Chaitanya Charan on Amogha Lila P’s podcast My spiritual journey-Science-Writing-Western outreach

Is there any one question? … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … impressed by Prabhuji's intellect, by his wisdom, by his devotion, by his purity. So today Prabhuji has taken out time for us, for this podcast of My Ashray. So he is in so much demand but yet he has taken out his time for all of us.

Well, we are so very fortunate. Prabhuji travels the whole world, the whole world, where there are 400 lectures in a year, covering four continents, Prabhuji. This is really amazing.

And there are also 100 cities involved in it. So going to cities and cities, because people have their own city in the world, so how their anxiety driven life, taking it out with his words, that is what he is doing. So today in this podcast of My Ashray, Prabhuji has come in between us.

We are very, very fortunate. So Prabhuji, we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts and we would like to welcome you. All the viewers of My Ashray, today they are going to learn so much.

So you take a pen and paper and sit. You will have to pause the video many times because there is so much download that you will get left behind. So get ready with your pen, pencil, pad, so that you can write down all those nuggets of wisdom which we are going to hear from His Grace Chaitanya Charan Prabhuji.

Prabhuji, welcome you from the bottom of our hearts. Hare Krishna. Thank you, Mohanlal Prabhu.

Delighted to be here in this My Ashray channel. So you have introduced him. The person you have introduced, I would also like to meet him.

Okay. I think after such an introduction, whatever I am going to say is going to be anti-climax. But I will try.

I can say. I mean, I have known Mohanlal Prabhu for many years and the way you have promoted him, the way you have made Vipatti a relative of yours. Not only your charisma in speaking, but also the character with which you conduct yourself and spread bhakti.

It's immensely inspiring. As I was telling you earlier, I have read a lot of Hindi, but I have heard very little. So, I would like to learn Hindi from you.

So, I am done. You teach me bhakti, I will teach you Hindi. You won't get anything, but I will get a lot.

There is so much to learn from you. But yes, we would like to know. A Vibhuti who is contributing so much to the world.

Many people may not know about Chaitanya Charan Prabhuji. But Prabhuji, the class you address is a very unique class and it is very difficult to bring such people into bhakti. Usually, people who are very complicated, they don't come to spiritual life because they have their own problems.

But such complicated people and super intellectual people, in a very beautiful way, in a very simple way, and yet very connecting to them. This is how Prabhuji explains spiritual sciences. So, Prabhuji is among us today.

So, Prabhuji, first of all, we would like to know about your childhood. How did you spend your childhood? Where did you stay? Where were you born? About your parents, your siblings, friends. Please tell us something.

I was born in Sangli. I had a childhood in Maharashtra. When I was a child, my friends used to say that I had, I think I didn't have a difficult childhood.

My parents had a difficult childhood because of me. So, when I was born, I had a VSD hole in my heart. The doctor said that the child would not live more than a year or two.

But somehow, by the grace of God, it did not increase, it decreased. And when I was one, I had polio then. So, when I was two years old, I was misdirected by a firecracker.

So, I had a scar on my face, on my neck, on my shoulders. But when I think about all this now, I know it. But I think all these problems were caused by my parents, especially my mother.

And my father had a job as a traveller. He was in the central government, in the Information Broadcasting Ministry. My father used to do government publicity.

The social welfare schemes of the government used to take them to small villages and they used to explain, show documentaries, ask questions. So, travelling and speaking are in our genes. Wow! But my mother was with me since childhood.

So, she worked very hard. And especially when I started going to America, all the broken families there. If we meet children here, if we meet children in school, where do you live? What do your parents do? These are such simple questions.

In American schools, especially in public schools, where there are people of lower income, there children ask questions, who do you live with? With your mother or with your father? Oh! So, the scars of poor upbringing, when I meet such people, my self-esteem towards my parents has increased. So, my mother used to work in the Bank of India. And she took a lot of care of me.

So, when I was one year old, when I had polio, I don't remember. But when it happened, basically, my mother took me to the doctor to get a polio vaccine. And nowadays, polio is completely eliminated, because the vaccine works.

But there was a small city called Chandrapur. And the doctor there, the fridge in which he kept the polio vaccine, his power went off last night. He didn't know.

So, in that vaccine, the percentage of polio germs increased a lot. So, the vaccine that was to prevent polio, I got polio from that. Oh God! So, then one day, my parents told me that I was walking one day, and suddenly I fell down.

After that, I couldn't walk. But my first memory about it is that maybe I was two and a half, three years old. And then some of our relatives or neighbours, that whole business is my memory.

Someone had come, and I was consoling my mother that how bad it is that your child has polio. And my mother is saying that with a lot of faith, with clarity, that whatever he lacks physically, God will provide him intellectually. Wow! Amazing! So, at that age, I don't know what my mother saw, in Bodhgit Sar.

Now I think that maybe God said this through her. And my mother passed away. So, at that time, I was almost 25-30 years old.

That's why I didn't get a chance to ask her about it. But since then, I started identifying myself more with the intellectual side. I used to identify myself not with my body, but with my mind or intellect.

And then I saw that when I started studying, I could remember easily, understand easily, express easily, relatively speaking. And so, somehow from that time, I gained this confidence that we will never be abandoned. Some things will be less with us, but some will be more.

