Currently Browsing: QA Audio : 2014

: Audio   : Video   : Transcription   : Hindi Language

June 2022

• 710) Why does God not answer our prayers? (PK answered 5)

November 2020

• 709) How can we increase our determination for waking up in the morning?

July 2020

• 708) When natural calamities disrupt our lives beyond tolerance point, what can we do other than pray?

April 2020

• 707) What is the difference between a jnani and jnani-yogi?

February 2020

• 706) How can an introvert practice bhakti when it is so social and public?

September 2019

• 705) What is the role of vairagya in grihastha life?

December 2014

• 704) Is PK an anti-Hindu movie? (PK answered 22)
• 703) Are we meant to not ask questions in matters of faith? (PK answered 21)
• 702) Is ISKCON misappropriating sanatana-dharma?
• 701) Is dharma same as religion?
• 700) If God has given scripture, then which scripture and to whom?
• 699) If scripture is given by God, why is it not visible to a newborn child?
• 698) Aren’t Hindu teachers by refuting PK unnecessarily promoting it?
• 697) Why waste milk on God’s image when his children are starving? (PK answered 20)
• 696) How can worshiping a cow get a person a job? (PK answered 19)
• 695) If God has a plan for everything, does chanting mantras for getting something change his plan? (PK answered 18)
• 694) Why do religious teachers threaten people with fear of future punishment? (PK Answered 17)
• 693) Why does God like flattery? (PK answered 16)
• 692) When God is all-powerful, why do religionists need to protect him and for that attack others? (PK answered 15)
• 691) Why does God favor the wealthy by letting them bypass the queues in temples? (PK answered 14)
• 690) Does God respond more to our prayers when we worship him in a bigger murti? (Pk answered 13)
• 689) If God can hear our prayers directly, why do we need to pray to a murti? (PK answerd 12)
• 688) Is going to temple due to fear cowardice? (PK answered 11)
• 687) Is religion a business run by godmen to exploit people’s fears? (PK answered 10)
• 686) Why do different religions have different rituals? (PK answered 9)
• 685) Why aren’t we born with our religion stamped on our body? (PK answered 8)
• 684) Is religion made by man or by God? (PK answered 7)
• 683) Why would God want his children to roll on the ground to come to him? (PK answered 6)
• 682) Do fearful people go to temples? (PK answered 4)
• 681) Are rituals wrong numbers for calling God? (PK answered 3)
• 680) Is the god who made us completely unknowable to us? (PK answered 2)
• 679) Are there two gods – the god who made us and the god whom we made? (PK answered 1)
• 678) Does God like atheists more than religionists because atheists don’t kill children?
• 677) Was Arjuna aware of the soul’s existence before hearing the Gita?
• 676) What is artistic license and how can it be used in devotional dramas?
• 675) In SB 1.2.7 if the knowledge is acquired through devotion how is it causeless?
• 674) In SB 1.2.2 what does the trees’ echoing Vyasadeva’s call to Shukadeva mean?
• 673) In NoI 8 why is kirtanam mentioned separately from engaging the tongue?
• 672) Is there any difference between urges and feelings?
• 671) What feelings do impersonalists experience – material or spiritual?
• 670) What does it mean to see Krishna everywhere?
• 669) What exactly is the point of the nivrtta tarshair (SB 10.01.04) verse?
• 668) Why would Prabhupada quote inauthentic books like the Aquarian Gospel?
• 667) To practice bhakti strictly is it better to be fanatical?
• 666) How do we help people hurt by insensitive behavior of devotees?
• 665) Do we learn shastra by studying more or serving more?
• 664) If we dont understand something in the Gita should we re-read it till we understand before going ahead?
• 663) What is the joking referred to in Gita 1.25 purport?

November 2014

• 662) How can we use gadgets in bhakti without becoming attached?
• 661) If six systems of philosophy are progressive why are they contradictory?
• 660) If the Gita is contextual, why is it considered such an important scripture?
• 659) Is death alone away from loved ones successful death?
• 658) Isn’t forcing ourselves to thank God for bad things self-repression?
• 657) Does bhakti make us unambitious?
• 656) Was Mirabai greater than Jiva Goswami because she saw beyond bodily gender?
• 655) Is Modi anti-secular in giving the Gita to other heads of state?
• 654) Is the Gita a religious book or a secular book?
• 653) Is secularism against the Vedic tradition?
• 652) Why does Gita 7.25 use yoga-maya instead of maha-maya?
• 651) Does the Gita ask Arjuna to choose job over family?
• 650) Should prostitution be legalized in India?
• 649) What are the consequences of sin?
• 648) Why is every sin ultimately a sin against God?
• 647) What does it mean to be free from sin?
• 646) What does it mean to be a slave to sin?
• 645) How can I overcome a habitual sin?
• 644) Why do we sin?
• 643) Are all sins equal to God?
• 642) Do parents suffer the sins of their children?
• 641) Are children punished for the sins of their parents?
• 640) How can I know if something is a sin?
• 639) What is the definition of sin?
• 638) Is caffeine addiction a sin?
• 637) Is it ever right to lie?
• 636) Is joking a sin?
• 635) How is Mayavada offensive?
• 634) When chanting requires mind control, why do we say that chanting leads to mind control?
• 633) Where does people’s evil tendency come from?
• 632) Could God have prevented the Holocaust?
• 631) Who is responsible for the Holocaust – Hitler or the Jews’ karma?
• 630) Why does God not protect his devotees today like he protected Prahlad?
• 629) When we don’t know what past-life karma caused our present suffering how do we learn?
• 628) Are only Indian breed cows go mata?
• 627) When God doesn’t conjure tricks can he be considered a magician?
• 626) When God doesn’t need to do research, can he be considered a scientist?
• 625) Was Bhishma an impersonalist – he refers to Krishna in the third person not the second person?
• 624) What is the difference between spiritual, transcendental and devotional?
• 623) Where exactly is the pleasure of sex: in our mind, in our body’s hormonal secretion or in the other person’s body?
• 622) What leads to spirtual advancement – taking more responsibility in service or doing more chanting?
• 621) Should we stop voting in elections because no political party stops sinful activities?
• 620) Is God a scientist or a magician?
• 619) What are phantom limbs – how do they prove the soul’s existence?
• 618) Is the God of the Abrahamic traditions the same as the God of the Vedic tradition?
• 617) Will devotional service free us from a painful disorder?
• 616) Does one lose wealth or gain wealth by worshiping Hari?
• 615) Is controlling lust forcibly helpful or harmful?
• 614) Does God create energy out of nothing?
• 613) Why do devotees consult psychologists instead of chanting mahamantra?
• 612) Why do you call your site spiritualscientist when there’s not much scientific content?
• 611) Does om purnam imply that we should be complete and so we should be Krishna?
• 610) How can we share scriptural wisdom in today’s secular government?
• 609) Why does Bhishma Panchaka have 4 days this year instead of 5?

