Wisdom of the Sages

What looks like madness from the outside is the whole goal of yoga from the inside. Jacopone da Todi — Crazy Jim from Todi — found that every door of the senses leads straight to God. The gopīs of Vrindavan, wandering through the forest after Krishna disappears from the Rāsa Dance, singing his name, asking the trees if they've seen him, declaring to one another: I am Krishna — they found the same thing. This is not madness. This is samādhi. This is what love does when it takes over every sense. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.30.1-6 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2026

The moment you think your group owns God is the moment He begins to slip away.understood this. When Bill Wilson, founder of AA and a devout Christian, wrote the program that would help millions get sober, he kept it simple: we have no monopoly on God. We merely have an approach that worked for us. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha bring that insight into conversation to it's esoteric pinnacle: the Rāsa Līlā — where the moment the gopīs feel proud of their closeness to Krishna, he disappears. Not as punishment but as mercy. In union you see your beloved in one place. In separation you see him everywhere. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.29.41-48 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 2 June 2026

William James — the father of American psychology — spent years studying mystical and religious experiences across every tradition. What he found surprised him. When a person is seized by something bigger than themselves, suffering loses its sting, death loses its victory, and everything is swallowed up in a higher denomination. Nothing compares. The gopīs of Vrindavan knew this. Raghunath and Kaustubha arrive at the apex of the Rāsa Līlā — where the gopīs finally open their hearts completely. We have abandoned our families and our homes. We have no desire other than to serve you. Our hearts are burning with intense desire generated by your beautiful smiling glances. Please make us your servants. The Srimad Bhagavatam confirms it: a person who has once relished the taste of the lotus feet of the Lord can do nothing but remember that ecstasy again and again. Once you've tasted this, nothing of this world can satisfy you. Nothing compares 2 U. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2026

The Vedic tradition lays out dharma with remarkable precision — the duties of a wife, a husband, a parent, a child, a citizen. The gopīs of Vrindavan take it deeper. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the idea that authority is derived from the author of all existence. All the dharmas of this world, all the figures of authority in our lives, gain their legitimacy from the supreme source. And when the soul recognizes that source directly, then dharma goes beyond piety, to unveiling the purest nature of the self. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.29.31-35 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 26 May 2026

Sometimes the thing that feels like a loss turns out to be the setup for something far better. In this special retreat Q&A from Super Soul Farm, Raghunath and Kaustubha share stories of how previous chapters in their own lives ended before the birth of the podcast. Both stories point to the same truth: when Krishna closes one door, he opens another. The episode also tackles one of the deepest questions in Vaishnava philosophy — where did we come from and why are we here? — with a humble, practical and reassuring answer. Plus Tulsi is taking over someone's Brooklyn garden and nobody's complaining. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 24 May 2026

Recorded live at the Wisdom of the Sages retreat at SuperSoul Farm, this Q&A episode opens with a question that sits at the heart of bhakti — what does it actually mean to be a pure devotee? From there, Raghunath and Kaustubha move through honest questions from the room: how to begin worshiping Tulsi Devi and the deities at home, how a bhakta thinks about hunting and the stewardship of animals, and how to hold firm boundaries with people whose behavior we can't condone without slipping into condemnation. Threaded through it all is a recurring theme — that behind every warped mind is a pure soul, and that the devotees who touch our hearts are the ones who change our lives. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 23 May 2026

There is a restlessness in the human heart that nothing in this world can satisfy. Saint Augustine called it the clue to our true nature — we were made for God, and until we find that, the searching never stops. Every object has its dharma, its purpose. The sages of the Bhakti yoga tradition say the dharma of the soul is divine love. It's what we're made for. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that human restlessness alongside the Srimad Bhagavatam's Rāsa Līlā — where the gopīs of Vrindavan surrender to the calling of what they were made for. Let your FOMO be for the divine. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.29.21-30 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 21 May 2026

Everyone worships something. The rock star, the ideology, the bottle of wine, the beautiful person across the room. Dostoevsky identified it as an incessant, painful longing: so long as man remains free, he strives for nothing so persistently as to find someone worthy of complete surrender. We have free will — and where we invest our affection becomes our most important choice. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that longing alongside the Vedic text's most sacred passage — where the gopi girls of Vrindavan invest everything in the very source of rasa itself. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.29.12-19 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 20 May 2026

