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06.26: Change of values is a more reliable parameter of inner life than change of desires
When we as spiritual seekers find ourselves becoming repeatedly afflicted by greed, anger or lust, we may become discouraged, thinking, “Despite my practice of devotional service, why is my inner life not changing? The fact, though, may pleasantly surprise us: our inner life has already changed. That change is evident in our questioning the presence…
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Unholy contact is the cause our suffering
The living being is by constitution transcendental to material encagement, but he is now imprisoned by the external energy, and therefore he thinks himself one of the material products. And due to this unholy contact, the pure spiritual entity suffers material miseries under the modes of material nature. Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.5
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As Ravana and Kumbakarna are also devotees in disguise, why do scriptures not glorify them?
From: Manikanta The devotees of Lord, Jaya and Vijaya came to this world to be a role in the Lords leela as Ravana and Khumbhakarna. And Hanuman also came to this world to be a role in the Lords leela. Then why Hanuman only glorified through out the scriptures and by Acharyas as a great…
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What is the essence of pure bhakti?
From: Annpriya Mataji It is said that pure bhakti should be desire less & we should not ask for any thing from the Lord. But what if one is not on that level. I personally do not ask Radha Krishna for anything material but i do ask them for giving me pure bhakti, their service…
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As the killing of Hiranyakashipu happened before the garlanding of Narasimhadeva by Prahlad Maharaj, why are both depicted in the same picture?
From: Kulasekhar Das In our famous Nrsimha picture, we see Pralhad Maharaj offering garland to Lord even at the time the Lord is still holding Hiranyakashypu on his lap. Actually we hear / read that Pralhad M. offered garland much later. (correct if this is wrong) Then how in the picture Pralhad maharaj is shown…
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What do the concepts of purity and taste mean practically?
From Pancha Pandava Pr:
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The feeling of worldly happiness is an illusion
No one is happy here within the universe, and what is felt as happiness is maya’s illusion. The illusory energy of the Lord is so strong that even the hog who lives on filthy stool feels happy. No one can be truly happy within the material world. Srimad Bhagavatam 1.6.38 purport
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There’s nothing new in the material world; so why waste time in archaeology?
Man’s activities in agriculture, mining, farming, industries, gardening, etc., were all on the same scale as they are now, even previous to the present creation, and the same activities will remain as they are, even in the next creation. After many hundreds of millions of years, one creation is started by the law of nature,…
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01.14: Krishna is a God who respects human intelligence and individuality
All theistic religious traditions talk about God, but not all of them invoke the same image of God. Some religious traditions portray God as an angry universal supremo who sentences to eternal damnation in the fires of hell all those who don’t devote themselves to him – exclusively. Such notions may have a limited contextual…
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What is the Vedic perspective on the book “Secret”?
From: Jugal The book, ‘Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne, explains the law of attraction. In short it says that our thoughts change to reality, that is if we want something we get it. Now i wanted to ask that what is the vedic understanding of this theory. Does it agree with it?
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02.15: When life doesn’t make sense…
“Why is Krishna doing this?” We may sometimes get this question when things seem to be falling apart in our life. Gita wisdom helps us make sense of such situations by broadening our perspective of life. Suppose we start watching a drama when the hero is being beaten. We may feel that the drama director…
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05.21: We don’t have to labor under unquestioned and questionable assumptions
“I want to go closer to Krishna, but how can I give up happiness?” This fear often checks many of us who are seekers on the devotional path. Gita wisdom implodes this fear by informing us that what we have to give up is not happiness, but our assumptions about what is happiness. We often…
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13.34: Subordinate the empirical and the rational to the scriptural
In today’s science, consciousness is a mystery that exposes the split between the empirical and the rational approaches to studying the world. From the empirical perspective, consciousness is the first reality that we experience, for it is the basis of all our other experiences. Yet from the rational perspective, consciousness is the greatest mystery; conceiving…
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Why are the Puranas mentioned separately from Smriti in the verse “shrutismritipuranadi..”?
The Puranic literature belong to the category of scriptures that are called smriti. Then why does the below verse refer to them as different from smriti? shruti-smriti-puranadi- pancaratra-vidhim vina aikantiki harer bhaktir utpatayaiva kalpate “Devotional service of the Lord that ignores the authorized Vedic literatures like the Upanishads, Puranas and Narada-pancaratra is simply an unnecessary…
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Are the words of the pure devotees about the Lord descriptive or indicative about the Lord?