October 2014

• 608) Does papa-yonayah in Gita 9.32 refer to a fourth category?
• 607) Does Gita 18.56 refer to karma-yoga or bhakti-yoga?
• 606) How can a material process karma-yoga grow into the transcendental process bhakti-yoga?
• 605) Why do so many people commit suicide?
• 604) Science believes in experiments – what does spirituality believe in?
• 603) Is karma-yoga superior to jnana-yoga according to the Gita chp 3?
• 602) Do animals have mind – how do they control it?
• 601) Which dictionary meaning of the word ‘mind’ does the Gita refer to?
• 600) What does panentheism mean?
• 599) When sex is a fact of life, why be prudish about depicting it in the media?
• 598) Does covering our bodies with clothes make us obsessed to see others’ bodies?
• 597) Is wearing clothes unnatural as no other species in nature wears clothes?
• 596) Do vaishyas have to do brahminical occupation to come to goodness for practicing bhakti?
• 595) Why do we counter-push against lower modes and not against goodness?
• 594) How do we deal with students who take to KC to escape from studies?
• 593) When Arjuna’s chariot was destroyed after the MB war, why does he say in SB “The chariot is the same”?
• 592) Are those who come to Krishna even for material benefit mahatmas?
• 591) Is the jnani of Gita 7.17 one of the four categories of 7.16?
• 590) When Prabhupada’s Gita is so obviously not as it is, how can he call it as it is?
• 589) What is the benefit in hearing about Krishna?
• 588) How can anyone accept such an antromorphic unscientific mythic conception of God as Krishna
• 587) When the gopis were Dandakaranya sages, why does the Bhagavtam say that they had not gone on pilgrimage?
• 586) What are the ten principles of godly life mentioned in Gita 16.1-3 purport?
• 585) Which other Purana mentions that Bhagavatam is the commentary on the Vedanta Sutra?
• 584) Is there any pastime describing how Krishna got his Sudarshan Chakra?
• 583) Why does the list of eight siddhis not include garima?
• 582) Aren’t Brahmavadis ultimately Mayavadis because they consider the Lord’s form to be temporary?
• 581) Is the ability to remember past lives the mercy of the Lord?
• 580) How is Krishna consciousness a science?
• 579) Can science never prove the existence of God?
• 578) Why can’t we remember our past lives?
• 577) Can we take charanamrita when curd is forbidden during Chaturmasya?
• 576) What is the basis for the classification of scripture as shruti smriti and nyaya?
• 575) Did Krishna not have his conchshell before he killed Panchajanya?
• 574) Is sensitivity the same as sentimentality?
• 573) Is birthday celebration non-Vedic?
• 572) How can birthday celebrations be made more traditional and spiritual?
• 571) What is the philosophy behind the worship of a pure devotee’s Deity?
• 570) Should birthday celebrations for devotees’ children be banned?
• 569) Do devotees have to go through Brahman realization to attain Bhagavan realization?
• 568) Does varnashrama romanticize, demonize or utilize the world?
• 567) Should we just chant more or should we study philosophy more?
• 566) Are attempts to interpret ancient Rathas in the Vedas as hi-tech cars misinterpretations of scripture?
• 565) When remembrance of Krishna is so sweet, why is it compared to a sword?
• 564) Is the love of a mother for her baby Maya?
• 563) I study scripture but don’t find it relevant to me. What to do?
• 562) Bali M rejects Shukracharya, yet Vamana respects him – Why?
• 561) Did Bali M surrender out of devotion or fear of dishonor?
• 560) When bhakti can’t be quantified, why have a bhakti shastri course with marks?
• 559) What does the CC statement that scripture contains illusory stories mean?
• 558) When the word ‘Bhagavan’ is used in scripture for sages and demigods why does Prabhuapda say it should be reserved only for God
• 557) Is the doer the ego as Gita 18.58 states or the modes as Gita 3.27 states?
• 556) Why does ISKCON have such a negatively sex-obsessed conception of bhakti?
• 555) If all equations including those of quantum physics are thoughts of God, why does quantum physics not make sense?
• 554) Don’t those who convert by force justify that they are saving others from eternal damnation?
• 553) Those converted by force sometimes later become fanatical followers of that religion. How then is such conversion inconsequential?
• 552) If we shouldn’t use questionable empirical sources to support scripture, why did Prabhupada do so?
• 551) Do women have no varna?
• 550) Why does Prabhupada glorify kaitava dharma by talking about how dharma produces artha?
• 549) Why do we sometimes act like mad, doing things that we would normally never do?
• 548) Isn’t it better to chant extra than to use dama and bheda with the mind?
• 547) Is there any major difference between generic lust and specific lust
• 546) How does the soul come under the influence of material nature?
• 545) How can we approach science by which we can go closer to Krishna?
• 544) If heavenly planets exist at a higher level does that mean there exist elements other than the eight elements?
• 543) When science is being misused to propagate atheism, isn’t it the responsibility of devotees to counter that by scientific outreach?
• 542) Can the conspiracy theory about the moon landing be used to refute the moon mission claims
• 541) What is the meaning of the Gita statement about the moon being the most prominent nakshatra?
• 540) How do we understand the Puranic statements about the distances of earth moon and sun?
• 539) Are Chandraloka and the moon same or different?
• 538) If quantum physics is incomprehensible how does it work?
• 537) How can devotees staying in the temple be engaged according to their natures?
• 536) As we don’t have many commentaries on CC, how can we go deep into it?
• 535) When Bhagavatam rejects kaitava dharma why does it talk about Mayavada in many places?
• 534) How do we see an acharya’s comments on contemporary issues?
• 533) Is scripture not enough to determine the divinity of incarnation – is experience necessary?
• 532) Who is the most recent acharya mentioned in the Chaitanya tree in CC?
• 531) Are scriptural descriptions of huge numbers of people in lilas literal?
• 530) How do we balance between endeavor for bodily maintenance and dependence on Krishna?
• 529) How do we understand that Krishna’s pastimes are still happening in the dhamas?
• 528) Are the Sthala Puranas and Upa-Puranas considered smriti?
• 527) How do we balance between remaining faithful to Srila Prabhupada and presenting according to time-place-circumstances?
• 526) When different devotees quote Srila Prabhupada’s different quotes to support their positions, how can we know what he would have wanted?
• 525) Does the body change cell-by-cell or is it like a TV frame that changes completely at every moment?
• 524) Why did Ravana despite being obstinate listen to Maricha first and give up his plan to abduct Sita?
• 523) After seeing Rama’s power why did Akampana not flee entirely as did Maricha?
• 522) How does Akampana reach Lanka before Shurapanakha?
• 521) When material nature is unconscious how is it the doer?
• 520) How can one avoid defying authority in the name of serving according to svabhava?
• 519) Why does Prabhupada in his Gita sometimes place nishkama karma yoga above jnana and dhyana yogas?
• 518) When today spiritual masters can’t personally instruct disciples about their services, how can we best serve Krishna?
• 517) How much can devotees facing emergenices be allowed to relax standards?
• 516) How do we avoid prayasa in the services we like to do?
• 515) Why do some scriptures say that the demigods are supreme?
• 514) Are the Vedas like a jungle, as a blasphemous scholar alleges?
• 513) When Krishna is supreme, how can the knowledge he gives get lost?
• 512) How can we know that there’s no loss in transmission of knowledge through the parampara?
• 511) Are Bible and Koran considered to be smriti?
• 510) How can we know that the Vedas have a divine origin?
• 509) How does the Gaudiya philosophy relate with the six systems of philosophy?
• 508) Are Puranas recent as compared to the Vedas?
• 507) Does the Gita recommend Deity worship?
• 506) How do the four Vaishnava sampradayas relate with the six systems of philosophy?
• 505) Just as we take non-Ayurvedic medicines, can we adopt non-devotional astrological prescriptions?
• 504) When Brahma says we should just accept misery as mercy, why do that Pandavas fight to take revenge
• 503) When Krishna loves his devotees and can check karma, why does he let them suffer?
• 502) When Krishna loves his devotees and can check karma, why do scriptures describe as karma being the cause of their suffering
• 501) How do we deal with our tendency to perceive others negatively?
• 500) If someone asks ‘have you seen God’ how do we answer?
• 499) Is Krishna’s giving kripa-siddhi an interference with the soul’s free will?
• 498) We know Krishna loves devotees, still we offend them – how can we stop this?
• 497) How do we understand when a pure devotee’s dealings lead to a person going away from Krishna?
• 496) How do we connect with ISKCON people who are connected with other religious organisations?
• 495) How do we deal with people who find our standard philosophical presentations too simple?
• 494) How do 4 lakh species correlate with 4 varnas – how do we determine our varna?
• 493) How much will the mode of preaching be affected by the nature of different preachers?
• 492) When Krishna gave special darshan to Dhanurdas, didn’t he interfere with his free will?
• 491) Do our past sukritis determine our ability to continue in devotion?
• 490) Do offeneses to devotees make Krishna stop loving us?
• 489) When we feel empty and impure, how can we persevere in devotion?
• 488) If Krishna loves us, why is it necessary to suffer to return to him?
• 487) How can we experience Krishna’s love at our present level of devotion?

