Wisdom of the Sages

Wisdom of the Sages

By: Raghunath Cappo & Kaustubha Das

Language: en

Categories: Religion, Spirituality, Hinduism

Truths about life from the timeless wisdom of the Bhakti-yoga tradition - fun, relevant, and deep. Learn about dharma, yoga, bhakti, and how it relates to all the basic questions of life. This show is about how to live your best life, let go of the external distractions, and uncover the spiritual happiness that lies within the heart as the true nature of the soul. Raghunath and Kaustubha's connection goes back to their teens in the New York Hardcore Punk Scene of the early 80s, through serving together as Bhakti-yogi monks in the 90's, to sharing their experiences in the...

Episodes

1708: When Vedānta Becomes Poetry: Kṛṣṇa's Footprints in Vṛndāvana
Dec 16, 2025

Bhakti moves like a river between union and separation, carrying the devotee through remembrance, longing, and love. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore spiritual experience as it naturally unfolds in devotional life—through divine arrangements, moments of ecstasy, and the quiet ways sacred places awaken the heart. As the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam describes Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa's footprints are said to make the land auspicious, showing how even a trace can hold both presence and absence at once. Here, Vedānta appears in its most beautiful and poetic expression, where bees, breezes, forests, and dust don't explain truth s...

Duration: 00:54:50
Is a Monk Really Deeper Than You?
Dec 09, 2025

Is a monk living in a temple necessarily deeper than someone living an ordinary life in the world—or could it be the other way around? In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that question through Brother Lawrence's realization that you don't have to leave ordinary life to find God—you only have to bring God into ordinary life. That insight opens directly into the stunning conclusion of Krishna's childhood pastimes in the Tenth Canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, where after humbling Brahmā with cosmic revelation, Krishna returns to the simplest childhood games, revealing that the deepest exchange...

Duration: 00:59:42
Einstein, Bhakti-Yoga & the Delusion of Consciousness
Dec 08, 2025

Einstein called it an "optical delusion of consciousness." The yogis call it forgetfulness of the Self. In this episode, the illusion of separateness gets dismantled—from modern physics to the sacred Bhakti texts—revealing how the love of enlightened people doesn't shrink to "me and mine," but expands to everyone. Traveling from Japan to the banks of the Gaṅgā in Rishikesh, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack radical teachings on love and life. Listen to explore the idea of expanding the sense of self as the key to freedom from fear, loneliness, and the prison of "me and mine."

...

Duration: 00:58:56
Inferiority & the Comparison Trap / Q&A Vol. 292
Dec 07, 2025

In this deeply personal Q&A Volume 292, Raghunath and Kaustubha respond to a listener struggling with inferiority, comparison, trauma, and the fear of being left behind in love and life—unpacking how bhakti can reframe self-worth, karma, and the hunger for validation at the root. Along the way, they touch on how ancient rituals adapt in the modern world, and what it actually feels like to carry the responsibility of being a guru. Honest, raw, and spiritually sharp, this episode exposes why no amount of external success can heal the soul—and where real shelter is actually found.

...

Duration: 01:03:34
Doing the Inner Work vs Doing Shrooms
Dec 03, 2025

Psychedelics can shoot you to the summit, but they can't make you a mountain climber. You may get a glimpse of the view, but the glimpse doesn't change you — you didn't build the muscles, you didn't shed the weight, and you didn't face the inner terrain that actually transforms a person. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the difference between quick-hit "insight" culture and the steady, muscle-building path of Bhakti, drawing powerful lessons from Lord Brahmā's humility in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It's an honest, humorous dive into why real growth means doing the inner work — not looking...

Duration: 00:56:16
Real Evil Is Boring, Real Good Is Wild | Why Darkness Fails and Bhakti Thrives
Dec 01, 2025

Simone Weil's razor-sharp insight cracks open this episode: we glamorize imaginary evil and underestimate how powerful real goodness actually is. Raghunath and Kaustubha reflect on goth culture, mob movies, Nagababas, and kirtan festivals as they contrast the "cool darkness" our minds romanticize with the deep, surprising joy of a life given to Krishna. Along the way, Lord Brahmā's prayers in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.14 expose how our homes, families, and attachments can either imprison us—or become our path to liberation.

********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN!

...

Duration: 00:57:22
Living in a World That's Pulsing With Magic
Nov 27, 2025

Wonders flood our lives every moment, yet we sleepwalk past them—missing the hints pointing us toward their Source. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore GK Chesterton's insight on wonder and unravel how awakening a sense of awe can transform the way we see the world. Through humor, philosophy, and the lens of Bhakti Vedānta, they reveal how the ordinary becomes extraordinary the moment we allow wonder to guide us back to life's deeper meaning.

********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN!

Go to http...

Duration: 00:54:23
A Cosmic Reality Check: The Truth Behind Our Illusion of Control
Nov 26, 2025

Carl Sagan's apple-pie insight becomes a launchpad for a sweeping journey from kitchens to cosmos, as Raghunath and Kaustubha explore why nothing we "create" is truly from scratch, why everything we touch is on loan, and how embracing our smallness opens the door to spiritual freedom. From the caves and rivers of Rishikesh to the wheel of saṁsāra and Lord Brahma's realization of Kṛṣṇa's supremacy, this episode dismantles the illusion of independence and invites us into a more grounded—and liberating—vision of reality.