Wow! So, I see that as the biggest blessing. She never made me feel as if I was a burden to her. She never made me feel as if my leg was a burden to her.

So, that identification with the intellectual side, because of that, I like to read, I like to study, I like to think. Since childhood, I can say my first love is the English language. I am a little foreign to it.

But it was my hobby to pick up a dictionary and remember words from it. Oh! So, you remember the whole dictionary? I don't know. My God! I enjoy memorising words, then using them.

Oh! So, I was allowed with the language. Now, for Hindi and Sanskrit, I am getting a little love, but not that much. Wow! But the intellectual side, I had this identification And that, I used to read a lot.

I didn't have much interest Cricket is very popular in India. I used to like watching cricket. After watching cricket, I used to like reading the analysis of cricket match.

This is a very unique taste. So, I used to get bored watching cricket match. But after that, there are some authors who analyse it very well.

Their human element, their psychological element, to analyse that, I have been interested in analysis since childhood. And so, overall, it was a very, I faced a lot of physical problems, but at an emotional level, at a relational level, very protected, very well-cared for childhood. And then, when I was in the 10th grade, when Bhagavad Gita says that there are two worlds, the day I got my SSC results, I was in the first category in the entire Maharashtra state.

I was in Nashik at that time. The district collector came to our house. And then, there was a newspaper, there was a photo in the newspaper.

And the day all this happened, that same evening, we came to know that my mother has stage 4 blood cancer. So, within one month, she passed away. And then, that time, my reading started becoming more philosophical after that.

And then, I read a lot of books. Later, by the grace of Prabhuji, he gave me Bhagavad Gita. So, that's briefly my childhood.

Wow! So, devotees, can you see this, that if something happens in life that we don't want, which is not so palatable, which is in pain, which is in suffering, and after seeing this, people often go into depression, that what will happen in life now? This thing is not there, what else now? What to live now? But Prabhuji saw its bright side. Let me focus on the intellectual side. And on the intellectual side, actually I know, devotees have told me, Prabhuji remembers the dictionary.

How many of us remember the dictionary? Meaning, remember all the words, their definitions. So, this is what Prabhuji has done. So, we have to take this lesson that if something is lacking, then God makes us powerful in other aspects.

That's why if you see all the podcasts of Prabhuji, all the videos, the way Prabhuji articulately presents the concepts, they are so connecting. It seems that this should have been the definition of this thing. Because Prabhuji is so well read, if you want, if you can't walk, then do this, watch cricket matches day and night, watch Netflix and movies.

But Prabhuji didn't do that. So, Prabhuji saw its bright side, how we can learn more, we can groom ourselves more. And this self-grooming of theirs is helping so many hundreds and thousands and millions of souls that they are grooming themselves.

Including myself, I, Amoghile Das, I have groomed myself a lot by learning from Prabhuji. So, that's why this is their penance which they did intellectually. In a way, I would say, it is spiritual intellectual, not mundane intellectual.

But yes, we should see how we should see the bright side And we should groom ourselves. And today we see that Prabhuji, intellectually, spiritually, such an evolved personality. Wow! So, Prabhuji, let's come to this.

Just one point. Actually, my ego would like to take credit for things I have not done. Okay.

But I would say that if there is any positivity, it has not come from me, it has come from my mother. Wow! And I think, especially in our childhood, if we get any effect that they help us to see the bright side of things. So, that is very important.

When I travel across the world, sometimes I speak to gatherings of people with special needs. Some don't have eyes, some don't have legs, some don't have hands. So, one thing I see, many times, when I talk to people who are in the class, so one thing is that so many people are fighting battles that were lost long ago.

I mean, whatever happened, whatever happened, but why did it happen, why did it happen, why did it happen? It keeps revolving in the mind. And what happens is that the battle we are doing why did it happen to me, the battle we have to do now, we are not able to do it. I don't remember that.

I don't remember so much resentment or anything like that. I don't remember that so much. And the main reason for that I would say is my mother.

For me, when I walk now, I need crutches. When someone sees a ballet, the first thing they see is that I need crutches. But for me, my crutches are like my glasses.

I don't look good But when I wear my glasses, the glasses take up space on my face but not on my mind. So, like sometimes some handicap, some limitation takes up a lot of space in our mind. I can't do this, I can't do that, I can't do this.

It becomes a significant part of our identity. It becomes our identity. So, if it happens to me, I face a lot of problems.

So, this is just a functional problem but it is no big deal. if I wear my glasses, I can move forward in life. If I wear my glasses, I can lift crutches, I can move forward in life.

So, it's no big deal. Another thing is that if someone has physical limitations, especially when I travel, I see that because I need crutches, so many people are ready to help if I need to lift things. It's a wheelchair assistance, but even if it's not there, people are ready to help.

But, actually, crippling people who face problems with this, people have mental problems. They can have inferiority complex, low self-esteem. So, you can't even see the burden of this.

But, it will happen. Negative thinking is not a problem. Negative thinking is actually a gift.

Why? Because, suppose you want to build a new building, you need a visionary to build it. Here, it's a barren place. Here, we've built a building.

And along with that, you need a negative thinker who will tell you what to do and what to do And, not everyone is able to do negative thinking. So, quality control, proofreading, negative thinking is necessary for all of this. The ability to do negative thinking is actually a gift.