September 2014

• 486) Can God create a stone that he can’t lift?
• 485) As yogis become bhaktas at their topmost stage does that mean we should practice yoga before bhakti?
• 484) How can we stay open to new ideas without weakening our convictions?
• 483) How can we keep our mind steady amidst outer agitation and inner temptation?
• 482) What should we do when we are blamed for something?
• 481) Why do we offer prasad and how is it to be offered?
• 480) Are fish vegetarian or non-vegetarian?
• 479) Why are the divisions of different scriptures called differently – skandha, kanda and parva
• 478) How can the spiritual soul taste or enjoy a material sweet?
• 477) How should we respond to classes that seem confusing and contradictory to the standard philosophical understanding
• 476) What is the difference between object and concept – and how does it apply to our philosophy?
• 475) What is the difference between phenomenal and numinous in Gita 7.2
• 474) How should devotees respond to the threat of brutal religious groups like ISIS?
• 473) Does ISKCON consider the English of the 1920s to be sacred?
• 472) How should we deal with ex-ISKCON devotees who blaspheme ISKCON?
• 471) Why are ISKCON temples so commercialised?
• 470) Can sick devotees adopt a diet of only raw foods if it improves their health?
• 469) How should we counter when a respected ex-SC judge says that scripture contains poetic exaggerations?
• 468) How can I surrender to Krishna?
• 467) When a mother stops a child from doing something harmful why does Krishna not stop the soul from wrongdoing?
• 466) Can we realize our spiritual identity only by bhakti and not by intelligence?
• 465) Is the insignificance of the duration of evil from an eternal perspective the only explanation for evil?
• 464) Is the problem of evil inconceivable and beyond explaining through words?
• 463) What is the actual difference between mind and intelligence?
• 462) Are those who abuse their intelligence jnanis and those who use it to serve Krishna jnana-yogis?
• 461) What does being free from all dualities mean wrt devotional service?
• 460) Do we need to endeavour to get what is in our quota?
• 459) If misery is caused by misidentification, then why is there not just mental pain but also physical pain?
• 458) Did the Pandavas go to heaven or the spiritual world?
• 457) Is there any spiritual reference for the meaning of ‘Bharata’ as ‘the land absorbed in light’?
• 456) Why do the original Vedas give so little knowledge about the ultimate goal of bhakti?
• 455) When Krishna says that the knowledge in disciplic succession was lost, weren’t the four sampradayas available at that time?
• 454) A devotee is already righteous, so why does Krsna say that he becomes righteous in Gita 9.31?
• 453) What is the difference between nitya and shashvata in Gita 2.20?
• 452) When the guru is mostly inaccessible to disciples, isn’t initiation just a rubber-stamp?
• 451) How can we convert our work in office into yajna?
• 450) What is the difference between karma yoga, buddhi yoga and bhakti yoga?
• 449) When the intelligence is material, how can it take us to the spiritual level of reality?
• 448) Is it selfish to want taste in chanting?
• 447) If Arjuna was superior to Karna, why does Bhagavatam say he was a small fish in an ocean of giant fishes?
• 446) Why does Krishna refer to someone else as the object of surrender in the Gita 18.62?
• 445) Dharma is that which is coming from God – do the Abrahamic religions also come from Krishna
• 444) Are all religions coming from the Vedas?
• 443) Is there a shiva-linga at the Kaba?
• 442) Was Prabhupada’s renunciation in the mode of passion as it was triggered by frustration with uncooperative family members?
• 441) When devotees are frustrated with the problems of grihastha life, should they think of the renounced ashramas as the solution?
• 440) How do we reconcile the conflict of values in the Gita and the Chaitanya Charitamrita?

August 2014

• 439) What does the Gita’s chp 13 title ‘Nature, enjoyer and consciousness’ refer to?
• 438) In monozygotic twins where do the differences come from?
• 437) Is the universal form in the Gita’s ninth chapter a conceptualization and the eleventh chapter, a revelation?
• 436) What does the Gita’s inverted tree metaphor signify?
• 435) How is the world a lila of the Pursha avatara? Is it a virtual reality manufactured by him with chosable scripts for us?
• 434) When everything is in Prabhupada’s books, what is the need to read other books either by ISKCON devotees or previous acharyas?
• 433) Does Prabhupada’s instruction ‘do as I have done’ mean there’s no need to innovate in preaching”
• 432) How do we decide which of our emotions are material and which are spiritual?
• 431) Is a devotee’s grihastha-ashrama a failure if the children don’t become devotees?
• 430) Why do Abrahamic religions depict God as jealous when they are too are revelations?
• 429) Is the prayer to get a good spouse a material prayer?
• 428) To realize everything is illusion amidst adversities, is yoga and pranayama the way or is bhakti-yoga sufficient?
• 427) As developing internal conviction takes time, isn’t it better to be stimulated in our devotion by external inspiration?
• 426) When the number of breaths of a soul in a body are fixed, how can a purpose-driven attitude increase longevity?
• 425) Why does Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati criticize organized churches when ISKCON is also an organised church?
• 424) Is the holy name transcendental or immanent?
• 423) How is the holy name different from ordinary sound
• 422) Has the Lord come under Maya in Kali-yuga that he is not able to protect Deities
• 421) Why were Indian rulers other than Shivaji not empowered by the Lord to protect Vedic culture?
• 420) How do you maintain consistency in your daily writing year after year?
• 419) Are tragedies in our lives such as a relative committing suicide God’s punishments on us?
• 418) How should relatives of a suicide resolve their anger towards that person?
• 417) Should relatives communicate via planchette with someone who has committed suicide?
• 416) If a good person commits suicide due to some frustration, what is their destination?
• 415) Does a sudden tragedy in the lives of God’s worshipers indicates that God is too busy in his own kingdom to protect?
• 414) When we are attracted to material things through our senses, whereas Krishna is spiritual, how can Krishna be considered all-attractive?
• 413) Why does the Gita use a setting of war to convey its transcendental message when such a setting can be abused to provoke communal violence?
• 412) What is the theory of reflection Prabhupada refers to in the Gita 2.13 purport?
• 411) What is the Vedic perspective on passive euthanasia?
• 410) Why do we say that lust needs to be curbed when it can be channelized towards Krishna as Narottama Das Thakura says?
• 409) Why does Krishna emphasise consciousness at death which is much more uncontrollable than consciousness while living?
• 408) When Krishna had said he wouldn’t lift weapons in the Kurukshetra war, why does he say in Gita 11.33 that the Kauravas are already killed by him?
• 407) Does taking anti-depressant drugs as medicine violate the no intoxication principle?
• 406) When opulences are disqualifications for devotion, why does ISKCON preach to the opulent?
• 405) If consciousness of the couple at conception determines the nature of the child, will a child born through rape be evil?
• 404) Does Krishna control us through remembrance and forgetfulness just as computer controls through zeroes and ones?
• 403) Why do we need to justify the Pandavas’ actions? Isn’t “Krishna told them to do it” enough reason?
• 402) Why do we need to be in the mode of goodness to practice bhakti?
• 401) What is the significance of the two metaphors of rivers and moths used in the Gita’s description of warriors entering into the Universal Form
• 400) In shabda pramana we receive knowledge from our senses (ears), so how is it superior to pratyaksha pramana?
• 399) How have so many languages come up worldwide when developing a computer language requires so much effort?
• 398) How does Ishopanishad mantra 17 refute impersonalism?
• 397) Do we need to introspect whether we are progressing in our spiritual life?
• 396) Does one have to give up one’s material life on becoming an ISKCON member, even if one doesn’t become a brahmachari?
• 395) Is ISKCON an organization for rich people?

