Wisdom of the Sages

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root. - Henry David Thoreau / #1 purpose – to systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large… in order to check the imbalance of values in life, & to achieve real unity & peace / spiritual knowledge dissipates fear and thus conflict / perceiving the oneness and commonality on the spiritual level / according to one's association with the material qualities, one develops a certain type of character / the broadness of the Vedic presentation SB 4.18.22

there's a handbook to our universe / we are all souls passing through many bodies / with the human body comes more possibilities & more responsibility / minimize the pain in this world / the cosmic order between humans and the earth SB 4.18.19-22

"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind" Henry David Thoreau / the mind's fluctuations are stilled by practice and dispassion / we've got rājasic & tāmasic saṁskāras, distracting memories & tendencies inherited from time immemorial / how practice becomes firmly established / through regulation comes freedom / re-establishing the cosmic order / Vedic knowledge to purify words, mind and hearing SB 4.18.8-18

all your money won't another minute buy / if I can only walk with sufficient carelessness I am sure to be filled / nature is constantly speaking to us / life is a riddle / there's truth in many paths, but some go further / hierarchical inclusivism / Bhagavatam presents a relentless focus on Bhakti causing dharmic reversals in terms of age, gender, caste and status / a learned person takes the essence of knowledge from all places / the laws of dharma are meant to bring out the best in us / when we ignore the sages we end up with Jerry Springer Show SB 4.18.1-7

Vedasara speaks of his journey as a 5 year old, lost in India, wandering with his 8 year old brother, how they grew up in a bhakti-yoga ashram, and of his services today in Atlanta, Georgia, serving the unhoused, and sharing Bhakti from heart to heart.

How to handle negative energy in the workplace? / Can I just choose a mantra? / Can I practice Krishna Bhakti and still believe in Jesus too? / Why are there so many paths, philosophies and religions to begin with?

everything is right / Bhaktivedantins see this world as a reflection of the spiritual world / am I a toiler? / for money, for little pleasures, for being slightly honored, we scold & insult each other / austerity is the wealth of the brahmanas / we need a thick skin and a thin skin / memories of Navidwipa Mandala Parikrama / the Earth surrenders / fate is the language of God SB 4.17.27-36

don't starve your inner Buddha / all sin already carries the divine forgiveness in itself / perceived danger when spirituality is seen through the lens of social justice / a deeper, more genuine compassion born of spirituality / spiritual vision cuts through division / in deep meditation, there is the possibility to see everything is good, everything is perfect, everything thing is Brahman / everything only requires my consent to be good for me / all of us are in rehab but only a few consent to it / all facilities are given to us to realize the Complete Whole / all forms of incompleteness are experienced due to incomplete knowledge / the illusory representation of completeness cannot fully satisfy us

"my goal is this: always to put myself in the place in which I am best able to serve, wherever my gifts and qualities find the best soil to grow" / turning your ambition over to Krishna / aligning the heart with the great souls / being bigger than the pettiness of the material world / the most genuine compassion is grown out of deep introspection / you might be the jerk / the universal system of order is designed to foster gratitude in the hearts of humans / non-binary mentions in Bhagavatam SB 4.17.1-26

the material world is pruning everything away - you can get bitter or grow / I had to experience despair in order to experience grace / humility is the conduit for grace / sharing Bhagavatam pleases the great devotees / foreshadowing of Prithu's pastimes / anything started on this day will grow without diminishing / start something auspicious today / Vaishnavas spiritualize everything / the day we say "Krishna, I am Yours!" is the day the magic begins SB 4.23-27

allowing one's mind & heart to be shaped by the stories of the Bhakti tradition / a tsunami of Bhakti inundates NY / the beauty of kirtan masters inspiring devotion / government has both liberal & conservatives concerns / does absolute power corrupt absolutely? / when there's no trust, there's a need for transparency / government can't play favorites / the common portrayals of the relationship between rulers and sages / the ruler should be a philosopher / respect for women / the King's duty is to inspire piety for he bears the karma of the people 4.16.9-22

Raghunath & Kaustubha answer questions about mantra meditation. Is there a way I can clear my mind before chanting? / Is it considered disrespectful to not keep your beads in a bag when you chant? / Is chanting while multi-tasking disrespectful? / Is it OK to silently chant the mantra? / Is it acceptable to chant while practicing yoga asana?