Willpower is fundamentally the wrong tool for inner transformation. French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil argued that attention — not discipline or force of will — is the true engine of inner change. Raghunath and Kaustubha bring this insight into conversation with the Gopīs of Vṛndāvana, whose loving meditation on Kṛṣṇa accomplished what no effort of will could. The Bhagavad-gītā's method of inner transformation is simple: turn your attention toward Kṛṣṇa. And the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam promises that faithfully hearing about the Gopīs' love for Him is itself enough to conquer material lust, the deepest disease of the heart. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.29.9-11 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 19 May 2026

Buddhism and Bhaktivedanta share a lot of common ground. Both embrace the same radical insight — that the mind is the architect of our experience, and that what we feed it determines the life we live. But in this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore where Bhakti takes it one step further. Buddhism negates the names and forms of matter, freeing the mind from attachment, pointing toward liberation. Bhakti provides the positive side. Not just improved wellbeing. Not just liberation. The prema prayojana — the full awakening of divine love. The Srimad Bhagavatam shows us what that looks like through the gopis – always focused on the meditation's highest object. When they hear Krishna's flute they leave everything behind and refuse all callings to turn back. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.29.5-9 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 14 May 2026

Life is kind of empty if there is not something so meaningful and beautiful that we feel a calling to give everything out of love. We spend our lives looking for that higher cause — or feeling empty if we haven't found it. The total giving of the self is what Thomas Merton calls a blind spiritual instinct. And when you actually follow it, people may think you've gone crazy. Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that calling alongside Krishna's flute-song call of love to the gopis, instigating a "terrible act of thievery" by stealing their sobriety, shyness, fear and discrimination. Through this pastime the Bhaktivedanta tradition shares one of its most radical teachings — that true renunciation can only be the result of pure love, and that renunciation is artificial if it is not a derivative of such devotional love. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.29.2-5 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2026

Most people think of God simply as a witness or facilitator of their own romantic affairs. The Bhaktivedanta tradition reveals that the conjugal love experienced by human beings is a mere reflection of a spiritual reality in which the same love exists in an absolute, pristine state. So we don't need to turn away from beauty and love in this world. We just need to see the source and origin behind it. Raghunath and Kaustubha explore Plato's ladder of beauty alongside the bhakti path — and find they are pointing in the same direction. Every spark of beauty in this world springs from the same source. Use it as a stepping stone, not a dead end. And at the top of that ladder, the Srimad Bhagavatam opens the most sacred passage in all of Vedic literature — the Rāsa Līlā. Krishna, lacking nothing, takes shelter of his own internal potency and enters the most intimate of all loving affairs. The unconquerable is conquered by love. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.29.1 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 12 May 2026

Every love story ever told — the Song of Solomon, Layla and Majnun, the Bollywood heroine running toward her true love — is a shadow of this. The desire for intimacy with the divine is the deepest longing in the human heart. And after six and a half years of reading through the Srimad Bhagavatam, Raghunath and Kaustubha have arrived at its most sacred passage — the Rāsa Līlā. The essence of the essence of the essence. Five chapters describing Krishna's circle dance with the gopis, considered the pinnacle of all Vedic literature and the ultimate expression of divine love. But this is not a romantic story in any ordinary sense. The Bhagavatam itself declares that hearing it properly frees the soul from lust rather than inflaming it. To see it rightly requires what the tradition calls prema netra — the eye of love. Raghunath and Kaustubha introduce the Rāsa Līlā through Professor Graham Schweig's landmark study, The Dance of Divine Love — exploring what these five chapters contain and how the Bhagavatam's vision differs from the greater Vedic tradition out of which it arises. Rather than forced renunciation, it offers something far deeper — renunciation that arises naturally, spontaneously, out of love. When you taste the highest taste, everything else falls away on its own. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2026

