1816: Krishna, Vishnu and the Mystery of the Avatars

Most Vedic literature speaks from a perspective within this universe. But some reveal that this universe is just a tiny bubble among countless others — and invite us to view our place in existence from outside. Depending on which angle we look from, either Vishnu or Krishna will appear to be the origin of the Avatars. Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that question alongside Akrūra's extraordinary vision in the Yamuna — seeing Vishnu in the water, coming out to find Krishna on the chariot, going back in and seeing Vishnu again. When I am seeing you, what have I not seen? Srimad Bhagavatam 10.39.40-57 ******************************************************************** 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 *********************************************************************

It is said that Krishna never takes one step out of Vrindavan. But it appears that he does leave, and breaks the hearts of the Gopis. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that image the idea of how it is true that he never left, what A holy place is, how anywhere can become one, and the six lessons a bhakti-yogi can learn from dogs. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.39.32-39 ******************************************************************** 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 *********************************************************************

What happens when an individual soul thinks the gifts they have are their own? Why do we see so many celebrities struggle, even though they have achieved so much success? Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the source of all opulences — beauty, strength, wealth, fame, knowledge, renunciation — and how when we receive even a touch of them we tend to think they are ours. And then the truth arrives. Crash. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.39.25-31 Join Bhakti Recovery Retreat in Spain here: https://share.google/kShWGFuanwn4clArJ ******************************************************************** 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 *********************************************************************

To the philosopher, the weeping of Krishna's lovers looks like ordinary suffering. To the mystics it's the culmination of the highest knowledge. Evelyn Underhill — first woman to lecture in theology at Oxford — said the mystic speaks the disconcerting language of first-hand experience, something only really understood by another who has felt it. Raghunath and Kaustubha explore what it means to move from thinking to tasting — and why the passion of the gopīs is where all philosophy ends. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.39.8-26 ******************************************************************** 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 *********************************************************************

It's not the coat of many colors that mattered. It was the love her momma sewed into every stitch. Dolly Parton understood something the Bhagavad Gīta states plainly: offer me a leaf, a flower, a little water — but offered with love, that moves me. It's not the grandness of the offering. It's what's inside it. Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that truth alongside Akrūra in the home of Krishna — fed, honored, overwhelmed. "What is unattainable for one who has satisfied the Supreme?" And yet those who truly love Krishna want nothing. They are so full of love there is nothing more the heart can desire. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.38.40 - 10.39.7  ******************************************************************** 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 *********************************************************************

A taste, a smell, a place, a song — something dormant rises suddenly from the depths. The Vedic tradition calls this Udīpana — stimuli that transport you. But where? Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that question through Proust's famous Madeleine moment and Akrūra finding Krishna's footprints in the cowherd pasture — the footprints whose pure dust the rulers of the planets hold on their crowns. This is a shadow world — it has the imprints of the real world but can't give you what the real world gives. The senses have the power to transport you. The question is always: where are they directed? Srimad Bhagavatam 10.38.15-39 ******************************************************************** 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 *********************************************************************

Anxiety, OCD, eating disorders, panic disorder, depression – beneath the specific symptoms of almost every mental health condition there is a fear of death at the root. This is the conclusion of a landmark study that synthesized 129 studies across 38 countries and 58 years of research. "Death touches a nerve. Quietly, constantly. It shapes how we live, how we suffer, and how we heal." The person with OCD isn't really afraid of germs. The person with social anxiety isn't really afraid of embarrassment. What we're really afraid of is death. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that finding alongside the Vedic tradition's answer: the panacea for mental and social disorder is spiritual knowledge. Our misidentification with the material body causes all our fear. Srimad Bhagavatm 10.38.15-21 ******************************************************************** 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 *********************************************************************

"I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. You don't grasp the fact that what is most alive of all is inside your own house, and you walk from one holy city to the next with a confused look." Kabir — the fifteenth century Indian mystic poet claimed simultaneously by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs — saw it clearly. We are made of God's energy, sustained by God's energy at every moment. And somehow we're thirsty for what is nothing but- God's energy.  In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that image alongside Akrūra's journey to Vrindavan — and the four verses that summarize the entire Bhagavatam: God exists within everything and beyond everything. When you see without relation to him, know it as his illusory energy.  Today's episode is also a farewell. Gus — beloved dog, fixture of the podcast from its very beginning — prepares to depart with the blessing and love of devotees. May you go back to the Lord sweet Gus. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.38.11-15 ******************************************************************** 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 *********************************************************************

"Everything on the earth has a purpose. Every disease, an herb to cure it. And every person, a mission." Morning Dove — the first Native American women to publish a novel — called this the Indian theory of existence. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that alongside Bhakti's idea of Dharma and its different levels - temporary and eternal. We all have to embrace different temporary roles, but beyond that there is a divine purpose that every living being shares. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.38.1-11 ******************************************************************** 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 *********************************************************************

Commonly people speak of time as measurements – days, months, years, etc. Philosophers speak of time as the force that moves — and ultimately crushes — what we measure. The Viking King of England, Canute, said: "Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings." Our beauty, our influence, our position — it comes and it goes by the force of time. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the power of time, the yogī's vision of sweet Krishna appearing as time personified, and how time is the enemy of the materialist and the friend of the spiritualist. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.37.14-33 ******************************************************************** 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 *********************************************************************