wisdom is ripened knowledge / you can give knowledge but you can't give wisdom / daily sadhana cuts away ego, fear, anger, arrogance & resentment / seeing value in both liberal & conservative viewpoints / the trainings of sages is the safeguard against tyranny / the greatest burden on Mother Earth is a liar / I'll lose my own happiness if I don't learn tolerance / I'll compromise my own well being if I'm not kind / no one gets a pass on forgiveness / the ornaments of a sadhu / sacred texts are our GPS SB 4.16.6-8

wedding excitement! / Kaustubha's apology / my spiritual director said it's ok if I pray while I smoke / spiritual regulations are prescribed differently to different people / renunciation isn't the goal of spirituality - devotion is / arrogance is a greater sin than weakness / humility is fertile ground for spiritual growth / wisdom has to do with understanding how things grow / better to be with a prostitute thinking of God, than in the church thinking about a prostitute / the old lady who climbed on the Sannyasi

"we do not belong to the material world that science constructs for us" Schrodinger / quantum physics = science catching up to the past / modern science finds echoes of it's theories in the Upanishads / one can use hallucinogens to expand perspective, or one can read Bhagavatam / what am I not perceiving? / why do I scoff at perception beyond my imagination? / deep down we know we are all tiny specks / the taste for being glorified vs the taste for glorifying others / guru, sadhu & shastra / the yogi controls body, words & mind / what if we filtered out all of speech that had no value? / the Bhagavad-gita's austerity of speech SB 4.16.1-5

How do you know when to take charge or when to let go? / How can we understand and appreciate Christ's sacrifice on the cross from a Bhakti perspective? / What can we really do to stop the mind from suffering issues of self esteem? / Is it wrong to cut ties with family who were never really there to begin with?

what you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others / the depth of our spirituality is shown through our relationship with others / a sincere broadminded person should be able to suspend their skepticism / science requires objectivity and admitting what you don't know / whatever good qualities we possess have been gifted to us by others / bowing the body to the parents & the mind to the teachers SB 4.15.1-26

2 formulas - work for material prosperity vs cultivate spiritual principles / reluctantly, the sages enthrone Vena / arrogant Vena outlaws dharma / it's our common connection to the root that connects us to each other / the sages kill Vena with sound / the sages churn the body of Vena SB 4.14.1-46

think of your mind like a pond and your feelings as fish / Bhagavad-gita begins with - you're not your body, you're not your mind / tolerating the feelings without being disturbed / Vedic genetics /your watermelon seed can't become a cantaloupe / free speech, but with respect / the Devas boycott Anga's ritual / evil Vena / if you can't change the circumstance, change how you view them / Anga cuts out SB 4.13.19-49

"Those who crusade not for God in themselves, but against the devil in others, never succeed in making the world better" / first, seek to understand / work on getting rid of your personal hate / back to sage level 1 / pāñcarātrika-vidhi vs bhāgavata-mārga / Utkala's apparent madness / bhajanānandī vs goṣṭhy-ānandī / stories of the devas coming in disguise / we'll all be tested on the depth of our sama darshana / seeing the soul in the beggar / where is your heart and mind when you're dealing with "crazies"? SB 4.13.1-18

Did Sri Chaitanya have a favorite kirtan melody? / When can one become a teacher? / I can't stop feeing bodily ecstasies in relation to Bhakti - Is this some amazing mercy or is there something potentially wrong or wrong with me?

he who kisses the joy as it flies, lives in eternity's sunrise / one undisturbed by happiness & distress & who is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation / the nature of spiritual happiness is that it is always increasing / Dhruva steps on the head of death / we're here to learn that this life is for giving and not taking / we catch Krishna with love / be friendly to all, but be careful who you let in your heart / seeing everything in connection with God / Raghu was a closet Rush fan SB 4.12.29-52

noticing sensation without giving it meaning / Emily Dickinson - Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church / instead of getting to Heaven, at last – I'm going, all along / temple ritual can be empty - or it can give one eyes to see God beyond the temple / the depth of concentration required for Astanga-yoga / samadhi as trance - samadhi as incessant directed thought / in Bhakti, the means and the end are the same SB 4.12.17-28

what does it mean, that we are living in an illusion? / time reveals this world as illusion / when we realize it's a dream, we're about to wake up / reflections are both real and illusory / a reflection always indicates the existence of the substance it reflects / reflections appear exactly like the substance they reflect, and yet are the exact opposite / the qualities we need to perceive reality / from within, keep your mind aloof, externally execute the material duties perfectly SB 4.12.15-16

is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream? / are our dreams less real than "reality"? / there's always anxiety when we're in disguise / we're tiny and fragile & the world doesn't revolve around us / how Dhruva lived - engaged in sacrifice, seeing God in everyone, respectful & kind / a devotee is not interested in enjoyment or affected by distress / Dhruva hands off his relative power so he can engage his mind more fully in the absolute / divine or demoniac qualities / use the dream to escape the dream SB 4.12.10-15

we own nothing / when we think of ourselves as the owner, we're placing ourselves at odds with nature / the test is how to love everything around us, but not try to possess it / going deeper means understanding that even our bodies, words and minds belong to Krishna / with or without merit, we cling to our justification tightly / do not remove, but improve / if we aren't feeling the connection between us, we're in illusion / we're here to learn tolerance and humility / a repeating theme in Bhagavatam - what benediction to choose SB 4.11.30-4.12.9

