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Currently Browsing: QA Audio : 2017
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: Hindi Language
July 2022
1253)
Why don’t we make the Bhagavad-gita compulsory in schools in India?
June 2022
1252)
Till what point should we tolerate?
1251)
How can we know that we are progressing spiritually?
1250)
How can we get the determination to apply scripture?
February 2021
1249)
Can thinking positively create a brighter future?
September 2020
1248)
How to understand the Bhagavatam’s cosmology?
1247)
Amidst conflicts, how can we put aside our ego and accept responsibility for the problem?
June 2020
1246)
If someone puts in the same efforts as me but gets better results, how to avoid envy?
February 2020
1245)
When jnana and karma are different philosophies, how can they both give the same result, as the Gita’s sixth chapter states?
June 2018
1244)
Why does the Bhagavatam say that literature glorifying Krishna is imperfectly composed when such literature is meant to attract people to Krishna?
May 2018
1243)
Does liberation mean understanding we have no free will?
January 2018
1242)
If we can do a service well and see others doing that service poorly, should we stay uninvolved to avoid becoming proud or critical?
1241)
I get dreams to act violently against Muslims – what should I do?
December 2017
1240)
When our acharyas wanted an institution, how can we deal with people’s aversion to religious institutions?
1239)
If others do politics to sideline us from our service, should we also do politics to continue our service?
1238)
Why do devotees sometimes die in ghastly accidents?
1237)
How can we increase the quality in our existing devotional commitments?
1236)
When neither distress nor taste motivates us consistently in bhakti, how can we become consistent?
1235)
How can I overcome my attraction to watch every detail of my favorite actress?
1234)
How can we be materially successful while practicing bhakti?
1233)
Is disorder also a part of Krishna’s plan for creation?
1232)
Should we correct others when we don’t have the authority to do so and others aren’t receptive?
1231)
In the computer metaphor for explaining the self, comparing the soul with the user mixes the inanimate with the animate – isn’t it better to compare consciousness with electricity?
1230)
If the devotional ambience around us is unfavorable because devotees are rude, what should we do?
1229)
Why do the Vedas give all rights to men and no rights to women, who simply have to obey men?
1228)
When we have to choose between two ways of serving Krishna, what should we do?
1227)
Duryodhana felt no moral compunction while persecuting the Pandavas, but Dhirtrashtra did – why the difference?
1226)
The soul has knowledge that is presently covered – does this mean the soul knows exact scriptural verses?
1225)
When Abhimanyu was killed, how was Arjuna overcome by illusion?
1224)
If we use our extrovert nature to serve Krishna, are we functioning in the mode of passion?
1223)
If devotees use certain statements to demean other bhakti traditions, what to do?
1222)
Do we need only devotional principles to change our past’s influences – can other things help?
1221)
When we are frustrated, is it possible to think logically as explained in classes?
1220)
If past mental impressions stay despite a long practice of bhakti, what to do?
November 2017
1219)
How do we deal with negative people who are not transformable?
1218)
When the mind becomes a mirror for the pure soul, does the soul perceive itself through the mind or without it too?
1217)
In Shikshashtakam, what is the difference between ceto darpanam and sarvatma snapanam?
1216)
In Damodarashtakam, what does not wanting any benediction other than Vaikuntha refer to?
1215)
In Damodarashtakam, what does duhka-jala abdhi magnam mean?
1214)
The driver controls the car, but the soul doesn’t directly control the body – can you explain?
1213)
When does determination turn into obstinacy?
1212)
By contemplating the consequences of sensuality, if we practice bhakti, is that bhakti at the level of fear?
1211)
Does Krishna know which choices we are going to make?
1210)
When things go wrong, how can keep faith and avoid feeling the pinch?
1209)
If bhakti doesn’t protect us from troubles, then what is the point of practicing it?
1208)
If we tend to over-expect from others and alienate them, what to do?
1207)
If the world is Maya, is it just like the world of Harry Potter?
1206)
How can we avoid impulsive reactions that make things worse?
1205)
When our filters distort our vision, how can we see things as they are?
1204)
Is it selfish to want others to change so that we can be more comfortable?
1203)
I am useless – Is this feeling in ignorance or in transcendence?
1202)
If our attitude is determined by our modes, then how much can we change our attitude?
1201)
How can we balance our limited controllership over our children with our responsibility to guide them?
1200)
When taking decisions, how do we balance using our intelligence and having faith in Krishna?
1199)
How can we detach ourselves from what others think about us?
1198)
What is needed for sharing bhakti in the West?
1197)
Can the mind sting us – how?
1196)
When a loved one is hurt, we feel disturbed, but not so much when someone unknown is hurt – is this attachment?
1195)
Why do Vraja-vasis need to perform a karma-kanda reformatory ceremony?
1194)
When social justice is not defined in the West in terms of caste discrimination how can bhakti be seen as promoting social justice here?
1193)
How do we overcome ambiguity about going ahead in a relationship?
1192)
Why do people who live religiously suffer terribly?
1191)
When chanting, should we just hear the holy name or try to focus the mind on Krishna’s lotus feet?
1190)
What is the relationship between science and atheism?
1189)
Is criticizing science necessary for sharing Krishna-bhakti?
1188)
We get creative ideas but feel that implementing them requires too much work – what to do?
1187)
What was the need for Ramananda Raya to massage young girls?
October 2017
1186)
When a parent won’t give a child a pile of chocolates, why does Krishna create a world filled with sense objects?
1185)
When intelligence is the sitting place of lust, how can it point us to our long-term interest?
1184)
Should I choose the spiritual master whose personal association I get or whose classes inspire me?
1183)
When love is not real, how can it be the ultimate reality?
1182)
When the consequence is not in our hands, why is the consequence considered a factor in deciding right and wrong action?
1181)
How can we avoid impulsive angry responses?
1180)
How can Vyasadeva refer to himself as a great sage in the Bhagavatam?
1179)
How is temperament more important than talent?
1178)
If we resist a desire, it increases, and our mind goes crazy – what to do?
1177)
When we have to work so many hours in nondevotional jobs for our financial needs, how can we grow devotionally?
1176)
Even when we have knowledge, we can’t apply it – what to do?
1175)
As a to-be householder, should I work fulltime in a temple or take a job outside
1174)
My husband doesn’t oppose my bhakti, but he wants me to take interest in worldly things that I have lost interest in – what should I do?
1173)
If my counselor breaks a regulative principle, how do I maintain my faith?
1172)
If our past bad relationships make us averse to exploring new relationships, what should we do?
1171)
How can we emotionally accept that people who treat us like crap are delivering us our past karma?
1170)
How can we overcome the expectation of apology from someone who has hurt us?
1169)
What are the precursors to anger – how can we know that we are likely to explode at someone?
1168)
How can we preach with sincere devotees who are desensitized to newcomers’ sensitivities?
1167)
If circumstances make following bhakti principles impossible, what should we do?
1166)
When our emotions come in the way of our bhakti practices, what can we do?
1165)
In youth, how much should we be preparing for our career and how much focusing on devotional growth?
1164)
How much should we restrict our children from hearing mundane music?
1163)
How can we prioritize our services, when we have limited time?
1162)
Does bhakti practice free us from past bad karma?
1161)
Will Krishna help us out of a situation that we have got in because of our own desires?
1160)
How can we avoid judging ourselves?
1159)
How can we deal with self-doubt?
1158)
What does it mean to be consistently content with the self?
1157)
If we see patterns similar to a failed relationship in a new relationship, how can we avoid becoming pessimistic?
1156)
If a relative of mine is getting influenced by Christian missionary propaganda, what should I do?
1155)
How can we develop our relationship with Krishna without minimizing the position of the guru?
1154)
If a child becomes orphaned because the parents commit suicide, is that because of the child’s destiny or the parents’ misuse of free will?
1153)
Where can I get mantra diksha?
1152)
Do we need to know God before we can have faith in him?
1151)
What does it mean to serve the Lord?
1150)
How does one find a spiritual path?
1149)
What is the role of religion in today’s world?
1148)
Is hypnotic regression to past lives for real?
1147)
How do we explain the non-physical is differentiated as the mind and the soul?
1146)
How do we help people who hold that nature is their god?
1145)
Just as Nalakuvera-Manigriva were given remembrance their past lives, why can’t we be given remembrance of our past lives?
1144)
When is violence justified – how is the Gita’s war different from modern World Wars?
1143)
If our intelligence can never supersede Krishna’s intelligence, how can our will supersede his will – how can we act independent of him?
1142)
If we don’t have gratitude, how does it matter in bhakti?
1141)
Just as Krishna gives conviction to different people to worship different devatas, does he give different devotees conviction to serve him in different ways?
1140)
How to overcome lust or material desire
1139)
Is our free will infinite, just the facility to fulfill it is finite?
1138)
If my chanting remains inattentive despite my best effort, am I being offensive?
1137)
Can those who have more material desires not come in Krishna’s gravity pull?
1136)
If we feel that Krishna is not reciprocating, should we intensify our devotion?
1135)
Stories about Krishna remain the same, whereas new stories about fictional heroes keep coming up – how then are Krishna stories ever-new?
1134)
Material entertainment requires no thinking, spiritual entertainment requires deep thinking – are the two comparable?
1133)
Can unconscious people hear the holy name?
1132)
To which level of reality are people with Alzheimer’s escaping?
1131)
What is the difference between believing a half-man half-lion and believing a half-man half-spider?
1130)
Should medicines be used to treat depression?
1129)
If negative events cause a panic attack, what can we do?
1128)
Our survival instinct tells us to avoid pain, whereas austerity means to accept pain – how to decide what to do?
1127)
Should we be simply attached to the principle of service or to specific services according to our nature?
1126)
How can we deal with gossipy or critical family members?
1125)
What is the difference between greed and ambition?
1124)
What role does sleep play on the spiritual path?
1123)
Can we see the future in our dreams?
1122)
How do some people get guidance in the state of being half-awake, half-asleep?
1121)
What is the source of the programming we have?
1120)
When our emotions don’t keep pace with our convictions, as when facing adversities, what can we do?
1119)
As most people nowadays are born without any garbhadhana samskara, will the world soon be filled with people in ignorance?
1118)
Are religious rituals entirely separate from philosophy – why do different religions have different rituals?
1117)
Is the caste system wrong?
1116)
Might our sense of right and wrong be something created by society to check our biological urges?
1115)
Might our desire for eternal life come from our experience of an external long-living object, not from an eternal soul?
1114)
How can we know our prescribed duty?
1113)
How do we differentiate between the mind and the soul?
1112)
Are there different mantras for different effects?
1111)
How can we protect our consciousness?
September 2017
1110)
How can we evaluate people’s level of consciousness without becoming judgmental?
1109)
What type of yoga is best for rising to spirituality?
1108)
How can we stop being resentful towards others?
1107)
Why do some devotees see things in terms of black and white without any nuance?