But, what happens is negative thinking is not a problem. Identifying with negative thinking is a problem. Easy problem.

Wow! What a sutra! any of our mental or physical features, when we identify with them, it becomes our identity. Then, the problem arises. Yeah! But, it's okay.

It's an aspect of my identity. And, when I need it, I'll consider it. But, it shouldn't occupy our mental space too much.

Yeah! That means, in a meeting, somebody can play devil's advocate. But, yes, that's very important. Negative thinking is our importance.

But, if we identify with it, then that is a problem indeed. So, Prabhu Ji, we have learnt how to see things in right perspective. everyone has problems in life.

And, as Prabhu Ji said, if there is a physical struggle, there are people to offer help. But, if someone is mentally crippled, he is not visible. He has six-pack, biceps, triceps, alexander cheeks.

But, he is limping inside. He is not visible. There is no one to support him.

So, Prabhu Ji also showed a positive side that if there is a physical struggle, there are people to help. So, there is a kind of connection with everyone. So, this is also wonderful.

So, how did you come to spirituality? How did you come to bhakti? Before ISKCON, were you connected to someone else or ISKCON was your first stop shop? So, there were three different things that I see now. Sometimes, we say that we come to bhakti and then we connect with Krishna. But, in reality, Krishna is always connected to us.

And, Krishna is working in our life. So, I think there were three currents that came together so that I to bhakti. So, the first one is that after my mother passed away, I started reading some philosophical books.

And then, I started trying to understand the meaning of life. Now, what is the relevance of philosophy? What is it's importance? So, let me a simple thing. Philosophy is to make sense of things that don't make sense.

So, that was one thing. I was on a philosophical surge. Not too much, but I was on a surge.

Along with the other thing was that since I was as an intellectual child, I wanted to be first in my class. I wanted to be first in my I was always good in my studies. I was first in exams, but never came first alone.

Sometimes, I would make some silly mistakes. Once, I came first, but the new teacher made a mistake and gave me less marks. So, I went to the teacher and told him that yes, you are first, but this is my first exam and my first year.

So, if I have made such a big mistake that if anyone finds out, then I will be insulted. So, he said okay. Basically, I never came first distinctly.

So, as always I am a dropper. But when I was studying engineering, then I decided to give GRE. My uncle who is in America, he had his own company.

He wanted me to come there and inherit his company. That's why I was giving GRE exam in America. And at that time in GRE, there are three things.

One is analytical ability, one is maths and the third is language. So, Indians generally do very well in analytical and maths. They get stuck in language.

So, I didn't have any problem in language. So, at that time, I came first in my college and in the history of the college. And I was first in the whole of Maharashtra at that time.

I was very happy. We used to play cricket and yahoo. But after that, I saw that how much satisfaction you get by watching the match sheet.

So, I said okay. It's nothing much. Then I went to college.

I became a celebrity in college. So, everyone was congratulating me. But it so happened that I have three friends.

Not very close friends, but they are my friends. All three of them forgot to congratulate me. So, after one thing, I thought that everyone knows what I am talking about.

So, the first friend didn't congratulate me. So, I got a little annoyed. The second one didn't congratulate me.

So, I got irritated. The third one didn't congratulate me. So, I got enraged.

I got angry. What is happening? But now, one by one, I am seeing myself from above my body. Like an out-of-body experience.

Yes, yes, yes. So, it happens to some people. But sometimes, we can see ourselves from above.

So, I felt that I am seeing myself from above. Hey, stop. You were thinking that if you study well and become number one, you will be happy.

But what has happened here? Instead of being happy, you have become more dependent on others for your happiness. If no one congratulates you, you are in a hurry. But happiness is going.

Yes. So, for the first time, the external dependence on happiness increases with every achievement. So, from that, I started thinking that I will come to America now.

Maybe I will publish some research paper. I will get some award. But what is going to happen after all this? This external dependence is going to remain.

So, is there anything that can give happiness without external validation? Yes. So, that was the second search. And later, one of my favourite shlokas of Bhagavad Gita is 6.22. It is a shloka of Samadhi.

It says that yam labdhva cha paramlabham manyate na dhikam tatha yasmin sthito na dukhe na gurunapi vichalyate Here, it says that if you reach the state of Samadhi, then after attaining yam labdhva, there will be no desire to attain anything else. Not Akanksha. Not craving.

There will be no craving. There will be no thirst. Akanksha is ambition.

There will be no thirst. There will be no desperate need. And after attaining that, there will be some sorrow as well.

So, there will be no sorrow. There will be no gurunapi vichalyate. So, when I read this, I thought that this is the real achievement in life.

If someone can attain this, then that person will be truly happy. So, that was, you could say, more of a second string of, second line. And third was, one more thing is, since childhood, I was intellectual.

So, I liked reading and teaching. So, I used to teach other students in school as well. When I was in 10th grade, I used to start a tuition, a free tuition.

When I was in engineering, I joined a social service organisation. And then, I was active in their education. I used to go to slums and give free tuition to the students there.

English, History, Math. When I was teaching there, the students became friends with me. And they started telling me about their problems at home.

