Wisdom of the Sages

what you meditate on - that you become / surrender & the language of love / young Raghu questions an old person / why we shudder at the thought of service / subordinate to truth / fine-tuning ourselves to the Divine / God revealed from within / the terms karma, jnana & yoga in context - juxtaposed with bhakti / For those whose minds are attached to the impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome

SB 3.5.3-4

3 types of happiness from Bhagavad-gita / qualifications for transmission of spiritual knowledge - the potent speaker and the fertile hearer / Vidura was gentle & content / God will send you sacred relationships - keep them sacred / yoga is a culture of descending knowledge / Shanti mantras - let there be no animosity amongst us / a healthy dose of material pessimism / we don't need to endeavor for material happiness / Kaustubha witnesses crushed dreams for happiness at Yankee Stadium

SB 3.4.32-3.5.2

can I chant my mental health issues away? / do we really want to be normal? / self care as regulating the nervous system / overstimulation / trying to convert our spouses / my lifestyle determines my death style / when is it ok to quit a marriage? / understanding boundaries

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how to navigate the different types of relationships with God? / what does it mean to surrender to God? / can the great teachers of the past hear our prayers?

E-mail questions to wisdomofthesages108@gmail.com

am I a puddle or a pond? / the spiritual separation paradox - like dry ice / the double perception of simultaneous separation and meeting / the order of the Lord and the Lord Himself are identical / knowing about the modes of nature is helpful, whether you believe in God or not / the yogi is the only one that's free / snipping the strings of our puppeteers / our worldly struggles are the exact recipe for our rectification - we just need to realize it

SB 3.4.27-31 (& BG 14.21-26)

Momma Cappo's attitude of gratitude / Uddhava gets ready to depart to the Himalayas / maryādā-vyatikrama - crossing the line of etiquette / the following of etiquette can serve as a yogic practice that not only demonstrates, but also cultivates a deeper awareness or sensitivity towards the hearts of others / one should not be eager to become a spiritual master cheaply for the sake of profit & fame / how to see fallen gurus / kindness towards juniors and respect towards seniors serves as the conduit for the flow of transcendental knowledge

SB 3.4.16-26

Adrian Eagle putting out positive soul / cultivating a burning desire for pure bhakti - leaving behind the minutiae / fanning the spark / Raghu's dream of Vrindavan - you just have to want it / sitting in New York but being in Vrindavan / the blessing of kind souls who share their desire / the greed for pure devotion / dharma, artha, kama, moksha / 3 reasons why materialism always fails / prema pumartho mahan / no amount of wealth, romance or followers can fill our God-shaped hole / back to our friend Francois de La Rochefoucauld

that disgusting liquid beauty story / based on beauty, love soon dies / Raghu's experimentations in meditation on the non-cartoon Krishna / Maitreya enters the scene / depersonalization precedes abuse / man proposes God disposes / super consciousness vs partial consciousness / "Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy they are, who already possess it." / refining our desires vs curbing our desires / our material desire is but a spark of Krishna's splendor

SB 3.4.1-11

writing people off / mind your own business / Jara the hunter returns to the spiritual world / even to date there are many prostitutes in great cities of India who are sincere devotees of the Lord / tricks of chance / why are we so judgmental? / the dangers of chardhama yatra / a heart is completely devoid of the propensity to criticize others / Krishna is a thief! / this is what I am

vigilance to deepen spiritual life / the love that can transform any circumstance / seeing my karma as my responsibility and yours with compassion / the ease of the master / being at ease in the stretch zone / money & art / shifting during COVID / the highest dharma / racism & our shared responsibility / expressing our internal practice externally

how to make sense of stories that appear to makes God's grace random / how do you train yourself to not get offended? / I want to contribute service to the world but circumstances are making it difficult - does good character count as contribution? / how do you enter your day in the mood of service and maintain that, keeping coming back to the place of trusting that what you're doing is beneficial to the bigger picture and that it's not going to ultimately drain you at the end of the day?