1106)
While practicing bhakti, how can we avoid getting locked into our professional identity?
1105)
How to balance between following Prabhupada faithfully and adjusting to time-place-circumstances?
1104)
Can our anarthas be dovetailed in Krishna’s service?
1103)
Does the mind discourage the soul?
1102)
Do the different senses of the word karma come from scripture or from usage?
1101)
How can we distract ourselves from desires arising in the body such as hunger?
1100)
Does loss of intelligence lead to control by the mind or does control by the mind lead to loss of intelligence?
1099)
When our intelligence is controlled by lust, how can it control the mind?
1098)
Why doesn’t Krishna make things easy for his devotees?
1097)
Is the opposite of gratefulness resentfulness or neglectfulness?
1096)
How can some people pass through problems without taking shelter of Krishna?
1095)
Does the media increase our negativity by focusing on problems in today’s world?
1094)
Do scientific theories disprove spiritual truths?
1093)
Is spiritual science a valid branch of science?
1092)
Are we omnivores who need to eat animals to maintain the food chain?
1091)
When we start studying Bhagavad-gita, what is the motivation for continuing to study material science?
1090)
If our family members don’t practice regulative principles, is it right to disconnect from them?
1089)
Why didn’t God create another dimension for us to enjoy?
1088)
Why can’t all realized souls join hands to demonstrate a working model of harmonious spiritual living?
1087)
Can the principles of bhakti solve the world’s practical problems?
1086)
How can we be cautious about not indulging in something without constantly thinking about it?
1085)
How is anger not just an emotion but also a thing?
1084)
Are anarthas also part of our nature?
1083)
When repressing desires doesn’t work, what to do?
1082)
How do we balance thinking and feeling in spiritual life?
1081)
How can we be grateful to Krishna in all situations?
1080)
Does complete faith in Krishna make us fearless?
1079)
If we don’t have full faith, are we hedging our bets?
1078)
Among various world religions, what is special about practicing krishna-bhakti?
1077)
Can Krishna be interchanged with any other god as our object of worship?
1076)
How can bhakti help us overcome our emotional fears?
1075)
Do different people need different percentages of material and spiritual life?
1074)
When we ask Krishna to protect us, are we treating him as our servant, and are we advanced enough for him to intervene?
1073)
When we want to go to the spiritual world, is our devotion motivated or unmotivated?
1072)
Since something I built my life on collapsed, I have started hating God – what can I do?
1071)
When we decide to change ourselves, how can we know that those changes will be for good?
1070)
Should we try to learn from our past when our perception of our past will always be distorted by our biases?
1069)
How can we identify the voices of the inner critic and the inner daredevil?
1068)
Is anger reduced by becoming spiritual or by developing the brain’s frontal lobe that is associated with controlling emotions?
1067)
Can there be something called spiritual science?
1066)
Love of God may just be a sentiment in some religions – how can we know it is for real?
1065)
Scientists are often aesthetic people and religion has often caused persecution and violence – how to understand?
1064)
Should devotees do sandhya as a daily sadhana as per their family tradition?
1063)
Why does our mind dwell more on painful memories than on joyful memories?
1062)
We talk a lot about practicing bhakti, but not about practicing morality – why?
1061)
When faced with problems, how to decide how many solutions to try out?
1060)
If someone chants a lot of rounds, but doesn’t behave properly with their spouse, how do we understand?
1059)
Do gopis know Krishna’s future pastimes?
1058)
I desire to start a new business – is this desire compatible with bhakti?
1057)
The jnanis concepton of the Absolute Truth lacks potency – please explain?
1056)
How can we have steady faith that Krishna cares for us?
1055)
How can the gopis become proud?
1054)
Did Krishna appear in Mathura or in both Mathura and Vrindavan?
1053)
How can ghosts, being subtle, act on gross objects as when opening doors or breaking things?
1052)
When ghosts have only subtle bodies, how can they be seen by humans?
1051)
Are increased natural calamities due to climate change or bad karma?
1050)
How can we be more and more in the present?
1049)
If someone has hurt us grievously, what should we do?
1048)
Should we learn from the past or consider that whatever happened is God’s will?
1047)
When waves of desire come suddenly, do they have some rational cause?
1046)
When, because of our bhakti principles, we can’t eat the food offered by our relatives, how can we avoid alienating them from bhakti?
1045)
Can machines think?
1044)
Is depression a mental problem or a medical problem?
1043)
If a devotee familiar to us starts blaspheming our spiritual master, how should we deal with that devotee?
1042)
When our goals are in the future, how can we live in the present?
1041)
For devotees, are things happening beyond our control due to destiny or Krishna’s mercy?
1040)
In outreach, what needs to come first – knowledge and inspiration or facilities?
1039)
Among knowledge, inspiration and facilities, if we can’t provide all three to others, what is the most important thing to provide?
1038)
When we can’t give up our conditionings, is just calling out to Krishna the solution?
1037)
How can we know that we are subconsciously justifying our anger?
1036)
Speaking forcefully often gets people to take things seriously – is such speech angry and to be avoided?
1035)
If connection with Krishna makes the inauspicious auspicious, then if a devotee gets caught in sinful activities, is that also good?
1034)
Are the gopis wired naturally to love Krishna so purely?
1033)
Seeing Shiva and Vishnu as equal is considered offensive, but seeing them as different is also considered offensive – how to understand?
1032)
When we can experience peace through oneness with nature, why do we need to depict God as a person?
1031)
Do theists attribute to God things that are not explainable within our frame of reference?
1030)
If someone has hurt us badly, should we tell them that they have hurt us?
August 2017
1029)
How can we know whether our wrongdoing is accidental or intentional?
1028)
How does time affect the dhama in the material world?
1027)
Can you explain how sambandha-jnana is like the guiding star and the gopis’ prema is like the sun?
1026)
If Krishna is eternally youthful in the spiritual world, are his childhood pastimes present there?
1025)
How is forgiveness related to the modes of material nature?
1024)
If we get dreams of our past profession even after having retired for over ten years, is that good or bad?
1023)
Is retaliation in the mode of passion?
1022)
What is the difference between tolerance and passivity?
1021)
If some devotees feel inspired to hear Krishna’s intimate pastimes, what can they do?
1020)
When Prabhupada says that God can never be illusioned, how can we understand that Krishna comes under Yoga-Maya?
1019)
Should we study books about God’s greatness and sweetness progressively or in parallel?
1018)
Should we not read advanced krishna-lila because we aren’t mature or read it because we need to know our ultimate goal?
1017)
By focusing on future spiritual happiness, are we running away from living in the present?
1016)
Does spiritual knowledge decrease our tendency to find faults with the present?
1015)
If a rat is chewing at our foot, should we tolerate it?
1014)
As we are controlled by material nature, do we really have free will?
1013)
How can we better apply what we have read?
1012)
If we don’t understand much on studying scripture, how can we inspire ourselves to study?
1011)
Can dreams be considered unreal because they are temporary?
1010)
Are dreams real or not?
1009)
When our services sometimes cause anxiety, how can we understand that devotees are peaceful?
1008)
If bhakti is triggered by external stimuli, does such bhakti come from the heart?
1007)
Christians say Jesus is the only way – do ISKCON devotees say Prabhupada is the only way?
1006)
How is inner growth more important than external growth in bhakti?
1005)
How does the hierarchy in bhakti differ from mundane hierarchy?
1004)
Why doesn’t mainstream science accept the evidence for past-life memories?
1003)
Can we heal our emotional hurts by knowing about our past lives?
1002)
How can we go from blaming to forgiving?
1001)
What is the nature of eternal life?
1000)
How can we prevent the hurts from our past become our emotional baggage in a future life?
999)
Can excessive forgiveness lead to weakness?
998)
What makes us complacent about applying the solution of bhakti to the problem of our known weaknesses?
997)
Who is it that observes the mind has wandered off?
996)
How can we understand Prabhupada’s statement that there is no love in this world?
995)
If we have fear or mistrust towards God, how does the process of bhakti work for us?
994)
How much can analysis help in controlling desires?
993)
Can an animal become a ghost – Hindi?
992)
When Gajendra comes to Krishna because of distress, what is the role of his previous life actions – Hindi?
991)
Our parents are destined – are our friends also destined?
990)
How do we understand Prabhupada’s statement that most of my disciples will go to heaven – Hindi?
989)
The soul can’t be cut, but can God cut the soul – Hindi?
988)
Isn’t everything that happens to a surrendered devotee good?
987)
When birth in a wealthy family can deviate one spiritually, how is it spiritually favorable – Hindi?
986)
If we like to dress the Deities but also want others to appreciate our dressing, is that self-centeredness?
985)
When bhakti culture is still there in Vraja, was all this destroyed 500 years ago when Lord Chaitanya restored it?
984)
When we don’t hear so much about Lord Balarama, how can we become more attracted to him?
983)
While practicing bhakti, should we be concerned about how the world perceives us?
982)
How can we become less self-centered?
981)
How can we overcome anger?
980)
What is the best way to understand spirituality?
979)
Why does nature hide spiritual truths – why don’t all of us have past-life memories or near-death experiences?
978)
If we happen to be a negative influence on others by discouraging them, what should we do?
977)
My friends tell me that engineering studies are a waste of time – should I pursue some other career?
976)
Is Chitraketu’s accepting Parvati’s curse even when he was not at fault meant to instruct us to accept whatever happens to us – Hindi?
975)
How can we fix the mind on the heart – Hindi?
974)
If justice needs to be seen to be done, how does this apply when karmic justice gives us results for unknown actions – Hindi?
973)
How do we deal with over-expecting parents who ask why we have got 95 marks out of 100, not 100
972)
Can our material progress and spiritual progress go together
971)
How is the world meant to allow both theists and atheists to justify their beliefs
970)
Is it right to blame others for our failure
969)
Do our stars determine whether we become spiritual
968)
When too many spiritual apps, sites and books confuse us about what to read or hear, what to do?
967)
If someone likes to practice bhakti in solitary devotional activities, will they advance more slowly?
966)
If our family attachments impede our spiritual advancement, how can we be detached and still be responsible?
965)
When problems trouble us and we can’t put our heart in our service, what can we do?
964)
How does understanding Krishna’s greatness and sweetness bring submission and affection respectively?
963)
While studying in college, how can we not identify ourselves as students?
962)
How can we balance scriptural study and practical service?
961)
When we practice bhakti culture in our temples or youth centers, are we not practicing spiritual bhakti?
960)
On holy days, if new people can either fast or do service, what should we encourage them to do?
959)
If our past bad habits keep dragging us down, what should we do?
958)
Can we get tangible results in bhakti, as we get in our worldly relationships?
957)
How can we explain philosophy to those who don’t accept the authority of scripture?
956)
If spirituality tells us to fast and science tells us to not fast, what should we do?
955)
Should we be detached from feeling happy when we chant well?
