Currently Browsing: QA Audio : 2019

: Audio   : Video   : Transcription   : Hindi Language

April 2021

• 224) What is the bhakti perspective on feminism – not the man-bashing extreme feminism, but the equal opportunity for women feminism?

October 2020

• 223) Is spirituality the only way to overcome bad habits?

September 2020

• 222) Did God help Gajendra only when he stopped helping himself?

April 2020

• 221) Even when we know that worldly pleasures are temporary, why do we still crave for it?
• 220) When we are far away from the standards needed to attain the spiritual world, what is our hope?

March 2020

• 219) How can we know if we are sincere?
• 218) If our faith is attacked internally or externally, what should we do?
• 217) How can we balance body, mind and consciousness?

December 2019

• 216) Where do we get our individuality from – matter or spirit?
• 215) Why does India have such a lofty philosophy and a filthy living conditions?
• 214) What is the best way to study shastra in a group with devotees?
• 213) Is any part of Krishna consciousness not practical – what does being practical in our preaching mean?
• 212) Is there one standard way to apply scripture at all times?
• 211) Why are women marginalized in Indian scriptures such as the Gita?
• 210) What is the difference between knowledge, intelligence and self-realization?
• 209) If we have a miscarriage, is it Krishna’s will to not fulfill our material desire for a child?
• 208) Why did Srila Prabhupada call his Gita commentary As It Is? (Bhagavad-gita)
• 207) Is the Gita a later insertion in the Mahabharata?
• 206) What is the role of attachment or detachment in householder life?
• 205) If we use intellectual tools such as acronyms to analyze philosophy, is such analysis devotional service?
• 204) If misery is an undeniable reality, then is its opposite – joy – also an undeniable reality?
• 203) Will some future event dramatically increase the number of devotees in the world?
• 202) If we start stagnating in our life, how can we get out of that rut?
• 201) How can we know if worldly desires come from our heart or our mind – What happens if such desires come while chanting?
• 200) How can we overcome the faultfinding tendency?

November 2019

• 199) How does God helps those who help themselves apply to Rama in Ramayana?
• 198) Why can some people readily accept Krishna’s supremacy and some can’t?
• 197) Should we just accept destiny or keep trying till we succeed?
• 196) What factors determine our destiny?
• 195) How can we heal from the loss of a loved one?
• 194) Should we control our desires or should we follow our curiosity?
• 193) When we are criticized, is defending ourselves detrimental for our bhakti?
• 192) Why do we feel insecurity?
• 191) How can we deal with life’s dualities?
• 190) How can we deal with angry people?
• 189) How can we become determined like Hanuman?
• 188) Isn’t it useless to share spirituality with people who have no spiritual interest?

October 2019

• 187) How do we distinguish between material anxiety and spiritual anxiety?
• 186) Does everything in bhakti need to fall in the nine limbs of bhakti?
• 185) If our love is finite, how can it help us reach the infinite?
• 184) What is the difference between vibhuti and shaktyavesha avatar?
• 183) If the finite can’t become the infinite, then what is liberation?
• 182) Just as people become obsessed with their mundane heroes, can we become obsessed with our spiritual heroes?
• 181) What can we do to protect ourselves from ever sinking to the level of being strengthless and faithless?
• 180) Did Krishna protect Draupadi only after she stopped trying to protect herself – does surrender mean we stop trying to do anything?
• 179) If a tragedy makes us forget everything good and makes us do bad things, what can we do?
• 178) If animals’ instincts come from the Supersoul, why are animals considered spiritually unintelligent?
• 177) How can we help someone who is in coma?
• 176) How can we connect with people during outreach while staying detached from the world’s illusions?
• 175) Do all embryos in the womb pray to God?
• 174) Why does the Gita not mention the word guru and refer in plural to seers of the truth in 4.34?
• 173) Arjuna had Krishna’s constant guidance – how can we be guided?
• 172) When duty is a societal construct, why can’t we just follow our heart’s calling without caring for society’s opinion?
• 171) How can we work dispassionately when doing our duty requires passion?
• 170) How do we know whether we are in harmony with our true nature and God’s plan – what does harmony feel like?
• 169) If we are to not make judgments, why is Krishna making judgments and taking sides in the war?
• 168) Does the Supersoul sanction all our undesirable desires?