fly like an eagle & don't kill skunks - how a yogi handles annoying people / serve those you envy / by hearing and chanting Krishna's glories, conditioned souls born in the future would cross beyond the darkness of ignorance / the sages share a risqué analogy / never diss the a-list sages / it was "turned into" an iron club Raghu / 3 principles of civilization: protecting cows, maintaining the brahminical culture, becoming a pure devotee / gotta curb the tendency to be judgmental - Jara the hunter was a great soul

why should I worry? / WWE wrestling is a warped reflection of Krsna killing Kamsa / every Bollywood movie is a warped reflection of Krishna rescuing Rukmini / you can be a sassy yogi / platypuses are unreal / Gandhari's mystic powers can't thwart Krishna's plan / Krishna cheats for the higher principle of love / Duryodhana's childishness / feed the inner Yudhisthira - starve the inner Duryodhana

SB 3.3.1-13

King of Hearts walks on the show / Krishna's pastimes facilitate the exchange of devotional love / is the desire for love something alien to my true self that needs to be identified and eliminated - or part of my nature, that has become warped through contact with something foreign to it, and simply needs to be purified? / love transformed into lust / material means selfish - spiritual means selfless / fraternal love, parental love, romantic love in the spiritual context

Follow Bob on IG @thebeardedbhakta SB 3.2.30-34

happy birthday Kaustubha / definition of kitsch / key for understanding the stories of Krishna's pastimes - it's all about facilitating the exchange of devotional love / Krishna & his mother's love / the 6 Goswamis of Vrindavan / Kaustubha's flower plucking - miracle or devotional internal clock / these cowherd boys were great ṛṣis and yogīs in their previous births

SB 3.2.24-29

please explain the Shelter song "Message of the Bhagavat" / what is the highest being one can reincarnate as, and what kind of life should one lead in order to gain the privilege? / is it cultural appropriation for a westerner to wear Indian clothes? / some orthodox teachers of bhakti make me feel discouraged - is there room for me?

Krishna worships Draupadi / Krishna becomes Arjuna's driver / all the details are in the comic books / wisdom & old age go well together / Krishna begs forgiveness of his parents / Krishna acts like a subject of Ugrasena / Krishna tolerates 100 insults and then liberates Sishupal / Krishna grants the highest liberation to the shapeshifter - sharp sword in a soft sheath - namely Putana / Pundarik Vidyaniddhi - you can't judge a book by its cover

SB 3.2.16-23

Shyamasundari and the Syama Ashrama / how to understand the yoga traditions worship of form / 3 features of the Divine / Krishna's unexcelled beauty / the gods are watching us at every moment / why are we afraid of a personal God? / Krishna - the God of love

SB 3.2.7-15

Raghu's spiritual bucket list / the baby that fell in the donation box / the orphanage at the Chowpatty temple / 9 stages of bhakti / anartha nivrtti: decreasing of unwanted attachments / 4 types of anarthas / 5 kleshas (causes of suffering) / even good karma can be bad / corrupted files in the mind / the heart is a garden - the heart is a temple

feed your focus - starve your distractions / Kaustubha's Krishna miracle / Uddhava displays sattvika-bhavas - involuntary expressions arising directly from the spiritually surcharged consciousness / shadow attachment / living with the body in the material world & the mind in the spiritual world / cultivating the seed of bhakti / who we associate with makes all the difference

SB 3.2.1-6

writing devotional sounds / meeting Willow Smith / The need for Western devotional music / Rise - a progression toward the promise of one's true nature / a record born through the COVID crisis / recording in Conway Studios / introversion as a musician / Patreon - a new model for supporting the devotional arts / GOVINDA! - drops on Friday

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Sri T. Krishnamacharya - the father of modern yoga / 3 levels of asana according to one's faith / surviving death / why worship the demigods? / either grow or repeat / Krishna's lila - taking the divine adventures of love to a town near you / a more essential understanding of what it means to be in the presence of God / spiritual community can transform any place into a holy place

SB 3.1.44-45

we must end this uncivil war / profoundly do we understand the spiritual nature that unites us all? / Krishna's lila is both playful & didactic / true objectivity requires expanding the mind / when did God get cut out of meditation? / Vedic teachings is the Alice's Restaurant of spirituality / why do we do asana? - 3 levels of faith / Bhakti is a yoga path that makes up for our weakness through attraction to its beauty

SB 3.1.44

kirtan is the outlet - Sri Govinda's story about losing his child / Mother Earth can't carry the burden of prideful leaders / dealing with all of our shortcomings in one fell swoop / Raghu's Radha Kunda parikrama - an exercise in humility / 3 types of false pride - wealth, education & followers / the simple formula for happiness - offer everything (body, words, mind, wealth, education, followers, etc.)

