Currently Browsing: QA Audio : 2020

: Audio   : Video   : Transcription   : Hindi Language

December 2020

• 146) When our life is going on well and we hear that the world is a place of distress, how can we avoid becoming paranoid that problems will befall us in future?

November 2020

• 145) If someone has been abused, can the victim just forgive the abuser?
• 144) Does Everyone Who Eat Meat Go To Hell – What About Their Other Good Deeds?
• 143) Why is bhakti, especially as presented by our movement, seen by many as non-intellectual or even anti-intellectual?
• 142) If we leave the room for the supernatural in the scientific quest for knowledge, won’t we tend to look for easy lazy ways out?
• 141) Is scientific advancement driven by simple curiosity or by the controlling mentality
• 140) Even after getting the darshan of the Lord, why do Kardama Muni or Aditi not become free from their material desires, the way Dhruva Maharaj did?
• 139) Is there place in ISKCON for someone who has belief in belief in God, but not belief in God?
• 138) As we can’t know for sure what are principles and what details, why not just follow the tradition as it is, without even attempting to change anything?
• 137) In the Vamanadeva pastime, how is adharma called dharma and dharma called dharma
• 136) As karma is based on janma, how is varnashrama not based on janma?
• 135) We find predictable movies boring, yet we seek predictability in our daily life – why?
• 134) If others pressure us into doing more than our capacity, what can we do?

October 2020

• 133) Is the universal form of Krishna a material form?
• 132) Should we gratify our desires so that we don’t carry our desires to the next life?
• 131) If Krishna is merciful, he takes everything away from us – how to not become fearful on hearing this statement?
• 130) Why do we need to transcend the mode of goodness?
• 129) When the modes interrupt our bhakti practice, how can uninterrupted bhakti practice take us beyond the modes?
• 128) How do the modes influence our free will and our values?
• 127) Why did Rama kill the shudra Shambuka simply for doing a good activity like austerity?
• 126) Was Duryodhana cruel to the citizens or just to the Pandavas?
• 125) Is karma real?
• 124) As soon as the corona pandemic started, the temples shut down and only hospitals offered relief. Isn’t it better that we fund medical research?
• 123) Does science come from spirituality or is it made by man?

September 2020

• 122) When exactly does the soul enter during the process of conception?
• 121) Why has atheism increased recently – is it due to science?
• 120) Is there any scientific proof of the existence of higher and lower planetary systems?
• 119) How is the vision of Krishna’s two-handed form rare when everyone at the time of Krishna’s descent could see it?
• 118) Is the idea of manifesting an external reality by inner contemplation a New Age notion or is it grounded in philosophical truth?
• 117) During animal sacrifices in Vedic times, did the animals experience pain – what was the rationale for such sacrifices?

August 2020

• 116) In being liberal with others, isn’t there a danger that we may become liberal with ourselves too?
• 115) How to deal with learned devotees who lack empathy?
• 114) How can we kill the demons in our heart by hearing about the killing of the corresponding demons in Krishna lila?
• 113) How can we develop relationships with those whose services are different from ours?
• 112) How can children be helped to remember that Krishna protects everyone?
• 111) Isnt it ego to think that a service won’t happen without us?
• 110) How should a devotee decide whom to vote for in an election?
• 109) What is the spiritual perspective on adopting a child of unknown parents and hence unknown karma?
• 108) Why do some people celebrate beef-eating festivals – is it because of their hatred for brahminical culture?
• 107) Where do butchers and prostitutes fall among the four varnas – are they outcastes?
• 106) Is comparing capitalism or communism with varnashrama like comparing apples and oranges?
• 105) What does follow your heart mean – does it involve the conscience or the soul?
• 104) When Bhakti Charu Maharaj went to the US to serve Krishna, why was he not protected?
• 103) How can we deal with doubts that come from our bad experiences with our previous spiritual teachers?