September 2019

• 167) Why settle for less – why not keep seeking till we find the best?
• 166) When Duryodhana slipped and fell, why did the Pandavas remain silent?
• 165) What are our movement’s core values?
• 164) Should we be liberal while introducing people to bhakti and conservative letter?
• 163) If we can’t accept people where they are, what can we do?
• 162) How does one’s past spirituality become activated?
• 161) How are the impressions removed by practicing bhakti?
• 160) When our material responsibilities impede our spiritual growth, what can we do?
• 159) How can we avoid over-endeavoring in our service at the cost of our devotion?
• 158) How should we approach texts like Gopal Champu and Anand Vrindavan Champu – are authentic translations available?
• 157) If some other temple has better association, should we leave our temple and go there?
• 156) How can we draw practical lessons from scripture?
• 155) Was Putana delivered because of destiny?
• 154) What was the purpose of the celestial prophecy before Krishna’s birth?

August 2019

• 153) When Vrajavasis are pure devotees, how were they attracted to Putana’s beauty?
• 152) Why does God give some people an evil mind?
• 151) What is the scriptural view on political correctness?
• 150) Most of my fears don’t actualize, but some do – how can we be prepared without becoming fearful?
• 149) Are some people genetically short-tempered?
• 148) If others constantly find fault with us, what can we do?
• 147) How can we continue our spiritual practice when we get no taste?
• 146) If people aren’t ready to take the giant leap of faith to come to Krishna, how can we help them?
• 145) When we see some devotee doing something wrong, what should we do?
• 144) How can we attract scientifically minded people to scripture?
• 143) How can we deal with the global population explosion?
• 142) When we surrender to our guru, are we surrendering to the guru or to the guru tattva or to Krishna?
• 141) If we had been initiated by some other guru, would we have been given the same instruction as from our initiating guru – how exactly does Krishna’s instruction come through the guru?
• 140) Can we see the inner seat of consciousness beyond the raw sensation of awareness?
• 139) How does quantum entanglement happen – is it because of the Supersoul?
• 138) What is the hard problem of consciousness?
• 137) How does jnana-yoga progress to dhyana-yoga?
• 136) Why does the Left appeal to so many people – how can it have any spiritual promise?
• 135) Should we not have children because the earth is overburdened with too many humans?
• 134) My father committed suicide and I am feeling terrible – what can I do?
• 133) How can we ensure that we aren’t limited by functional vision when things are functioning well?
• 132) Can morality be derived from science – does sociobiology fit that bill?

July 2019

• 131) If something in our movement is managerially seriously wrong, should we consider what Srila Prabhupada wanted and whether we are qualified to bring about a change?
• 130) If someone is managerially incompetent or immoral, can their continuance in power be justified by saying that it is Krishna’s plan?
• 129) When our natural varna can’t be changed, does taking brahmana diksha makes us all brahmanas?
• 128) Is consciousness intrinsically divine – is it the same as the mind?
• 127) How are yajna, dana and tapa relevant in today’s world?
• 126) How can we better use sleep to grow spiritually?
• 125) Why is scientific knowledge like gravity not present in scripture?
• 124) Why does Indra commit so many mistakes?
• 123) Why did Vishvamitra lose his power on creating another heaven?
• 122) Are all spiritual explanations of life’s sufferings just mental adjustments?
• 121) What is the concept of the evil eye – what is its rational and scriptural basis
• 120) Aren’t we trivializing initiation by equating the promises of initiation with the promises of hearing Krishna’s pastimes?
• 119) When initiation frees us from all sins, why do initiated devotes suffer?
• 118) When you say that you are struggling with selfish desires, what do you mean?
• 117) When we fail in life, how can we immediately understand that past karma is at work?
• 116) When spiritual growth requires faith, what can we do if doubts keep coming?
• 115) When people don’t get what they desire, they sometimes become angry and sometimes depressed – are anger and depression twins
• 114) When love for Krishna is so far away for most of us, should we even talk about it in our classes?
• 113) When Krishna doesn’t reciprocate, how can we avoid becoming cynical?
• 112) What lesson does the Mohini Murti pastime teach?
• 111) What is the easiest way to control our emotions?
• 110) Was Ravana intelligent in fighting Rama, knowing that his followers would get liberation by being killed by Rama?
• 109) Was Ravana from north India?