"The gift of gratitude. In order to feel it, your ego has to take a backseat." A shift that happens when the ego stops driving. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how gratitude isn't just an etiquette — it's a marker of spiritual depth and the default setting of the self. When the false ego dissolves, the rising of gratitude appears as a natural effect of the soul understanding itself correctly in relation with God. The conversation then moves into fascinating territory — exploring a ladder of spiritual consciousness, and how its some of its highest expressions manifest not in the powerful mystics, but in the simple, pure hearts of the cowherd men of Vrindavan, ordinary farmers who love Krishna without pretense or pride. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.28.11-17 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2026

"Just be calm. When things are going well, be calm. Don't think you're on top of the world. Everybody is dispensable." The Bhagavad-gita calls it samathvam. Robert De Niro calls it being chill. Evenness of mind, steady in both the highs and the lows. Fame, wealth, prestige — they come and they go. And when that truth settles not just as a concept but as a genuine inner recognition, something shifts. Detachment arises — not as resignation, not as indifference, but as the fertile ground in which deeper contemplation and bhakti-yoga can take root. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that teaching alongside the Srimad Bhagavatam, where the cowherd men of Vrindavan — hearing that Varuna himself worshiped their little boy — begin to wonder: will he bestow his transcendental abode upon us? Srimad Bhagavatam 10.28.8-11 Find Nityananda Chandra's course here: https://www.sanskritverses.com/wots ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2026

On the appearance day of the fascinating Avatar Narasimha — the ferocious half-man, half-lion form of Krishna — Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the life and teachings of his most celebrated devotee, Sri Prahlad, the child saint who spoke truth to power without apology, yet never bore animosity toward the person trying to destroy him. His core teaching, drawn from the Srimad Bhagavatam, is more relevant than ever: except for the uncontrolled and misguided mind, there is no enemy in this world. That's not passivity. That's spiritual vision. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2026

After twenty years of living in an ashram, Divya Alter opened a restaurant — and her spiritual practice tested new ways and taken to a whole new level. Divya — Ayurvedic chef, Sanskrit scholar, and founder of New York City's beloved Divya's Kitchen — discovered that separating her spiritual life from her business life created nothing but internal war. The moment she saw the restaurant as her devotional service, everything shifted. Raghunath and Kaustubha sit with Divya for a conversation about what a decade of serving prasadam in the most competitive restaurant city in the world teaches you about surrender, letting go, and trusting Krishna with the outcome. The Srimad Bhagavatam then raises a question that stops everything: who exactly is this cowherd boy? Add Krishna to anything and everything becomes auspicious. Even, it turns out, an alien abduction. Help Support Divya's Kitchen: https://gofund.me/81358219c Srimad Bhagavatam 10.28.1-7 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 29 April 2026

"If you've got one ounce of pride, you can't enter the hereafter." From the man who called himself the greatest, that statement lands differently. Ali understood something that took a lifetime to learn — that the gifts we're given are on loan, not owned. The strength, the beauty, the wit, the fame. None of it is ours. And the moment we claim it as ours, we cut ourselves off from the very source it came from. Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that teaching alongside one of the most tender moments in the Srimad Bhagavatam — where Krishna tells Indra directly: I stopped your sacrifice out of mercy. I wanted you to always remember me. The Bhagavad Gita makes the same point with striking precision — those absorbed in material opulence and sense enjoyment cannot attain samadhi, the focused clarity of mind needed to perceive the truth. One ounce of pride blocks the signal entirely. Do the inner work and salvation comes naturally. Reframe the crumble Srimad Bhagavatam 10.27.14-28 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2026

An apology can be the turning point on a spiritual path. Through apology the ego is gently dethroned. And strangely, we feel not smaller — but freer. That insight sits at the heart of this episode, where Raghunath shares an excerpt from his upcoming book, The Six Pillars of Bhakti, on why apologizing is one of the non-negotiables of spiritual life. The longer we delay, the more the ego rewrites the story — softening our role, magnifying theirs, reframing events until we are no longer the person who caused harm but the misunderstood one. And that rewriting doesn't just damage our relationships. It keeps us existentially stuck. The Srimad Bhagavatam illustrates this through Indra's apology to Krishna — which dissolves his illusion and brings him to a deeper recognition of his true self. This is the great existential apology — the breaking point of countless lifetimes in samsara. Verses: Srimad Bhagavatam 10.27.5-13 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2026