July 2014

• 394) If the suffering of great devotees is for their glorification why does Bhishma say Pandavas’ suffering is due to time?
• 393) When the Pandavas were so virtuous why did Krisha let them suffer so much?
• 392) Why was Kunti’s unknowing statement ‘share whatever you have brought’ considered absolute and Draupadai married to all the Pandavas?
• 391) Draupadi forgave Ashwatthama but not the Kauravas. Why?
• 390) Why did Krishna and Arjuna meet each other first time so late in their lives?
• 389) Why did Balaramji favor Duryodhana?
• 388) When different religious groups have their own scriptures how is the authority of Vaishnava scriptures to be established?
• 387) Is the expansion of the Mahabharata from its short Jaya version a contamination?
• 386) What guided humanity before scripture was written?
• 385) Is the Mahabharata contaminated due to interpolation?
• 384) Why did Duryodhana become vicious despite being born in a virtuous family?
• 383) Did Krishna establish dharma just for 36 years after fighting such a big war?
• 382) Why did Yaksha ask so many questions to the Pandavas?
• 381) How do we decide when to forgive and when to fight back?
• 380) Why did Krishna not protect Yudhisthira from errors of judgment?
• 379) Did Vikarna get any good result for trying to defend Draupadi’s honor?
• 378) Who was Yuyutsu? How did he come from the Kaurava side to the Pandava side?
• 377) Why did Yudhisthira agree for a second gambling match after the disastrous first gambling match?
• 376) Why did the virtuous Bhishma fight on the side of the vicious Kauravas?
• 375) Did Karna have to choose the side of evil due to his past karma?
• 374) How to choose between doing our worldly repsonsibilities devotionally and doing directly devotional activities?
• 373) Did Duryodhana have any good qualities?
• 372) What are the authentic sources for learning the Mahabharata?
• 371) How did a ciranjeevi Ashwatthama fight against the virtuous Pandavas?
• 370) Why did Krishna and others not try to reform Duryodhana as reformation is the ultimate goal?
• 369) Why do the Bhagavatam and the Mahabharata describe the same stories differently?
• 368) Where does Vishishtadvaita fall in the six systems of philosophy?
• 367) If we have canine teeth for eating meat, then doesn’t it go against the regulative principle of no meat-eating?
• 366) How do we develop taste for studying scripture?
• 365) When can a devotee seek honor instead of being humble?
• 364) How does atheism lead to abolition of our free will?
• 363) “Love yourself” – what is Vedic perspective on this idea?
• 362) What exactly is vrtti?
• 361) Are the intelligence and ego just transformations of the mind or are they constitutionally different?
• 360) What does vikalpa mean in the mind’s sanklpa-vikalpa?
• 359) Is the Gita’s teaching that women are sinful resposible for female infanticide?
• 358) While writing articles should we write about topics connected with our personal lives or about unconnected topics?
• 357) Should the gold in temples be used for social development?
• 356) Is scriptural knowledge needed only when devotion is dilute and not when devotion is pure?
• 355) Is experience a pramana if one’s experience contradicts scripture?
• 354) Is God hard of hearing that his devotees need to chant his names loudly?
• 353) If Krishna’s ultimate instruction is to give up all duties for surrendering to him why shouldn’t everyone join the temple?
• 352) Is Krishna omninpresent as his energy or personally as the Supersoul?
• 351) If the Supersoul is present in all atoms and the space between them, what is special about the Superoul in our heart?
• 350) What happens to the Supersoul after death and after liberation?
• 349) Is the Supersoul actually expanded in every heart or is it an appearance of expansion?
• 348) How do we deal with people’s fear that ISKCON preachers will make ours sons into brahmacharis?
• 347) What is wrong with worship of devatas if one understands them to be devotees of Krishna?
• 346) How do we reconcile different Puranic versions of the origin of Lord Shiva?
• 345) How do we know whether we desire to preach for fame or for pleasing Krishna?
• 344) Why is Krishna worshiped in North India in intimate mood and Vishnu worshiped in South India in reverential mood?
• 343) Can grihasthas who want to preach make preaching as their source of livelihood?
• 342) The religious rural culture of India is being replaced by materialisitc culture. What can we do to counter this?
• 341) Should we preach to make people ISKCON devotees or to make them better human beings?
• 340) How can we understand which mode we are in?
• 339) How can we stay in the mode of goodness?
• 338) If one doesnt practice raganuga bhakti then how will one get the realizations needed to return to our svarupa?
• 337) Does one have to practice raganuga bhakti to go BTG or is just departing in devotional circumstances enough
• 336) Hearing Krishna’s pastimes with the gopis is said to remove lust, but it often induce lust. How do we understand
• 335) Why does the mind develop bad habits more easily than good habits?