954)
If while chanting some bad thoughts come in our mind, is that a sin?
953)
In our offices, how can we be socially involved in contemporary discussions without getting spiritually distracted?
952)
Does humility mean feeling that we are fallen or does it mean not letting our ego come int the way of our service?
951)
When the gopis criticize Akrura for taking Krishna away, are they not offending Akrura?
950)
If a devotee repeatedly struggles in different services, how can we engage that devotee?
949)
If the expansion of our consciousness stops with humanity, will it reach Krishna?
948)
How can we keep fighting against our senses till we get Krishna’s mercy?
947)
One moon is better than a thousand stars – what does this imply in terms of outreach strategies?
946)
When we can study scripture without doing the Bhakti Shastri course, why is the course needed?
945)
How can we better remember philosophical points and scriptural verses?
944)
How exactly were we created?
943)
Is remembering that Krishna is in control the only way we can remember him while working in the world?
942)
How can we overcome the mind’s habit of contemplating sense objects – Hindi?
941)
How can we understand our nature – Hindi?
940)
Can bhakti change a person’s nature – Hindi?
939)
By what practices can we control the mind – Hindi?
938)
How can we differentiate between our cheating propensity and our tendency to be illusioned by duality – Hindi?
937)
What is the definition of conditioning – Hindi?
936)
What is the difference between the mind and the intelligence – Hindi?
935)
Why do we sometimes act circumstantially rather than scripturally – Hindi?
934)
If our intelligence becomes weak, what is the solution – Hindi?
933)
How can we prevent our eyes from seeing lustily – Hindi?
932)
How much does our spiritual progress depend on our endeavor and how much on Krishna’s mercy – Hindi?
931)
If we see devotees living materialistically, how can we prevent that from rationalizing our materialism – Hindi?
930)
How can we remember to process our emotions, not act on them – Hindi?
929)
How can we overcome worrying habit – Hindi?
928)
How can we deal with our need for approval while doing good things – Hindi?
927)
How can bhakti help students to not get too disturbed about their marks – Hindi?
926)
Is what we are going to get in life determined at birth – Hindi?
925)
What role does our nature play in our taking shelter of Krishna?
924)
Why is impersonalism condemned in Gita 9.12 and appreciated in Gita 9.15?
July 2017
923)
Is intelligence not always a good thing?
922)
Is intelligence covered by the mode of ignorance unintelligent?
921)
How can determination be unintelligent, as mentioned in Gita 18.35?
920)
Why does the Gita in chapter sixteen describe divine qualities in three full verses and demoniac qualities in just one verse?
919)
How is simplicity as an austerity of the body in Gita 17.14 different from simplicity as an austerity of the mind in Gita 17.16?
918)
What is the conscious mind and the subconscious mind?
917)
When anger arises, what uddipana can we use to control it?
916)
Can the self be realized without realizing Krishna?
915)
Does self-realization as understood in psychology – understanding our strengths and weaknesses – come automatically by bhakti practice?
914)
If we see devotees’ love for us as Krishna’s love coming through them, are we not depersonalizing devotees?
913)
If others’ love for us is Krishna’s love coming through them, does that apply to their anger too?
912)
How can a devotee work in an anti-devotional profession that goes against the four regulative principles?
911)
As sadhakas with anarthas, how much should we rely on astrology?
910)
I was an honest disbeliever instead of being a hypocritical believer, yet I suffered – why?
909)
Is forgiving those who have hurt us necessary for moving on in our life?
908)
Is the self located in the brain?
907)
Why can’t science measure love?
906)
What is consciousness – why does science have difficulty in understanding it?
905)
Why can’t scientists understand that our identity is spiritual?
904)
Do we have free will?
903)
Does scientific advancement make life seem pointless – why?
902)
Are people who have out-of-body experiences out of their mind?
901)
How sound is the scientific evidence of past-life memories?
900)
Should we drink cow’s milk nowadays when it is got by causing violence to cows?
899)
Who are we – how can we understand the Gita’s answer from a scientific perspective?
898)
What can we resist temptation?
897)
How does the three-level model of the self explain near death experiences?
896)
How does the three-level model of the self explain past-life memories?
895)
When we perceive internally, how can we differentiate between the mind and the soul?
894)
Who experiences love – brain, mind or soul?
893)
How does the three-level model of the self reconcile science and spirituality?
892)
Till what level of bhakti can devotees fall away?
891)
How can we persevere in bhakti over the years when our transformation becomes gradual and not so easily perceivable?
890)
On hearing sweet kirtans, is the happiness we experience spiritual or material?
889)
When dasya permeates all rasas, why is it considered a separate rasa?
888)
How can we be both assertive about getting things done while being sensitive to others’ feelings?
887)
When we try to help someone by pointing out their mistake and they see it as an attack on them, what can we do?
886)
How do we understand that the spiritual world has no physical location?
885)
Is bhakti materially independent or is it more likely to occur in certain places?
884)
Can people with an empty stomach practice bhakti – shouldn’t material needs be fulfilled first?
883)
How can the impatient people of Kali-yuga have the patience to wait for the results of bhakti-yoga?
882)
Is there any proof for God’s existence?
881)
How is the Gita relevant amidst today’s stress-filled times?
880)
Is reincarnation a Hindu belief?
879)
Can all karma be offered to Krishna or does ugra-karma have to be given up?
878)
If bhakti is transcendental, why is cultivating the mode of goodness important?
877)
How can we harmonize ourselves with our situation when say our boss works by opposite principles?
876)
What does having faith amidst problems mean practically?
875)
How can we avoid reinforcing our biases by discussing delicate issues with others who have similar biases?
874)
Even after practicing bhakti, we explode at people who irritate us – what can we do?
873)
If we feel guilty because of having exploded at someone, how can we overcome that guilt?
872)
How does bhakti relate with being present in the present?
871)
Is it better to be overwhelmed by knowledge or by ignorance?
870)
How could Lava-Kusha defeat Rama who is the undefeatable Lord?
869)
When the Bhagavatam contains so many stories involving sex, is it appropriate for children?
868)
What is wrong with seeking the desirable and avoiding the undesirable?
867)
Is being emotionally invested in Krishna different from being emotionally invested in services to Krishna?
866)
Can you explain some section of scripture that we can’t easily understand?
865)
Is it easier to go from aversion to renunciation than from attachment to renunciation?
864)
How can our vertical and horizontal progress be harmonized?
863)
For preaching, is it enough to simply hear classes of senior devotees and repeat?
862)
Should we take food offered at gurudwara if it contains onion-garlic?
861)
Did Zoroastrianism evolve into Judaism and Christianity?
860)
As science fiction movies show robots with emotions, can’t scientific progress imbue robots with consciousness?
859)
Why does Bhagavatam say that Bhishma merged with the Supersoul?
858)
What is the best way to understand the Bhagavad-gita?
857)
Does the subtle body dissolve on purification?
856)
If impulses can be controlled, why can’t instincts be controlled?
855)
After practicing bhakti for many years, our enthusiasm goes down and we just go through the motions – how can we know whether we are actually going towards Krishna?
854)
How can I deal with a beef-eating colleague?
853)
Suppose Krishna desires me to win a race, but I decide to not participate – what happens?
852)
In the spiritual world, can we act entirely freely without being controlled by our nature?
851)
If someone follows a spiritual path without much knowledge of Krishna, how will they advance spiritually?
850)
Might a devotee be born in a Muslim family?
849)
Does the Gita 13.30 support the idea that the soul has no free will?
848)
If I connect quickly with someone, does that mean we had a past-life connection?
847)
Do like-minded people become more understanding or does understanding make people more life-minded?
846)
Does ignoring situations solve problems?
845)
How can we control anger?
844)
How can we keep the mind in the present?
843)
When we get bad experiences repeatedly, should we just entrust everything to Krishna?
842)
If God’s inscrutable will is good for everyone, what’s wrong with letting whatever is happening happen?
841)
How is always thinking of Krishna practical?
840)
When suicide is bad, why did Arjuna resolve to commit suicide if he failed to kill Jayadratha by sunset?
839)
Is constantly thinking of Krishna and doing our work an example of multitasking – how can it be done practically?
838)
On hearing offense to devotees, why is the extreme option of committing suicide recommended?
837)
How can we understand that whatever is happening to us is due to the weakness of our heart?
836)
What kind of affirmations are most effective?
835)
Even after we learn to observe our mind, why can’t we stay on as the observer?
834)
How can we become more mindful?
833)
If a bad relationship has made me paranoid about relationships, what can I do?
832)
How can we prevent our career from interfering with our relationships?
831)
Why do you speak more on bhakti than on karma which the Gita stresses?
830)
What are the dos and donts to develop devotional consciousness?
829)
How can we practically apply – don’t be angry with the instrument of your karma?
828)
Why are the near-death experiences of Indians and Americans different?
827)
How can we differentiate between the voices of the mind, the intelligence and the Supersoul?
826)
If this world is a place of misery, why does it have so much pleasure too?
825)
If dedicated senior devotees face great distress, new devotees ask what is the point of practicing bhakti – how to answer?
824)
How can we maintain the standard of purity that Prabhupada established?
823)
If parents have been brought up in India and their children in the US, how can they harmonize their differing cultural expectations?
822)
What to do if our material ambitions are stronger than our spiritual intentions?
821)
I broke a one-sided relationship, but now I feel I should have tried more – what should I do?
820)
Even if we control our anger at someone, still we keep thinking about who was at fault- what to do?
819)
How do we deal with mental flashbacks?
818)
If our elders are at fault, should we just tolerate or should we tell them?
817)
How can we know what can be changed and what can’t be?
816)
When we understand scripture according to our level of realization, is that our false ego at work?
815)
During the manifestation of action, what or how does Krishna sanction?
814)
Is the Supersoul present in the spiritual world?
813)
When scripture contains so much wisdom, why does most of India not follow scripture?
812)
Why do we sometimes feel more agitated after starting bhakti practice?
811)
Most past-life memories involve people who lived sinfully in their previous lives – shouldn’t such people have gone to animal bodies, not human bodies?
810)
Is there proof of reincarnation from animal body to human body?
809)
If the natures of a husband and a wife are not complementary, but contradictory, how can they function?
808)
I have a disagreeable boss who is also atheistic – how can I deal with him?
807)
If a relationship is severely strained but it has to go on, what to do?
806)
In the Bhagavatam, devotees renounce the world to serve the Lord, but in the Vitthal tradition, devotees serve their parents while the Lord waits – how to reconcile?
805)
How can we explain tangibly what consciousness is?
804)
When our consciousness goes up and down regularly, how is consciousness irreducible?
803)
Different brain areas are activated when we have different emotions – doesn’t that show consciousness comes from the brain?
802)
Is our nature never changeable – Hindi?
801)
If people can’t change their nature, how can they improve – Hindi?
800)
When facing problems, how can we go beyond blaming others and blaming our own past karma – Hindi?