What's standing between us and our genuine happiness isn't our circumstances, it's our false pride. Bhakti Yoga has a radical insight into this — and that the difficult moments of our lives, the humiliations, the losses, the things that knock us off our pedestal, are not punishments. They are invitations to let go of the false sense of self that was blocking us from what we actually want. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that teaching through a stunning passage in the Srimad Bhagavatam, where Indra — the powerful king of the heavens — comes to Krishna in shame after his pride led him to his worst moment. And Krishna, in a gesture of remarkable tenderness, arranges their meeting privately so that Indra is not further humiliated. What Krishna was actually destroying was not Indra but his false pride — his failure to grasp his own true spiritual identity, which the text describes as throwing us into the violent currents of material existence. Our challenges are not punishments. They are here to reform us. Verses: SB 10.24.1-4 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 22 April 2026

A thousand grams of iron is worth about $100. Make it into sewing needles and it's worth $70,000. Turn it into precision laser components and it's worth $15 million. Same iron. Completely different value. The question this episode keeps returning to is simple and urgent: what are you going to make of this rare human life? Your raw material isn't the whole story. It never was. Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that insight alongside one of the most transformative teachings in the Bhagavad Gita's fourth chapter — where Krishna describes transcendental knowledge as a blazing fire that burns away everything obscuring your true nature. The zeros of material life — wealth, beauty, talent, education — line up and add up to nothing on their own. But place a one in front of them and everything changes. That one is Krishna. Connection to the divine doesn't change your raw material. It reveals what it was always worth. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 21 April 2026

The best thing you ever created — you probably didn't create it. Bob Dylan said he could never write a song like Blowin' in the Wind again. Marvin Gaye told Smokey Robinson that What's Going On wasn't his — it came through him. Every great artist eventually arrives at the same humbling, liberating realization: the music doesn't come from you. It comes through you. The Bhagavad Gita names this directly — Krishna says from him comes knowledge, remembrance, and forgetfulness. Whatever ability we have to create, to compose, to lift a single finger — it's being granted. And when we truly recognize that, the pressure drops and the joy deepens. Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that teaching alongside the conclusion of the Govardhan Lila, where the gopis walk home singing — spontaneously composing kirtan straight from their hearts, overwhelmed with love. The means and the end are the same. In bhakti, we call it Krishnifying your life. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 15 April 2026

You can pack your bags, book the flight, and still bring every anxious thought with you. Emperor Marcus Aurelius writes in his Meditations that escaping to the country, the beach, or the mountains is idiotic. The peace you're looking for is already available, anytime, by going within. The Bhagavad Gita's fifth chapter speaks of how the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness not because their circumstances changed, but because their direction did. Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that teaching through the Govardhan Lila, where Indra — king of the heavens — had every external blessing and was still miserable. His problem wasn't his circumstances. It was an internal issue — his ignorance of his own true nature. The escape hatch was never a location. It was always a direction. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 14 April 2026

Underneath every arrogant person is a frightened one. That's the insight Desmond Tutu — Nobel Peace Prize winner and moral architect of post-apartheid South Africa — pointed us toward: arrogance doesn't come from too much self-love. It comes from too little self-knowledge. It's the mask we wear when we can't bear to feel small. And the pendulum swings — from "I am the greatest" to "I am worthless" — and back again. Neither is true. In this episode Raghunath returns from a week working with a recovery community in Dayton, Ohio, where men coming off the streets were asked one simple question: who are you? The answers stopped him cold. "I am a divine light covered in a fleshy body." "I am a pure soul struggling in this flesh machine." That clarity — born not from comfort but from hitting bottom — is exactly what the Srimad Bhagavatam points toward. And when you can see the scared person underneath someone's arrogance, something shifts — you stop being offended and start feeling sympathy. That may be the most practical thing this episode offers. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 13 April 2026

False pride might be the one thing standing between you and genuine happiness. We protect it, defend it, build our identity around it — and all the while it's quietly keeping us from the love, the freedom, and the ecstasy we're actually looking for. In the Govardhan Lila of the Srimad Bhagavatam, an ancient Sanskrit text on consciousness and devotion, Krishna shuts down the worship of Indra — not out of rivalry, not out of anger, but because he loves Indra too much to keep enabling what's keeping him small. The difficult events of our lives can be understood the same way. Not as punishment. As liberation. Krishna is not taking something from you. He's removing what's in the way. Because on the other side of false pride is something the Srimad Bhagavatam describes in vivid detail — a heart so open it can feel genuine ecstasy. Wisdom of the Sages exists to help you get there. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 10 April 2026