********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FO...

Duration: 00:59:57
Measuring the Universe, Missing the Immeasurable
Nov 24, 2025

The limits of material analysis end long before the limits of the Absolute. In this landmark episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore Lord Brahma's profound realization in the Tenth Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam—where even the universe's greatest intellect confronts the impossibility of measuring Krishna's limitless nature. Weaving insights from contemporary voices like Alex O'Connor, Dawkins, Hawking, Planck, and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, they reflect on why science can dissect the universe yet still miss the Person behind it, how pride blinds us to the divine, and how humility, devotion, and sincere acceptance of life's challenges reveal the immeasurable beauty...

Duration: 00:55:16
Gratitude: A Full-On Rebellion Against Illusion
Nov 20, 2025

Gratitude isn't feel-good fluff—it's a full-on rebellion against illusion. In this episode, Raghunath and Mara weave together Charles Dickens, modern cognitive science, and Brahmā's prayers to Krishna to show how redirecting the mind toward blessings transforms your entire inner landscape. From frequency illusion and "Kia consciousness" to humility, appreciation, and seeing God's hand everywhere, this is a bhakti-centric reset of how to live, perceive, and move forward.

********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN!

Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com

WATCH ON YOUT...

Duration: 00:59:24
When the Universe Pops Your Ego Bubble
Nov 19, 2025

Life has a way of popping our ego bubble exactly when we need it most. In this episode, Raghunath and Mera explore the mercy hidden inside humiliation, using stories from pilgrimage, personal experience, and the Brahmā-vimohana-līlā of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. From the cave at Vashistha Guha to Lord Brahmā bowing before a cowherd boy, the conversation unpacks why pride blocks us from deeper spiritual connection—and why humility opens the heart to grace. Along the way, expect humor, honesty, and reminders that we may be insignificant, but we are never unloved.

******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE CO...

Duration: 00:56:02
Love They Can't Pay Back: Bhakti, Service & Real Freedom
Nov 19, 2025

Real spirituality begins the moment you do something for someone who can never repay you. In this solo episode, Raghunath and co-host Prana Priya take John Bunyan's famous line—"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you"—and hold it up to the light of Bhakti Yoga. From music-industry schmoozing to Vrindavan's envy-free culture, from 12-step wisdom to deathbed courage, this conversation explores what happens when relationships shift from "What can I get?" to "How can I serve?"

********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOUL...

Duration: 00:54:59
1696: Racism, Rage and a Spiritual Way Forward / Q&A Vol. 291
Nov 15, 2025

Rage at a racist, a double middle-finger "protest," and a bhakti yogi wondering, "Did I actually help… or just lose it?" From there, this episode dives into how good ethics—when cut loose from wisdom traditions—can quietly mutate into the very hatred they're meant to oppose. Broadcasting this Q&A epeisode from a quiet village in India,  Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how yogi can confront injustice, racism, and toxic ideology without being swallowed by anger, tribalism, or self-righteousness. Then the conversation widens: why do so many cultures have elaborate "Books of the Dead" while the Bhagavad-gītā boils it all do...

Duration: 00:59:32
Grand Theft Butter: Reincarnation, Gillian Anderson & the Gita
Nov 12, 2025

Depth and play intertwine as Raghunath and Kaustubha riff on Gillian Anderson's reincarnation quote, Krishna's "Grand Theft Butter" pastims in vrindavan, and the modern obsession with empiric evidence. From debates with the "new atheists" to analogies of murder investigations and reasonable doubt, they explore what kinds of proof actually convince the heart. The conversation tracks the soul's journey from jñāna to bhakti—from intellectual knowing to loving understanding—where genuine realization always expresses itself as compassion, never condescension.

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN!

Go to ...

Duration: 00:58:19
Stunned by the Infinite: When the Ego Meets Its Match
Nov 11, 2025

Nature, humility, and spiritual vision can still the spinning of the mind and burn away the karmic illusion that we're the center of it all. From redwood awe to the Annapurna skyline, this episode explores how moments of stillness awaken spiritual clarity—and how the same truth unfolds on a cosmic scale when Lord Brahmā stands dumbstruck before Krishna's countless Viṣṇu forms (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.13). Along the way, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack some of the philosophical differences between Bhaktivedānta and Advaita Vedānta—divine personality and impersonal oneness.

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY...

Duration: 01:02:43
Bhakti for Beginners: Doing It Right & Keeping It Real / Q&A Vol. 290
Nov 06, 2025

Recorded live in Jaipur, this Q&A episode dives into real beginner questions on the path of bhakti—with Raghunath and Kaustubha responding with both insight and humor. What exactly is bhakti? How do you know if you're practicing it right? Can other forms of yoga or breathwork support your devotion? What's the deal with chanting "16 rounds"—and what if you're not there yet? Through conversations with first-time pilgrims and new practitioners, this episode reveals what genuine spiritual growth looks like: personal, flexible, joyful, and deeply human.

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOUL...

Duration: 00:49:02
The Next Step in Bhakti: Finding Your Teacher / Q&A Vol. 289
Nov 05, 2025

From the sacred city of Jaipur, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore what it means to take the next step in Bhakti—moving from faith to steady practice and learning under a teacher. They discuss how one can deepen Bhakti while still appreciating the devotion and love of Christ, and how to live the principle of yukta-vairāgya—using one's resources and influence in divine service without losing focus on the goal of love for God.

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN!

Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com Duration: 01:03:58

Soft Heart, Steady Mind: Bhakti Yoga Wisdom / Q&A Vol. 288
Nov 05, 2025

From the banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh, this pilgrim Q&A with Raghunath and Kaustubha explores how to respond to visible suffering without emotional collapse, how being "more tolerant than a tree" coexists with healthy boundaries, and how to start a simple, welcoming satsang at home. They also respond to questions about balancing the eagerness to advance with patience, perspective, and the value of living and serving in the moment.