You said in an earlier lecture that, as God is unlimited and words are limited, so the words that we use to talk about the Lord are only indicative not descriptive about the Lord. My question is: are the words of the pure devotees who have direct experience of Krishna also indicative of Krishna? Or…
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02.62-63: What we hold mentally holds us mentally
Decreasing concentration spans are typical of generation X. Our media continuously offers us high-octane sensory stimulation, especially for our eyes. As compared to the rapidly changing and colorfully overdressed images that are dished out to us on TV serials, movies and commercials, the sensory fare provided by daily real life appears poverty-stricken. Consequently, our mind…
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13.08-12: Information is not enough in formation of character
Most of us have probably seen normal, sensible people sometimes suddenly act abnormally and insensibly. They know well the harms of what they are doing – or at least they knew it before they did it and they knew it after they did it. Yet they did it. Why? Gita wisdom helps us understand that…
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06.27: We deserve a break – from the mind
Our mind harasses us constantly with internal proposals for material enjoyment. Moreover, it has a formidable externally ally: today’s culture. It does externally what the mind does internally: bombard us relentlessly with promises of material enjoyment. Today’s culture seconds the mind because every culture is a product of the prevalent collective mind. What people think…
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What should a wife do when her husband totally opposes her Krishna consciousness?
Say a husband is totally against his wife following Iskcon rituals like chanting 108*16 rounds, not eating onion and garlic, infect everything related to Iskcon, in this case what should a wife do?
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As Radha was the aunt of Krishna, isn’t their relationship illicit?
ISKCON forbids illicit relationship/sex. Radha was Krishna’s maternal aunt ( ie: Mami ). Is this not illicit relationship? And he had sexual relationship with her. Krishna is married to Rukmani the daughter of King Rukmangad. Radha was married to Krishnas uncle. Krishna who abandons his lawfully wedded wife Rukmini and seduces Radha wife of another…
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06.28: The new life outside begins with the new life inside
We may sometimes feel dissatisfied with the same old things that keep repeating themselves in our life’s routines. To get rid of this dissatisfaction, we try to acquire new things: delicacies, cars, jobs, houses or even spouses. Such new things excite us initially, but the sheen of their newness wears away soon, and the familiar…
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Why is ISKCON not active in socio-spiritual causes like cow protection?
From: Rohan We see in general that ISKCON is entering in the social activities like “Stopping the cow slaughter”, “Saving Yamuna” etc. which are spiritual activities as well. But we don’t see some active or noticeable participation of ISKCON in these activities. ISKCON does some things like voting and puting the signatures of so and…
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Can we pray to Lord Krishna to award us death when we are hale and hearty?
From Bhuvana subramoniam [Bhuvanapujita radhika dd]
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Should we postpone the chanting of the mahamantra till we are able to follow the regulative principles so as to avoid offenses?
From: Amit Can the mantra ‘Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram’ provide the same benefits as the Hare Krishna maha mantra? For example, if someone wants to get free from addictions, will this mantra also help? I have a doubt that by chanting the maha mantra I will incur offenses till the point of…
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02.58: Titillating the senses ends in all pain, no gain
Our culture seems to offer us so much sensual pleasure for free. Alluring images in tantalizing poses invite us to enjoy them with our eyes for no apparent cost. Our mind prods us on: “Just titillate yourself with these images; it will relax you. I know that you are never going to enjoy these things…
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Where exactly is sex desire located: in the body or the soul?
From: Rupak Can you please explain in detail about origin, manifestation, transformation of sex desire. Let me put the question as below. Where is actually the sex desire. We understand from scriptures that the desire to enjoy separate from Krishna ( kama ) is the root of material existence and a sure characteristic of a…
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Will the woman who goes Sati not become a ghost due to committing suicide?
From: Amogh Hare Krishna Prabhuji, In continuation to the question regarding Sati: Doesn’t the Sati by ending her life earlier than her allotted years, enter into Bhoot yoni?
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Why does Krishna refer to himself in the third person in the Gita?
From Revati Vallabh Pr:
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Audio Icon | QA Audio : 2012 | QA: Audio | Transcriptions | Vedic Scriptures | Vedic Scriptures - General
How do we understand when different Vaishnava acharays give different meanings of the same scriptural verse?
From Revati Vallabh Pr: Sometimes different Vaishnava acharays give different meanings of the same scriptural verse. Which is the original, actual meaning of the verse? If the same verse can have multiple interpretations, then how can some interpretations – like those given by Mayavadis – be considered wrong? Transcription By: Sahil Khushu Prabhu Edited…
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03.43: Why do our resolutions crash between takeoff and landing?