The unexamined stuff in us — today — is shaping our external experiences tomorrow. We might think of karma like a cosmic scorekeeper out there keeping tabs on us. Like the universe is going to get us back eventually. But Carl Jung saw something more insightful: your inner life doesn't stay inner. Whatever you haven't faced, whatever you haven't worked through — it leaks out and becomes your circumstances. It becomes the people who drive you crazy. It becomes the problems that just seem to follow you around. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore a passage from the Srimad Bhagavatam — an ancient Sanskrit text on consciousness and devotion — where Krishna, as a little boy, explains karma as a universal law that reflects our inner world with perfect precision. Wisdom of the Sages exists to help you look within — before life does it for you. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 8 April 2026

You can check every box of religious life and still be miles from God. The real spiritual metric is simpler — and much harder. Raghunath and Kaustubha open with a passage from Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov — the dying words of the monk Father Zosima: love everything, love everyone, even in their sin, and you will perceive the divine mystery in all things. It's a vision shared across traditions — by Tolstoy, Martin Luther King, Black Elk, and Jesus himself, who loved those who were crucifying him — and it maps precisely onto a verse from the Srimad Bhagavatam, an ancient Sanskrit text on consciousness and devotion, where Krishna describes the saintly person as one who sees no friend, no enemy, and no stranger — only the same sacred spark in everyone. A better metric for loving God is not the intensity of your practice but how you love the people God puts in your life — including the difficult ones. The episode then moves into the opening of the Govardhan Lila, where Krishna poses a quiet but penetrating question: do you actually understand what you're doing — and why? ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 6 April 2026

In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha ask a question that cuts to the heart of any serious spiritual practice: is my practice actually changing me.  Goodhart's Law states that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. The classic example: British colonial officials in India offered a bounty on cobra skins to reduce the cobra population, only to find that enterprising citizens began breeding cobras to collect the bounties. The measure designed to solve the problem made it worse. The Srimad Bhagavatam, an ancient Sanskrit text on Bhakti-yoga, offers a startling example through the story of the Brahmanas — learned priests who had checked every box, performed every ritual, and met every external standard yet remained spiritually shallow, while there wives, simple village women who had done none of those things, had quietly surpassed them in the spiritual depth. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 2 April 2026

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.   ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 1 April 2026

Every time your mind wanders during meditation is a great opportunity. The wandering mind can be exactly where the real yoga begins. In this episode Raghunath welcomes back Kaustubha, fresh off a pilgrimage to Vrindavan, India — unpacking his bags and his insights in equal measure, starting with a nugget from William James, the father of American psychology. James called it the very root of character, will, and judgment: the ability to bring back wandering attention, over and over again. The Bhagavad Gita agrees — and so does a striking passage from the Srimad Bhagavatam, an ancient Sanskrit text on consciousness and devotion, describing how love deepens through hearing, contemplation, and the steady return of attention to the highest spiritual content. Wisdom of the Sages exists for exactly that — to keep the mind returning, day after day, to what matters most. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 31 March 2026

This conversation explores a timeless tension in spiritual practice: rules that serve love, and rules that replace it. On this Ram Navami episode, Raghunath reflects on Lord Ram's appearance and follows that thread into a deeper exploration of Bhakti Yoga, Krishna, and the essence of spiritual wisdom. Drawing from the Srimad Bhagavatam and the story of the wives of the brāhmaṇas — the wives of Vedic priests whose devotion to Krishna transcended ritual formalism — the episode uncovers how true devotion arises not from external performance but from a transformed consciousness. It weaves through themes of meditation, sacred community, and the power of spiritual association (sādhu-saṅga — the uplifting company of practitioners), while also addressing the reality of "material exhaustion" as a catalyst for spiritual awakening. Thoughtful, practical, and deeply rooted in Vedic wisdom, this conversation reveals how devotion matures, how Krishna draws the heart beyond duty into love, and how to carry that consciousness into everyday life. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 27 March 2026