Like, their father was a drunkard. Then, there was domestic violence at home. So, I started thinking, if I am teaching them history, geography, which war took place, which is the capital of which country, what difference will it make in their lives? So, then I thought, I will do some anti-alcohol campaigning.

So, I brought some speakers. Then, I also learned something. I gave encouragement.

And their parents used to come. Then, there was a small slum. There, everyone decided that they will quit alcohol.

We were very happy. It was a big success for us. And then, we had a vacation.

I went home. When I came back from vacation, not only my father, but even the kids were not addicted to alcohol. Oh.

So, what happened was, there was a municipality election in between. And a candidate, to vote, filled two trucks and gave free bottles of alcohol to everyone. Oh, I see.

So, that's when I started thinking that, in reality, we are giving education and opening doors for people. Hmm. But, it is like, everyone has some trap door inside.

Hmm. In which they get stuck. Yes.

If there is a trap door on the way, they will fall into it. Yes, yes. And, it was not like that outside.

I mean, I was in a good college. I was in CITP. So, there also, I was seeing that, I had some friends.

They were stuck in bad habits. Very intelligent students. Hmm.

But, they were not suffering. I also had a lot of anger issues. I used to get angry, Hmm.

It was like, there is something inside which is our enemy. Hmm. So, until we win over it, no achievement can stop us from self-destruction.

Hmm. So, when I read Bhavita, in 336, Arjuna says, अथकेन प्रयुक्तोयं पापं चरति पूरुशः अनिच्छन् पिबार्ष्णेयं बला दिवनियो जितः What is that thing which is inside us, I mean, it forces us against our will. Hmm.

Yes, yes. Towards bad deeds. Hmm.

So, when I read this, this is the question I want an answer for. Yes, yes. Everyone wants an answer.

Hahaha. And then, I started learning Bhagavad Gita, started understanding it, started chanting Hare Krishna Mantra, started remembering God, and I saw that my anger reduced a lot. Wow.

I had a friend who was stuck in alcohol, a very irresponsible boy, but he was stuck in alcohol and was trying to quit, but he couldn't. When he started chanting, he quit. Wow.

I was like, this is powerful. Wow. I thought, I have to teach this, I have to learn this, I have to teach this.

With this, actually, I will be able to do something in the future. Yes, yes, yes. So, I was doing that only.

I did engineering. I thought, I have to go to America, I have to go. But I thought, I will stay in India and learn some Bhakti, then we will see later.

Okay. So, I was working in a software company. That time, I used to give some lectures to students in small study groups So, I had to go once and my boss said, no, you have a deadline today, you have to do something.

He said, I will come early tomorrow and do it. He said, no, I had to do it tomorrow night. So then, I tried to arrange for someone else, but there was no one to go.

So, I had to cancel that study programme. And then at night, I was leaving at around 11.30 or 12, so I was going back home, and then my father called me. The first thing he said was, you lucky dog.

Lucky dog? How are you lucky? He said, the project you are working on, is such a special, elite project. I selected you from your boss, and told you to stay here. You are so lucky.

So I thought, if I don't teach Gita, then there are very few people, who are eager to teach it. But, if I don't do software coding, then there are so many people, who are not only eager to do it, but are even more eager than me. So then I thought, I can contribute to society much more, by focussing on teaching Bhagavad Gita.

So then I joined the temple, and decided to become a Brahmachari. Since then, I have been trying to teach Bhagavad Gita. Wow! So anyway, you have not stopped coding.

You are still coding and programming. Whoever listens to you, gets the virus out of their brain. So you are still a programmer.

Yes, he is programming our brains, our intellect, our hearts, our consciousness, our desires. You are still programming. Thank you for being a spiritual programmer.

So now we would like to know, about your best preaching. Many people do not have the confidence, about Sanatan Dharma, that Westerners, Americans, Europeans, will accept it. Where is the devotion? How is it possible? But you travel to the West, and the way you address them, I have seen on their faces, they are hypnotised.

They are stunned, the way you present Vedic wisdom, in a very convincing way, in a very logical, sensible, scientific way. So how do you feel, What are the good things which you see, and what are the challenges, when you preach in the West? I have been going to America since 2014. America, Western world, Australia, New Zealand, UK.

Mostly I go to English speaking countries. In Europe and other countries, it becomes a second language. So there I will speak in English, and someone else will have to translate.

It happens that I went to South America, and there I had to translate in Mexican, so it was difficult for them to understand my English. So I don't go there, but so much. And before that, in 2006-07, my Guruji, Radhanath Maharaj, had written his book, Journey Home.

I had written a few books before that, and Maharaj had given me that book. And he said, read it and tell me, what do you think about it? So I said, Maharaj, his stories are very interesting, but what struck me the most was the tone. It is not like you are teaching your students.

It is the tone of a friend talking to his friends. A friend is sharing his experiences with his friends. So Maharaj said, that is a good observation.

If you want to promote the West, you have to adopt this tone. And he said, India is also being westernised. If you can learn this tone, then you can reach to a lot of western people.

So since then I was thinking, what is this, how to do it, what to do for it. So basically, the main difference between East and West, is that the Eastern culture, not just India, be it China or Russia, it is a very hierarchical culture. Authority, subordinate.

The West, even in the West, there is a big difference between the UK and America. The UK is still a little authoritative. But America was created to rebel against that authoritative structure of the UK.