Some of us may have noticed that our resolutions for self-improvement often have a high mortality rate in the flight from conception to implementation. Often, the cause of their premature demise lies not in the flight, but in the takeoff. We frequently try to externalize our resolutions without internalizing them adequately. This means that we…
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06.25: Am I convinced that the prize exceeds the price?
“Yet again I failed to keep my resolution! I will never be able to achieve self-mastery.” The mind may dishearten us with haunting thoughts like these when we repeatedly fail in our inner struggles. Such a discouraging mind can be silenced, the Bhagavad-gita (6.25) indicates, by the conviction of our intelligence (buddhya dhriti-grihitaya). How can…
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How do we understand the concept of a last messenger of God?
From: Deepak K In Quran, it is said that Prophet Mohammed is the last Messenger of God and no more Messengers will come after that. Then what about Lord Chaitanya and other Acharyas. They are considered to be Messengers of God. Does this point not challenge the authenticity of Quran?
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How are all social service activities mundane?
From: Achinta Message Body: Often it is said that social service is much lower than serving Krsna or doing preaching activities. But some activites of materialists seem spiritual Ex1 : Suppose a parent has a child who is physically disbled but still parents love and serve him without any complain throughout the end of their…
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Does Pitraloka change for different people?
From: pritha saha hare krsna.my question is:in your audio lecture you have mentioned that if a person does average good karma,then a person goes to pitriloka where his ancestors resides.if the person’s grand-father or grand grand father got transferred to swargaloka or any other planets according to his karma then is that loka becomes the…
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Why was there no scientific renaissance in India similar to that in Europe?
From Kirankumar Prabhu based on the “Introduction to Philosophy” lecture series Even vedic culture also had scientific aspects like jyotishya, ayurveda etc., then why was there no scientific renaissance in India similar to that in Europe?
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How was Chrisitanity able to spread all over the world despite cultural barriers?
From Kirankumar Prabhu based on the “KC and World Religions” lecture series
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If the Bible doesn’t have much philosophy, then what do Christians write in the thousands of books that they publish?
From Kirankumar Prabhu based on the “KC and World Religions” lecture series
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14.10: Beyond indecision and indiscretion to introspection and inspiration
“What should I do now?” We often face this question when life’s perplexities disrupt our routines. We frequently respond based on not just the external situation, but also our internal mood at the moment. As our moods keep changing and even conflicting, their unpredictability worsens our perplexity. Gita wisdom helps us understand that our moods…
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How are we to see Krishna’s hand amidst tragic, premature death of devotees?
Question: How are we to see Krishna’s hand when sincere, dedicated devotees depart prematurely in tragic circumstances? Short Answer: Krishna as death is kindly freeing those devotes from all that is material to enable them to focus undistracted on the spiritual. Detailed Answer: Death can seem cruel when it takes away a dear one. The…
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What was the crime of the children who were abused in ISKCON’s gurukulas?
What was the crime of innocent children’s who came to US Iskcon, leaving their homes and parents, seeking Krishna’s blessings. They were molested by Iskcon teachers (molested children included young boys as well as girls)
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Where is the Hare Krishna mahamantra mentioned in the Vedic scriptures?
Where is it mentioned that the Hare Krishna mantra is the mantra for salvation in kalyuga and in which vedas or upnishad is the hare krishna mantra written. Also Prabhupad in his Gita As It Is have said that the single syllable OM is the mantrs for moksha. To read the Kali Santarana Upanishad, please…
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Does bhakti create feelings of inferiority within us?
I feel that bhakti is very negative as it involves constantly beating oneself up by saying that we are inferior and are servants of god etc. What is your comment?
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My heart tells me that jnana-yoga is the best path for me. What should I do?
I believe that the best path for every person depends on his/her nature, and my heart tells me that gyanayog is the best path for me. Only knowledge will help me understand god, and the more I understand, the closer to moksha I will be. What should I do?
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How can we avoid rash impulsive behavior?
Question: Many times we speak insensitively or act indiscreetly on the spur of the moment and later regret: “If only I had thought a bit before doing like that…” How can we avoid such rash impulsive behavior? Short Answer: By developing an internal pause button. Getting impulses may be unavoidable, but acting on them isn’t….
