Wisdom of the Sages

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

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I'm born, I forget my true identity, I get caught up in the drama, I expire before I learn my lessons, I'm born / our nature is to be attracted, it's just a question of what we're attracted to / the ultimate goal for the welfare of human society is detachment from the bodily concept of life and increased and steadfast attachment for Krishna / Krishna is a magnet, we are the iron, our false designations are the rust

SB 4.22.18 - 22

it's degrading for a brave, intelligent creature to waste time arguing with an ass / pointless argument is a disqualification for Vrindavan consciousness / if we knew how precarious our situation was we'd do something / good karma can be bad, bad karma can be good / our speech should be meaningful, appropriate, concise and sweet / the quality of Hunuman's speech / society has lost appreciation for quality speech

SB 4.22.15-17

Raghunath & Kaustubha discuss Philology (the study of language in oral and written historical sources) with Sanskrit expert Jeffrey Armstrong.

Learn more at https://jeffreyarmstrong.com or https://gitacomesalive.com

Can you bridge the gap between Bhakti and other spiritual stuff? / What would be your advice or perspective on beginners growing pains in finding meaningful relationships in Bhakti?

gratitude - start with thanking the sun / if you look to others for fulfillment, you will never be fulfilled / the ungrateful are getting owned by the world / a grateful mind is a great mind / gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder / freedom comes from simplicity / good & bad are concoctions of the mind / resetting the impulsive mind with the intellect / what is woo for one is woe for the other

SB 4.22.14

the Sanskrit Vedic sciences have passed the test of time / let's sing meaningful songs, tell meaningful stories / get out of the meta verse and grow vegetables / the appearance of the child sages / receive a guest with humility and hospitality / every week is gratitude week for Maharaja Prthu

SB 4.21.50-4.22.14

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"Forget injuries, never forget kindness." - Confucius / getting even with those who have helped you / regulating practices of gratitude / Bhagavatam asks us to mature from ritualistic consciousness, to the level of seeing God in others / clarity of vision is maintained through faith, austerity, scriptural conclusions, full sense and mind control, and meditation / the Vedas are compared to a mirror because they reveal everything about the world / may good behavior be my wealth / honoring the masters

SB 4.21.41-49

the root of joy is gratefulness / the root of sadness is entitlement / learning to be grateful before you unwrap the gift / the need to grant status to the wise / tolerance, penance, knowledge and education are the qualities of the brahmanas / Krishna serves the brahmanas / dharma isn't black and white / making it a mission to serve great souls

SB 4.21.38-40

Can Bhakti yogis gain truth through other traditions?

See people for their potential / We aren't cutting things out, we're adding spirit / our work should be aligned with our liberation / Sacrifice foolish speech for transcendental sound / Woo world Wednesday / Our lives are teetering- you might forget death, but death hasn't forgotten you / This body is a rented vehicle / Offending a vaishnava is losing at Kerplunk / Discern but don't condemn

4.21.33-37

the spiritual purity of Madhava Prabhu's kirtan / Bhagavatam brings fire under the feet and bliss in the heart / pull Krishna back into your heart / the mystery of the universe revealed - Krishna is the root, we are the leaves / Donkey perspective - are they fanning me or are they fanning Jesus?

SB 4.21.32

On the occasion of Ganga Puja, Raghunath and Kaustubha discuss the glories of the river and goddess with Sacinanadana Swami

SB 4.21.30-31

catching echos of the cosmic dance / cultivating pure vision / trade in your iPad for a creek (careful about staring into fire) / the natural opulences /the Vedas are a manual for how to live in harmony with God and Nature / truth of dharmic principles is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated, self-realized person

SB 4.21.1-29

"What is serious to men is often trivial in the sight of God" - Thomas Merton / "If we could let go of our own obsession with what we think is the meaning of it all, we might be able to hear His call and follow Him in His mysterious, cosmic dance" - Thomas Merton / seeing the good fortune in God's plan / we are the bird in the kitchen / the esoteric side of Bhakti-yoga - the varieties of divine love / Krishna is calling us to dance

SB 4.20.33-38

How to help someone who feels they can have no compassion or empathy? / Can you please explain the flow of wealth and power within the Varnasrama system, and how it is different from historical and modern feudalism? / Is food offered by Sikhs to the Guru Granth Sahib considered prasad by Krishna bhaktas? / Have we been planets, gods and goddesses at some point in our journeys?

"For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories." – Plato / the 6 enemies - lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, envy / 6 more "enemies" to be conquered - the 5 senses and the mind / through devotion one can see heaven, hell and liberation with an equal mind / don't blame, reframe / the mysteries of the world have fallen on our lap / getting beyond the triggers

SB 4.20.31-32

SB 4.20.30

SB 4.20.27-29

Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul – Democritus / Dr. Pain comes to Raghunath (reminding him that none of this is ours) / the beauty and simplicity of Krishna's devotees / the awakening voice comes through the mouth of a pure devotee / let Krishna reclaim you / never break a devotee relationship

SB 4.20.25-26

SB 4.20.19-25

How does yoga "clean the mirror of the heart"? / When trying to fix a relationship, can we intentionally resolve the quarrel or it all comes down to Krishna's mercy? / How are we to know when we are dealing with a Perfected Being, and what is the difference between a Perfected Being and an incarnation of Krishna? / What is the Mantra at the beginning of the song "Message of the Bhagavat"?

SB 4.20.17-18

SB 4.20.15-15

SB 4.20.12-14

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we're walking right past clues to the magic of the universe / the stars admonish us for our pettiness / the recipe for inner satisfaction - tying your functional dharma to your fundamental dharma / Bhagavatam ties all sorts of theistic worship into one excellent principle - Bhakti / knowledge of calculus doesn't diminish addition and subtraction / duty, performed for any reason but love, is a waste of time

SB 4.20.10-11

SB 4.20.1-9

the gravity of Indra's transgression / all that glitters is not gold (there are plenty of phony holy men out there) / Prthu prepares to kill Indra / the Brahmanas prepare to kill Indra / Brahma overlooks Indra's behavior / deontological ethics vs consequentialism / the stories of Balaka, Kaushika and Mrigari the hunter / ya can't reduce dharma to a list of rules / sometimes it's better to speak a lie than to speak the truth

SB 4.19.13-32

we're not buying into the false dichotomy – that other-worldly thought is opposed to worldly good / feeling vitalized by plugging into Bhakti / use the thorn to remove the thorn / Bhagavavad-gita on fake sannyasa vs real sannyasa / cultivating internal renunciation while embracing one's external duties

SB 4.19.10-12

the reality of death can quickly deepen our spiritual insight / when it's bad it's good / ritual is meant to re-mind us / the perennial danger of 'religion' / seeing God in fire, the sun, water and other elements, in the heart of the guest, and in one's own heart / when Indra embarrasses himself it's in front of everyone! / real prosperity is accepting the gifts of the cows, earth, rivers, trees, and oceans

SB 4.19.3-9

SB 4.19.1-2

SB 4.18.22

SB 4.18.19-22

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?