June 2019

• 108) To what extent is metaphorical understanding of scripture acceptable or unacceptable?
• 107) The painkiller of entertainment is easily available, but does the cure of enlightenment needs to be given by someone enlightened
• 106) Should devotees give up all pious religious duties and focus only on bhakti?
• 105) On attaining success, how can we be happy without becoming proud?
• 104) Just as our strengths are manifestations for a higher being, are our weaknesses manifestations of some being?
• 103) Is it possible to be constantly on guard against temptation?
• 102) Is frustration a wrong motive for starting spiritual life?
• 101) If someone hurts us repeatedly, is that because of our past karma?
• 100) If someone is facing with a life-threatening disease, how can we explain to them that life has a higher purpose?
• 99) If someone has been betrayed repeatedly and has become cynical, how can they recover?
• 98) If Sita in Lanka was Vedavati, why do we say Sita, not Vedavati, prayed for Hanuman?
• 97) If kshatriyas were allowed to eat meat, why is meat-eating considered wrong for everyone?
• 96) How should devotees see scientific research involving animal testing or organ donation?
• 95) How may we be cynical in our relationship with Krishna?
• 94) If we keep doing something that we had resolved to give up, what to do?
• 93) If we can’t go to heaven in human bodies, how do some kings like Dasharatha fight for the gods in heaven?
• 92) For chanting, why are Tulsi beads recommended?
• 91) If Brahma is the creator of the universe, from where did the lotus on which he was born come?
• 90) If the author is not present in the book, how is Valmiki present in Ramayana?
• 89) How do we realize that Krishna consciousness is like 5 million dollars and worldly things are like 5 dollars
• 88) How can we work with difficult people?
• 87) How can we suffer insufferable people?
• 86) How can we be humble without appearing weak?
• 85) How can we balance between overthinking about other people’s actions and being thoughtful?
• 84) How can living in the present be reconciled with having an optimistic attitude?
• 83) How are faith and knowledge related – how is faith in the dharmic tradition differnt from faith in Christianity?
• 82) For self-control, should we just focus on chosing our desires or should we also chose our situations?

May 2019

• 81) Does sarva dharman parityajya mean that we should give up our rationality and just surrender?
• 80) Did Ravana have immense knowledge?
• 79) Can atheists and theists come together to make a better world?
• 78) Can Abhimanyu’s getting trapped in Chakravuha be compared to our getting trapped in samsara-cakra?
• 77) Does spirituality cure depression or manage depression?
• 76) Does emotional pain indicate something wrong that needs fixing or should it just be tolerated
• 75) How can we help those who can’t put past bad things in perspective?
• 74) All the people in the Malaysian airlines crash died – was it due to their own past karma?
• 73) Are our present sufferings because of our past karma?
• 72) Are there any brahmavadis in the world today?
• 71) Do great devotees like Prahlad just focus on Krishna and not bother about problems at all?
• 70) Does bhakti become more and more complicated as we go into the details?
• 69) Does the upside-down tree metaphor of Gita chapter 15 imply that there’s a separate tree for each individual soul?
• 68) How can we avoid getting infected with material desires because of the triangularity of desires?
• 67) How is Paramatma realization an evolution from Brahman realization?
• 66) How can we ensure that our children follow our culture?
• 65) How can we share bhakti with Western audiences?
• 64) How do we balance not repressing ourselves and avoiding things unfavorable to Krishna consciousness
• 63) How do we refute secular humanism?
• 62) If repression can’t accomplish anything – Gita 03.33 – why should we restrain our senses, Gita 03.34?
• 61) Is Brahman the effulgence of the Absolute or is it the realization of our own eternality?
• 60) Is blaming past karma for bad things just a way to avoid blaming God?
• 59) Just as Bhishma chose the wrong side, so do we – how can we learn properly from such role models?
• 58) When a mother will keep mud away from a child, why does Krishna make lust so easily available in this world?
• 57) When analyzing issues, how do we know whether we are putting them in the right context such as material or spiritual?
• 56) When nothing works, we surrender to Krishna – how can we surrender to him in the beginning itself?
• 55) Won’t it help us spiritually if we remember our past lives?