SB 3.1.43

why do we shout in anger? / consuming anger vs anger evoked / Kaustubha gets schooled by a junior monk about anger / the winds of the material energy create friction that brings out our ugly side / when did newscasters start screaming at each other? / being informed vs being consumed by the news / Vidura meets Uddhava / the divine & demoniac qualities listed in Bhagavad-gita / Vidura's fearlessness

SB 3.1.20-42

why is gambling so bad? / what can one do if childhood trauma is disrupting their present day relationships? / does it matter if my motive to do the right thing is based merely on bodily concerns? / did I ask to be here? / why did Buddha reject the Vedas?

too much concern for external appearance brings inattention to the soul's inner function / keep the morning sacred / the value in being alone / applying the principles of fasting and vows of silence / shedding old costumes / how vows work / repetition is the mother of mastery / scary morning walks around Vrindavan / the machines of the body and mind have taken control / weakening the power of the body and mind through repetition

SB 3.1.19

plan on getting hurt - it's the material world after all / the pure places - where there is nothing for the materialist / what is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage / Vidura's conduct on pilgrimage - purely motivated & exclusive, independent - no compromises, always sanctified, lying on the ground & dressing like a mendicant

SB 3.1.17-19

Vidura speaks truth to power / the banishment of Vidura / leaving his bow at the door, Vidura embrace a new dharma / Vidura's response to insult - both emotional & rational / if you see 3 jerks a day - you might be the jerk / let go of resentment & forgive / enemies become our meditation

SB 3.1.10-16

Raghu wakes up to the exorcist / 3 ways the blind king failed / our taste for spiritual content is tied to our lifestyle / a yogi has to be straight forward & honest / turn your moral microscope on yourself / Gandhari's words of wisdom / seeing through a spiritual lens / Kunti's message to the Pandavas

SB 3.1.9

happy birthday Raghunath! / deflect the credit - give appreciation / we are made of the mercy of other people / the king, the snake & the dead brahmin / the most advanced yogi has a heart completely devoid of the propensity to criticize others / the 12 mahajanas - "great persons" / Vidura & the blind king / we should feel that we have no enemies / cliffhanger - why is gambling so bad?

SB 2.10.48 - 3.1.8

how can one prepare their mind for entering an ashrama as a monk? / can you please speak on the feeling of intimidation? / at what age does karma kick in - are children held responsible? / as a new Bhakti practitioner how do I navigate a potential partnership with someone who doesn't share all of the same values?

American instability vs spiritual stability / we are consuming junk food yet we're surprised when the symptoms of disease appear / seeing adharma as dharma under the spell of illusion / material pessimism & spiritual optimism / we're tottering like a drop of water on a lotus petal / seeing God in nature, in the heart & as a person / the enlightened person should endeavor only for the minimum necessities of life / bhakti- life is wasted if we don't take to it

Ayurveda Mama with Dhyana Masla / raising undented cans / teenage mystics startin trouble / we all have a debt / we're all going to die / Raghu, Kaustubha & Mara's previous lives / the appearance of Sukadeva Goswami / everyone is meditating, everyone is worshiping / 1st Canto cliffhanger - what should we hear, chant, remember & worship?

https://www.thesisterscience.com/ayurveda-mama-book

breaking bad habits / whatever you meditate on you get / watering the root is nonsectarian / small increments of faith / taking out the trash in our thoughts / cow dung stories / love & respect for the cow & the bull

what is Nyaya? / coming to Bhakti / studying philosophy can foster faith / influences in Indian & Greek philosophy / the mailman sadhu - truth is truth / 3 components to Karma-yoga / the Bhagavad-gita's 4 reasons to act / raising a family as a Karma-yogi