799)
Why do we so easily forgive ourselves – Hindi?
798)
Why don’t people remember past lives in other species?
797)
How can we decide when to give up one service and take up some other service?
796)
In past-life memories cases, how do wounds on the previous body manifest as birth marks on the next body?
795)
Do you remember your past lives?
794)
When presenting philosophy from one perspective, how can we avoid getting carried away and rejecting other perspectives?
793)
If devotees are becoming lethargic in professional life, should we encourage them to aim high?
792)
Does the subconscious mind help us to do whatever we think repeatedly with our conscious mind?
791)
Should a brahmachari change his ashrama if his astrological chart is unfavorable for renunciation?
790)
What is the difference between the mind and the modes?
789)
Which is better – learning with the intelligence or learning with the mind?
788)
When a problem goes on for a long time and our attempts to solve it only aggravate it, what should we do – Hindi?
787)
How can we get the mind out of a problem when we need to think about the problem to solve it – Hindi?
786)
Should we do a service that pleases our authority but upsets other devotees?
785)
If we as managers take some strong decisions, some devotees feel hurt and hit back at us – should we take such decisions?
784)
Does responsibility mean doing whatever we are told to do or doing big projects under instruction?
783)
How can we know whether we are surrendered?
782)
When someone’s conditioning troubles us, but they expect us to continue tolerating, what should we do?
781)
What is the difference between karma-yoga and bhakti-yoga – Marathi
780)
Why was Lord Chaitanya harsh with Chota Haridas and lenient with Balabhadra Bhattacharya?
779)
Can we get rid of unwanted thoughts by neglect?
778)
How can we stay enthusiastic in a service where results take a long time to come?
777)
How does the example of sometimes serving and sometimes receiving in a tennis match apply practically in the brahmachari ashram?
776)
Which is more dangerous – failure of the mind or failure of the intelligence?
775)
How do we differentiate between ego and self-confidence?
774)
How is the discriminatory caste system justifiable?
773)
In parts of India where people eat meat extensively, how can we attract them to bhakti?
772)
If the impressions from past failures push us towards failure again, how do we break free?
771)
How do we keep our spiritual focus while living up to various social expectations?
770)
We don’t know our strengths and the social mirror distorts our self-conception further – where then can we begin knowing ourselves?
769)
When different people with different mental frames discuss a problem, why is a particular person’s solution accepted?
768)
Apart from positive-negative thinking, does past karma comprise barriers in our destiny?
767)
While putting Krishna first, when devotees neglect others, how can good devotee-relationships develop?
766)
If someone has helped us in our pre-devotional life, but is now unfavorable to our bhakti, how should we interact with them?
765)
How can we strengthen our relationship with Krishna?
764)
Is it ok to have material desires?
763)
When we have more things in control, we feel less dependent on Krishna – what to do?
762)
If prolonged problems leave us disheartened, how can we regain our morale – Hindi?
761)
When problems stay on for a long time, how can we avoid losing faith – Hindi?
760)
How can we stay devotionally enthusiastic amidst financial difficulties – Hindi?
759)
Acceptance is the beginning of transcendence – where all does this apply – Hindi?
758)
Happiness will come by destiny, without our endeavoring – how do we understand this practically?
757)
When Krishna tells Arjuna that your nature will make you fight, then where is free will?
756)
If a child is born retarded and dies without doing anything, what is the point of such a life?
755)
How can we be devotionally conscious when working with materialistic people in a hospital?
754)
When we deal with dissatisfaction, how can we know whether we are acting by Krishna’s guidance or our mind’s conditioning?
753)
If a service is incompatible with our nature, what should we do?
752)
How do we differentiate between needs and wants?
751)
How can we practice austerity of the mind?
750)
When we don’t get an intimation of our death, as did Parikshit, how should we practice bhakti?
749)
How can we know what karma we have done in the past?
748)
How can we conquer all our fears?
747)
Does the default setting come from the mind or the brain?
746)
Why should we go to a temple when we can serve poor people or open hospitals?
745)
When we can have a temple in our home, why do we need to go to a temple?
744)
How do we help people who know about karma but think it won’t apply to me?
743)
When we are provoked, we get angry despite our resolutions not to do so – what to do?
742)
Can we say that the brain processes various energies and one kind of energy processing leads to consciousness?
741)
Is an unfavourable family situation Krishna’s arrangement – should we accept or reject that situation – Hindi?
740)
If feelings of satisfaction deter us from doing difficult duties, what should we do – Hindi?
739)
If we give up all emotions, then what will motivate us to work – Hindi?
738)
Is thinking negatively the default setting of the mind – Hindi?
737)
If we feel fear about losing our loved ones, how can we overcome that fear?
736)
Is it natural to have expectations – does spiritual life change that?
735)
In ancient India, there were many different belief systems, as there are now – why is this?
734)
If someone helps us but makes us feel bad about having taken their help, should we keep a distance from them?
733)
Is there a fine line between when matter takes us towards Krishna and when it takes us away from Krishna?
732)
If we practice bhakti simply to look good in others’ eyes, how can we advance?
731)
How can we remember that we are devotees when we are with materialistic people?
730)
If we surrender to Krishna because of fear that we will face problems otherwise, is that surrender genuine?
729)
After practicing spirituality, we feel less materially insecure – does that mean we are spiritually advanced or are irresponsible?
728)
If we cursed someone who disappointed us in a relationship, are our present problems a karmic reaction for cursing that person?
727)
If we can’t decide whether a particular desire is good or bad, what should we do?
726)
When dharma has gone down so much now, why is Krishna not appearing?
725)
Isn’t Prabhupada’s Gita just one among the many interpretations of the Gita?
724)
How can we connect our IT job with Krishna?
723)
How is the intelligence connected with the heart?
722)
If my job requires me to do medical testing on animals, how can that be reconciled with bhakti?
721)
If our children don’t become devotees, are we failing in our primary duty?
720)
Aren’t parents who want their children to succeed in competitions encouraging materialistic over-endeavor?
719)
Should we as parents encourage our children to participate in competitions for discovering and developing talents?
June 2017
718)
When some people remember their past lives, where are those memories stored?
717)
Can the soul remember its eternal position?
716)
Does reincarnation explain why some people feel they are in a body of the wrong gender?
715)
How can we redirect our attraction from Krishna’s sparks to Krishna, the whole?
714)
How can we apply the principle of becoming angry when a devotee is blasphemed?
713)
What are the ways in which the Nectar of Instruction text 1 can be misapplied?
712)
What should be the basis of our self-worth?
711)
Is controlling our thoughts a skill that can be developed?
710)
If after praying we take a decision and it turns out to be wrong, has Krishna misled us?
709)
What exactly does Krishna sanction – how?
708)
How does free will interact with the modes?
707)
When Krishna knows everything including what we need, what is the need to pray to him?
706)
When we pray to Krishna to give us the strength to serve him, how can we recognize his reciprocation?
705)
Pandavas tolerated initially and retaliated eventually – how can we decide when to tolerate and when to retaliate?
704)
What is the role of science in Krishna consciousness?
703)
How to understand that we can’t understand Krishna – then why do we study scripture?
702)
What is the monistic conception of pure consciousness in terms of subject, object and stream of consciousness?
701)
When Vaishnavas don’t take meat, why do Shaivites take meat?
700)
How can people who care for pets and aspire to be vets still eat meat?
699)
If someone justifies an illicit relationship by saying that their spouse is unloving, how do we respond?
698)
If our loved one is addicted to tobacco and still wears kanthi mala, how can we help them?
697)
How is scripture a window to God?
696)
When Airavata existed earlier, how did he appear during the churning of the milk ocean?
695)
Why is remembrance of Krishna so important in bhakti ?
694)
How can we better appreciate the relevance of spiritual classes as well as academic studies?
693)
During possession, what is the relation between the subtle bodies of the possessing ghost and the possessed person?
692)
When the possessed soul and the possessor soul are equal, how can one soul dominate another ?
691)
Do the laws of material nature work on ghosts ?
690)
Is our life duration determined by past karma?
689)
When the soul is different from the body, why does injury to the brain cause the soul to leave the body, but not injury to the foot?
688)
Some people can see ghosts, some can’t – why?
687)
Beauty is a spark of Krishna, but it makes us forget Krishna – what to do?
686)
How can we make people in the lower modes interested in Krishna?
685)
How will avoiding the association of agitating people help if agitation is in our karma?
684)
Isn’t the mode of goodness alone enough for serving Krishna – during the churning of the milk ocean, why were the other modes needed?
683)
A mentally retarded child can’t do any karma – what determines his future life?
682)
A mentally retarded child can’t pursue any worthwhile goal – what is the point of such a life?
681)
When problems drag our emotions away from Krishna, how can we focus on him?
680)
How is karma connected with our future destination?
679)
What externals can help us stay spiritually grounded?
678)
Can a spiritual mind know the destiny?
677)
How is an action classified as good karma or bad karma?
676)
How can we minimize our past karma’s impact on us?
675)
Are hungry people starving because of their past karma?
674)
Does karma contribute to our achievements?
673)
How can we prevent our leisure time from being consumed by worrying?
672)
During the evolution of life on the earth, when did the soul enter into the picture?
671)
In past life memories, might the investigators be committing frauds?
670)
What is the concept of a soulmate?
669)
What happens to children who remember their past lives after they grow up?
668)
Can children be trained to remember their past lives?
667)
How can we see virtual reality in terms of spiritual philosophy?
666)
How can we increase our remembrance of Krishna when we come to the temple?
665)
Isn’t it better to read Prabhupada books instead of wasting time on social media?
664)
Why didn’t the Pandavas think that the Kauravas were simply instruments of their own past karma?
663)
Is the Mahabharata that occurred in another age even relevant today?
662)
Is the Mahabharata an excellent drama or is it historically true?
661)
If everything in the Mahabharata is arranged by Krishna’s plan, why do we blame Duryodhana or Karna?
660)
Why is Arjuna considered the greatest archer when all his power came from Krishna?
659)
If Dhritarashtra had stopped Duryodhana from fighting, how would the Gita have been spoken?
658)
When Dhritarashtra was forced by the modes to support Duryodhana, why is he blamed?
657)
Did the celestial voice stopping Duryodhana from committing suicide interfere with his free will?
656)
Are Christian missionaries in India funded from the West?
655)
Are some people utterly incapable of understanding God’s form – are some religion’s revelations customized for such people?
654)
Will Christians in the kingdom of God see Christ as described in the Bible or as sages described in the Vedic literature?
653)
Why does Christianity have stronger missionary tradition that Hinduism?
652)
Did Greek thought come from Vedic thought?
651)
If we feel more devotionally connected with Krishna while hearing than while taking darshan, what should we do?
650)
Why can’t the soul be seen with microscopes – where is it located in organisms that have no heart?
649)
How can conservation of energy be reconciled with temporariness of matter?
