares the vision of the Govardhan Eco Village

14: The Battle of the Good & Bad Within Us Jan 15, 2020

Show notes

Samkhya philosophy - braking down the world's material ingredients / the churning of the milk ocean / faith comes in small increments / the good in bad within us - which will win? / All that there is within the universe to satisfy one's senses cannot satisfy a person whose senses are uncontrolled / the glories of Mother Ganga / the comic book pundits / makara sankranti / our technology is making us dumber

13: Seeing Saints & Devas in Disguise in the Streets Jan 14, 2020

Show notes

Raghunath & Kaustubha takes questions in this episode / Is Kaustubha a prepper? / drawing essential elements from yoga culture and applying them in the circumstances we live in now / Bhakti renaissances through history / Can you reach pure Bhakti following Lord Jesus? / esoteric revelations for meditation in the Srimad Bhagavatam / the key to enter spirituality is deep humility / it's not the uniform that makes one spiritual, but it may help / Bilvamangala, the saint who's life was changed by the words of a prostitute / being born with bad karma can be a blessing / nothing is random in life - you get what you need to grow / we're asked to have divine vision / seeing saints and devas in disguise in the streets / try to see every living being with a soft heart

12: Vishnu's Avatara's in the Material World Jan 13, 2020

Show notes

spiritual life means facing one's own mortality / we don't own nothin / cutting away false identities / if I start from the false premise that I am my body then all my ideas for happiness, groundedness, peace, fun and deep-rooted pleasure are actually all askew / we call each other prabhu (master) / angels, ouija boards, magic 8 balls, and Paramanda's exorcism / the yuga cycles are always turning / Krishna's just having fun loving interludes - the purusha avatars and the guna avatars take care of business / the 4 kumaras, Narada, Nara Narayana Rishi, and is Vyasadeva still alive?

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