When worldly identities fade and external things lose their shine, Vedic wisdom points us back to what is steady—our relationship with Krishna and the deeper level of consciousness. In this episode of the Wisdom of the Sages podcast, through humor, honesty, and spiritual wisdom, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how Bhakti Yoga transforms the heart, how relationships become healthier when centered on purpose, and how devotion gives meaning to every season of life—even as everything else changes. Drawing from the Srimad Bhagavatam's story of the wives of the brāhmaṇas — the wives of the Vedic priests — they reveal how sincere devotion awakens beyond ritual and how hearing about Krishna reshapes our inner world. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 25 March 2026

Bhakti Yoga shines a light on a simple but revealing truth: not all priests are equal, and not all beggars are the same—their consciousness shapes everything. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha share decades of experience traveling through India's holy places, offering humorous and insightful stories of spiritual teachers, temple priests, pilgrims, and street encounters that reveal how devotion actually lives in the real world. Some uplift, some obstruct, and some surprise you entirely. Beneath the humor is a deeper reflection on Vedic wisdom, meditation, and spiritual philosophy: when we become absorbed in externals—rituals, roles, identity—we can miss the essence of spiritual life. Real transformation comes when devotion awakens and Krishna becomes the center. This episode invites listeners to reflect on their own path and ask: is my presence helping others connect—or getting in the way? ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 25 March 2026

When the externals of spiritual practice become the focus, we can forget what they were meant to uncover—becoming religious while losing touch with the spiritual. In this episode, a powerful insight from Albert Einstein leads into a deep exploration of Bhakti Yoga, Vedic wisdom, and the nature of consciousness. Through a story from the Srimad Bhagavatam, the contrast between the ritualistic brāhmaṇas (priests) and their wives reveals a timeless truth: while the learned can miss Krishna through absorption in technique, those with simple, sincere devotion recognize Him immediately. This conversation brings spiritual philosophy into real life, showing how meditation, ritual, and yoga are meant to awaken love, humility, and devotion—not become ends in themselves. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 20 March 2026

Bhakti Yoga and Vedic wisdom uncover a profound insight: every human desire—even those that seem misguided—is ultimately a search for Krishna and the soul's lost connection with divine love. Beginning with a striking quote about misplaced longing, this episode explores how all pursuits—whether through relationships, success, or even darker paths—reflect a deeper hunger for meaning, connection, and fulfillment. Drawing from the Srimad Bhagavatam, Raghunath and Kaustubha explain how spiritual wisdom transforms desire rather than suppressing it, leading from confusion to clarity, from craving to devotion. The conversation also highlights the gopīs—the cowherd women of Vrindavan whose pure love for Krishna represents the pinnacle of consciousness and devotion—offering a window into the highest ideals of Bhakti Yoga and the true purpose of life. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 19 March 2026

We try to avoid thinking about death. We push it into the background of our minds. But beneath the surface of our thoughts there is a quiet "hum" of mortality creating an undercurrent of anxiety. In this episode of Wisdom of the Sages, a deeply personal reflection on aging, grief, and mortality opens into a powerful exploration of spiritual philosophy. Raghunath and Kaustubha explain that the only way to quiet that hum is not by ignoring it, but by confronting it with truth — truth about the nature of the self and the liberating insights of Vedic wisdom. The discussion also explores one of the most mysterious teachings of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam — an ancient Sanskrit text that explores devotion to Krishna and the nature of the soul: the story of the gopīs — the cowherd women of Vrindavan whose hearts were completely absorbed in Krishna. Their vulnerability reveals the essence of devotion — surrendering the ego and awakening divine love. After the official podcast ends, the tapes keep rolling for some relaxed and entertaining post-podcast banter ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2026