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN!

Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com

W...

Duration: 00:57:38
Carrying the Holy Place in Your Heart / Q&A, Vol. 287
Oct 31, 2025

Live from Devprayag, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how to perceive Paramātmā—the Supersoul within—and how Bhakti transforms the mind's shadows of resentment, fear, and greed into clarity and love. Drawing from the Bhagavad-gītā and Bhāgavatam, they offer tools for re-entry after spiritual retreats, insights for chanting with true attention and intention, and practical ways to carry holy-place consciousness into everyday life.

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN!

Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@Wisdomofthe...

Duration: 00:57:14
A Living Universe, Not a Machine: The Cost of Denying Personhood
Oct 29, 2025

Much of modern science, as well as impersonalist Vedānta, drains the universe of relationship—one by reducing consciousness to brain chemistry, the other by dissolving all individuality into a single awareness that fears "the Other." In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.13.54 to reveal a living, personal cosmos where consciousness, choice, and grace are real. Along the way they tackle the "no free will" debate, revisit C. S. Lewis's vision of a haunted but living world, and show how seeing personhood behind everything restores meaning, ethics, and wonder to our lives.

*********************************************************************

LOVE T...

Duration: 01:03:13
Einstein Meets the Bhagavad Gītā: Yogic Perception Beyond the Intellect
Oct 21, 2025

When cramming facts hits a ceiling, yogic practice opens the window. In this conversation, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how Einstein's relativity and Vedic ideas of time echo a truth from the Bhagavad Gītā—that spiritual realization isn't conquered by intellect but received through receptivity. Drawing on the Gītā, the Yoga Sutras, and insights from Terryl Givens, they unpack the yogic disciplines that transform perception: humility, sattva, service, and devotion. The episode bridges science and spirituality to show how the mind studies, but the heart sees.

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD...

Duration: 00:51:27
Diwali & the Art of Outgrowing Desire
Oct 20, 2025

Diwali is the perfect moment to upgrade your relationship with desire. In this episode, we contrast the material formula—"if the world gives me what I want, I'll be happy"—with the yogic move to become the observer of desire, calm it with clear knowledge, and outgrow it through devotion. As love deepens, the craving mind quiets and new, service-shaped desires appear. Expect festival-of-lights reflections, Bhakti insights on detachment and fulfillment, a Bob-Dylan-approved reminder that we all serve something, and a few laughs about Raghu's gym heroics and MRI adventures—because even on the path of devotion, humor helps the me...

Duration: 00:57:58
From Bypass to Bhakti: 12-Step Honesty with Jiva G
Oct 16, 2025

When devotion turns into performance, honesty becomes the new yoga. In this powerful conversation with Jiva G, Raghunath explores how 12-Step recovery principles blend seamlessly with bhakti yoga to heal the heart. Together they unpack spiritual bypassing, codependency, trauma, and the courage to drop the mask. It’s raw, funny, and deeply transformative—showing that real bhakti isn’t about perfection, it’s about honesty, humility, and doing the inner work that makes love real.

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN!

Go to https://www.wisdomoft...

Duration: 00:54:17
Do I Have Glowworms Living in My Heart? / Idols Stop Dazzling as Devotion Dawns
Oct 15, 2025

Do I Have Glowworms Living in My Heart? / Idols Stop Dazzling as Devotion Dawns

When the real sun of devotion rises, all the little stars we once worshiped start to look dim. Drawing from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.13, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how Brahmā’s cosmic humbling reveals a truth we all face: the glowworms of worldly admiration can’t compete with divine light.

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.13.45-50

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN!

Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com

WATCH ON YOUTUB...

Duration: 00:59:06
Fooling Mother Nature? Why Material Solutions Backfire
Oct 14, 2025

When we try to “fix” life, sometimes it only breaks further. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha examine how our material solutions—cars, technology, medicine—can backfire when they stem from the impulse to control, not harmonize.

Through the lens of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.13.44, Tagore’s warning, and a margarine ad that tried to fool Mother Nature, this discussion reveals how true wisdom isn’t about domination—it’s about surrender, humility, and learning to live in harmony.

What you’ll take away:
* Why control breeds chaos and how we get stuck in whack-a-mole fixes
* The fol...

Duration: 00:56:12
The Answer Is Always Love: Understanding Krishna’s Ways / Q&A Vol. 286
Oct 13, 2025

The Answer Is Always Love: Understanding Krishna’s Ways / Q&A Vol. 286


Bhakti doesn’t grow on demand—it unfolds like nature itself: slowly, wisely, beautifully. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the sacred rhythm of spiritual growth through enthusiasm, determination, and patience—the gardener’s trinity of devotion. Along the way, they share how wisdom means learning how things grow, and how every confusing or paradoxical Krishna pastime ultimately resolves with one universal key: love.

Key Highlights
* The bhakti formula: enthusiasm, determination, and patience—the secret to spiritual maturity
* Wisdom in waiting...

Duration: 00:58:07
You Can’t Hurry Love: How Bhakti Matures / Q&A Volume 285
Oct 12, 2025

You Can’t Hurry Love: How Bhakti Matures
It’s easy to look spiritual — chant loud, dress the part, quote Sanskrit — but bhakti gets real when one starts perceiving divinity everywhere, in everyone. In this live Wisdom of the Sages retreat Q&A, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how beginner bhakti matures into genuine love — the kind that sees God in every heart and responds with compassion.

Episode Highlights:
* “Ego is the glass in the soup of our joy” — why even a small shard ruins the whole pot
* You can’t hurry love: why bhakti grows slow, like a...