June 2014

• 334) Doesn’t religious violence disprove the existence of God?
• 333) Is Deity worship needed only for neophyte devotees who can’t see Krishna in the heart?
• 332) How can we overcome the tendency to take the association of devotees for granted?
• 331) What is the difference between bhara-vahi and sara-grahi Vaishnavas?
• 330) Are we compromising when we use mild words like outreach instead of Prabhupada’s standard words like preaching?
• 329) Why are Einstein’s and Prabhupada’s metaphors about blind man-lame man contradictory?
• 328) What does Einstein’s metaphor about science and religion mean?
• 327) Is science based on rational faith and religion on irrational faith?
• 326) Does religion require faith from start to end whereas science requires faith only occasionally?
• 325) If we shouldn’t be disturbed by the mind’s impurities, then how can we beat the mind?
• 324) Why do we have to give up material pleasures to experience spiritual pleasures?
• 323) Did past people believe in miracles like Govardhana lila because they were unscientific and gullible?
• 322) If Krishna is the cause of all causes, is he the cause of everything that we and others do?
• 321) If we concede that scripture doesn’t contain literal report of conversations then where will the erosion of scriptural authority end?
• 320) Why are certain important verses quoted by acharyas not found in the scriptures?
• 319) Are chanting praying and meditation the same?
• 318) Why do some scriptures declare other gods to be Supreme?
• 317) Are the Puranas unreliable because they have so many different versions?
• 316) Prabhupada quotes largely from the Puranas so how can we show that our sampradaya is based on shruti?
• 315) I was born in another sampradaya, but became introduced to seriously bhakti through ISKCON. Which sampradaya should I follow?
• 314) Why do insubstantial religious groups spread extensively and pure saints remain unknown?
• 313) What is the destination of patriotic atheists like Bhagat Singh?
• 312) Why is there no Radha Krishna worship in the Madhva sampradaya?
• 311) Who is better – one who chants all day or one who chants a few times and serves others all day?
• 310) When Krishna always uses his free will properly, why don’t we too when we are his parts?
• 309) If we cant fast nirjala on Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi what benefit do we get?
• 308) Is belief in God like belief in a cosmic teapot – undisprovable yet unreasonable?
• 307) How can India’s wisdom-literature be introduced in the education without the saffronization of the syllabus?
• 306) Should every action in the Lord’s pastimes be interpreted to get some instruction from it?
• 305) Why does the Gita 12.11 include material charity in the bhakti hierarchy?
• 304) Where do religious social workers like Mother Terersa fall in the Gita’s yoga ladder?
• 303) How does karma yoga mature into ashtanga yoga?
• 302) How does the nishkama karma yogi attain knowledge and liberation? Through the same path or by adopting another yoga?
• 301) Does ashtanga yoga always start from jnana yoga?
• 300) If Durga is the superintendent of material nature how can Krishna alone grant liberation?
• 299) Is Durga devi a demigodess in the category of jiva tattva?
• 298) Are the jnanis mentioned in Gita 7.16-18 impersonalists as the example of Kumaras suggests or devotees as Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakura’s commentary states?
• 297) For a devotee-sadhaka Is the desire to go BTG desirable or should one just desire service?
• 296) How should we respond to indiscriminate violence against other communities done in the name of religion as a response to distortion of respected images?
• 295) What does the identification of Krishna with time mean practically?
• 294) When there are so many cases of past life memories, why don’t we find some people remembering their experience in heaven, hell or as animals?
• 293) Isn’t it distasteful for brahmacharis to be watching and quoting movies when people come to them to hear about Krishna
• 292) What is the difference between the Gita 9.34 and 18.65?
• 291) Isn’t violence against women in India, as in the Badaun rape case, caused more by the casteist society and not by the obscenity in the culture?
• 290) Is instantaneous forgiveness the characteristic of pure devotion and seeking retribution that of neophyte devotion
• 289) What is the significance of the word avyaya in Gita 9.2?
• 288) If Draupadi was dishonored due to her past karma, why did the Pandavas have to take revenge?
• 287) How can we strengthen our resolve to correct our wrongs?
• 286) How can we forgive not just with lips but with the heart?
• 285) When we don’t feel like asking for forgiveness what should we do?
• 284) What is the use of writing insubstantial articles in newspapers that don’t even mention the name of Krishna once?
• 283) Why are divorces more among devotees than nondevotees?
• 282) Why are all forms of science not equally authoritative – why is evoluion less reliable than gravity when its all science?
• 281) Can devotees watch TV serials about Krishna’s pastimes?
• 280) What is the meaning of Gita 14.11: “The manifestations of the mode of goodness can be experienced when all the gates of the body are illuminated by knowledge”?