So America started with the idea of democracy. The social structure of America is very horizontal. So the message that we present, it has to be more invitational than instructional.

Wow. It should not be done like this. Look at it from this perspective.

We invite them to see from this perspective. And in a way, people are very curious towards Eastern spirituality. I think, in four ways, in four areas, one is Yoga.

Yoga was already popular, but since the World Yoga Day was made, in one sense, Yoga has become more clearly identified with India. Everyone knew that Yoga was from India, but it was okay. Yoga is good.

It has come from the East. It has become generic. Yoga is a big thing.

Earlier, when I was in India, I heard that people are doing Yoga only for Hinduism, to make themselves more attractive and to get an attractive partner. That is the aim. But if that was the aim, then people could have taken Botox.

People could have done a lot. So, it is a patriotic aim. But for that patriotic aim, they are taking a Sattvic path.

So, there should be at least that much Sattva to take a Sattvic path. Then they can do everything by pumping chemicals. So, the people in Yoga circles, I have seen, they are very thoughtful.

Mostly, it is women. And especially, 35-40-45, young women also come for Yoga, but they are in the demographic of 35-40-45. So, they have already experienced a lot.

And then they think what else is there. So, that demographic is very influential. And from there, people are very eager to come towards spirituality and bhakti.

So, from Yoga, we have to build the bridge of bhakti. Our movement is very active in that. And it is building a lot through Kirtan.

People like Kirtan, especially, sweet, soothing, gentle Kirtan. They like it a lot. So, our organisation, Krishnabahuta Andolan, brought Kirtan in the public awareness of the West.

Our devotees used to do Kirtan in public on the way, during Rath Yatra. But the public Kirtan that nowadays people see is as religious. Oh, okay.

But if you go to a music concert hall and do Kirtan, you listen to it quietly. And if you want to participate, you can participate. They see it as meditation.

They see it as spiritual. And there are a lot of people in America who say that we are SBNR. SBNR is spiritual but not religious.

Oh, okay. They think that religion is very sectarian. That I am right, you are wrong.

And if you are wrong, I will destroy you. Oh. That kind of religious ideology is there.

So, people don't want to be religious. They want to be spiritual. And they consider Kirtan to be spiritual.

So, our devotees also do Kirtan very well. So, what happens is that if we only do Hare Krishna Mahamantra Kirtan, they say you are sectarian. But there are some challenges.

Yoga to Kirtan is a good pathway. And a lot of devotees are using it. This is one main way, Kirtan.

But there are a few other things also. Yoga, mindfulness, meditation. When I go to big companies, they invite me for mindfulness and meditation, but they are ready to pay for it also.

And the third is environment. People are very worried about the environment. This is a very interesting difference In India, the people who come for spirituality, they are mostly left and right.

So, leftists don't come. They are against religion. But in America, people who come for bhakti, they are not leftists.

They are leftists. So, the rightists there, the political rightists, they will follow their birth religion and their established religion. The leftists, basically, the right is concerned with what is right in the existing social structure.

The left are concerned with those who are left out by the existing social structure. That's why they are always against the social structure. So, the left has a tendency that if there is a left in India, it will be against Hinduism.

They will support Islam, they will support Christianity. Because Christianity is a minority religion. It is not in the existing social structure of power.

So, what happens in the West, the people on the left, they see Christianity and the mainstream social system as an alternative. So, there is a lot of concern about vegetarianism and the environment. They are very concerned about the environment.

And then, according to our Shastras, the world is the body of God. So, that is a very spiritual conception of nature. So, this is not so directly spiritual in Buddhism.

So, many scientists are saying that if we want to take care of the environment, then our vision of nature needs to be infused with the conception of the sacred. We should see nature as pure or divine. Then people will protect it.

So, it is the environment. And the fourth is vegetarianism. So, there is vegan cooking.

A lot of Gurus from India went to the West, but Prabhupadaji was the first to emphasise vegetarian food. Prabhupadaji says that as much as he knew the Shlokas, he also knew the recipes. He introduced so many recipes.

These four things, Yoga, Mindfulness, Vegetarianism, Environmentalism. In this way, the West is also rising a little bit. And we have a lot of opportunities to connect with it.

I see. So, when we tell that Krishna being God, what is the acceptability of this? What is the level of acceptability that Krishna is the Supreme God? In America, a comedian asked people what is the most ridiculous thing you have heard in your life. So, out of the top 25 answers, one of them was Hare Krishna Devotee coming to us and telling us that a blueish black cowherd boy wearing a peacock feather is God.

Okay. So, I would say 20-25 years ago, it was a ridiculous idea. But the liberalisation that is having negative effects on India, people are becoming open-minded in the past few decades.

Oh, yeah. So, people are open to various conceptions of God. I would say that Krishna is when I talk to Yogis, Krishna is the yogic vision of the divine as the embodiment of love.

So, directly when Krishna is God, God is not a very popular word in the West. God is seen as religious. Divine, divinity, they don't consider it religious.

Oh. So, it is a spiritual idea. So, words are very important.

Words make our worlds as you. Generally, we don't use the word God so much. We use the word divine.

In Star Wars, it comes, may the force be with you. In Gujarat, it comes, may the source be with you. So, regarding your spiritualscientist.com, which is a really wonderful website.