648)
What is the reference point for saying that the soul is small?
647)
How can we prove that life has the purpose of loving Krishna?
646)
How can we understand that the attractiveness of all attractive things comes from Krishna?
645)
Are there different levels of seeing Krishna?
644)
How is Rama’s treatment of Sita justified?
643)
If guru-shishya parampara was always present, how could monism become so prominent?
642)
Can we have a thoughtless mind?
641)
Why do we feel sleepy during chanting, but not kirtan or prasad?
640)
Does the mind have more impressions from the present life than from past lives?
639)
How can we stop daydreaming?
638)
What happens to the mind when we sleep?
637)
Drinking water and sleeping are both bodily needs – why is sleeping considered in the mode of ignorance?
636)
How to balance between shunning social media and being obsessed with social media?
635)
What is the spiritual perspective on death due to dowry harassment apart from past karma?
634)
How to see spiritually the grief I feel after my mother has passed away?
633)
Is violence against women in India caused by the objectification of women as sense objects in Indian sacred texts?
632)
How does telepathy occur?
631)
Is the mind like a TV on which pictures are projected?
630)
Can the mind travel out of the body?
629)
Are material objects less pure than us?
628)
How is detachment empowering?
627)
When the soul moves from one body to another, is there complete conservation of the mind?
626)
What does fixing the mind on the lotus feet of Krishna mean?
625)
How can we overcome the mind’s rationalizations?
624)
If the mind is not a person, who proposes desires to us?
623)
Is the mind personal or impersonal?
622)
If the software is compared to the mind, what is the intelligence compared to?
621)
How is controlling the mind by focusing it on Krishna different from focusing it on some material object?
620)
How can we help people who are following some apasampradaya – Hindi?
619)
Is self-respect the same as ego – Hindi?
618)
How can we be Krishna conscious when we are not staying with devotees in a youth center – Hindi?
617)
What is the difference between purity and goodness – Hindi?
616)
While doing our service, is seeing everything in connection with Krishna necessary?
615)
If people hold on to their beliefs, how can we elevate them?
614)
Why do Hindus leave shoes outside their place of worship but Christians don’t?
613)
When scripture says our parents are God, why do some young devotees renounce their parents?
612)
How can bhakti philosophy unite world religions?
611)
How can we avoid getting caught in petty things?
610)
Do microbes forming on rocks demonstrate that life comes from matter?
609)
Can future scientific advancement detect the existence of God?
608)
As humans can do a wide variety of activities, doesn’t that prove we have free will?
607)
What comprises science – what are the boundaries that define science?
606)
What does knowledge in the mode of ignorance mean in today’s world?
605)
Is there some science other than modern for explaining matter?
604)
How do tantrics get special power?
603)
How can we go beyond being exclusivist and pluralist to becoming inclusivist?
602)
When so many humans are doing bad karma today, how is the human population increasing?
601)
How can people from other religions realize that they are servants of Krishna?
600)
When Krishna is the source of both material and spiritual worlds, which world comes first?
599)
Does dharma mean religion?
598)
Within a religion, when there are many paths, how do we know our path?
597)
What is the Vedic perspective of Buddhism?
596)
How is Shankaracharya’s path to be seen in the inclusive understanding of dharma?
595)
When sanatana-dharma is inclusive, why are most Hindus pluralists?
594)
When a bad thing happens, does optimism mean seeing it as the best thing that could have happened?
593)
Does positive thinking mean that we shouldn’t think about the past – then how will we learn from it?
592)
How can Chrisitan conversions in India be countered – can Hindus be united for this purpose?
591)
Some Christians say that Kalki will be Jesus come again, not Krishna come again – how to respond?
590)
How central is cow slaughter to Islam?
589)
If Islam considers idolatry the greatest sin, how can it co-exist with Hinduism?
588)
Why do post-modern Leftist scholars in India separate Islam from terrorism, but not Hinduism from the caste system?
587)
As different paths conceive God differently, do they all lead to the same goal?
586)
Before Nirjala Ekadashi, can we take some juices or pills to increase our fasting capacity?
585)
From the karmic perspective, what is the difference between ignorant wrongdoings and intentional wrongdoings?
584)
Why do scriptures not describe technology such as bulbs?
583)
How can we be always surrendered to Krishna?
582)
How can we know whether the mind’s story is false or real?
581)
How can we know when we are planning and when the mind is fear-mongering?
580)
If when our mind tells a story and we consult a friend whose mind is telling the same story, how can we avoid illusion?
579)
The mind tells the most stories during chanting – how to counter?
578)
Why does devotion change our mind’s tendencies temporarily?
577)
Does chanting automatically make us kinder or do we have to strive to become kinder?
576)
Does chanting require effort or does chanting make us happy?
575)
Why is the mind considered a sense?
574)
How can we focus on chanting when the mind wanders?
573)
When Tvashta gave Narayana-kavacha that made Indra invincible, how could Tvashta himself be killed?
572)
How can we remain respectful to the devatas while describing their non-supreme position or their non-ideal activities?
571)
Just as the mind is personified, are other things such as Bhakti devi and Kali also personifications?
570)
How can we balance giving due priority to chanting with other important services?
569)
If people anger us, how can we control ourselves?
568)
Does a good result indicate intelligence-guided action and a bad result indicate mind-driven action?
567)
If during book distribution, people are abusive, how can we stay calm?
566)
How can we make the right choices within bhakti?
565)
How can we know that the purpose we are pursuing is the best purpose?
564)
How can we prevent our emotions from affecting our decisions?
563)
How can we be practically grounded on the spiritual level?
562)
Can we fulfill all the purposes for our existing in this world?
561)
Are our problems caused by our past karma or arranged by Krishna?
560)
Are poor people responsible for their poverty?
559)
How can the Gita’s knowledge help poor people?
558)
Are there two ways of thinking – the mind’s way and the soul’s way?
557)
How can bhakti increase our ability to think, which is a material ability?
556)
Does the Gita give spiritual solutions to all material problems?
555)
How can I overcome procrastinating tendency?
May 2017
554)
How to respond when others serve in ways that don’t make sense to us – should we criticize them?
553)
Do interruptions in our remembrance of Krishna occur because of circumstances or consciousness?
552)
What does seva-smarana mean?
551)
Is the mood of dasyam not present in Goloka Vrindavan because it is madhurya dhama?
550)
Are paid pujas done in temple not commercialization of religion?
549)
What standard of Deity worship should householders follow?
548)
When we are in a position of guiding others, how can we know how much to control them and how much to let them go?
547)
How can we avoid discouragement when our sincere service is repeatedly frustrated?
546)
From a spiritual perspective, what causes addiction and how can it be dealt with?
545)
When science and spirituality never meet, how can they be reconciled?
544)
Do dreams mean something – should we try to understand their meaning?
543)
Is research in reincarnation still going on?
542)
Is reincarnation for real?
541)
If we are already middle-aged, do we still have enough time to counter our bad karma by practicing bhakti?
540)
Can we counter bad karma with good karma?
539)
During the course of evolution, when did people develop the capacity to understand spirituality?
538)
Why do movie songs stay in our memory much more than devotional songs?
537)
If science can’t answer some questions, why is everyone progressing along scientific lines?
536)
Science can’t address God’s existence and spirituality can’t prove it – how then can science and spirituality be reconciled?
535)
When mood swings are caused by hormonal changes, how can we control our moods by our determination?
534)
How can we get in our next life the devotional facilities we don’t have in this life?
533)
If senior devotees chanting for many years still have conditionings, does that mean conditionings are stronger than the holy name?
532)
Does duty means doing that which we don’t like to do?
531)
When doing our prescribed service deprives us of devotee association, what should we do?
530)
When someone hurts us, how can we avoid becoming vengeful and stay focused on Krishna?
529)
Why is it so difficult to become attracted to God and so easy to get attracted to sense objects?
528)
If someone has hurt us and we don’t have the courage to tell them, what can we do?
527)
When anger comes, how can we calm ourselves?
526)
How can we avoid impulsive reaction to hostile people?
525)
If we fail in our resolution after sticking to it for some time, how to avoid becoming discouraged?
524)
How to deal with relatively harmless addictions?
523)
When the vibrations of different people chanting mantras are different, how does the mantra purify?
522)
How can we correct the bad habits that we are unaware of?
521)
Can destiny be changed by technology?
520)
Why does our culture not tell us the reasons for our religious practices?
519)
What is the starting point for bhakti yoga?
518)
What changed your life trajectory?
517)
How can we cheer up a family member disheartened by a prolonged bad health?
516)
How do mantras change our consciousness – by their frequency, word order or word choice?
515)
How can we know that the ultimate source of everything is good?
514)
Does suicide change destiny?
513)
How can we increase our attraction to reading Prabhupada’s books?
512)
What to do if we feel like being in the temple constantly but can’t?
511)
How can Krishna be our top priority when our studies need to be our priority?
510)
What to do if we get too many services and our sadhana goes down?
509)
How are the eight stages of ashtanga-yoga related with bhakti-yoga?
508)
What to do if the calm got from attending spiritual programs disappears when we face the world’s problems?
507)
How can we become aware of our default settings?
506)
Is touching the digital Bhagavatam in our phone equivalent to touching the book Bhagavatam?
505)
In future, when physical books are replaced by digital books, how will we distribute books?
504)
Can Krishna as a super-admin change all the settings of our mind in one go?
503)
How do we differentiate between accepting the presence of our inclinations and pandering to them?
502)
As we advance, will our physical needs go down to Raghunatha Dasa Goswami’s level?
501)
How can we avoid taking shelter of something temporary that gives us relief?
500)
What can we do if we feel bored while chanting?
499)
Does bhakti remove karmic reactions or give relief amidst karmic reactions?
498)
Can’t knowing about Krishna push us to know Krishna?
497)
If because of physical pain we can’t come for the morning program, are we listening to our mind?
496)
Isn’t using intelligence to control the mind paradoxical?
495)
Amidst karmic suffering, can astrology offer relief?
494)
Can karma be inherited – do children get the good karma of their parents?
493)
How can we get relief by letting go of things and still be responsible?
492)
If others become insecure because of us, what can we do?
491)
If we are born with demoniac qualties, are those qualities God’s gift to us?
490)
How can spiritual knowledge address today’s burning social issues?
489)
How can we as spiritual agents better connect with each other?
488)
How can we be spiritual – tolerant, gentle – in today’s corporate world?
487)
If Kali-yuga is set to be degraded, can we do anything to change it?
486)
Are there any practical tools for overcoming anxiety?
485)
Should we take cow milk when it is obtained by causing violence to cows?
484)
What are the symptoms of a self-realized person?
483)
Is praying to Krishna a part of our karma?
482)
Can someone be destined for failure?
481)
If a tide pushes us towards success, is that tide Krishna?
480)
If we are destined to succeed, will destiny make us act for success?