May 2014

• 279) Has ISKCON replaced the scriptural worship of Ganesh in Hindu temples with the unscriptural worship of Prabhupada in its temples?
• 278) Do we need to posit the existence of eternal souls to make the design argument robust?
• 277) Do the Anthropic Principle and the multiverse theory make the design argument redundant?
• 276) If all three aspects (SAT CIT ANANDA) are present within brahman, why can’t we perceive all of them just within the brahman itself?
• 275) Just as one can climb out of a well without a rope using footholds in the wall, can one get liberated without following a valid process?
• 274) If one has devotion, why does one need to count the names of God?
• 273) When this world is duhkhalayam why are the distressed only one of the four categories of people coming to Krishna
• 272) Isn’t demonisation of the present with its promise of hi-tech paradise necessary to make people seek spiritual happiness?
• 271) As India is still receptive to direct devotional preaching and Prabhupada emphasized that, shouldn’t that be our emphasis too?
• 270) Islam and Christianity have damaged Vedic culture yet we consider them revealed religions – so are they part of Kali’s plan or have they become distorted over time?
• 269) Does the M-theory do away with the need for God, as Stephen Hawking claims in The Grand Design?
• 268) How do we respond when prominent scientists like Stephen Hawking write books propounding atheism?
• 267) Why do dharma-shastras say that aggressors should be forgiven?
• 266) Do the dharma-shastras say aggressors shouldn’t be killed and artha-shastras that they should be killed?
• 265) What are dharma-shastra and artha-shastra? How are they different?
• 264) Is belief in God a virus of the mind, as atheists claim?
• 263) Do cultural practices change as per age as does the yuga-dharma?
• 262) How do we respond to scientistic fanatics who deny even emotions like happiness?
• 261) If we have scriptural knowledge, why do we need science?
• 260) I like to chant and meditate on the Supersoul. As that is my nature, can I just do this and not do other devotional activities?
• 259) When religions like Buddhism are non-Vedic, how can Veda be the source of all knowledge?
• 258) When science explains planetary motion through gravity, why do we need God to explain it?
• 257) When the design argument is so logical, why don’t most people and most scientists accept God’s existence?
• 256) Is God improbable because he has to be more complex than his creation and complex things have very low probability of emerging?
• 255) When Ramanuja has refuted the design argument, why does Prabhupada use it so extensively?
• 254) Why has Ramanuja refuted the design argument in his Vedanta Sutra commentary?
• 253) Do religionists become self-centered due to believing that God has a personal relationship with them?
• 252) Does religion cause sexual repression?
• 251) Is it ok to have belief in belief instead of belief in God?
• 250) How can we know whether we are using our intelligence in Krishna’s service or are just enjoying Krishna consciousness intellectually?
• 249) Isn’t varnashrama based on looking at the harness instead of the horse?
• 248) Why was Hiranyakashipu not liberated even after being killed by Narasimhadeva?
• 247) Why did Hiranyakashipu let Prahlad return to school after trying to assassinate him?
• 246) How can we make our work into worship when it is not according to our nature and is not connected with Krishna?
• 245) Can devotional, non-devotional and anti-devotional cultures be connected with goodness passion and ignorance?
• 244) Should a devotee avoid initiation due to not being able to follow the fourth regulative principle fully?
• 243) Won’t the progress of science make the God-of-the-gaps redundant?
• 242) Does bringing God into science stop progress as does attributing plague to evil spirits?
• 241) Do devotees have to oppose science to be faithful to Prabhupada?
• 240) Isn’t it better to be satisfied with the beauty of the garden without imagining a fairy at its bottom?
• 239) Does Krishna compassionately pull impersonalists from Brahman to Bhagavan?
• 238) What is vidvat pratiti? How can it be attained?
• 237) Does our seeking end after we find God as the Bible indicates or continue forever as Gaudiya Vaishnavism indicate?
• 236) Why do we do pradakshina?
• 235) Are Manava seva and Madhava seva like two largely overlapping circles?
• 234) Why does Prabhupada translate bhakti in Bhaktirasamritasindhu as ‘devotion’ instead of ‘devotional service’?
• 233) Why does Ambarish M consider his wealth to be material when he knows that it can be used in Krishna’s service?
• 232) Why does the Bhagavatam, a Vaishnava book, state that Kashi is the greatest of all holy places?
• 231) When Dhruva Maharaj was going BTG and had got a spiritual body, how could he remember a material relationship such as that with his mother?
• 230) When South Indian brahmins are famous as learnt, why does Chaitanya lila depict an illiterate South Indian brahmin?
• 229) Can we preach without using technology as such use can distract one from Krishna?
• 228) During preaching, how important is it to provide relevant material information in addition to the paramapara’s message?
• 227) If the son practices bhakti, then will his non-devotee parents’ get a good next-life destination due to their son’s bhakti?
• 226) How is Draupadi’s polygamy justified especially when it involves the same man being required to see her alternately as wife and as sister-in-law?
• 225) How does attachment to result make us the cause of action, as the Gita 2.47 purport states?
• 224) How to see spiritual organizations that are largely Vaishnava except for considering their founder as an incarantion?
• 223) If someone is following an Abrahamic religion, should we encourage them to follow that religion or to take up Krishna consciousness?
• 222) If Prahlada learnt bhakti by hearing from Narada in his mother’s womb, why did Narada say to the devatas before this that the child in the womb is a great devotee?
• 221) Did Hiranyakashipu not know that Vishnu lived in the Kshira-sagara? Why did he ask Prahlad where Vishnu was and whether he was in the pillar?
• 220) Narasimhadeva told Prahlad that 21 generations of his family had been delivered, then how did Bali become such a demon that Vamanadeva himself had to come to deliver him?
• 219) We hear so much in various classes, but apply very little from it. How can we change this?
• 218) We often feel like doing different things in bhakti at different times – how can we steadily maintain interest in one thing?
• 217) When scriptures usually refer to Vishnu, do they refer to Maha-vishnu, Garbhodakshayi Vishnu or Kshirodakshayi Vishnu?
• 216) What is the relationship between Sadashiva, the Shiva born from Brahma and the eleven Rudras?
• 215) What is the difference between brahma of Mayavadis and shunya of voidists?
• 214) What is the difference between hatha-yoga, dhyana yoga and ashtanga yoga?
• 213) When envy is the cause of our material bondage, how did Shishupala’s envy lead to his liberation?
• 212) If our svarupa happens to be in dasya, how will be satisfied in that svarupa now that we know madhurya is highest?
• 211) While using a talent such as music for Krishna how can we transfer our attachment from that talent to Krishna?
• 210) How can we avoid frustration at our inability to follow the standards of devotional service?
• 209) How is Draupadi’s polygamy be justified especially when the Pandavas have to sometimes see her as a wife and at other times as sister-in-law?
• 208) Is conscience always the voice of the Supersoul? Does everyone’s conscience tell them that meat-eating is wrong?
• 207) Is terminal restlessness caused by fear of Yamadutas?
• 206) If one has not had the habit of reading books but likes to hear, how can one develop that habit in bhakti?
• 205) Wouldn’t ISKCON be more united if it had Prabhupada as the only diksha-guru?
• 204) When a disciple whose guru falls doesn’t have to be re-initiated because of being connected with Prabhupada why can’t the same happen without initation in the first place?
• 203) When ISKCON’s diksha-guru is not absolute but is subordinate to GBC due to Prabhupada’s will, doesn’t that make Prabhupada ISKCON’s diksha-guru?
• 202) Why does the Gita 18.68 restrict its message of devotion to devotees?
• 201) Should Indian devotees preach to Indians and Western devotees preach to Westerners so as to have culturally sensitive presentations of Krishna-bhakti?
• 200) How much should we seach on the internet for good Krishna conscious content?
• 199) How can I protect my bhakti when I go home and am with my pre-bhakti friends with whom I had indulged in bad habits?
• 198) Why does the Lakshmi Narasimha karavalambam stotra focus more on misery of material existence than the glory of Narasimhadeva?
• 197) How much should devotee-writers learn English grammar and style to write effectively for Krishna?
• 196) How are the feelings of victory and adventure Krishna’s opulences, especially when people get those feelings in illicit activities such as gambling?
• 195) Did the Pandavas actually complete the full year of ajnata vasa or were they detected before time?
• 194) When Ashwatthama’s Brahmastra is charging towards Arjuna how does he get time to do achmana and offer prayers to Krishna before countering it?
• 193) Why did Drona despite being a brahmana desire revenge against Drupada?
• 192) Why did Drona despite being virtuous come up with the unfair scheme to kill Abhimanyu?
• 191) When I hear the Mahabharata, I identify much more with Karna than Arjuna. What should I do?
• 190) Are devotees being told to be too other-worldly that something so simple as voting is made into such a big issue?
• 189) Why is Parikshit considered the sole survivor of the Pandava dynasty when sons of Bhima and Arjuna like Sutasoma and Babruvahana were still alive?
• 188) Why did Bahlika despite being virtuous fight against the virtuous Pandavas?
• 187) Does being humble mean that we shouldn’t give advice to others?
• 186) Are chanting and going to the temple bhakti only if they are done to please Krishna?
• 185) Why doesn’t ISKCON practice what it preaches? First new devotees are told to be detached from their parents and then senior brahmacharis spend months caring for their dying parents
• 184) Can you explain the difference in the defects of being illusioned and committing mistakes as illustrated through the evolution theory?
• 183) Are the demigod worshipers in Gita 9.15 different from normal karma kandis because the Gita refers to them as jnanis?
• 182) Do the ekatvena worshipers of Gita 9.15 refer to 9.11-12 or 12.3-6?
• 181) Was Hitler interested in India’s ancient spiritual culture? If yes, then why was he so hateful towards Jews?