If you go to this website, you will be really stunned about the questions about science, religion, Ramayana and Mahabharata. There are more than 8,000 such questions which Prabhuji has presented in a very scientific and convincing way. So, I request our viewers to visit thespiritualscientist.com and gitadaily.com. So, in gitadaily.com, Rosapuri Ji writes blogs, he has written more than 4,000 articles.

So, Prabhuji, this gitadaily.com and this thespiritualscientist.com is a ocean of knowledge. It's an ocean. So, this ocean of knowledge should be like this.

How did this idea come? In fact, I request all the viewers who are listening to this podcast, to check out these websites, thespiritualscientist.com, and gitadaily.com. You will be surprised to know how such deep insights are possible. But all these deep insights are coming from Chaitanya Charan Prabhuji. So, Prabhuji, how this started? And what was the motive behind it? What was the inspiration? In the beginning, I used to get a lot of questions.

Radhe Shyam Prabhu was my Pradhan and Shiksha Guru. So, he gave me a lot of time, he gave me answers to a lot of questions. And once when I was going from Pune to Bombay, I asked Radhe Shyam Prabhu, Prabhuji, can I ask you a question? He said, yes, go ahead.

I had four full-scape pages full of questions. So, Radhe Shyam Prabhu said, we'll have to make many trips to Mumbai to cover this. Oh my God! So, basically, there were a lot of questions.

And I used to ask a lot of questions to different devotees. And Radhe Shyam Prabhu gave me a lot of answers. But there were a lot of questions.

I used to ask a lot of questions to different people. Not everyone has a way of thinking. So, some people give very devotional answers.

Some people give such answers that they get more questions from the answers. So, there are some answers that they are meant to stop the question, not answer the question. So, I thought that when I get such good answers, I would note down the points.

So, I thought that this would be a good contribution that the questions have a rational, acceptable answer. When I try to give answers, I try to give them from different perspectives. If I don't understand this issue, then I'll understand this issue.

So, many people appreciated my answers. Radhe Shyam Prabhu also encouraged me. So, I decided to take his blessings and make such a resource.

And at that time, websites were new. So, I think, I may have been among the first people to have had a website with systematic knowledge. In 2002 or 2003, I made this first.

And then I started adding content. Now, I am now looking for a proper team. So, I made it a systematic spiritual encyclopaedia.

Since then, I have been answering questions. So, that was a spiritual scientist. So, it started growing.

Then I started trying to organise it topic-wise. And then, in 2011, I started Gita Darshan. So, I was seeing that when the publicity was going on, from 2007, I started studying Christianity a little bit to see how Christians do outreach.

And one of the things which I found was very popular at that time, and not many Hindus were doing it, was that, send daily encouraging messages. Now-a-days, if you look at social media, there are too many messages. But at that time, there were not many.

So, there were some Christians, some famous pastors, who used to send a message daily. There is Rick Warren, he sends a message of hope daily. And I checked some of our devotees, who were tech-savvy at that time.

Apparently, he has millions of subscribers. And there are many subscribers who are not Christians. There are Hindus also.

Just like to get some nice encouraging message. So, I saw that in the Bible, there are many people who are writing messages daily. In the Quran, there are many people who are writing messages.

But no one is writing on Gita. I thought, Gita deserves this. Yes, of course.

So, I talked with several senior devotees. So, in our organisation, if you give a suggestion, the responsibility falls on you to implement it. So, next day, some devotees said, if you want to do it, you can start it.

So, I started it. So, that's how it is going on. But it has a lot of potential.

I have not been able to tap the potential so much. But that's how Gita did. So, I am trying to present Gita systematically.

So, hopefully, in the future, that will happen. Yes, yes. In fact, these resources are very valuable.

For any teacher. I am advertising in this podcast. There are many shots in our My Ashram, which are actually taken from Prabhu Ji's articles.

We take them, make bullet points, and that's it. So, that's why our supply is from where? We take some stuff from Chaitanya Chaitanya Prabhu Ji's mall and then send it to our shop. But it is coming from super duper mall of Chaitanya Chaitanya Prabhu Ji.

Prabhu Ji, you have authored 27 books. So, if you want to tell us about your books, whose links we will give you in the description box. You can click on it by going to Amazon.

You can get a Kindle version, which is available. Otherwise, you can book a physical copy. So, Prabhu Ji, if you want to tell us about the books which you have authored.

Which one is your latest one? Okay. So, broadly, I write in four categories. One is Science and Spirituality.

So, I have written many books in Science and Spirituality. So, there is a book called Science and Spirituality in that. And the second one is Devistifying Reincarnation.

In that, systematically, past life memories, scientific evidences of logical expression of reincarnation. So, that is one category of books. The second one is Personal Growth and Self-Help.

In that area, I have written 10 Leadership Sutras based on Bhagavad Gita. And then Mind it. 64 pages.

You are not your mind. So, I say, they come under the genre of personal growth. Then, Social Commentary based on Scripture.

So, in that genre, there were two movies in Bollywood, OMG and PK. Yes, yes, yes. They were doing satirical criticism of religion.

So, they raised questions in that. So, I have answered those questions point by point. Yes, yes, yes.

So, even now, there are some movies in which there are some themes from Shastras. So, I comment on that. So, I call it Making Sense with Bhagavad Gita.