Duration: 01:02:08
Is That God’s Voice, or Just My Mind Again? / Q&A Volume 284
Oct 11, 2025

Ever wonder if that “inner voice” you hear during prayer is God in your heart—or just your mind doing impressions again? In this live Q&A from Super Soul Farm, Raghunath and Kaustubha dive deep into two powerful questions:

1️⃣ How to discern whether inspiration comes from the Supersoul (Paramātmā) or from the restless mind and ego.
2️⃣ What truly distinguishes Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras from Bhakti Yoga—the difference between liberation (kaivalya) and divine love (prema).

Through stories, laughter, and verses from the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they map out how to pray for clear g...

Duration: 00:57:02
I Came to Die, Learned to Live: A Bhakti Breakthrough
Oct 08, 2025

She boarded a flight to India to learn how to die—and found the wisdom to live. Laurel’s journey—from childhood loss and addiction to a stage-4 cancer diagnosis—collides with Bhakti-yoga, kīrtan, and the Bhagavad-gītā at the Govardhan Ecovillage, reframing suffering through devotion and community. With Raghunath and Kaustubha, this episode traces the shift from victimhood to spiritual agency: simple practices, steady philosophy, and a flower-festival moment that changes everything.

Key Highlights
* “I came to die, but I learned to live.”
* Raghu bans pity (but allows chapati—not Chowpatty).
* Dog therapy for the s...

Duration: 00:51:29
Marcus Aurelius Meets Krishna Under the Autumn Full Moon
Oct 07, 2025

What happens when the Stoic emperor of self-control meets the divine cowherd of boundless love? From Brahmā’s cosmic prank to the gopīs’ fearless devotion, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the art of giving without keeping score—through Stoic insight, Bhakti wisdom, and the moonlit mystery of Kartik’s full moon.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.13.40–43
#BhaktiYoga #MarcusAurelius #SrimadBhagavatam #Stoicism #WisdomOfTheSages

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN!

Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages

LISTEN ON ITUNES...

Duration: 00:54:57
Many Miles to Settle the Mind
Oct 06, 2025

It took 40, then 25, then 30 miles before the mind finally stopped screaming and started praying. Fresh off a solo bike ride through the Adirondacks, Raghunath and Kaustubha dive into practical bhakti: how movement can quiet the mental “algorithm,” how to use Kārtika (Damodara Month) to turn up your practice x1000, and why the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s Brahma-vimohana lila (Brahma Mohan Leela)—when Kṛṣṇa becomes every cowherd boy and calf—reveals more than wonder; it maps how God and God’s energies actually work.

Key Highlights
* “Metaphysical Amazon Prime”: stop praying for two-day shipping; start praying “What do You want...

Duration: 00:56:41
Softening the Heart: Bhakti Yoga & the Power of Emotion
Oct 01, 2025

The Bhagavad-gītā is more than philosophy—it’s full of feeling. Arjuna’s grief and Krishna’s compassion remind us that yoga is not about suppressing emotions but purifying and deepening them.

In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore Krishna’s pastime of becoming every cowherd boy and calf in Vṛndāvana, where ordinary love becomes unlimited when connected to the Divine. The lesson: to experience the emotions of bhakti, we must keep our hearts soft and respectful toward all beings.

Also: Raghunath clears his head on a bike ride, Mara has her “Govardhan Hill mo...

Duration: 00:56:54
Everybody’s Looking for Krishna (Even If They Don’t Know It): George Harrison’s Bhakti Perspective
Sep 30, 2025

Everybody’s Looking for Krishna (Even If They Don’t Know It): George Harrison’s Bhakti Perspective

George Harrison once wrote, “Everybody is looking for Kṛṣṇa. Some don’t realize that they are, but they are.” In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack how this simple insight lines up perfectly with the teachings of the Bhakti tradition.

Why is it that every craving—for love, beauty, peace, security, adventure—always points us back to Krishna? Why is there really no turning away from Him? Drawing from the stories of the Bhāgavatam and the wisdom of the sages, th...

Duration: 00:52:56
Truth + Discipline: Tuning In to the All-Pervading Divine
Sep 29, 2025

The Upaniṣads say the Divine is hidden like fire in wood, cream in milk, oil in sesame seed—revealed only through truth and discipline. Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack how yoga and the Gītā echo this same teaching: God is everywhere, but without discipline you only pick up static. With truth and practice, the channel clears. Or as our Friend, Matthew Perry, once put it: “God is everywhere—you just have to clear your channel, or you’ll miss it.”

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.13.15-19

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU T...

Duration: 00:57:26
Saturday Night Fever Meets the Vedic Puruṣa
Sep 24, 2025

What does John Travolta strutting through Brooklyn with two slices of pizza have to do with the Ṛg Veda’s yajña-puruṣa, the divine person behind the cosmos? In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha show how Travolta’s swagger reflects Krishna’s playful personhood in Vṛndāvana.

We explore how the Bhāgavatam reveals God “off duty”—laughing, eating with his friends, and personally searching for lost calves—while also guiding us toward fearlessness, community, and deeper spiritual focus.

Key themes include:
* Travolta’s swagger as reflection of Krishna’s divine personhood
* God Off Duty: yajña...

Duration: 00:57:00
The Opposite of Love is Illusion: Bhakti, Dharma, & Mandalas as Reality
Sep 23, 2025

Rabindranath Tagore wrote that “Love is the only reality… the ultimate truth at the heart of creation.” In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore why the opposite of love isn’t hate but illusion, and how failing to see others as sparks of the divine disconnects us from reality itself. From Krishna’s cosmic picnic mandala to Lord Jagannāth’s worldwide Ratha Yatra, and even a few Roomba and Nutella detours, discover how Bhakti yoga reveals love as the center of all existence.