April 2014

• 180) Is it right to feel envious of advanced devotees for their spiritual advancement? If not, how to deal with it?
• 179) Does Krishna initiate us to do punya? Did he initiate Dhritarashtra to do punya for getting 100 sons?
• 178) What kind of rules and regulations do the prestige-seekers referred to in the Gita 16.17 follow?
• 177) Can talents like mimicry and comedy be used in devotional service?
• 176) How can we know if someone is correcting out of ego or out of concern?
• 175) Should we as followers of Srila Prabhupada also study the books of the previous acharyas?
• 174) Did Prabhupada sanction the post-publishing editing of his books?
• 173) Are the Gita’s instructions applicable in the spiritual world too or only in the material world?
• 172) If the Gita is a transcendental literature, then why does the Gita Mahatmya glorify the attainment of heavenly planets?
• 171) Why do we have a right to do prescribed duties as the Gita 2.47 states?
• 170) Did Prabhupada want to re-write Bhagavad Gita As It Is because he worked very fast to publish it quickly?
• 169) Why doesn’t Srila Prabhupada mention even once in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is that we should chant 16 rounds of Hare Krsna Mahamantra?
• 168) Can chanting Hare Krsna help one to assimilate the knowledge of the scriptures more efficiently? How?
• 167) How can I turn my occupational duty into devotional service to Krishna?
• 166) How does contemplating on Krishna differ from mental speculation about Krishna?
• 165) Does Gita 2.47 ma phasehu kadachana mean that we don’t have a right to obtain the result or a right to enjoy the result?
• 164) How exactly are “those in Krishna consciousness not responsible for their actions”, as Prabhupada states?
• 163) Is it appropriate to judge students by the marks obtained by them in their examination?
• 162) Can Gita 18.14 adhisthanam refer to some place of action other than the body?
• 161) Who is the actual doer according to the Gita?
• 160) How can we reconcile the Gita (3.4) – don’t give up work – and the Bhagavatam (1.5.17) – give up work?
• 159) Did Krishna-Arjuna commit environmental holocaust at Khandava?
• 158) By asking devotees to vote, why are you dragging Prabhupada’s pure legacy into dirty politics?
• 157) What is the difference between charity in goodness and transcendence?
• 156) Why does Prabhupada talk about the three energies in his purport to the atyahara verse (NoI 2)?
• 155) In the division of the Vedas into Samhitas, Aranyakas and Upanishads, where do the Brahmanas fall?
• 154) If the material world is perfect in itself, then why do we need to go to Godhead?
• 153) How can we know that the Vedas and the stories in them are true?
• 152) How can we introspect about our devotional progresss? How can we rise from kanishtha to madhyama level?
• 151) Why is prana-pratistha not performed for the utsava-murtis though they ave their own names?
• 150) Where do Abrahamic religions fall among the six systems of philosophy?
• 149) Why is the edited BBT Gita different from Prabhupada’s unedited original Gita?
• 148) What is the point of taking initiation from a spiritual master when there is very little chance of getting personal guidance from him?
• 147) Are the five rasas progressive? What is the difference between rasa and bhava? Does rasa grow into bhava?
• 146) How did Nanda and Yashoda allow Krishna to go to Mathura so readily?
• 145) Where was Radharani when the rasa-lila was performed? Why is there no mention of her in the Bhagavatam’s rasa-lila narration?
• 144) What is the connecting link between the Gita’s ninth and tenth chapters?
• 143) In which verses of the Gita’s eight chapter are the Lord’s glories stated?
• 142) When the Pandavas meet Krishna after being exiled to the forest, why do neither mention Krishna’s protecting Draupadi during the gambling match?
• 141) What is the philosophical meaning of common expressions like “My head has become hot” or “My heart is fully satisfied”?
• 140) What is the difference between the mind and the citta?
• 139) What exactly is the mind? And where exactly is it located?
• 138) When we are the soul, why do we use the phrase ‘my soul’ as in ‘my soul was crying’?
• 137) Was the Karna who was defeated by Bhima during the pre-Rajasuya yajna conquest different from the Karna who befriended Duryodhana?
• 136) When the Ramayana says monasteries shouldn’t accept donations from women, why does ISKCON accept donations from women?
• 135) Is banning books a part of the Abrahamic religions and not of dharmic religions which focused on intellectually debating and defeating opposing ideas not banning them?

March 2014

• 134) Should a devotee work in a devotional project where one can directly serve Krishna or in a secular company by which one can offer more donation?
• 133) How can women be said to have their own varna when Prabhupada says that the wife’s varna should be identified by the husband’s varna?
• 132) How much anxiety shoud we take up for our devotional activities?
• 131) If our nondevotee parents discourage our children’s enthusiasm for bhakti by calling it brainwashing by dangerous cults, how should we respond?
• 130) Can ghosts commit suicide?
• 129) Have all the people who die in disasters done the same bad karma?
• 128) When people around us force us to things that aren’t according to devotional standards how should we respond?
• 127) When we worship God so that he will solve our problems aren’t we bribing God like students who flatter their teachers to get better marks?
• 126) As all paramparas are based on beliefs and as Prabhupada’s Gita is an interpretation based on his beliefs why not just follow our own paramapara?
• 125) All parents want their children to get married. Then wouldn’t Krishna the supreme parent want his children to become married and not take sannyasa?
• 124) Were Valmiki and Vyasadeva eyewitnesses to the full Ramayana and the Mahabharata? Or did they write them based on some historical sources?
• 123) Can different family members take diksha from different spiritual teachers?
• 122) Is it proper for one to neglect one’s family duties to devote oneself to God?
• 121) When the disciplic succession has many branches, why do we need to connect with it only through Srila Prabhupada’s branch?
• 120) Is it ok to be attracted more to the cultural aspects of KC than its philosophical aspect?
• 119) When we ask questions how can we know whether we simply want to confirm our pre-conconceptions or seek open-minded understanding?
• 118) You have your sampradaya, others like Shiva worshipers have their sampradaya – ultimately it’s all just different beliefs. Why should one sampradaya be considered higher than another?
• 117) Is the soul present all over the body or in a specific place like the heart?
• 116) If we give up our controlling tendency completely won’t we lose our individuality and become like trees who don’t do anything differently?
• 115) Once I had immense bhakti, but now I have lost it. How can I regain it?
• 114) Has God created the universe for living things or living things for the universe?
• 113) Why does God not come as a savior incarnation when things are already so bad?
• 112) What is the definition of development in spiritual science?
• 111) If God is the proprietor of everything is he the proprietor of tsunamis that kill thousands?
• 110) If God becomes controlled by the love of his devotees then how is he the supreme controller?
• 109) What is the need for God to have made the creation?
• 108) Do the daivi maya in Gita 7.14 and daivi prakriti in 9.13 to the same thing or different things?
• 107) I am a Physics student. How can I study the Bhagavad-gita scientifically when it seems like a discussion in a story?
• 106) If Karna was not stronger than Arjuna why did Kunti weaken him emotionally and Indra weaken him physically before the war?
• 105) In the Mahabharata, why are other warriors like Eklavya, Ghatothakcha and Barbarika manipulated to favor Arjuna?
• 104) How can we control the hyperactive imagination during chanting?
• 103) If eating opulent prasad harms our consciousness how can we regulate our eating?
• 102) When Kamsa’s capital Mathura and Kaurava’s capital Hastinapura were so close to each other why is there no record of any conflict between them?
• 101) NoI 9 refers to the Mathura in the material world being the birthplace of Krishna as higher than Vaikuntha Where does Mathura in the spiritual world fit in this hierarchy?
• 100) When Vali and Sugriva are born from the union of demigods (Indra and Surya with Aruni) why do they have a monkey form?
• 99) Is the Nectar of Instruction a part of a larger work by Rupa Goswami?
• 98) By hearing about a particular rasa say Madhurya rasa in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, we will become attracted to it But if our svarupa is in a different rasa what will happen?
• 97) What is the relationship between the svarupa of the soul and its present seed form?
• 96) Is there a hierarchy among the five potent forms of devotional service? Is any one of them the highest?
• 95) While chanting is it better to just focus on the holy name or on a mahamantra sticker or on a picture of the Deities?
• 94) When some devotee praises us, should we stop that devotee or go away or hear passively?
• 93) When bhakti is transcendental, why do scriptures give importance to bodily designations like birth in India or birth in a royal dynasty?
• 92) When all of us are unique, why do we compare devotees as per their level of advancement?
• 91) Is their a hierarchy of devotees at higher and lower levels even in the spiritual world?
• 90) Is the jnani in Gita 7.16 and jnanavan in 7.19 the same or different?
• 89) In the Gita chp 8, what is the yogis’ conception of Krishna?
• 88) In NoI 8 purport, what do the dashas from shravana to sampatti refer to?
• 87) In Gita chp 13, what exactly does jneya refer to?
• 86) If the soul’s nature is to love and serve Krishna, where does our nature to love and serve worldly things come from?
• 85) If dharma meaning to love and serve God is so simple and universal why do so many religions focus on such aggressive conversion?
• 84) How does Krishna consciousness practically solve the world’s problems like violence, poverty and drug abuse?
• 83) How can we practically engage in Krishna’s service all the time?
• 82) How can we explain to newcomers the difference between prasad and ordinary food?
• 81) How can we ensure that the give and take between devotees doesn’t become artificial or business-like?
• 80) Does chanting all 16 rounds at one stretch lead to greater concentration?
• 79) As repeated hearing leads to belief, what is the difference between devotional hearing and indoctrination by religious fanatics?
• 78) Are there any examples of yoga-mishra bhaktas becoming kevala bhaktas?
• 77) When Prabhupada’s books will be the lawbooks for 10,000 years, how can we contextualize them?
• 76) Can Gita verses be translated differently from Prabhupada’s translations?
• 75) How can we understand Prabhupada’s equating buddhi-yoga in 2.39 purport with bhakti-yoga?
• 74) How is the Gita 18.57 definition of buddhi-yoga different from that in 2.39 and 10.10?
• 73) How do we understand Krishna’s statement to Arjuna that Karna is a better archer than him?
• 72) As tapa is not a distinct spiritual path, what does Gita 6.46 tapsvibhyo adhiko yogi refer to?
• 71) Why is the flow the Gita verses not given in Prabhupada’s Gita?
• 70) How is the car-body analogy a good analogy when the car can’t reproduce and the driver can live independent of the car?
• 69) Our endeavor play a part in determining the result, so does endeavoring more make the result more likely?
• 68) What is the connection between Gita 6.4 yogarudha stage and 6.5-6 mind’s inimical nature?
• 67) With what attitude should we quote new verses or scriptural points apart from those given In Prabhupada’s books?
• 66) How can we practically understand the modes influencing us wrt the jnana karma and karta analysis in Gita 18.20-28?
• 65) How are the 6 components of action in Gita 18.18 reduced to 3 in Gita 18.19?