Social Commentary is from the third character. And the fourth one is Practical Application of Scripture. So, in that, I have written Wisdom from Ramayana.

In that, I have taken some ideas from Ramayana and have explained them based on that. So, I have written a new book, nearly completed, Living the Ramayana. In that, from Ramayana, I have written Anger Management, Desire Management, how to set boundaries, how to deal with cunning people, how to not be affected by bad association.

These are the themes. So, what I do is, from Scripture, there are two kinds of, there are spiritual lessons and there are human lessons, spiritual values and human values. So, both, I try to take and there are four genres of books I have written.

Wow! So, ours is Living the Ramayana. The proposal is written, Living the Ramayana. So, this is the latest book.

Is it available on Amazon? No, it will come out in a few months. But the rest of the books are available on Amazon? Yes, all of them are available. So, please get a copy for yourself now, after this podcast.

So, Prabhu Ji, along with this, we would like to know that we want India to become a spiritual Guru, a world Guru, we want to make India a world Guru. So, in your opinion, what are the things that India should do today so that India would come out as a spiritual Guru of the whole world? Yeah, I think, that is already happening. Now, if we look at the resources of India, Indians outside India are a resource.

Indians in India are a resource. And India's traditional infrastructure, temples, holy places, are a resource. So, many Indians outside India, they are very eager for understanding Indian spirituality and there are two reasons for this.

The first is that Indians are very serious about parenting. The responsibility of parenting is taken very seriously by Indians. If you go to America, you are young, you get money there, you have to do a lot.

But once you settle down, you worry about how to transmit your values to your children. Because the mainstream culture is very different there. That is when they start looking at the values of Indians, how to make them understand, how to transmit.

They become very interested because of that. Wow! And also, another thing is that, when, from now on, India's global stature is increasing, so, when people get questions, in the past, many Indians would try to hide their Indian-ness. We can't hide it because we don't have a brown skin.

But still, we have to downplay it. But now, it is that we want to be Indian and we want to explain our tradition, our culture. So, what is the reason for that? One is cultural inquisitiveness and the other is philosophical inquisitiveness.

So, both are increasing. And the Indians in the Pashyat country, they are intelligent, they are hardworking, they are well-to-do. It is interesting.

The word minority is not even found in India. But in America, Indians are the wealthiest minority. Wow! So, not only the wealthiest minority, we are the most envied minority.

Oh, really? So, that influence, that leverage, our organisation is also increasing. That is a big, big asset. 10-15 years ago, the people who left India and came to America, they were brain drained.

But now, we are seeing that they are our asset. And they can support us a lot in India. So, connecting with them, that is one big thing.

If we address their needs, what they can do for India, not just by what they can do in America, but how they can support India as a youth. Secondly, the Indians who are in India now, after the Ram Mandir, in the youth also, going to temple and practising Indian spirituality has become cool. Yes.

Absolutely. Earlier, it used to look old-fashioned. But now, it has become very cool.

So, tapping that, I think it is a trend, which is, if we can tap it, now, in a way, it is almost like there are 3 or 4 Indias. Not in a physical, geographical sense, but in a cultural sense. One is that it is ultra-left-wing India.

Everything traditional about India is bad. Unfortunately, that number of people is very less, but their influence in media is very high. Yes.

Yes. Thankfully, due to social media, their monopoly on narrative is being challenged. I won't say suppressed, but at least challenged.

Due to that, a lot of problems are coming. But that is one minority. The second is that the upward mobile India.

The Indian spirituality that is needed. One is that it is needed on a cultural level, the other is on a psychological level. Yes.

Yes. When people become very wealthy, they get some money. What happens with that? There is stress.

The lifestyle of the youth is lonely. So, the spiritual need that is needed, due to that, people come. So, the upward mobile demographic who are working as sophomores, they are very, very open.

These people also have, again, talent, influence. If we tap them, that is a big thing. Third is that in colleges, Indian knowledge systems are being emphasised.

There we go in and we share these values in a way that is practical, understandable for people. So, that is enormous. It has a lot of potential.

And lastly, I see that the influence of the left. There are a lot of thoughtful people who do not speak about their spirituality or religion. Because they think, what will people think? But slowly, they are empowered.

They can do a lot. There is a lot of research on Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata. And the historical evidences are coming forward.

So, all these are very good signs. And as far as the infrastructure is concerned, our holy places, if we develop them, like Ayodhya, Kashi, Rishikesh is also being developed. If they are developed, it will be amazing.

There is a western scholar, I think his name is Charles Brook. He said an example of how ISKCON developed Vrindavan. He said that when ISKCON first came, Vrindavan was a small village.

But because of ISKCON, its all-round development happened. Of course, the commercialisation happened But our spiritual resources, if we develop them, there is huge potential. I think each individual can find out.

What is the meaning of Bhakti Yog? We can say that what we have is God's gift to us. What we do with what we have is our gift to God. Wow! Brilliant! So, we can see what we can do to share the spiritual glory of India.

So, Prabhu Ji, now we will go into rapid fire questions. So, I will ask you a question and you have to answer it. So, rapid fire question.

So, what is your favourite Prasadam? Smoothie. By the way, just before the podcast, we had a smoothie of avocado and few other things. Green vegetables.