July 2020

• 102) QA on humility 7 – Is spirituality meant to make us feel good. Or does spiritual growth require us to feel bad?
• 101) How do Indians and Westerners approach spirituality differently?
• 100) QA on humility 6 – When pure devotees take offense, is that because of false ego?
• 99) QA on humility 5 – What is it about humility that attracts Krishna?
• 98) QA on humility 4 – Social media requires self-promotion, spiritual growth requires humility – how to reconcile?
• 97) QA on humility 3 – How can we be humble with those who are exploitative?
• 96) QA on humility 2 – While being tolerant, how can we ensure that we aren’t abused by others?
• 95) QA on humility 1 – How are the various points of Lord Chaitanya’s verse on humility inter-related?
• 94) Krishna told Arjuna to kill but Narada told Mrigari to not kill?
• 93) Are the Mahabharata real or stories?
• 92) During the moment of sudden difficulty, how can we think positively at that time?
• 91) Why do some people find meaning in things and others don’t?
• 90) How can we deal with anger caused by people who have hurt us?
• 89) Will hearing regularly from few devotees not broaden our understanding of bhakti – do we need to hear from many devotees?
• 88) Is spirituality meant to make us feel bad about ourselves in the name of humility?

June 2020

• 87) Does every thought in our mind result from something we have done in the past?
• 86) When people today are so untrustworthy how can we develop relationships?
• 85) If work is worship is a butcher also worshiping by slaughtering animals?
• 84) QA on racism Q 10 How do we as spiritualists manifest empathy (para-dukha-dukhi)?
• 83) If we label as fault-finders those who constantly find faults with others, are we ourselves indulging in fault-finding?
• 82) Is intelligence a part of consciousness or a part of the mind?
• 81) When we become unconscious because of anaesthesia, does the soul leave the body?
• 80) QA on racism Q 9 Is racial injustice caused by past karma?
• 79) How can hearing Krishna’s rasa-lila with the gopis free us from lust?
• 78) QA on racism Q 8 How do we balance knowing that we are not the bady and processing bodily pains?
• 77) Why did Rama spy on his own citizens?
• 76) QA on racism Q 7 When animals of one group don’t include animals from another group, is that racism?
• 75) Are the Abrahamic God, who orders killing and enslaving, and the Vedic God the same person?
• 74) QA on racism Q 6 Why is racism seen in humans, but not in animals?
• 73) QA on racism Q 5 What does seeing everyone equally mean practically?
• 72) QA on racism Q 4 Are varna and ashrama the only two hierarchies present in nature?
• 71) QA on racism Q 3 Do people of particular skin colors belong to particular castes?
• 70) QA on racism Q 2 Does racism exist because of the caste system?
• 69) QA on racism Q 1 From a spiritual perspective, why does racism exist?
• 68) Does brahmaloka refer to the abode of Brahma or to the Brahman effulgence?

May 2020

• 67) Can we see adversities like the corona crisis as blessings?
• 66) During distress if someone turns away from Krishna and becomes an atheist, what is the role of God’s will in their misuse of free will?
• 65) Why did Krishna speak the Gita to Arjuna and not to the other Pandavas or to Bhishma?
• 64) Was India better under British rule than after independence? How do we understand Prabhupada’s statement
• 63) Will war break out because of the corona crisis, as some devotee-astrologers say – should we withdraw to self-sufficient village communities?
• 62) Should devotees believe conspiracy theories about say the origin of the corona virus?
• 61) When the holy name is everything, why do we need prudent action to complement prayer?
• 60) Can there be religion for atheists?
• 59) What is the spiritual perspective on capitalism?
• 58) What were the principles of dharma that Krishna descended to establish?
• 57) I like to talk about Krishna and feel nourished by speaking Krishna-katha, do I have a pure devotee syndrome – what should I do?
• 56) How have greed, anger and lust been institutionalized in today’s world?
• 55) What would be the Gita’s stand in today’s political world wrt the Left and the Right in India or the liberals and the conservatives in America
• 54) As the devatas are serving in a system created by Krishna, does it mean they are pure devotees?
• 53) What does it mean when it is said Yudhishthira’s gambling was orchestrated by Krishna – why would Krishna cause so much distress and destruction?
• 52) How do we understand harsh scriptural statements about certain classes of people as found in Bhagavatam 6.18.42
• 51) What is the difference between material and spiritual visions of history?
• 50) How would the Kauravas being neutralized by the Pandavas further their spiritual evolution?
• 49) Were the Kauravas harassing their citizens – were they tyrants who needed to be removed by force?
• 48) Why did Arjuna want to be the greatest archer?
• 47) If we have prayed to Krishna once, should we repeat that prayer regularly?
• 46) If we hear blasphemy of devotees, scripture recommends extreme measures – how are these measures to be understood?
• 45) In the Daksha pastime, Lord Shiva remains calm when he is insulted, but become enraged when Sati dies – why the difference?
• 44) Should we focus only on doing one thing at a time and not even do devotional things in parallel with physical activities such as walking
• 43) What is the difference between asuras and rakshasas?
• 42) If a non-devotee accidentally helps a pure devotee in acute need, is that called devotional service?
• 41) If we get different instructions from different authorities, which include our spiritual master, what should we do?
• 40) If our life is devoted to the service of Krishna, what’s wrong with praying for bodily protection?
• 39) When Prahlad is a pure devotee, why does he offer prayers for bodily protection in Narasimha kavacha mantras?
• 38) Should I participate in animal testing for developing vaccines to pandemics?
• 37) When a pauper and a millionaire both have human bodies, how is their happiness different and destined by their bodies?