479)
Did Vidura depart because of unbearable criticism or frustration at his counsel being neglected?
478)
Was Vidura irresponsible in departing when his family was about to fight the worst war of their life?
477)
How important is it for we ourselves to be detached?
476)
How do we convey the importance of the don’ts in bhakti?
475)
What is a healthy attitude towards guilt induced after sense indulgence?
474)
What does it mean to hear the holy name?
473)
Why does our inspiration for service rise on hearing and fall when material responsibilities come up?
472)
Pingala got realization despite having no spiritual environment – why don’t we get realization despite having spiritual environment?
471)
What is the difference between intellect and intelligence?
470)
Can we desire to have a child like Lord Rama?
469)
How can beauty be used in Krishna’s service?
468)
When does the intelligence become the form direction of the Lord?
467)
Can our intelligence be contaminated?
466)
Why does scripture say that the sould doesn’t experience any emotion?
465)
Are pure souls covered by the subtle body?
464)
Prostitutes were present in Dwarka, the abode of pure devotees – how to understand?
463)
If we fail in a field, can we infer that field is not our nature?
462)
How much anxiety should we take up while being ambitious in our professional life?
461)
Do advanced devotees who know Krishna is in control also feel anxiety?
460)
How do we deal with the anxiety caused by inability to deliver what we are expected to do?
459)
How to deal with senior devotees who make life difficult for everyone in a community?
458)
Among devotees when will love for Krishna transform into love for all living beings?
457)
When difficulties force us to surrender to Krishna, where is our free will?
456)
When Maya presents options, some temptations are not options at all – why?
455)
Will tempting desires ever go away or will they stay lifelong?
454)
How can we keep our spiritual intentions strong?
453)
Does Krishna test us according to our capacity or beyond our capacity too?
452)
Have we humans thought up an anxiety-relieving entity God because we suffer more anxiety than animals?
451)
When Karna abused Draupadi, why didn’t anyone punish him by taking away his position?
450)
Karna wanted revenge and Draupadi wanted revenge – what is the difference?
449)
How can we help our children to make good choices amidst a degraded culture?
448)
How do we counter moral relativism with those who don’t accept scriptural authority?
447)
How can we feel that Krishna is the doer, not that we are the doers?
446)
Does absorption in Krishna require sixteen rounds chanting?
445)
How can we rise from cultural bhakti to spiritual bhakti?
444)
What if we feel attracted to serving Krishna in our role in this world, but not in the spiritual world as his associate?
443)
Do soldiers who die while fighting for their country attain higher planets?
442)
Is it good to be a nationalist and a Krishna devotee?
441)
How can we counter the mind’s wandering while reading scripture?
440)
Should society dictate the criteria for when to take legal action and when to forgive?
439)
Can we tell the truth selectively if that helps someone?
438)
How to absorb ourselves in Krishna instead of problems?
437)
Do we need intelligence to deal with resentment?
436)
How can we deal with material desires in bhakti?
435)
Why does Krishna sanction people’s doing bad karma – why doesn’t he just control their free will?
434)
When results are determined by our past karma, can results be used to evaluate the soundness of our decisions?
433)
What is the difference between processing emotions through self-help principles and through bhakti principles?
432)
How can we overcome our false ego and rise from our material identity to our spiritual identity?
431)
If we are broken by many past hurts, how can we overcome that casting?
430)
When a relative lets us down repeatedly, how can we trust them?
429)
Can you explain with examples how we can tolerate?
428)
How should we deal with anti-devotional activities happening in our environment?
427)
How can we give up undesirable habits that we keep relapsing into?
426)
How can we sense better how a person is going to behave and prepare our response better?
425)
How can we share our spirituality with others without being preachy?
424)
How can we decide whether to try to change something or to let go?
423)
Is minimizing distress not like pushing problems under the carpet?
422)
When new people feel disturbed by seeing groupism in our movement, how can we explain to them?
421)
If our conditionings keep popping up what can we do?
420)
How can we help temple visitors to become serious devotees?
419)
How can we adapt without watering down?
418)
When Krishna is not directly with us how can we know his will?
417)
How can we chant purely?
416)
What is wrong with practicing bhakti because the world is dreadful?
415)
Among the four categories of people who come to Krishna does any one stay more than others?
414)
How can we know whether our emotions are coming from the modes or from our bhakti practices?
413)
How can we explain the rationale for letting go in some things to our nondevotee friends?
412)
When Ravana had been seen going southwards, why did Rama send monkeys in all four direction?
411)
When there is disunity, should we just surrender and wait for Krishna to restore unity or do something to restore unity?
410)
If people speak in anger, doesn’t it reflect unfiltered what is in their heart?
409)
If we are not spiritually advanced, do the problems we face come from our past karma or by Krishnas arrangement?
408)
How can we stay spiritually focused and respond appropriately amidst situations of distrust?
407)
Does knowledge correlate with being judgmental?
406)
How can we prevent or correct misunderstandings among devotees?
405)
Why did Vali attribute negative intention to Sugriva – was he already suspicious?
404)
After Valis death why didn’t Sugriva console himself by focusing on Valis atrocities?
403)
When Sugriva had planned Vali’s fall, why did he feel remorse?
402)
How can we deal with people with nondevotional values?
401)
If others misjudge us, what should we do?
400)
How can we overcome depression caused by frustration of expectations?
399)
How can we practically cleanse our mind of negativity?
398)
How can we let go of the past and the future, and focus on the present?
397)
Does our desire for freedom from parents come from resentment towards them or from a genuine need for self-expression?
396)
If traditional cultures aren’t against love, why are love marriages banned in ISKCON?
395)
How can peer pressure be avoided?
394)
Can we have hobbies that are neither spiritual nor sinful?
393)
How can we serve purely?
392)
If we let go of things, are we being cowardly?
391)
Does satsang strengthen our buddhi – Hindi?
390)
If our actions unintentionally hurt others, will we get the reaction?
389)
When money provides all comforts, why is spiritual life needed?
388)
Amidst today’s financial insecurity, how can we decide how much accumulation is enough?
387)
When bhakti practice hasn’t yet changed our disposition, how can we take sound decisions?
386)
Do we need to sometimes prioritize the spiritual over the material or the material over the spiritual?
385)
Philosophy makes sense intellectually, but doesn’t sink emotionally – what to do?
384)
Is crowding desires out of our mind not superficially distracting?
383)
Is working hard and getting promoted in our job good?
382)
How can we scientifically explain reincarnation?
381)
How can we explain Bhagavatam sections that contradict modern science?
380)
How can we identify our natural inclinations?
379)
What is wrong with sense gratification?
378)
If scripture contains advanced material knowledge such as Vimana-shastra, why don’t we use it to make planes today?
377)
How can we understand unbelievable statements from scripture?
376)
How can we offer criticism constructively?
375)
While seeking realization, how can we avoid speculation?
374)
When Bhishma took shelter of the Kauravas’ wealth, why did Krishna shelter him at death?
373)
Why is Krishna thirsty for our love when he has so many devotees loving him?
372)
Is there a scientific explanation of the benefits of eating prasad?
371)
Can we scientifically prove the validity of scriptures?
370)
What is the best way to present scriptural wisdom to scientists?
369)
Does everything exist for Krishna’s pleasure?
368)
How can we move on after painful conflicts with devotees?
367)
What does seeing but not acting with equal vision mean?
366)
How can we be detached when we want to offer the best service to Krishna?
365)
How can we control impulsive behavior?
364)
How can we know whether our decisions are right or wrong?
363)
If strong speaking alienates people, should we still speak strongly or speak sensitively?
362)
During chanting, how much is thinking of other related things acceptable?
361)
If people are born together in a family because of similar karma, why are some family members so different?
360)
Many scriptural storylines appear to be predestined – do we really have free will?
359)
What is causeless mercy – how can we qualify for it – can it come without initiation?
358)
How can we share bhakti wisdom with the non-religious?
357)
What is our religious identity – what is a simple answer that our kids can give to other kids at school?
April 2017
356)
Is the holy name scientific, ethical or relational?
355)
How can a newly married couple new to bhakti strengthen their relationship?
354)
What is the spiritual recourse amidst abusive relationships?
353)
How do we have free will – how much can we use it?
352)
If Prabhupada knew that certain projects weren’t going to succeed, why did he encourage devotees to do those projects?
351)
If karmic reactions come on earth itself, what is the need for sufferings in hell?
350)
How can we help others to not see problems at the bodily level?
349)
How can we connect with Krishna tangibly when distracted by worldly objects?
348)
How can we realize that we are different from our mind?
347)
How can we transform practice into realization?
346)
How can devotees mistreated by their seniors avoid discouragement?
345)
How to respond when we are corrected by others?
344)
Should we use the sandwich method when correcting others?
343)
How does regulated devotion transform into spontaneous devotion?
342)
Is revelation of Krishna’s all-attractiveness analogous to his mercy?
341)
How can we study scripture, not just read it?
340)
Is investing money to increase it over-endeavor?
339)
When we do a service well, if people label us as proud, what can we do?
338)
How can we avoid self-acceptance of our abilities from becoming false ego?
337)
While chanting, can we hear kirtan?
336)
If we help someone but they don’t help us in return, should we continue to help?
335)
Given that the idea of trans-moral can be misused, can it ever be applied?
334)
Can you illustrate the principle of trans-moral actions?
333)
Playing games for relaxation – which mode does it fall in?
332)
Despite practicing bhakti and cultivating goodness, we remain passionate – what to do?
331)
How can we deal with our inner critic?
330)
On failing to achieve our goal, should we persevere in that goal or change it?
329)
How to avoid relaxing into worldly enjoyment after doing our service wholeheartedly?
328)
How can we avoid struggling in vain to control situations that are not in our control?
327)
As science keeps people away from God, can scientists be considered reincarnations of demons?
326)
If someone has done something wrong, isn’t it better to tell them straight instead of pausing and speaking later?
325)
What causes timidity – how can we overcome it?
324)
How can we control our mind, especially during chanting?
323)
What is the wws concept?
322)
When Krishna is unlimited, how can he be a person?
321)
Have people who can remember their past lives done some special good karma?
320)
How do we balance between chanting and getting knowledge?
319)
We chastise someone out of love, but it spoils the relationship – what to do?
318)
What is the consequence of the offense of inattentive chanting?
317)
Should we attribute problems in daily life to our poor chanting?
316)
How to replace envious thoughts with loving thoughts?
315)
How can we control our emotions?
314)
What does achintya in achintyabhedabheda refer to?
313)
Why is scriptural knowledge needed in daily life?
312)
Is Krishna as the holy name a sound vibration or is he beyond all sound vibrations?
311)
What exactly is the holy name – does its potency lie in the words or the meaning or somewhere else?
310)
How can we overcome our past conditionings?
309)
Will our conscience ever become stronger than the mind?
308)
To anchor our consciousness in Krishna, do we need external calm or can we directly get inner calm?