🌟 Subscribe for daily bhakti wisdom.
🎧 Listen now and let the change begin within.

Srim...

Duration: 00:55:10
Rewiring the Inner World: Why Weren’t We Taught This in School?
Sep 22, 2025

Bhakti practices like chanting, kīrtan, rising early, study, and satsang aren’t side notes—they’re the training ground for reshaping the inner world so the outer world follows. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha reflect on first encounters with sādhana in Vṛndāvana and dive into Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.12, where Krishna liberates the snake demon Aghāsura and reveals how even a moment of remembrance can transform destiny.

Key Highlights:
* Daily bhakti practices as inner rewiring.
* Why moving won’t fix the mind—but sādhana will.
* Vṛndāvana as a culture of practic...

Duration: 00:59:45
We Become What We Behold: Choosing the Spiritual Tools That Shape Us
Sep 17, 2025

What you hold in your mind shapes you. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore Marshall McLuhan’s famous line—“We become what we behold”—and connect it with Krishna’s teachings in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Do we let random media and impulses shape us, or do we consciously adopt tools that align with who we want to become?

From the media-is-the-message to Bhāgavatam 10.12, we enter Aghāsura’s cavernous “cave,” watch Krishna rescue His friends, liberate the demon, and trigger a celestial celebration. Along the way: fearlessness vs. recklessness, why a morning program beats doo...

Duration: 00:53:22
Why We Can’t Stand Others’ Happiness: A Bhakti Perspective
Sep 16, 2025

How is it that we can feel unhappy when we see someone else happy? And what does that reveal about the condition of our mind and heart? In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore envy through Shakespeare’s words, Patrick Henry’s warning, and Aghāsura’s jealousy in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.12.   They discuss why resentment is a form of spiritual self-sabotage, how bhakti transforms envy into empathy, and why the cowherd boys’ simple joy surpasses even the achievements of the greatest yogis.   Highlights include: • Shakespeare on envy: “O, how bitter…” • Patrick Henry’s verdict: jealousy = the only vice with no pleasure • Aghāsura as...

Duration: 00:56:42
Debate Without Hate: Some Thoughts After the Charlie Kirk Shooting
Sep 15, 2025

When debate turnsviolent, yogis reach for higher tools—not more gasoline. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha reflect on the rising culture of outrage and political violence, using the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk as a moment to pause and ask: how can we disagree without dehumanizing?

Drawing from Śrī Caitanya’s example of gentle but powerful debate, and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s accounts of Krishna’s childhood pastimes, they explore practical bhakti principles that can steady the heart even when the world feels unstable.

Key Highlights
* The provocateur trap: why inflammatory speech breeds more c...

Duration: 00:53:27
Small Acts, Infinite Meaning | The Pinnacle of Vedānta in Simple Love
Sep 10, 2025

Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how the pinnacle of Vedānta and yoga is revealed in the simplest exchange: Mother Yaśodā calling little Kṛṣṇa home for dinner. They unpack why quality of love matters more than quantity of achievement, and why “do small things with great love” isn’t just a sweet saying—it’s the key to real growth.

Drawing from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.11), Mother Teresa, Lord Rāma’s squirrel story, and reflections from Scottie Scheffler, the world’s #1-ranked golfer, they reveal how fleeting victories fade while love endures. From cows and calves to the defeat of Bakasura...

Duration: 00:56:48
Born to Give: How the Universe Trains the Soul
Sep 09, 2025

Anne Frank once wrote, “No one has ever become poor from giving.” In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how the universe itself is designed to train us to give—first through external acts of sacrifice and service, and ultimately by offering the heart. Through the lens of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Bhagavad-gītā’s peace formula (5.29), they unpack why we are born to give, not to possess, and how life’s tapas transforms into joy when directed as seva.

Key Highlights
* Born to Give (not to hoard): generosity as the soul’s natural state.
* Th...

Duration: 00:58:55
Modern Minds Stuck in Outrage Cycles — The Bhakti Exit Strategy
Sep 08, 2025

Hate shrinks the soul, but devotion expands it. This episode weaves together Booker T. Washington’s timeless wisdom with the Bhakti-yoga path of love and transformation. From Washington’s refusal to let hatred narrow his soul to Nārada’s “curse that cures” and Baby Krishna’s Dāmodara pastime, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how bhakti disarms resentment, envy, and bitterness—and replaces them with clarity, compassion, and joy.

Discover why contempt is spiritual quicksand, how outrage has become the new addiction, and why love is the only effective recovery plan. With humor, storytelling, and insights from the Bhāgavatam...

Duration: 01:00:09
War & Peace & Bhakti: When Tolstoy’s Insight Meets Baby Krishna
Sep 03, 2025

Pierre Bezukhov’s captivity in War and Peace leads him to a discovery straight out of yogic wisdom: happiness is within, suffering can transform into blessing, and the company of a saintly soul changes everything. Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack Tolstoy’s descriptions of Pierre’s awakening through Platon Karataev and connect them with the bhakti truths of the Bhagavad-Gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. From Pierre’s realization that “Life is everything. Life is God” to baby Krishna’s playful liberation of two fallen demigods, the timeless message shines through—what looks like misery may be the doorway to divine joy.