April 2019

• 54) Is parents wanting their children to become Krishna conscious a sign of dependence, independence or interdependence?
• 53) Why did Vidura not instruct Dhritrashtra to apologize to the Pandavas and to thereby become offense-free for practicing bhakti?
• 52) Is heaven attained by any warrior who fights a war in obedience to authority and dies?
• 51) What is the destination of those who obey their authorities and fight in unfair wars such as Vietnam – will their obedience elevate them to heaven?
• 50) Which path of yoga burns our karma to what extent?
• 49) What is wrong with ancestors falling from higher planets to earth, as only from earth they can be liberated?

March 2019

• 48) If offensive chanting is ineffective, then how was Ajamila’s chanting effective?
• 47) Why did Vyasadeva give Vedic rituals instead of just giving bhakti, as Prabhupada did?
• 46) If someone imposes something on us because of their ego or authority, what can we do?
• 45) Don’t we need to look at people’s group identity, as when interacting with people from other organizations?
• 44) Should devotees move beyond demonizing scientists?
• 43) Does human nature always give fear precedence over faith?
• 42) Is living in the present without living for Krishna helpful?
• 41) Is it ok for devotees to give motivational classes without mentioning Krishna at all?
• 40) Why is it so difficult to step back from a dramatic position that we have publically taken – is it because of ego?
• 39) If aspiring disciples feel that they can’t get their guru’s association, what can we tell them?
• 38) Should devotees fast on Mahashivaratri?
• 37) How can a hunter-devotee justify that he is simply doing the profession ordained by past karma – can a terrorist argue the same way?
• 36) Will accepting diversity lead to disintegration of standards and chaotic relativism?
• 35) How do we create our world by our words?
• 34) Is there a clash of civilizations between Eastern and Western civilizations?
• 33) How do words shape our consciousness and character?
• 32) How can we explain the need for spiritual education to secular people?
• 31) Why is diversity essential for any tradition to continue?

February 2019

• 30) Why blame the violence in Soviet Russia on atheism when it was caused by economic and political factors?
• 29) Does focusing on Krishna require that we always be in the mode of goodness?
• 28) Lust when unfulfilled leads to anger – does that mean the short-tempered have excessive lust that is unsatisfied?
• 27) When Dhruva already had darshan of Vishnu, how could be become disproportionately angry at the Yakshas?
• 26) Why is atheism spreading so much nowadays – is it because of Kali Yuga?
• 25) Why is aggressive nationalism rising across the world nowadays?
• 24) Is always speaking the truth practical?
• 23) How do we see the enormous expenditure on frivolous things that happens in today’s society?
• 22) Does Krishna sometime violate the revealed scriptures?
• 21) What is the Vedic perspective on the Sabarimala issue?
• 20) Does the existence of beauty prove the existence of God?
• 19) If someone wants us to micro-control their lives, what should we do?
• 18) What determines whether we learn by intelligence or by experience?
• 17) How can we know when we are renouncing because of spiritual attraction and when because of material aversion?
• 16) If my family strongly opposes some devotional principles such as not eating onion-garlic, what should I do?
• 15) How can we avoid feeling insecure if our service is not recognized?
• 14) When non-literal interpretations often lead to misinterpretations why do scripture contain them – and how much should we use them?
• 13) Shouldn’t the desire for sense gratification go down in those who are advancing in Krishna consciousness?
• 12) Krishna assumes a childlike form – does this mean he has some other original form?

January 2019

• 11) Won’t saying that God is not the sole controller imply that he is helpless in certain situations?
• 10) If Jesus came today, he would not be a Christian – should we avoid organized religion?
• 9) Is science entirely objective and value-free with no subjectivity in it?
• 8) Can near-death experiences be induced in everyone so they can be become repeatable experimental evidence?
• 7) Can ghosts be seen with gross eyes, as is sometimes reported after tsunamis?
• 6) Is Krishna present in the book Bhagavatam – is he also present in a digital book?
• 5) Is the difference in consciousness between humans and animals because of brain complexity?
• 4) Is faith a cognitive function like memory or motivation or mood – can it be altered by neurochemical processes?
• 3) Does preaching essentially mean changing people’s faith?
• 2) If everything attractive comes from Krishna how do we see a young attractive girl?
• 1) Can morality be objective and universally acceptable?