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Kalisantarana Upanishad
TEXT 1 hari aum dvaparante narada brahmanam jagam katham bhagavan gam paryatankalim santareyamiti hari—Lord Hari; aum—the transcendental sound vibration; dvaparante—at the end of Dvapara-yuga; narada—Narada Muni; brahmanam—Lord Brahma; jagam—went; katham—to ask by what means; bhagavan—incarnation of Krishna (here as Gunavatar); gamparyatan—traveling all over the earth; kali—Kali-yuga; santareyam—how shall I be able to swim across nicely;…
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Audio Icon | Audio Lectures | Hindi Lectures | Lectures | Spiritual Observer | Transcriptions | World Religions
KC and World Religions 2 – Christianity 1
Christianity, we will discuss their origin. The similarities and differences in their beliefs, powers and thirdly we will discuss any interactions that our traditions may have had with them. In our previous class we discussed about Judaism, its origin and its spread and how Christianity have originated from within in and then diversified into a…
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07.03 – Relish a thrilling, fulfilling, unifying awareness
Awareness: that’s what distinguishes the living from the non-living. Though all living beings are aware, most of them are aware only of material reality. The capacity to be aware of spiritual reality: that’s what distinguishes human beings among other living beings. Though all human beings have this capacity, few utilize it. The awareness of spiritual…
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06.08: Study makes us steady and sturdy
When we strive to live with spiritual and moral integrity, we often find our mind tormenting us. It tantalizes us with dreams and schemes of immoral and unspiritual pleasures. Over a period of time, we may find that resisting these allurements becomes a tiresome torture. We may even start losing our will to fight. Times…
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14.26: If we wait for inspiration, we are waiters, not worshipers
Many of us wait for external inspiration to intensify our devotional practices like chanting. Our dependence on external inspiration is undesirable because: External inspiration is not in our control and is not always available, When it is unavailable, our devotional practices are left at the mercy of our moods, The caliber of our devotional practices…
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Why are Spiritualists Against Material Ambitions?
Short Answer: Spiritualists are not against material ambitions; they are against our granting materialism a monopoly on our ambitions. Detailed Answer: All of us are naturally ambitious to do something wonderful. But not all of us realize that we have not freely or objectively chosen our definition of what is wonderful; our definition is shaped,…
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15.07: Go Beyond the External – and the Internal
Many self-help books tell us that we can become peaceful by going within. But is the within actually peaceful? In our own experience, we often find it filled with disturbing emotions like tension, stress, resentment, worry, and frustration. These inner disturbances impel many people to seek relief in TV, movies and similar outer distractions. In…
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11.32: When the clock ticks and tricks…
Ours is a clock-driven society. We have so many things to do and so little time to do it in that we frequently feel pressured to beat the clock – or at least to meet the clock. The clock controls our life much more than we do. Our clock-controlled state demonstrates a fundamental spiritual truth:…
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13.22: Processing the Raw Material of Reality into the Finished Product of Realization
Life’s realities sometimes seem to slap us with pointless problems and senseless sufferings. To aid us in responding positively, Gita wisdom offers us an encouraging insight: the world is a school and the events of our life are integral parts of the curriculum. The Gita shares this insight not as a nebulous sentiment, but as…
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05.29: Don’t Turn Your Back to the World; Raise Your Eyes Beyond the World
“To become spiritual, do we have to turn our back to the world?” Many prospective spiritualists have this question. Gita wisdom offers an unequivocal answer: “No; we just have to raise our eyes beyond the world – to Krishna.” The Bhagavad-gita (5.29) informs us that the world belongs to Krishna and is meant for his…
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References to the Hare Krishna Mahamantra
Ananta-Saṁhitā: hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare ṣoḍa-śaitāni nāmāni dvātrinśad varṇa kāni hi kalau yuge mahā-mantraḥ sammato jīva tāraṇe “Hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare.This hari-nāma mahā-mantra consists of sixteen names and thirty-two syllables. In…
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06.33-36: Our Days of Cowering to the Mind are Over
“I will never be able to manage my mind.” We may have felt disheartened like this sometimes. Especially when we observe how the mind suddenly and vehemently disrupts our plans for managing it. Again and again. Arjuna felt the same way. The Bhagavad-gita (6.33-34) narrates how Arjuna felt that disciplining the mind is impossible. Krishna…
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05.21: Renunciation is not un-ambitious, but super-ambitious
Many people feel that renunciation symptomizes a lack of ambition. They feel that those who renounce worldly pleasures – be it entirely by embracing monkhood or partially by adopting regulative principles – don’t have the ambition to go through the struggles necessary for achieving those pleasures. People with such notions are often caught off-guard when…
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Why was Srila Prabhupada happy when devotees participated in a materialist ad in Australia?
From Balaram Nitai Prabhu Why is Srila Prabhupada pleased with this ad? The caption in the ad seems to point otherwise, not able to get the message of the ad correctly Advertising campaign Towards the latter half of 1974, a large Melbourne advertising agency had approached the devotees. The company had asked them if they…
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If Hiranyakashipu performed austerity for 10,000 years, how was Prahlad just 5 years old when he returned?