Raghunath & Kaustubha interview their longtime friend Harley Flanagan, founder of New York hardcore band Cro-Mags and the person that introduced them to Bhakti in their youth. Follow Harley on IG @harleyfflanagan

Is it my duty to care for my parents? / How to bring the mind to Krishna in meditation, when the mind always goes toward business? / How we can do our best to not judge others? / How much importance is placed on chanting 16 rounds of daily japa meditation? / Krishna book or Bhagavad-gita, which should I start with? / Is there a proper "grace" prayer that Bhakti-yogis can offer prior to eating a meal?

there's the cause & there's the cause of all causes / God's behind everything but not responsible for anything / not all yakshas are bad / when we face God from the absolute position we'll find the relative problems to be merely flickering / ways to cultivate the absolute vision on a daily basis / my absolute identity is the servant of the servant of the lover of the gopis SB 4.11.22-29

two babies in the womb ask "is there life after delivery?" / mother is all around us- sometimes when you're in silence you can hear her / how we relate with others can lead to brahma-nivanam (spiritual bliss) / thinking on 2 levels of awareness / Manu & the Sages ask Dhruva to zoom the hell out / will we always be so polarized? / polarity in Bhakti communities / Krishna is responsible for everything and nothing / Krishna is moving the wheel, but you're shaping the clay SB 4.11.15-21

the 2 things we should never be angry about / the greatest remedy for anger is delay / Manu leads Dhruva's intervention / anger is born of frustration / controlling anger is elementary, controlling frustration is more advanced / I can try to remove every thorn and pebble on my path - or I can just put on a pair of shoes / the more difficult worship is seeing God in everyone / the 3 levels of Bhakti-yogis SB 4.11.1-14

the Wise Woman's Stone / Dhruva fights the Yakshas / life can throw a lot of crap at you / hearing & chanting the names of Vishnu cuts through all the illusory crap / face life's problems boldly, chant the names of Vishnu & He will light bright lamps on your path SB 4.10.1-30

Bhakti = high caliber partying / the only true law is that which leads to freedom / hanging onto the principle & adjusting the details / coming back a different person / ya gotta respect the elders / letting go of their pettiness & cruelty / however you're treated, let go of animosity in your heart - it will only bring pain SB 4.9.37-67

One of the original disciples of Srila Prabhupada in the West, Malati Devi Dasi was part of a dynamic group who assisted Srila Prabhupada in bringing Bhakti to San Francisco's Haight Ashbury scene in 1967, to the Beatles in London, and later throughout India.

Am I the doer? Is God? Or is the material Energy? / How to navigate feelings of fear, anxiety, insecurity & discomfort when seeing your partner engaged in maya? / Mindless, soulless jobs - Is it dharmic to stay in them, or to leave them?

Tibetan Book of the Dead - "Recognize what it is that you truly need! It is a sacred teaching!" / the moments of our past disappear like a dream / the past is always perfect, depending on how we perceive it / a living entity must have desires; that is the symptom of life / devotees should always remain satisfied with the standard of comforts offered by the Lord / motherhood can foster selflessness / duty is the first step in mastering the mind / the story of Father Sergius SB 4.9.35-36

repeating baleful patterns without recognizing it is a tragedy / recognizing the patterns but feeling helpless in breaking them is a trial / to transcend the fear that undergirds the patterns is a triumph / the fear of sitting alone with the mind / sitting alone with Lord Vishnu in the heart / how could Dhruva feel unfortunate? / don't waste your austerities on useless things / Krishna Bhakti is a pure soul theology / realization of the Supersoul transcends all negative patterns in one shot / relinquish hate — respond with kindness & tolerance SB 4.9.34