April 2020

• 36) Isn’t the Gita’s instruction to remain equipoised seem too idealistic?
• 35) How can we become more contemplative in daily life?
• 34) Even when cows are cared for, still during reproduction aren’t bulls essentially allowed to rape the cows?
• 33) If we can’t move to eco-friendly farms, what can we do practically to live more eco-friendly?
• 32) If we take milk from dairy farms, do we get the karma?
• 31) How can an organization balance between maintaining structure and providing independence to its members?
• 30) When we see that devotees aren’t being cared for, how can we see it positively and what can we do about it?
• 29) On seeing other devotees’ grow spiritually, how can we avoid feeling bad that we are spiritually stagnating?
• 28) When Lord Chaitanya destroys demonic mentality, not demons, why did the person who threatened devotees constructing the Juhu temple die?
• 27) Why do we attribute some people’s actions to their present association and others’ actions to their past lives?

February 2020

• 26) When different paths have stark differences how can all paths be valid and how can we explain our path offers something more?
• 25) Which mirror can show us the soul?
• 24) Why do we associate religion with spirituality – are communists really anti-God?
• 23) Lord Chaitanya said that Bible and Koran are full of faults?
• 22) ​How can we overcome envy?
• 21) If an equal devotee becomes more advanced, how can we avoid envy?
• 20) How can we keep our emtions steady amid varying situations?
• 19) Does karma continue perpetually because we hurt others and they hurt us back as a reaction again and again?

January 2020

• 18) Is science atheistic – does it promote atheism?
• 17) Is the amount of grieving on the death of a loved one inversely proportional to one’s spiritual advancement?
• 16) What does simply living really mean?
• 15) Why does the Gita consider karma-yoga better than jnana-yoga when jnana-yoga is higher in the yoga ladder?
• 14) How can we use technology in a way that harmonizes with our spirituality?
• 13) Can you explain Brahman and Paramatma realizations in detail?
• 12) God usually acts in this world through secondary causes – what does this mean?
• 11) Is Krishna brahman or parabrahman?
• 10) Is the Brahman aspect also sat-cit-ananda or is it only sat?
• 9) ​Does Brahman always refer to the Lord’s effulgence?
• 8) History is written by winners – because Rama and Krishna won wars, did they declare themselves as God?
• 7) Is ISKCON’s institutionalized structure an import from Christianity?
• 6) When everything is destined how can we have free will?
• 5) How can we know that the Deity accepts the bhoga when it remains as it is?
• 4) Is Deity visarjan required – why?
• 3) Why did Bhishma and other elders stay silent when Draupadi was being disrobed?
• 2) Why do some bad habits stay on despite our devotional practice – how to deal with them?

October 2015

• 1) Gita 09.15 – Jnana yajna is not the same as jnana-yoga