February 2014

• 64) While explaining the philosophy we sometimes come up with examples that we not have heard in classes. How can we know whether they are realizations or speculations?
• 63) Gita 3.9 enjoins yajna for the satisfaction of Vishnu. Then why does the next section talk about the lower level of karma kanda?
• 62) What is the connection between the Gita’s fifth and sixth chapters? Is Gita 6.1 a rejection of jnana-yoga?
• 61) Gita 2.38 and 2.48 seem very similar. What is the difference between them?
• 60) What is the difference between karma-kanda and sakama karma-yoga? Which does Gita 2.31-37 refer to?
• 59) Gita 2.39 is a linking verse. Which sections in the Gita and which levels in the yoga ladder does it link?
• 58) Is there any difference between nishkama bhakti and shuddha bhakti?
• 57) Do karma-mishra, yoga-mishra, jnana-mishra bhakti come under sakama bhakti?
• 56) What is the mechanism of memory recollection? What is the Supersoul’s role in it?
• 55) How can advanced devotees be both transcendental to material pains and still sensitive to others’ material pains?
• 54) How important is it for devotee-couples to follow the Vedic model for gender roles in their relationship?
• 53) If one’s nature doesn’t change even after purification then how is a pure devotee transcendental?
• 52) When we become purified does the predominant mode of the mind change?
• 51) How are the living symptoms of consciousness manifestations of the subtle body as the Gita 13.6-7 purport says?
• 50) Doesn’t the idea that the infant suffers in the womb deny the glory of the mother’s love in caring for her infant?
• 49) When the mahaprasad of devotees is so glorious, why are we discouraged from taking it during our regular interactions with other devotees?
• 48) Should a devotee be eager to die, as Kulakshekhar Maharaj’s prayer says?
• 47) When we face unexpected and big problems, does that meant God is angry with us?
• 46) According to Krishna, which is more important – karma-yoga, bhakti-yoga or both?
• 45) Can you explain clearly the role of mind, intelligence and consciousness in the path from impulse to intent?
• 44) Do our impulses come from outside us or inside us?
• 43) Is karma yoga practical when even the people for whom we sacrifice consider it insane?
• 42) Why does the Bhagavatam say that we shouldn’t endeavor even for our necessities?
• 41) If people in Dwapara Yuga were ten times bigger, why don’t we see such fossils?
• 40) Are our senses actually defective or do we just have to be alert while taking in sense information?
• 39) If the demigods are not Krishna’s competitors, why do they compete with him as in Govardhan lila?
• 38) Why did Draupadi insult Duryodhana when he fell in the Maya sabha by saying ‘andhe ka beta andha’?
• 37) What should a devotee do on being overcome by temptation?
• 36) When our senses are designed by God and they are defective, doesn’t that make God’s design defective?
• 35) Is our memory a manifestation of our mind, intelligence or soul?
• 34) What is the Vedic perspective of godless religions like Jainism and Buddhism whose followers still live good lives?
• 33) How can we understand scientific concepts like space and time from the Vedic perspective?
• 32) How is the Gita 4.9 the essence of the Bhagavad-gita?

January 2014

• 31) Is niyoga – begetting children through some man other than one’s husband – an authorized Vedic practice?
• 30) Isn’t it better to refer to women as behenji instead of mataji especially when they are of the same age as the men?
• 29) What is the difference between ‘nishkarma’ & ‘karma’ as explained in Gita & its significance?
• 28) If both Krishna and we are eternal, then how is he our source and why don’t we have the six opulences fully?
• 27) Amidst life-threatening situations like attack by robbers, should a devotee tolerate, retaliate or flee?
• 26) When we suffer due to our past karma does the Supersoul feel pain because his part is suffering?
• 25) If a person feels spaced out after chanting 16 rounds daily and more focused after chanting less rounds, what should be done?
• 24) If devotees’ children are advanced devotees from past lives, why do many of those children not become devotees in this life?
• 23) Should we avoid offering obeisances to senior devotees in public places because people find it alienating
• 22) Do Yamadutas commit mistakes by taking some person other than the intended?
• 21) When Krishna is satisfied by simple devotion do we need technical intellectual analysis as done by Gita-daily articles?
• 20) Can we integrate walking as an exercise with our daily chanting?
• 19) Is the quality of chanting inversely proportional to the speed of chanting?
• 18) When Krishna is complete, how can he be the beneficiary of our sacrifices, as Gita 5.29 says?
• 17) How can we channelize our emotions in devotional service?
• 16) When the Lord’s glance is purifying why did Mohini-Murti’s glance not purify the demons?
• 15) When Krishna knows everything, how did he not know that Rahu & Ketu were impersonatings as demigods?
• 14) How can devotees do their material activities in spiritual consciousness?
• 13) Why has God given us free will?
• 12) If God is complete and doesn’t desire anything, doesn’t he desire our deliverance?
• 11) Is ignorance a thing? What does “ignorance is nothing but the absence of knowledge” mean?
• 10) Is chanting 16 rounds practical for an engineering student (or for anyone in our fast-paced times)?
• 9) If serving the Lord is more important than serving parents, why did Pundalika keep Vitthal waiting?
• 8) Are spiritualists seeking a soul driving the brain like illiterates seeking a horse driving a car?
• 7) Why are we bound to certain patterns of thinking? Doesn’t that make us like pre-programmed robots?
• 6) Why do so many saints from so many traditions desire to merge with the Absolute Truth?
• 5) When the Gita instructs sarva dharman parityajya why does a devotee need to perform apara dharma?
• 4) Is teaching children about religion before they can think on their own child abuse?
• 3) If someone is really determined in one’s devotional service, why would that person fall?
• 2) How can we practice humility in a competitive world where everyone parades their credentials?
• 1) Do we need a personal culture with many devotee teachers? Does it mean that one guru is not enough?