Nice. Okay, second. Best place to relax for you? Radha Damodar Mandir in Vrindavan.

Wow! It is the place where Prabhupada did his foundation preaching. Yes. And best place to preach? Los Angeles.

Los Angeles. It is a very creatively critical people. Okay.

They are Hollywood's influence. So, they are creative people. But they ask critical questions.

So, it is enjoyable answering their questions. Oh, wow! Los Angeles. So, Prabhu Ji, things which you are planning to do.

I mean, you couldn't do it till now. But you thought, why couldn't I do it till now? I have to do it now. Create an accessible, understandable spiritual encyclopaedia online.

Wow! And hopefully, not just me, many other spiritual teachers can come together. And then, if anyone has any question, they can send it there. And the expert in that field can answer it.

So, that's my dream. Wow! What a beautiful dream. Okay, Prabhu Ji, if you become the Prime Minister of India, so, what three things you will focus on? Poverty, education and spirituality.

Wow! Who is your best friend? Shyamanand Prabhu, who is the President of Jhopati Mandir. He is one of the Presidents. He is a very intellectual as well as caring person.

So, we have a lot of intellectual chemistry. Wow! Amazing! One thing which you regret the most? I don't have a single musical gene in my body. I love to recite shlokas.

But nobody likes to hear my recitation. Wow! In fact, Shilobhakti Siddhanth Maharaj, he also never led any Kirtan. Why? He thought that he is not musical enough.

But we see who he was. So, certainly, what you are contributing to this is very unique. And what is an ideal day for you? Speaking, reading, discussing, writing.

Wow! That's an ideal day. Wow! Okay, what makes you most joyful? Playing with words and coming up with some creative ways of glorifying Krishna or conveying his message. Wow! One of my favourite things I have made is hold your plans lightly, hold your Lord tightly.

Wow! Be apart, be not apart. Be apart of Krishna, be not apart from Krishna. Apart from Krishna.

This is a translation of 15.7. So, my hope is that at least 108 verses of Bhagavad Gita you try to translate them in simple English. If you see, viewers, there are a lot of articles like this. The topic given by Prabhuji has a zip file of the whole article.

But that in itself is like a quote. You can have a quote. Wow! A quote of the day.

Okay, Prabhuji, so next question is if you could start a rumour about yourself, what would it be? I am not as intellectually scary as I look. Okay. Okay, so three qualities in a leader which are a must-must for any leader.

I think appreciate, correct and observe. Appreciate, correct and observe. Wonderful.

Okay, if Krishna gives you one superpower, what would that be? Remembering people's names. Okay. Remembering people's names.

Okay. Okay, quality in you which defines you the most? Thinker. Wow.

The quality in others which disturbs you the most? Intrusive instructiveness. Oh, intrusive instructiveness. You don't know the person and still you give instructions.

Okay. Your favourite book? Bhagavad Gita. Wow.

So are you a winter person or are you a summer person? Actually, I never thought about this question. It depends. Winter or summer is in my mind.

So, I really don't, I have not thought about it. Okay, which food items you like the most? Salty or sweet? Salty. India or abroad? India for spiritual practise, abroad for spiritual sharing.

Wow, amazing. Okay, which life do you prefer? Smooth sailing or adventurous life? Adventurous. Adventurous, wow.

Okay, when are you most focused? Daytime or night time? Daytime, early morning. Early morning, yes. That is very ideal.

Thank you so much, Prabhuji, for coming here and sharing the words of wisdom. While talking to you, I didn't know how this time passed. I wish we could just go on and on and on.

In future also, we will have more podcasts with Chaitanya Charan and Prabhuji. This time, we got to know about Prabhuji's life and little bit about some of the problems which we are facing. And in future, we will call Prabhuji again in a podcast in which we will take care of your day-to-day life, about social media, about our own struggles, struggles and relationships.

So, Prabhuji has written so many books which will give us a little bit of our well-being. So, but yes, today's podcast was to introduce all of you to a spiritual genius. His name is Chaitanya Charan, Prabhuji.

I request you, please do get a copy for yourself from Amazon, which Prabhuji has authored. Whether it is GK or PK, or Oh My God, which are based on movies, or Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita has very beautiful reflections of Prabhuji.

365 Reflections, Belong, Getting an Eye, Intercede Eye, The Eye. So, there are many such beautiful books of Prabhuji. So, you can also purchase them.

And the next series which I will bring, as I was thinking, maybe it can be a three-session series was on reincarnation. For that, you can read De-Mystifying Reincarnation. You can read that.

And if you don't read it, we will make a video out of it. So, I am telling you, where do we steal from? We steal from their treasure. So, we will always be ready for Prabhuji.

We should be ready for our teachers. And such a spiritual genius is in our life. It is our good fortune.

I mean, we can say that in the coming generations, it was our good fortune that when such a legion existed, so we were there in that time. So, it is our good fortune. And today, Prabhuji has come to this podcast with us.

So, he shared his personal experiences about the preaching in the West and about his own personal life, about his books and about his whole personality. So, we would like to thank Prabhuji from the heart. Chetan and Chetan Prabhuji.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Prabhuji, for coming. Thank you for seeing how you take a small point and glorify it so much.

I will try to learn from you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hare Krishna.