Wisdom of the Sages

seeing life’s problems as tests, and rising to meet them / even-mindedness when all are losing their heads / all the great saints had to respond to persecution / the impostors of Triumph and Disaster / pretentiousness as the next level of the test / always responding with positive energy / passing through the world, uncorrupted / no one is barred from Bhakti / neither charity, austerity, sacrifice, cleanliness, etc. can move Krishna - he’s waiting for pure love / the mature vision - beyond religious symbols and externals - recognizing God in everyone SB 7.7.48-55

“Beware of over-concern for money, or position, or glory. Someday you will meet a man who cares for none of these things. Then you will know how poor you are.” - Rudyard Kipling / the emptiness that drives us to seek fulfillment through externals / the treasure in the heart of the sadhu / affection for others running through affection for Krishna / prema is the wealth that makes everything else appear pale / the steady engagement in releasing, accepting and stepping up one notch / the ocean of eternal happiness / “This is misery, but it gives me a laugh…. All that is left of this family life is a list of names.” - Bhaktivedanta Swami / “I gradually take away all the wealth of those upon whom I am merciful.” - Krishna / with Krishna, there’s beauty in destitution SB 7.7.45-47

“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.” - Friedrich Nietzsche / don’t be afraid to turn it all upside down / “It makes no material sense” / The George Costanza Approach - do the opposite / these mantras are timeless / the pessimistic eye (towards the material world) and the optimistic eye (towards the spiritual world) / 2 radically different ways of thinking about the body - (1) it’s destined to be food for the worms, (2) it belongs to others / there are 2 people in your body (and the other one created it) / Truth Blockers - Attachment, Fear & Resentment / sorry, we don’t accommodate those kind of thoughts in this mind SB 7.7.43-45

all our conveniences are making our minds less patient / less patient minds are less happy / as soon as you endeavor for happiness it backfires / change your algorithms / you can’t be happy unless you’re satvic / break the doomscrolling cycles / a zoomed out perspective of history / a wise person develops simplicity / for small things we complicate our lives / this AI isn’t the future we hoped for SB 7.7.40-42 Check out Raghunath on the Rich Roll podcast at https://youtu.be/BLopUQdMIGk?si=xNJMpiZ-46qqLK2c

What is your Bhakti-yoga elevator pitch? / Did Sri Chaitanya know He was Krishna? / If we are not the body, why is it important that our ashes are thrown in the Ganges river after we die?

Celebrate Episode 1300 with us as we hear testimonials from Wisdom of the Sages listeners about how the podcast, Bhakti & Srimad Bhagavatam have transformed their lives. Check out Timothy Todd's t shirts at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Timothytoddtshirts

We don’t realize the burden that’s weighing us down (resentment, anger, fear, etc.) like a dreadlocked, homeless dog / "It's motive alone which gives character to the actions of men." - Jean de la Bruyere / Jatayu was a complete success / evolution of motive from Karma to Jnana to Bhakti / good intentions are everything / Bhakti delivers brahma-nirvāṇa / Krishna is easily accessible, being the friend in the heart of everyone / material good fortune is flickering / Krishna gives us what we need- we don’t need to save clutter / cluttered space means cluttered mind SB 7.7.37-39

Can you kindly explain the “three principal energies?” -Internal, External and Marginal? / Can you speak on the dance between faith in guru vs. having a relationship that is overly dependent? / As a neophyte devotee, how do I get the taste for praying?

Is dancing in your home as powerful as dancing in the temple?

Raghunath’s dream instruction / definitions of humility / Kaustubha’s dream instruction / time changes everything - take care not to devalue or hurt anyone / the material world prunes our self image / Lexus today, Gremlin tomorrow / the challenge to the ego of shaving the head / advanced spirituality appearing as madness / advanced spirituality appearing as material attachment / just one wandering sense can send you completely adrift / burning the seeds of material desires to ashes / transforming matter to spirit SB 7.7.35-36

don’t just be a critic - plant a seed in the ground - do something, no matter how small! / the shame in the game of the critic / the tension, the waiting period, the resolution / focus on growth in the waiting period / Sri Caitanya’s visit to Varanasi / humility through understanding one’s blissful nature / the sannyasis of Varanasi discover the nectar of Bhakti Vedanta SB 7.7.34

Bhagvatam’s prescription - focus the mind on Krishna, see Krishna in everyone / Yoga Sutra’s prescription - focus the mind in general, relate to others with sattvic clarity / the disinterest of the referee / comparison is the thief of joy - the dangers of social media / friendship toward those who are happy, compassion toward those in distress, joy toward those who are virtuous, equanimity toward those who are non-virtuous / the evolution from equanimity to empathy / the dissolution of one’s lower nature SB 7.7.30-33

Kaustubha explores questions about the application of modern mental health therapies in the context of the practice of Bhakti-yoga with Relationship Counselor, Dhanya Rico and Hospital Chaplain, Kula Pradipa Das. Find Dhanya's newest song at https://open.spotify.com/album/17HCyp59thGRtJPUhyKAUi?si=iczTCsYTRPCefe4vvILAew

Bhakti is the confidential teachings of Vedanta / the heart needs to be opened to understand Bhakti / compassion through not asking “what is their karma?”, but instead asking “what is my dharma?” / individuality should not be suppressed / Education not indoctrination - how to think, not what to think / the role of menial service / understanding bhakti is not merely academic - it involves both inquiry (to gain information), and service (to purify the heart) / Eastern vs Western attitudes towards hierarchies SB 7.7.29-31

the self is a flashlight; wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep are the layers that cover its illumination / are we any less helpless in the waking state, than we are in the dream? / just as the changing body is not me, the same is true for the changing mind / anchoring our awareness in something beyond change / 2 yogas - turning consciousness away from the world and directing it to the source of the world / moving through this world as an actor with awareness of the director and the nature of the film / our fundamental identities and our functional identities / extending the duration of our moments of spiritual awareness / harmonizing our external pursuits with our internal values / moving forward with balance SB 7.7.28-29

Kaustubha Interviews Krishna Kshetra Swami (Dr Kenneth Valpey) on the specialty of the Srimad Bhagavatam and the importance of the reoccurring theme of hospitality found in its narratives. Find his upcoming course at https://ochsonline.org/course/bhagavata-purana-sacred-text-tradition/

On the day of its official release, Raghunath and Kaustubha read from and discuss Raghunath's memoir From Punk to Monk, available at https://a.co/d/bqccpnS

Is it primitive to believe that the eclipse is inauspicious? If you have questions, e-mail us at wisdomofthesages108@gmail.com

Its okay to be a dented can / de-mything the sacred texts / in whatever you shine in, you become an influencer / our karma gives us a recipe for future experiences / as changing aromas are evidence of the air that carries them, changing states of awareness are evidence of the soul that experiences them / just as one knows all things made of clay by knowing a piece of clay, one can know everything by knowing Krishna / our material experience is like a bad dream (unwanted and temporary) SB 7.7.25-27

to understand “what is the meaning of life?”, we first need to understand “who am I?” / Is our happiness coming from the soul or the ego? / purifying the mind through self analysis / the self is distinct from from all things that undergo creation, maintenance and destruction / life doesn’t develop from the body - the body develops from life / what’s the real creation myth? / attachment, fear and anger block perception of the divine / Einstein’s humility SB 7.7.24