1751: The Cosmic Authority Problem | A Prominent Atheist Admits His Fear of God
Wisdom of the Sages
David Ramella
4.9 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 1 April 2026
⏱️ 65 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Nobody wants a boss — and according to a prominent atheist philosopher, that's exactly the problem. Thomas Nagel, professor of philosophy at New York University and one of the most respected philosophers of the 20th and 21st centuries, made a startling admission: "I want atheism to be true" — not because the evidence demands it, but because the idea of God makes him uneasy. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack what Nagel called the "cosmic authority problem" — the deeply human tendency to start with the conclusion we want and work backwards. The Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam, ancient Sanskrit texts on consciousness and devotion, suggest something even more striking: what we're running from is exactly what we're looking for. The God we're afraid of — the cosmic authority, the judge, the warden — turns out to be something else entirely. In the 10th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, Krishna is described not as an untouchable supreme force, but as a being whose very essence is to be controlled by love — the boss who finds his happiness in serving others, who becomes vulnerable so that love can be felt. The authority we've been running from turns out to be the love we've been searching for everywhere else. Wisdom of the Sages exists to help you find it.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It was a quote from a book called the Govinda Lila Mirita by... |
| 0:04.4 | Christian Das Kaviraj. |
| 0:05.4 | You know what that book is, Raganath, the Govinda Lila Lerita? |
| 0:10.2 | It was written for a particular purpose. |
| 0:13.0 | I thought it was all about the eight pastimes of the day of Christian and Radha. |
| 0:18.0 | Yes, it is. |
| 0:18.9 | And do you know who it was written for? |
| 0:21.1 | No, I don't. |
| 0:22.6 | It was written for the priests of the Radical Vindigy Temple. |
| 0:28.7 | Uh-huh. |
| 0:29.8 | So that, in other words, it's describing the eight times of the day and what Krishna is doing, the loving affairs that he's having at each. |
| 0:37.2 | It's just a way of following Krishna's day and falling in love with Krishna so that at any point of the day you can be thinking, right now, Krishna's taking out the cows. Right now, Krishna's having secret meetings with the gopies. Right now, Krishna's being fed, you know, by his loving mother. Right now, Krishna, you know. So for those listening, this is the same author that wrote that Shaitanya Charitam Rita. That's right. So my question, didn't Prapad said we shouldn't be reading that book? I don't know if Prapad said that, but I do believe I remember a quote where I, and I hope I'm getting this right, that Shilabakti sent onto Sarswati Takur, Prabhāpud's guru, went to his father, |
| 1:14.7 | Shirabhati said on to Saraswati Takur |
| 1:12.0 | Prabhāhāhāh, went to his father Shilabakhti Vinov Takur and said I can have the I have a |
| 1:18.6 | I can have the um sometimes these tax could be hard to find and then you find a copy and then |
| 1:25.0 | perhaps that's what happened. And he said, he said, would you like me to have this reproduced, the Govinda Lila |
| 1:34.9 | Marita? |
| 1:35.7 | And he said, yes, reproduce two copies. |
| 1:38.2 | One for me, one for you. |
| 1:39.5 | That's it. |
| 1:40.1 | Because the content is so confidential. The loving affairs being described there so that i believe i've |
| 1:49.5 | heard that but i don't want to stay my like to that it's so confidential no one's qualified to |
... |
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