Sacinandana Swami explains the Global Puja for Ukraine / don't underestimate the power of group prayer / spread the wave of auspiciousness / Bhagavatam tools help diffuse road rage / hearing Bhagavatam daily aligns mind & behavior with the soul's nature / the material situation is always shifting and spiritual reality stays the same / how to understand the concept in Vedanta that good & bad are all unreal / happiness has nothing to do with externals / enemies are a concoction / never walk your dog around a candala SB 4.9.33

it's ok not to have convictions on everything / Bhagavatam delivers on its promises / truth of dharma is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated, self-realized person / faith comes in small increments / any endeavor other than Bhakti isn't worthy of your soul / it's not our expertise, self discipline, learning or detachment - it's the purity of our intention that is everything / I've been to Hollywood, I've been to Redwood, I crossed the ocean for a heart of gold / don't treat God like Amazon Prime / where we disagree with Sadhguru - love is an existential reality / Krishna, all I want is you SB 4.9.25-32

even in honoring others we can't help from insulting others / our events & entertainment should uplift / spiritual separation is union / spiritual lamentation gets you higher / feeling of separation from Vrindavan & great souls is pure medicine / Divine love flows between the embankments of union & separation / all our expertise may be a ladder up against the wrong wall / we give it our full effort, and the results are up to God

How to make the workspace a sacred space? / How to offer food to Krishna in a restaurant? / Is there room for healthy cynicism in Bhakti? / Which should one prioritize studying - lilas, siddhanta, or sambhandha? / How can one best explain their Bhakti practice in their day-to-day interactions? / What should I consider when it comes to maintaining my business & practicing a spiritual life?

spirituality is about seeing the spirit soul in the body glove / the sword of time cuts away everything material / we are black belts at consumption - big deal! / the material bucket list doesn't fulfill the heart / the fish doesn't want skittles it wants water / don't try and beat the system- Krishna has a plan / a moment's association with a great soul can change the trajectory of your life / add spiritual knowledge to your opulences / free will is the space between stimulus and response / to the degree that we are dominated by rajas and tamas, we don't have much free will / mukti is already within bhakti SB 4.9.9-24

Live from the Himalayas, Raghunath answers questions from his 'live live' group of trekkers Why is being born into material wealth considered good karma? / What advice to you have for someone who loves bhakti but doesn't plan to seek initiation? / How do I keep this connection after I get home when I don't have a community? / How can I bake bhakti into my hatha yoga studio? / How can I stay in the holy Dham? / How do I integrate my experience from here when I arrive home and explain it to my family and friends? / How do you know when the right time to make a big career shift? / Let's talk about sex

Janeshwar's story / gurus have unlocked a treasure trove of spiritual goodies / we have a great toolbox, community and culture / we become empowered by practicing Bhakti / grab on to the feet of teachers and humbly serve to receive the trickle down of wisdom / change your lenses and smear your eyes with the salve of love / we waste our life chasing other skin bags / don't fall in love with a glove / fill up at the transcendental gas station 4.8.80-4.9.9 Follow Janeshwar at mantra_prema_photography

our sadhana trains us to call for Krishna during the rapids and turbulences of life / we're all in training for the moment of death / you need a regulated committed practice to see results / a little bit of Bhakti is wonderful to add to your life. so is a bathtub. or a swimming pool of bhakti / God is non different from the mantra / invite Krishna in—call him / follow the notes and directions of previous travelers on the path / our whole life is a spiritual experience / get addicted to things that serve us SB 4.8.57-80

our lives are Buddhist sand mandalas that are about to blow away / the soul is meant to give love / our minds screw us up from our innate desire to serve & love / let the mud of the mind settle so you can see Krishna / cultivate an attitude of being satisfied simply / calling the sacred rivers / doing worship in the mind / grinding sandalwood in Guruvayor / Krishna appears in a dream to Andal's father / Krishna comes in a dream to Madhavendra Puri / Krishna talks a priest in his dream about Madhavendra puri SB 4.8.55-58

How do we ascertain the right dose of yoga wisdom to share with others, without coming across like a God-botherer and putting them off? / How do I make sense of my increasing desire to disentangle from the material world while not yet being established in faith of Krishna's love? / How does one know when they are qualified to identify themselves as a devotee? / What are the connections and history between Bhakti Yoga, Hinduism and the western Hare Krishna movement?

you don't need to take a selfie of devotional service / meditate on the Lord's features / Vishnu is the king of givers / samadhi rids the mind of material contaminants / concentration on Vishnu relieves one of resentment, anxiety, anger, depression / focus of the mind gives energy & strength / Guru prescribes when to sacrifice details for principles, and adjust for time, place and circumstances SB 4.8.47-54

Raghu's morning wandering in Vrindavan / only our bodies are vulnerable – the soul is eternal / as we realize our eternality we become joyful / your miniMe is a trick of maya / looking into the eyes of animals / don't look monkeys in the eyes unless you're a sadhu / we all have to surrender to a superior, so choose carefully / we all have beautiful Lord Vishnu in our hearts / Lord Vishnu's form isn't imaginary - Narada's seen it SB 4.8.46