Matthew R. Dasti is Professor of Philosophy at Bridgewater State University

is there a such thing as "a healthy dose of illusion"? / I can't deal very well with Christmas time – how do I change the lenses I'm using to see it? / why do we choose to do things that are unhealthy for us? / would you please discuss the concept of expectations from a wide vantage point? / what is the difference between idolatry and deity worship?

upgrading in 2021 / everyone is struggling / Kunti's prayers / Bhisma's instructions / samadhi / festive culture as yoga / Vidura comes back and the blind king "quits home" /taking sanyasa / to voluntarily accept what nature will ultimately force us to accept involuntarily

Srimad Bhagavatam - lifeline for 2020 / 2020 taught us that we suffer together when we don't see all life and the earth as sacred / you get what you look for / the news / thanks to all the listeners / WotS in 2021 / questions by the sages / 3 manifestations of God / Krishna is the fountainhead / Vyasa's dissatisfaction / Narada's instructions to compose Srimad Bhagavatam / Narada's past life / Arjuna's dilemma / Kunti's prayers

we crave eternality / why we should clean our apartments / creation, maintenance & destruction / time is meant for our education / there has to be a shift / time is Krishna / Shelter "Hands of Time" lyrics / cooking coconuts / saintly Vidura / God is using people and situations to take me to higher places / "I'm spiritual. Now screw you!!!"

SB 2.10.41-51

some of the glories of Srimad Bhagavatam / it's not sectarian, it's just describing different levels of knowledge / become happier by becoming a better person / happiness comes through a sattvic life / how to answer questions about karma / a long list of ancient aliens

SB 2.10.33-41

why does Raghunath want to go to the Grand Canyon? / the 3 Purusha Avatars - Mahavishnu, Garbhodakshayi Vishnu, Ksirodakshayi Vishnu / the soul, the devas, the body, and the supreme shelter which they all depend on / lamp is powerhouse as the soul is to God / the creation of senses, and sense objects in the virtual realm / our bodies are fake-God suits / climbing levels in the video game are preventing us from finding real happiness within

SB 2.10.3-31

Aindra's desire to touch people's hearts / 24 hour kirtan / utilizing material things for a spiritual purpose / incarnation through sound / the passing away of Aindra / there is nowhere I would rather be than right here right now / 3 types of Brijabasis / dying in Vrindavan / Aindra's kirtan skills / kirtan integrity / advice for kirtan leaders

if you had only 30 days to live, what scripture would you want to hear? from whom would you want to hear from? where would you want to be? what would you give up? is there something you would want to tell the world? / how to work out sexual issues in a relationship where only one partner is practicing bhakti? / which is most important, grace or effort? / which books should I focus on for learning the basics of bhakti? / what is the difference between imitating & following?

the greatest commandment - to love God & your neighbor / caring for others is more important than empty ritual / "you are not far from the kingdom of God" / though our bodies are dying our spirits are being renewed every day / we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen / the "sins" to be condemned - pride, hypocrisy, favoritism & slander / consider your troubles as an opportunity for great joy / don't you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you? / nothing done in bhakti is ever useless / a prayer that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace

Raghunath likes parameters / the formula - strict with oneself - lenient with others / there are no self-made men / Salieri's sin of envy was greater than Mozart's sin of hedonism / pride correlates with illusion / humility correlates with truth / God will break our pride / Bhagavatam prepares us for both success & failure / the 4 sampradayas

SB 2.9.37-46

the earnestness of the dented cans / technology vs spirituality / we are products, not prisoners, of our past / the auto-prompt conditioning in the mind / increasing & decreasing free will / self-improvement between the surging urges / the power of affirmative resolutions / addiction is like a snowball / we are possessors of programmable machines / spiritual actors / guilt, self-loathing & loneliness on the spiritual path

https://www.thespiritualscientist.com http://bhakticenter.org/yoga-of-writing/

how to stay focused, minimize anxiety, and trust in God's plan while going through tragedy? / is is cultural appropriation for a westerner to practice bhakti-yoga? / how does one be happy in this material life while embodying a spiritual life? / how to adjust when God feels distant? / is it good for my spiritual practice to go to the forest for years alone?

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