 In this episode of Wisdom of the Sages, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack a controversial passage from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam — the ancient Sanskrit text of Vedic wisdom centered on Krishna and the path of Bhakti Yoga. The story describes Krishna interacting with the gopīs of Vrindavan — the cowherd women whose consciousness was completely absorbed in devotion to Him. At first glance the scene appears morally troubling, but the sages explain that it reveals a deeper spiritual principle: divine love exists beyond ordinary moral frameworks. Along the way the discussion moves between the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Bhagavad Gita, Shakespeare, and classic jazz love songs, showing how even great romantic lyrics can echo the bhakti insight that the deepest love longs to give everything. In Bhakti Yoga this is called ātma-nivedanam, the complete offering of oneself to the Divine — and when devotion reaches that level, Krishna reciprocates and awakens the soul's highest consciousness. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 13 March 2026

After witnessing a man drown in the Ganges during the Holi festival in Rishikesh, Kaustubha shares a sobering reflection on death, prayer, and the fragile nature of material life. In this episode of Wisdom of the Sages, he and Raghunath explore how the teachings of Bhakti Yoga and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam help us confront mortality with clarity and spiritual perspective. But the same sacred text that reminds us of life's temporary nature also opens a window into the highest transcendence. As the discussion moves into the famous pastime of Krishna stealing the garments of the gopīs, the hosts examine a profound distinction drawn by mystics like Rumi—the difference between immorality and a realm beyond morality. In the spiritual world of Vrindavan, divine love is entirely selfless and pure, revealing a reality that transcends the ethical struggles of this world. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 12 March 2026

Bhakti Yoga wisdom from the Srimad Bhagavatam, one of the foundational texts of Vedic philosophy, meets a powerful reflection from Henry David Thoreau about shaping the "atmosphere through which we look." In this episode of Wisdom of the Sages, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how spiritual practice refines the lens of consciousness itself. Their discussion leads to the gopīs—the cowherd women of Vrindavan whose hearts and minds were completely absorbed in Krishna, whom the Srimad Bhagavatam presents as the highest example of devotion in bhakti yoga. From Thoreau's call to simplify life to reflections on sacred places like Govardhan Hill, the conversation explores how devotion, meditation, and spiritual wisdom transform the way we perceive the world and deepen our relationship with the Divine. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 11 March 2026

On the day of Śrī Caitanya's appearance, this episode is a crash course in what makes His gift of bhakti so special. Raghunath and Kaustubha explore His followers' central claim: Caitanya isn't a saint among many, but Kṛṣṇa Himself—appearing with Rādhārāṇī's mood, drawn by one "impossible" desire: to experience the love She feels… and then share it with the world. They also unpack why the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahāmantra is treated as more than a spiritual soundtrack—it's a direct entryway into the highest love: beyond ritual, beyond liberation, and beyond the spiritual ego's favorite résumé. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 4 March 2026

Raghunath and Kaustubha enter the sacred poetry of Canto 10, Chapter 21—The Gopīs Glorify the Song of Kṛṣṇa's Flute. This is the theological summit of bhakti yoga, where love is defined, refined, and elevated beyond ritual, beyond liberation, beyond even the reverence of the gods. This is not ordinary romance. This is gopī-prema—the highest expression of divine love. When divine sound penetrates the heart, nothing remains the same. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 3 March 2026

The 1960s weren't just a musical revolution—they were a spiritual one. In this episode, we reflect on George Harrison's role in that shift: from global superstardom to sincere spiritual seeker. After "meeting everyone worth meeting" and reaching the height of fame, George realized something was still missing. That insight led him beyond counterculture and into mantra meditation, the Bhagavad-gītā, and open support of Krishna consciousness. We explore how his faith, humility, and conviction helped carry the Hare Krishna mantra into the mainstream—and why his search for a "higher taste" still resonates today. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 27 February 2026

Most people don't suffer because life is chaotic — they suffer because their mind is. As the stormy monsoon season gives way to autumn's still waters and clear skies, the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam reveals a profound teaching on the inner life: when agitation subsides, perception itself changes. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how mental turbulence, stress, and emotional reactivity drain our energy — and how bhakti-yoga cultivates a rare combination of outward flexibility and inward steadiness. Drawing on Arthur Ashe's timeless insight — "physically loose and mentally tight" — the conversation dives into the Sanskrit principle of anapekṣaḥ: freedom from dependence on how life is "supposed" to unfold. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 25 February 2026