Duration: 01:00:00
The Price of Wealth and the Vision of the Yogi
Sep 02, 2025

The Sage Nārada’s tough-love blueprint takes center stage as Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how losing comfort—or choosing austerity—acts like “ointment for the eyes,” restoring humility, compassion, and spiritual clarity. Along the way, a striking line from Benjamin Franklin sheds light on the danger of being possessed by wealth, while the timeless wisdom of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam reveals why voluntary simplicity has always been the yogi’s path to deeper vision.

Key Highlights
* Franklin’s insight: wealth often ends up possessing us.
* How wealth dulls empathy and blinds spiritual sight.
* Nārada’s corrective...

Duration: 01:00:23
Not Me, Not Mine: Walt Whitman & the Yogis Agree—Our Bodies Are On Loan
Sep 01, 2025

Walt Whitman’s startling line—“every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you”—meets the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where Nārada Muni confronts two proud sons of Kubera and forces them to consider: who really owns the body? From Whitman’s atoms to the yogic teaching “not me, not mine,” we uncover the liberating truth that the body is a vehicle on loan, entrusted for a higher purpose. Along the way we also explore how sages wield the power to curse—and why those curses are often hidden blessings.

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.10.1-12

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE...

Duration: 01:00:31
Krishna: Unlimited Brahman or Adorable Baby? A Paradox at the Heart of Vedānta
Aug 27, 2025

This episode dives into one of Vedānta’s deepest paradoxes: how the all-pervading, unlimited Brahman appears as a child and is bound by a rope. With reflections from physicist Niels Bohr and insights from the Bhāgavatam, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack how truth, when probed deeply, transcends logic—and how love alone can bind the infinite.

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.9.15-23

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN!

Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages

LISTEN O...

Duration: 00:56:38
Bhakti Means Love, and Love Overpowers All
Aug 26, 2025

The Supreme Truth—eternal, formless yet personal, beyond time and space—gets tied up with a rope. In this rich and revealing episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how love alone—not ritual, renunciation, or knowledge—can bind the Absolute. Featuring insights from Jesuit mysticism, Krishna’s childhood pastimes, and a few insects with questionable IQs.

🌀 Topics include:
* Why the most advanced yogis can’t catch what a mother’s love can
* Love as the ultimate conclusion of Vedanta
* Mascara, butter theft, and the metaphysics of kajal
* Damodara-līlā and the yoga of divine intimacy

🎧 T...

Duration: 00:57:47
Reclaim Your Inner World: The Meditation of the Bhakti Yogis
Aug 25, 2025

In a world that floods the mind with distraction and noise, Bhakti Yoga teaches a sacred alternative: reclaim the inner world through smarana—the practice of intentional, emotionally infused remembrance. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how what we think about—over and over again—shapes who we become.

Drawing from the Bhagavad Gita, the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, and a quote from self-help pioneer Earl Nightingale, they examine how the bhakti tradition trains the mind through focused repetition and deep feeling. With reflections on Mother Yaśodā’s love for Krishna, and the esoteric path of Rāgānuga B...

Duration: 00:53:07
4 Counterintuitive Secrets of Happiness — From Yale to Vedānta
Aug 20, 2025

What really makes us happy? In this episode, we draw from Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos’ research — featured on the Rich Roll Podcast — to uncover four surprising truths about happiness: the arrival fallacy, the bronze medal effect, how comfort can backfire, and why giving beats self-focus.

What’s remarkable is how these modern insights echo wisdom preserved in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The yogic texts long ago revealed that happiness and distress both come to us inevitably, and that wise souls redirect their energy toward devotion. In bhakti, this opens the door to a transcendental joy far beyond worl...

Duration: 00:55:54
Krishna, the God of the Vedas, as the Most Adorable Boy
Aug 19, 2025

The genius of the bhakti tradition’s sacred texts is how they reveal the loftiest yogic and theological truths through the sweetest intimacy. The Cosmic Source described in the Vedas and the Absolute Truth of the Vedānta Sūtra is revealed in the Bhagavatam as Krishna, a mischievous, playful child—the most adorable boy. When Mother Yaśodā peers into Krishna’s mouth, she doesn’t just see her son—she sees the entire universe. In this paradox of infinite divinity wrapped in childlike charm, bhakti uncovers a truth both cosmic and deeply personal.

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.8.32-45

...

Duration: 00:56:17
Is Krishna Immoral? Rumi, Krishna, & the Field Beyond Right & Wrong
Aug 18, 2025

Rumi spoke of a field beyond right and wrong — and in Krishna’s playful pastimes we discover how breaking the rules can reveal the highest good.

How can Krishna, the Supreme Good, also be a thief, a liar, a womanizer, and even a killer? Drawing on Rumi’s mystical poetry and the Upanishadic vision of fullness, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how Krishna’s so-called immorality reveals truths that transcend all dualities.

Join us as we uncover the paradox of divinity, where Krishna’s playful rascality leads us to the soul’s true resting place: beyond the world’s...

Duration: 00:58:05
Beyond Spiritual Complexity: The Simplicity of Divine Love
Aug 14, 2025

In this intriguing and often hilarious episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore a natural pattern in life and spirituality: moving from simplicity to complexity, and then back again.

On the spiritual journey, we may wrestle with perplexing questions: Who am I? Is there God? Is the world real? Is it all an illusion? We speak of “the sound of one hand clapping” or “being here now,” and sometimes it can feel as if spiritual guides are muddying the waters just to make them seem deep.

But it’s possible to emerge on the other side of these tang...

Duration: 00:56:18
All Those Pieces Will Never Make You Whole
Aug 13, 2025

From ancient yoga texts to modern science, many agree: reality is whole — but our minds chop it into fragments. Feeling incomplete, we try to patch ourselves together with external “pieces” — the right spouse, the perfect home, children, financial security, status. But those fragments never deliver true wholeness.