307)
If we don’t have devotee association, how can we practice bhakti?
306)
How to overcome anxieties about issues that have life-changing consequences?
305)
How can we be concerned but not disturbed – is it simply by faith?
304)
How can we become intense in our chanting?
303)
Does courtesy japa help us attain Krishna after death?
302)
When past karma blocks our bhakti, what can we do?
301)
How do I choose my spiritual master?
300)
Amidst problems, should we just let Krishna solve them or should we work to solve them?
299)
While making choices, how can we take Krishna’s shelter?
298)
If karma, daiva and kala lead to phala, what is Krishna’s role?
297)
If parents have two children – one bright, one dull – is it the parents’ karma or the childrens’ karma?
296)
When our sadhana oscillates because of material ups and downs, what can we do?
295)
Is destiny determined by past karma alone or by present karma too?
294)
When is our friends’ influence helpful and when unhelpful?
293)
Why did Krishna save Parikshit, but not Abhimanyu?
292)
Should we learn from problems or move away from them?
291)
Is our intelligence destined – does it determine when we take to spiritual life?
290)
Is our marital partner destined?
289)
If destiny evens out in the long run, then does it really matter?
288)
Devotional practices calm our mind, but only briefly – what to do?
287)
Does our past impede our bhakti – how can we overcome those impediments?
286)
Why was Vyasadeva dissatisfied even after writing Vedic literature that glorify Krishna?
285)
Do we need to always feel existential dissatisfaction to practice bhakti intensely?
284)
How can we be emotionally connected with Krishna without becoming sentimental?
283)
With what purpose should we read Srila Prabhupada’s books?
282)
How can we make a plan that is effective even if Krishna’s plan turns out to be different?
281)
How can we say no to the things we like?
280)
God loves me – is this just a psychological feeling or a spiritual reality?
279)
Do relationships interfere with our inner growth?
278)
All loving relationships in this world are temporary – what does that mean?
277)
How do we know which desires are healthy and which unhealthy?
276)
Should we pray to God for things or just be content with what we have?
275)
How can we persist in our resolutions?
274)
When we face much worldly anxiety, how can we practice spirituality?
273)
How are we non-sectarian when our practices are isolating?
272)
How can we advance spiritually while having family and job responsibilities?
271)
Where do the differences among religions come from?
270)
How do we define the Paramatma?
269)
Does pursuing knowledge reflect materialistic consciousness – will it keep us dissatisfied?
268)
How can we choose our mantra?
267)
What are simple steps to fix our mental software?
266)
Where do our fears originate – are they just conceptions?
265)
Do happiness-distress have objective reality or are they just mental constructs?
264)
When Arjuna was sinless, why did he have to go to hell?
263)
How can we prove that God exists?
262)
Did Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection make his blood pure, making him into God?
261)
How to preach to Christians who argue that Jesus is the only way?
260)
How important is the exact pronunciation of Rama in the maha-mantra?
259)
How can those with an impersonal understanding of God be helped to taste bhakti?
258)
Although material things are temporary, those things matter to us – how can we balance our material and spiritual side?
257)
How can we make our subconscious choices wise choices?
256)
While choosing, how can we know which desire is coming from external influences and which from internal inspiration?
255)
How can we choose rightly among various religions?
254)
Why do some good devotees suddenly do some terrible things?
253)
Sometimes our actions don’t produce results, but do those results manifest eventually?
252)
How can we trust Krishna when he is so unpredictable?
251)
Why would anyone be tempted to be discouraged?
250)
Can focusing on our intention impede creativity?
249)
What is the root of our procrastinating tendency?
248)
What is the meaning of life?
247)
How long does it take to experience lasting love – what about the love we find in this world?
246)
If we are detached from our goals, what will inspire us to work?
245)
What are the best books to start our spiritual study?
244)
How can we avoid being affected by things not in our control?
243)
Do all religions lead to God?
242)
Why is madhurya rasa considered the highest rasa?
241)
How does love in separation relate with the five rasas?
240)
Why is love in separation considered the highest form of love?
239)
If our spiritual master is not easily accessible and other spiritual masters give time primarily to their disciples, how can we get inspiration?
238)
Why is devotee association sometimes more stressful and misunderstanding-prone than nondevotee association?
237)
Sometimes devotee association agitates us – then how can we feel sheltered by it?
236)
If an initiated devotee does something non-standard such as eating food cooked outside, will the spiritual master get the karma?
235)
If we can’t follow certain standards while practically living in the world, how should we adjust?
234)
What can we do about fears that are not useful?
233)
Why is initiation so important?
232)
What is the difference between fear and fearfulness?
231)
How can we know who is our real guru?
230)
If we see problems as small, won’t we neglect serious problems?
229)
Are problems relative – they are big for one person, small for another?
228)
Should we be pessimistic about material life to progress in spiritual life?
227)
Does destiny determine whether a child will live till forty or also what will happen to him at that age?
226)
Is everything in life pre-determined?
225)
If we work hard, doesn’t that hard work become the cause of our positive destiny?
224)
How do free will and destiny interact in our life?
223)
What is the destination of people who remember God according to their religious revelation?
222)
What exactly is time – from yesterday to today what has changed?
221)
How important is praying in bhakti?
220)
How can we organize ourselves to best serve Krishna?
219)
How can we encourage daydreamers to do something practical?
218)
How can we describe spirituality to new people in 2-3 sentences?
217)
Can we drink without becoming drunk?
216)
How can we inspire ourselves to chant when we don’t feel any immediate benefits?
215)
While speaking from shastra, should we consider what people will feel about it?
214)
How can we decide whether to focus on material life or on spiritual life?
213)
How can we integrate in bhakti a profession that is not directly usable in bhakti?
212)
In dealing with our desires through indulgence in householder life, isn’t there a danger that the desires may not go away?
211)
If someone is spiritually unreceptive, does the sincerity of our prayers determine whether they become receptive?
210)
How can we spiritually help those in totally materialistic degraded life?
209)
When the mind wanders off, how can we become more aware of its wandering faster?
208)
When should one decide to become a full-time monk for serving Krishna?
207)
When our values are different from partying professionals, how can we set an example in our material life?
206)
If we feel social pressure to do some service other than what we feel inspired to do, which service should we choose?
205)
We all need role models – then what does we shouldn’t become xerox copies of others mean?
204)
What does spirituality have to say about modern cosmological knowledge?
203)
What is the difference between walking away from problems and running away from them?
202)
How can we know whether the inner voice comes from the mind or the intelligence?
201)
In Vishnu Sahasra Nama, how are Vishnu’s names Nimisha and Animisha reconciled?
200)
If someone insults us but we don’t feel angry whereas others feel we should be angry, what is happening to us?
199)
What is the process by which the false ego gets hurt?
198)
How can we sustain our resolutions in spiritual life?
197)
How do we respond to people who self-identify as spiritual but not religious?
196)
How can our spiritual growth dismantle the power structures in today’s world that choke spiritual growth?
195)
How does spiritual consciousness help solve today’s practical problems?
194)
Just as a child learns by growth, can’t machines develop human features by technological growth?
193)
How do we decide when to confront a problem and when to accept it as destiny
192)
Shouldn’t love for Krishna soften devotees’ heart and make them gentler?
191)
How do we see when senior devotees act inappropriately and rationalize it based on their seniority?
190)
Should we choose a career based on our nature or on our parents’ expectation?
189)
Are scriptural models of duties to be implemented as it is today – should children obey their parents just as Rama obeyed Dasharatha?
March 2017
188)
Is there any reference to the subconscious mind in the Vedic literature?
187)
Should we see non-philosophical devotees as not needing intellectual conviction or as weak because of intellectual malnourishment?
186)
When we don’t love Krishna, we suffer – doesn’t that mean Krishna forces us to love him?
185)
Why does the Gita not have any Duryodhana uvaca, though he speaks several verses?
184)
In which service should we start fighting our inclination to the path of least resistance?
183)
What is the relationship between ashtanga-yoga and bhakti-yoga?
182)
When our loved ones suffer, we suffer – then how does love bring happiness?
181)
When our thoughts start becoming negative, how can we flip them to positive?
180)
How can we insulate ourselves from negative people?
179)
How could Krishna’s soldiers fight against him in the Kurukshetra war?
178)
When we are troubled by controversies in Krishna’s movement, should we try to tackle them or just focus on our service?
177)
Does time apply only for us, not for Krishna?
176)
If Krishna knows the future, how do we have free will?
175)
Doesn’t God have unlimited opulences – why limit them to six?
174)
Does Krishna understand our feelings or does he also experience them?
173)
When Krishna knows everything, how can we not know Radharani’s love for him?
172)
How can we balance between submission and overdependence?
171)
How can we practice bhakti in today’s competitive world?
170)
How can we prevent repeated falls from shaking our faith in bhakti?
169)
How can we deal with friends who hurt us?
168)
How can we know that our service is pleasing Krishna?
167)
Do emotions come from the heart, the soul or the subtle body?
166)
If Krishna is God, why is Vishnu widely considered to be God and Krishna his incarnation?
165)
Is the universe heliocentric or geocentric?
164)
How can we avoid forgetting in real-life what we learn in classes?
163)
How can we prevent our faith from flickering amidst problems?
162)
When guidance is not easily available, how can we make good choices?
161)
How can we assess our service when we are not pure-hearted?
160)
How can we avoid over-controlling the things that are in our control?
159)
In the practical-philosophical categorization, where does the emotional fit in?
158)
When we face problems, we need practical solutions, not philosophical solutions – how can scripture help?
157)
What is the best way to monitor our mental habits?
156)
How can we help those who are suffering but are still imagining that they are enjoying?
155)
If someone rationalizes their wrongdoing by saying that Krishna loves us unconditionally, how do we respond?
154)
Doesn’t Krishna feel bad when we do something wrong – doesn’t that make him unwilling to shelter us?
153)
If our mistakes have got us into trouble, how can we overcome the guilt that disheartens us while taking shelter of Krishna?
152)
Can followers of other religions who don’t follow the regulative principles go back to Krishna?
151)
Is Vedic philosophy confusing because it has so many holy books, unlike Christianity and Islam that have only one holy book?
150)
You have gone through a lot of pain in your life – what is your realization?
149)
How can we prevent sense enjoyment from depriving us of Krishna’s shelter?
148)
How can we know that the Gita hasn’t changed over the centuries?
147)
When we don’t feel like surrendering, what should we do?
146)
How can we overcome inconsistency in deity worship caused by our wavering feelings?
145)
If our material life takes us temporarily away from our spiritual life, how can we later regain our spiritual enthusiasm?
144)
If our material activities interfere with our spiritual life, how can we see those activities as spiritual?
143)
If our family members don’t support our bhakti, what should we do?
142)
Was the Mahabharata war predestined?
141)
How can we spiritualize our work without disturbing our colleagues?
