1698: When the Universe Pops Your Ego Bubble
Wisdom of the Sages
Life has a way of popping our ego bubble exactly when we need it most. In this episode, Raghunath and Mera explore the mercy hidden inside humiliation, using stories from pilgrimage, personal experience, and the Brahmā-vimohana-līlā of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. From the cave at Vashistha Guha to Lord Brahmā bowing before a cowherd boy, the conversation unpacks why pride blocks us from deeper spiritual connection—and why humility opens the heart to grace. Along the way, expect humor, honesty, and reminders that we may be insignificant, but we are never unloved. ...
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1697: Love They Can’t Pay Back: Bhakti, Service & Real Freedom
Wisdom of the Sages
Real spirituality begins the moment you do something for someone who can never repay you. In this solo episode, Raghunath and co-host Prana Priya take John Bunyan’s famous line—“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you”—and hold it up to the light of Bhakti Yoga. From music-industry schmoozing to Vrindavan’s envy-free culture, from 12-step wisdom to deathbed courage, this conversation explores what happens when relationships shift from “What can I get?” to “How can I serve?” ...
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1696: Racism, Rage and a Spiritual Way Forward / Q&A Vol. 291
Wisdom of the Sages
Rage at a racist, a double middle-finger “protest,” and a bhakti yogi wondering, “Did I actually help… or just lose it?” From there, this episode dives into how good ethics—when cut loose from wisdom traditions—can quietly mutate into the very hatred they’re meant to oppose. Broadcasting this Q&A epeisode from a quiet village in India, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how yogi can confront injustice, racism, and toxic ideology without being swallowed by anger, tribalism, or self-righteousness. Then the conversation widens: why do so many cultures have elaborate...
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1695: Grand Theft Butter: Reincarnation, Gillian Anderson & the Gita
Wisdom of the Sages
Depth and play intertwine as Raghunath and Kaustubha riff on Gillian Anderson’s reincarnation quote, Krishna’s “Grand Theft Butter” pastims in vrindavan, and the modern obsession with empiric evidence. From debates with the “new atheists” to analogies of murder investigations and reasonable doubt, they explore what kinds of proof actually convince the heart. The conversation tracks the soul’s journey from jñāna to bhakti—from intellectual knowing to loving understanding—where genuine realization always expresses itself as compassion, never condescension. ...
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1694: Stunned by the Infinite: When the Ego Meets Its Match
Wisdom of the Sages
Nature, humility, and spiritual vision can still the spinning of the mind and burn away the karmic illusion that we’re the center of it all. From redwood awe to the Annapurna skyline, this episode explores how moments of stillness awaken spiritual clarity—and how the same truth unfolds on a cosmic scale when Lord Brahmā stands dumbstruck before Krishna’s countless Viṣṇu forms (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.13). Along the way, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack some of the philosophical differences between Bhaktivedānta and Advaita Vedānta—divine personality and impersonal oneness. ...
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1693: Bhakti for Beginners: Doing It Right & Keeping It Real / Q&A Vol. 290
Wisdom of the Sages
Recorded live in Jaipur, this Q&A episode dives into real beginner questions on the path of bhakti—with Raghunath and Kaustubha responding with both insight and humor. What exactly is bhakti? How do you know if you’re practicing it right? Can other forms of yoga or breathwork support your devotion? What’s the deal with chanting “16 rounds”—and what if you’re not there yet? Through conversations with first-time pilgrims and new practitioners, this episode reveals what genuine spiritual growth looks like: personal, flexible, joyful, and deeply human. ...
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1692: The Next Step in Bhakti: Finding Your Teacher / Q&A Vol. 289
Wisdom of the Sages
From the sacred city of Jaipur, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore what it means to take the next step in Bhakti—moving from faith to steady practice and learning under a teacher. They discuss how one can deepen Bhakti while still appreciating the devotion and love of Christ, and how to live the principle of yukta-vairāgya—using one’s resources and influence in divine service without losing focus on the goal of love for God. ********************************************************************* LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to WATCH...
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1691: Soft Heart, Steady Mind: Bhakti Yoga Wisdom / Q&A Vol. 288
Wisdom of the Sages
From the banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh, this pilgrim Q&A with Raghunath and Kaustubha explores how to respond to visible suffering without emotional collapse, how being “more tolerant than a tree” coexists with healthy boundaries, and how to start a simple, welcoming satsang at home. They also respond to questions about balancing the eagerness to advance with patience, perspective, and the value of living and serving in the moment. ********************************************************************* LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go...
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1690: Carrying the Holy Place in Your Heart / Q&A Vol. 287
Wisdom of the Sages
Live from Devprayag, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how to perceive Paramātmā—the Supersoul within—and how Bhakti transforms the mind’s shadows of resentment, fear, and greed into clarity and love. Drawing from the Bhagavad-gītā and Bhāgavatam, they offer tools for re-entry after spiritual retreats, insights for chanting with true attention and intention, and practical ways to carry holy-place consciousness into everyday life. ********************************************************************* LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go...
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1689: A Living Universe, Not a Machine: The Cost of Denying Personhood
Wisdom of the Sages
Much of modern science, as well as impersonalist Vedānta, drains the universe of relationship—one by reducing consciousness to brain chemistry, the other by dissolving all individuality into a single awareness that fears “the Other.” In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.13.54 to reveal a living, personal cosmos where consciousness, choice, and grace are real. Along the way they tackle the “no free will” debate, revisit C. S. Lewis’s vision of a haunted but living world, and show how seeing personhood behind everything restores meaning, ethics,...
info_outlineKaustubha 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/