Time fades quietly, while we stay absorbed in routines that feel permanent.  A sharp insight from Seneca meets a striking image from ancient yoga wisdom: a fish swimming in a puddle that is slowly drying up, unaware that its world is shrinking day by day. The metaphor is uncomfortable because it's familiar. We drift through distractions, moods, obligations, and habits, rarely noticing how quickly our lives are passing. Raghunath & Kaustubha turn the diagnosis toward practical alternatives. Bhakti-yoga offers a way of living where each day becomes deeply intentional, grounded in meditation, reflection, and acts of service. Lived this way, a day doesn't simply disappear — it concludes with a genuine sense of happiness and fulfillment. And perhaps the deeper question becomes: shouldn't every day end like that? ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 20 February 2026

Monsoon season turns Vṛndāvana into a living poem — and Śrīmad Bhāgavatam uses that poem to deliver precision teaching on the inner life: how uncontrolled senses flood the mind, how devotional service makes a person genuinely luminous, and how steady yogic vision remains unshaken amid life's storms. The conversation also briefly revisits the ongoing discussion surrounding women initiating, touching on a timeless principle: institutions may regulate structure, but the awakening of devotion and the transmission of transcendental knowledge unfold according to subtler laws. 🌟 Subscribe for daily Śrīmad Bhāgavatam wisdom and join thousands worldwide walking the path of bhakti-yoga. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2026

Raghunath and Kaustubha reflect on the concern many devotees are feeling after the recent GBC meetings in Māyāpur, where the question of women serving as initiating gurus was met with an indefinite moratorium and a call for further study. Speaking candidly, but with care, they resist the internet's favorite pastime: demonizing the "other side." Instead, they explore the issue with a steady Bhāgavatam lens — examining guru-tattva, scriptural reasoning, and a central tension within spiritual culture: Do bodily designations override bhakti qualifications? For those who have felt unsettled, conflicted, or simply fatigued by the online crossfire, this episode offers grounding — rooted in śāstra, guided by thoughtful reasoning, and framed by a practical caution. A stabilizing conversation for a sensitive moment in the devotional community. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 18 February 2026

Krishna bhakti went global not through wealth, planning, or infrastructure, but through faith — the kind of faith that sends teenagers across oceans with no money, no guarantees, and no backup plan. In this episode, recorded at Govardhan Eco Village, Raghunath speaks with Mahāmāyā and Bali Mardana, whose personal memories reveal the unpredictable, humorous, and deeply human early days of the Hare Krishna movement — a time when chanting became survival, surrender became strength, and Śrīla Prabhupāda's presence inspired ordinary people to attempt extraordinary things. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 13 February 2026

In a world engineered for distraction, yoga becomes the deliberate practice of training the mind to place its attention where meaning, clarity, and love actually grow. Raghunath and Kaustubha explore attention as the most valuable thing we possess — and the one thing modern culture constantly hijacks. Drawing from Simone Weil's insight that attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity, and the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam's metaphor of glowworms shining when real stars are covered, this episode exposes how noise replaces wisdom, visibility replaces value, and misplaced attention quietly shapes our consciousness — while bhakti offers a radical way to reclaim it. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 11 February 2026

Karma isn't about guilt—it's about growth. Drawing from a quote by Keanu Reeves and the timeless wisdom of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, this episode explores how understanding karma restores agency, dissolves victimhood, and quietly cultivates compassion. Raghunath and Kaustubha clarify why karmic law isn't meant to judge who's "up" or "down," but to help us respond more wisely, act more gently, and move through the world with awareness. When responsibility is understood properly, life stops feeling random—and starts feeling meaningful. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 9 February 2026

This episode begins with the idea that pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you—and uses it as a doorway into bhakti: not just emptying the mind, but making room for something sacred to actually live within us. Raghunath and Kaustubha reflect on "reentry" after pilgrimage, why holy places and holy people rekindle faith, and how steady practice becomes a shelter when the inspiration fades. Then the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam paints Vrindavan: summer that feels like spring, forest beauty, childlike play, and the sudden intrusion of danger as Pralambāsura appears disguised among the cowherd boys. What could feel like a simple story is revealed as something deeper—how love intensifies through contrast, how devotion becomes vivid through remembrance, and how Balarāma protects the joy of Vraja with swift, decisive strength. ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

Transcribed - Published: 7 February 2026