140)
How did Krishna as Shanti-duta use sama, dama, bheda and danda?
139)
If bhakti practice makes us less emotional, is that good?
138)
How does repetition in bhakti lead to attraction when normally repetition leads to satiation?
137)
Is our affection for Krishna to be cultivated as between wife-husband or spontaneous as between child-parent?
136)
How can we know that deceased devotees go back to godhead?
135)
Shouldn’t bhakti be a natural evolution in our love, not an imposition based on being told whom to love?
134)
Is obsession with spiritual things ok?
133)
What is the difference between attachment and obsession?
132)
How to balance attachment and detachment in daily life?
131)
The Pandavas could have won a kingdom anywhere by defeating someone else – why did they win it by killing their own relatives?
130)
How can we focus on our spiritual advancement without becoming selfish?
129)
If we can’t stop overeating, how can we control ourselves?
128)
How can Vedic concepts be explained in scientific terms?
127)
We use only 10% of the brain – what does this mean?
126)
When we become responsible in our material life, our employers may exploit us – how to avoid?
125)
Is starting spiritual life because of frustration undesirable?
124)
Accepting that we are beyond the brain, how can we know whether we are the mind or the soul?
123)
How can we make our wandering consciousness more connected to the body?
122)
Is the brain the generator of emotions or the responder to emotions?
121)
Have you had a near-death experience?
120)
Can we get to higher consciousness only through near-death experiences or by other means?
119)
Are the mind and the brain interchangeable?
118)
Why does the Gita begin with Dhritarashtra, not Krishna?
117)
Can those undergoing near-death experiences choose not to return to their body?
116)
During near-death experiences, is everything that happens predetermined or can the experiencer choose?
115)
How do we balance our fundamental and functional identities?
114)
If we understand that we are souls, do we need to reject the whole life we have built on our bodily identity?
113)
Who were the vanaras in the Ramayana – what happened to them?
112)
As devotee-students, do we have to lead two lives?
111)
Is a woman’s unchaste dressing responsible for a man’s misbehaviour?
110)
How much of traditional culture needs to be replicated to practice bhakti today?
109)
When we take or get blessings from someone, what actually happens?
108)
Is all the archaeological evidence wrong – did cavemen not exist?
107)
Are scripture and evolution contradictory?
106)
While understanding scripture according to time-place-circumstance, which factors need to be considered?
105)
Isn’t ISKCON sectarian that it stops devotees from hearing from other Vaishnava groups?
104)
The ninth canto contains many stories of shocking debauchery by sages such as Brihaspati – what is their point?
103)
When the Gita Mahatmaya talks about Gita recitation countering various sinful reactions, is that karma kanda or is it bhakti?
102)
When a devotee does bhakti activities for someone else, what actually happens?
101)
If it doesn’t work, get out – is such a utilitarian attitude in bhakti towards things like marriage justifiable?
100)
How can we reconcile contradictions between knowledge from science and knowledge from scripture?
99)
Shouldn’t modern science be renamed as so-called science?
98)
The more scientific people become, the more atheistic they become – is this true?
97)
Is Vedic apara-vidya a better painkiller than modern knowledge?
96)
When we face mental health issues, how can we deal with them spiritually and what can we learn from it?
95)
Who all are the active factors in our inner world – soul or mind or Maya?
94)
How to deal with indulgences that we aren’t able to give up?
93)
Did many devotees leave ISKCON because they couldn’t see suffering as Krishna’s mercy?
92)
Will those with low self-esteem mistake tolerating injustice to be humility?
91)
How to decide between tolerating a situation or changing it?
90)
Why do we promote our suffering as if it is the worst?
89)
For a pure devotee, is the subtle body dissolved or does it still remain?
88)
Does the soul go to the next body by its own desires or is it taken by the mind?
87)
How can we know what is a principle and what a detail?
86)
How can the tension between rigidity and fluidity be resolved in a living tradition?
85)
How can we appreciate good devotees who are offensive about some issues?
84)
If we are more attached to Krishna and less attached to family responsibilities, does that incur bad karma?
83)
If our chanting is simply mechanical, will that please Krishna?
82)
How can we cultivate more of a family atmosphere in our movement?
81)
Can the desire for subtle sex – pride, adoration, distinction – be dovetailed in bhakti?
80)
Won’t neglecting our attachments and focusing on bhakti lead to rationalizing our wrong actions?
79)
To get stimulated out of sleep, can I visit Facebook first thing after waking up?
78)
If we are following the principles to be initiated but have to wait for long in queue, does Krishna see us as initiated or uninitiated?
77)
If senior devotees behave unethically, how can we maintain our inspiration?
76)
How to deal with the emotions and inclinations that take us away from Krishna?
75)
If we have a vision to do something but the authorities are not supportive, what to do?
74)
Shouldn’t we expect to grow to the higher stages of bhakti?
73)
Shouldn’t we take up challenging services to become humble & dependent on Krishna?
72)
How can we find the service by which we can best contribute?
71)
Why were the Pandavas treated so badly by their elders – in similar circumstances, are we meant to be submissive?
70)
Suppose a talented, dedicated devotee encounters failure repeatedly – how to respond?
69)
How can we counter the mind’s tendency to see the negative even in devotee association?
68)
Won’t picking and choosing sections of philosophy or process rationalise rejecting important aspects of bhakti?
67)
Is adopting something because it works a sufficient criterion for choosing a spiritual path?
66)
What to do if our doubts block us in relishing bhakti?
65)
Does our past karma affect our present free will?
64)
When devotees debate fiercely over different aspects of bhakti, how should we respond?
63)
Is taste in service Krishna’s reciprocation?
62)
How do we balance hunting for the rhino in our services with being realistic?
February 2017
61)
How can we be humble enough to recognize the necessity of changing our habits?
60)
While using tricks like propinquity to control our senses, don’t we neglect the bhakti aspect?
59)
When genuine intentions will express as actions, how can we say that intention is not enough?
58)
Should we make major life decisions based on bhakti considerations alone or also based on our material nature and situation?
57)
When the Gita insists that we work according to our nature, why do ISKCON authorities tell us to do the needful, without considering our nature?
56)
If we can’t replace our mind, how does purification change the mind?
55)
If the material and the spiritual are separate, how can chanting attentively lead to good book distribution?
54)
Can our material identity be spiritualized – which dharma spiritualises it?
53)
Were the ancient sages humbler than the modern acharyas as only the latter mention their names in their compositions?
52)
Who remembers Krishna – the mind or the soul, or the mind in the conditioned stage and the soul in the liberated state?
51)
When the mind is external to the soul, what does externally serving and internally remembering Krishna mean?
50)
When the Upanishads say the Absolute Truth is unchanging, how do bhakti teachers say that even Krishna’s abode is changing?
49)
Does mithya mean illusion or hallucination – is the material world illusion or hallucination?
48)
How can we understand the ideal without becoming impractical and fanatical?
47)
As intelligence can make us calculative or over-smart, how can we remain simple while being intelligent?
46)
When intelligence can be used or misused, is intelligence a power of our consciousness or a gift from the Supersoul?
45)
Does Gita 12.8-11 refer to progressive levels or alternative ways?
44)
How do we see people who come to the temple but don’t practice bhakti seriously – Hindi?
43)
How can a person suffering from an incurable disease overcome resentment – Hindi?
42)
Why is the intelligence said to come from goodness and the mind from passion – Hindi?
41)
When the intelligence is subtler than the mind, why does the Gita ask us to control the mind and not the intelligence – Hindi?
40)
If the intelligence and the Supersoul’s voice are the same, why do many intelligent people act sinfully – Hindi?
39)
When Ravana knew scripture, why did he abduct Sita – Hindi?
38)
How can we overcome the tendency to be indecisive – Hindi?
37)
When spiritual culture encourages men to become brahmacharis, how does it spiritualize the male-female relationship?
36)
Is the love between a pet and a master coming from hormones or from the soul?
35)
How can we spiritualize our material attachments?
34)
If we are working wholeheartedly in our material life, but can’t work similarly in our spiritual life, what can we do – Hindi?
33)
If someone is connected with another organization, how can we get them to the Krishna consciousness movement?
32)
Why do leaders of religious organisations sometimes form sects and fight with each other – Hindi?
31)
If people treat us based on their past negative impressions about us even after we have improved, what can we do – Hindi?
30)
If we don’t see others’ faults, how can we guide them to improve – Hindi?
29)
Can someone say that my nature is to talk insensitively – Hindi?
28)
How can we intelligently neglect some people’s criticism of us?
27)
When the soul and the body are different, why do self-realized souls suffer bodily pain – Hindi?
26)
When we can’t overcome our bad habits, what to do – Hindi?
25)
When our opinions come from our nature, how can we understand that the opinions of those with different natures can also be correct – Hindi?
24)
Is loving our body the cause of misery?
23)
If our talents such as a powerful voice sometimes inconvenience others, what should we do?
22)
Is focusing on developing our talents selfishness?
21)
When we start coming for spiritual programs, our college friends criticize us – how to respond?
20)
When we are not our bodies, why do devotee marriage boards want to know the candidate’s caste – Hindi?
19)
If others’ way of functioning disturbs our service, what can we do – Hindi?
18)
Why did Krishna allow the desecration of Deities by foreign invaders in medieval times?
17)
Does the soul come first in the womb and the subtle body comes later after which consciousness manifests?
16)
When others’ words makes us disturbed and dissatisfied, how to deal with that dissatisfaction – Hindi?
15)
When we are unable to practice devotional principles, are we hypocritical – how to overcome it – Hindi?
14)
How can we overcome the unhappiness felt on seeing others go away from bhakti – Hindi?
January 2017
13)
When the mind is like software, then how can pills for treating the hardware – the brain – cure mental problems?
12)
When our past bad habits don’t go away despite repeated efforts, what to do (Hindi)?
11)
When problems go beyond our tolerance limit, we explode as per our past conditionings – how to deal with this (Hindi)?
10)
Why did Dhritarashtra stay silent when Duryodhana insulted Vidura (Hindi)?
9)
If those in power such as Dhritarashtra stay silent amidst injustice, can their silence be attributed to their nature (Hindi)?
8)
When children of same parents such as Ravana and Vibhishana have the same DNA, why are their characters so different (Hindi)?
7)
I was initiated earlier by a priest – how do I see it when seeking initation from a Vaishnava guru?
6)
Is speaking about krishna-bhakti to relatives who may be faithless an offense to the holy name?
5)
Does presenting scripture as meant for moral instruction lead to the rejection of scripture’s transcendental teachings?
4)
If Bhagavatam and Mahabharata tell incidents from different perspectives, are they histories or historical fictions?
3)
As sadhus, should we focus on internal change through sadhana or social change through activism?
2)
What is the connection of vibhuti yoga with perceiving spiritual reality?
1)
When a close relative troubles us, do we need to tolerate infinitely?