In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the illusion of fragmentation and turn to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where Nanda Mahārāja welcomes the sage Garga and recognizes a deeper kind of fullness in him — one that can’t be bought, lost, or taken away.

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.8.1-9

...

Duration: 01:00:27
Krishna Miracles Meet Quantum Physics — Breaking Reality’s Rules
Aug 12, 2025

Reality is stranger than we think, and this episode may rewire how you think about what’s possible. Raghunath and Kaustubha draw surprising connections between groundbreaking discoveries in quantum physics and the apparently impossible events described in ancient yoga texts like the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Blaise Pascal’s “infinite sphere” meets Mother Yaśodā’s jaw-dropping vision of the entire universe in little Krishna’s mouth — and even the science of quantum superposition and entanglement finds its place in the conversation.

The takeaway? The laws of physics you learned in school might only apply to a tiny corner of reality.<...

Duration: 00:59:14
The Yogic Science Behind Krishna’s Stories
Aug 11, 2025

The great sages of ancient India understood the stories of Krishna to be far more than charming children’s tales. Through the sophisticated lens of the Sanskrit science of drama, they revealed just how richly structured and deeply meaningful these pastimes are — spiritual dramas designed to awaken devotion and evoke profound yogic experience.

This episode explores how spiritual life must be alive and nourished with emotion. As Abraham Joshua Heschel observed, when faith is replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit — and when religion speaks in the name of authority rather than with a voice of com...

Duration: 00:53:59
The Quiet Power of Integrity in Spiritual Life
Aug 08, 2025

Raghunath and Kaustubha explore a bold truth drawn from the bhakti-yoga tradition and Ralph Waldo Emerson: that real spiritual power isn’t loud—it’s earned quietly through honesty, humility, and freedom from envy. They discuss how small, virtuous choices—especially when no one is watching—build a subtle force that gives one’s words and presence lasting impact.

The episode flows from reflections on Vedic brāhmaṇas to personal stories of ethical tension, spiritual parenting, and learning to let go with grace. It’s about becoming powerful not by dominating others—but by mastering oneself.

Srimad Bhagav...

Duration: 00:54:04
Why Real Change Is So Hard (Even on a Spiritual Path)
Aug 07, 2025

Even on paths designed for deep transformation, we often resist the very changes that would liberate us. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the symbolic meaning of the cart demon (Śakaṭāsura) from Krishna’s pastimes—and how it represents the dead weight we carry in the form of outdated beliefs, mechanical rituals, and spiritual pride. Drawing on insights from Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, they challenge us to ask: are we actually changing, or just performing?

If you’ve ever felt like you’re dragging around a cart full of spiritual dead weight, this...

Duration: 00:56:37
Daddy Issues on a Cosmic Scale? Bhakti’s Answer to Atheism & Impersonalism
Aug 06, 2025

If your view of God is stuck in an outdated mold—cold, distant, or ready to punish—you might be long overdue for an upgrade. Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack how Krishna’s extraordinary affection cuts through both atheistic cynicism and impersonal detachment, replacing them with a vision of divine love.

Through the story of Krishna and Pūtana, discover a God who blesses even those who try to harm Him, a spiritual path that goes beyond wave-less liberation into the ocean of bliss, and why adding Krishna to life transforms every season—good or bad.

🎧 Tune in now...

Duration: 01:05:03
Overcoming the Fear of a Personal God
Aug 03, 2025

Beneath all our spiritual searching may lie a hidden fear: the fear of the personal Divine. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how that fear hardens one’s hearts—limiting one to the impersonal paths of liberation that feel safe but ultimately empty.

Through the texts like the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, we uncover how vulnerability isn’t weakness—it’s the doorway to the deepest yoga, where love becomes real and the Supreme reveals His infinitely sweet, personal nature.

Key Highlights:
* “To love is to be vulnerable… and only in risk can we overcome darkn...

Duration: 00:56:26
Rituals, Mantras & Love: The Healthiest Patterns for Human Life
Jul 29, 2025

Modern science meets bhakti wisdom: after 75 years of research, Harvard scientists concluded that good relationships—not wealth, fame, or even cholesterol—are the strongest predictor of long-term health and happiness.

In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha discuss how the bhakti tradition is built on the understanding that life is meant to soften our hearts and train us to live harmoniously with God and every living being. They contrast this meaningful, purpose-driven worldview with the atheist perspective that sees life as random and purposeless—and reveal how bhakti offers a far richer vision of why we’re here, how we g...

Duration: 01:03:20
Fake Gurus, Real Danger: The Line Between a Guide and a Manipulator
Jul 24, 2025

“There are more fake gurus and false teachers in this world than the number of stars in the visible universe.” In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the subtle difference between a true spiritual guide and a manipulative pretender. Drawing from Elif Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love and Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s insights on the Putana story from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, they unpack how pseudo-gurus present themselves as nourishing but actually poison the soul.

Topics Include:
– The guru as a transparent medium for divine light
– Signs of manipulation vs. signs of true guidance Duration: 00:55:55

What Loneliness Is Trying to Teach Us (If We Dare to Listen)
Jul 23, 2025

When everything you cling to — your children, your partner, your dreams — slips through your fingers, what are you left with? Raghunath and Kaustubha dive into George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, the wisdom of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, and their own stories to explore why loneliness and loss may hold the key to our deepest connection.

From Beatles breakups and bittersweet summers to cowherd wisdom and comic book collectibles, they reflect on how impermanence — revealed by time and destiny — can feel devastating but is actually a sacred opportunity to turn within.