From: Deepak K I heard that when Hiranyakasipu was meditating, A bird was chanting the name of Narayana and he got disturbed, So he came back to Kayadhu and concieved Prahlad in her womb. Then Hiranyakasipu again went for 10000 years meditation and returned back, Prahlad was just 5 years old… How is this possible?
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What is the difference between a prophet and a rishi?
From Pancha Pandava Prabhu
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If we are served charanamrita while we are taking prasad, can we honor caranamrita with contaminated hands?
From Jagad Jivan Govinda Prabhu:
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What is the difference between a woman’s love for a paramour and the gopis’ love for Krishna?
From Jagad Jivan Govinda Prabhu: A boy questioned me; In tirupati “a lady left her husband & children for the sake of her paramour” this was the news in a news paper(of course later she was killed by her husband). comparing this case with the Gopis.even the gopis left their social customs,their wills,houses,husbands,children etc…, for…
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Why do certain temples have architecture depicting sex?
From Jugal: Transcript: The temples often are the replicas of the cosmology of the universe. Just as in the Vedic cosmology there are fourteen planetary systems, and beyond these fourteen planetary systems is Vaikuntha. When a seeker is moving towards spiritual world, towards Vaikuntha, the abode of the Lord, he/she has to pass through the…
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How can we understand that we are different from our mind?
Question: To progress towards self-realization, we need to understand that we are neither our body nor our mind. Understanding that we are not our physical bodies is relatively easier: we are conscious, whereas the physical body isn’t. But how can we understand that we are not our mind? Brief Answer: By trying to do an…
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03.41: Are we watching what we watch?
The standard wordweb dictionary gives two meanings of the word watch: Follow with the eyes Be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful Interestingly, these two meanings correlate with the two steps for self-empowerment outlined in the Bhagavad-gita. Let’s see how. Our contemporary materialist culture diverts us from our values and purposes by constant…
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02.69: “Who am I?”or “What is my?”
Our life-story is essentially the story of our quest for happiness. This quest is directed by a driving question. For spiritualists, the question frequently is, “Who am I?” For materialists, the question usually is, “What is my?” These questions reflect two radically different conceptions of life. The Bhagavad-gita (2.69) points to these two antipodal worldviews…
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08.15: Are we shooting the messenger instead of pondering the message?
In the past, dictators would routinely shoot messengers who brought bad news. Today, the shooting is replaced by labeling. Authentic spiritual teachers often find themselves at the receiving end of this trend of labeling. Many people frequently tag them as pessimists whenever they mention the Gita’s message (8.15) that this world is a place of…
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02.62-63: Are we the Cheerleaders of Our Mind?
Daydreaming. It’s so easy. Taking it easy in our thought-lives is one of life’s most deluding distracters. We tend to think that nothing is wrong in wandering with the mind because neither we nor the people around us see anything untoward happening physically. When we are thus lulled into a false sense of complacency, we…
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03.39: Oblivious – LI = Obvious
Nothing is as amazing as our obliviousness to the reality whose obviousness is evident all around us: death. This was the insightful observation of the virtuous monarch Yudhishthira in a famous Mahabharata passage; he uses the word “amazing” as a euphemism for “amazingly dumb.” The Bhagavad-gita (3.39) throws light on the cause of our obliviousness…
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Why do karmic reactions not come in this life itself?
Question: “Why should I suffer now for my actions in a previous life? Why not instant reactions?” Answer: Different seeds fructify after different time durations. Grains harvest after two or three months, some fruit seeds produce fruits after twenty years and some seeds may even take hundred years to fructify. Every action that we do…
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12.19: What is the Home of Our Thoughts?
When we are out in the rough-and-tough of the world, we often long to return to the security and solace of our home. All of us naturally recognize the importance, and even the indispensability, of a good home for our body. So we strive to arrange for the best possible home. But most of us…
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10.11: The Light that brings Lightness
Many of us may sometimes feel burdened by the various problems and anxieties that life brings our way. This mental burden often debilitates and disorients us, leaving us with little energy to do anything and with even lesser confidence that what we do will make any difference. At such times of inner darkness and outer…
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Audio Icon | Audio Lectures | Lecture Series | Lectures | Spiritual Observer | Talks with ppts | Transcriptions | World Religions
KC and World Religions 1 – Judaism
We will discuss about this topic of Krishna consciousness and world religions. I would like to give a little background about why I choose this topic and how this can be covered and then I will tell how I plan to cover this. I have taken Bhagavad Gita course classes and Bhakti sastri classes generally…