🎧 Listen now and join thousan...

Duration: 00:54:03
Finding Your Center: Why Life Feels Off‑Key & How to Tune It
Jul 22, 2025

The cosmos whispers a message: when life revolves around a center, harmony follows. When it doesn’t, we feel the dissonance. But are we listening?

In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how the universe models harmony for us — through stars, through music, through the very structure of nature — showing that life works best when it revolves around a center.

They discuss the tonal center of a musical composition — that gravitational point every musician tunes to — and how even one out‑of‑tune string creates unease. Is the dissonance we feel simply because we’ve lost touch with...

Duration: 00:55:25
Inner Peace: Why the World Needs You to Go Within
Jul 21, 2025

Why do we resist turning inward — and what does it cost us? In this spirited episode of Wisdom of the Sages, Raghunath and Kaustubha confront the uncomfortable truth: that we each have a choice to make — either we discover our true self, or we don’t. And if we don’t, we risk living an empty life and perpetuating cycles of conflict and injustice.

Drawing from the words of Henry David Thoreau, the insights of Black Elk, and the timeless teachings of Bhakti Yoga, they unpack how society’s “conveyor belt” keeps us distracted, how desires and fears cloud ou...

Duration: 00:54:33
The Universal Temple: Cutting Ego & Seeing Krishna Everywhere
Jul 18, 2025

Kahlil Gibran meets the Bhakti Yoga tradition in this sharp and spirited episode of Wisdom of the Sages. Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how real spiritual practice is carried from the temple into every corner of your life — where daily routines, relationships, and even messy moments become sacred offerings.

From Saratoga’s healing springs to Krishna’s father giving away two million cows, this episode uncovers the deeper meaning of ritual, how devotion purifies the mind, and how love transforms the way we see the world.

Highlights include:
* Khalil Gibran’s line: “Your daily life is your te...

Duration: 00:57:33
Squirrels Without Borders: Chasing Values, Not Happiness
Jul 17, 2025

In this wildly entertaining episode of Wisdom of the Sages, Raghunath and Kaustubha return from their whirlwind retreat and European adventure to tackle what really brings happiness and success—and why chasing them is a losing game. With a healthy dose of humor and wisdom (and a few “squirrel-level-three” tangents), they explore Victor Frankl’s profound insight: that fulfillment comes not by pursuing it directly, but by dedicating yourself to something higher.

From “getting chieft” in Italy to a Krishna miracle in Bosnia to the cows, sages, and values that uphold a spiritual civilization, this episode is packed with...

Duration: 00:54:23
Slip Slidin’ Away: Why Wisdom Fades Without Courage
Jul 10, 2025

Paul Simon’s bittersweet lyrics set the stage for this raw and funny exploration of why even life-changing insights often slip through our fingers. Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack the slippery nature of spiritual determination — and how each of us can make the simple but bold choice to live a meaningful life before the clock runs out. This episode blends music, humor, and timeless wisdom from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Highlights include:
•⁠  ⁠What Paul Simon teaches us about missing our moment
•⁠  ⁠How Kamsa fell back into old ways after glimpsing wisdom — and why we do too
•⁠  ⁠Why meaning...

Duration: 00:54:01
We’re All in Samsara: The Truth Hiding in Plain Sight
Jul 08, 2025

The most obvious and pervasive realities are often the hardest to see. Like fish who don’t realize they’re swimming in water, we move through samsara — the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth — unaware of the forces shaping us.

In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack the illusion that my experience is the most real, vivid, and important, and explore how yoga wisdom teaches us to zoom out, recognize our connection to the whole, and break free from self-centered existence.

Drawing on David Foster Wallace’s “default setting,” the story of the fish and the water, and...

Duration: 01:02:41
When Karma Meets Dharma: Contradictions of Destiny & Duty | Q&A Vol. 283
Jul 05, 2025

When Karma Meets Dharma: Contradictions of Destiny and Duty

Do the choices you made in your past life shape the family, friends, and circumstances you’re born into? And how do bhakti-yogis navigate a path of dharma that sometimes seems to contradict itself — demanding sacrifice, mercy, or even revenge — all in the name of love?

In this live Q&A from Tuscany, Raghunath and Kaustubha tackle two profound questions: how to take radical responsibility (karma) and how to recognize the right course of action when dharma appears to point in conflicting directions.

From choosi...

Duration: 01:05:08
Time, Death & Krishna: Why Even Fear Can Free You
Jul 03, 2025

When the Grim Reaper shows up wearing a peacock feather and playing a flute, you know it’s time to rethink your priorities.

This episode of Wisdom of the Sages dives into the 10th Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where Time itself — in the form of Krishna — comes calling, leaving tyrants like Kamsa in panic. Live from Italy, Raghunath explores how fear, loss, and even death can awaken us to life’s deeper purpose, with a mix of timeless wisdom, vivid storytelling, and plenty of laughs.

🎙️ Highlights include:
* Kamsa: the world’s most obsessed (and doom...

Duration: 00:58:54
What to Say When You Talk to God | Q & A Vol. 282
Jun 28, 2025

At some point, devotion stops being a duty—and starts becoming a dialogue. In this solo Q & A episode, Kaustubha explores how spiritual life matures when it stops being mechanical and starts becoming deeply personal. With humor, clarity, and depth, he answers questions on emotional attachment, the gradations of divine love, and how to relate to God not just in theory—but in the heart.

Key Highlights:
•⁠  ⁠How to respond when someone is emotionally attached to you
•⁠  ⁠How divine love comes in different gradations of perfection
•⁠  ⁠The art of sharing bhakti without alienating others
•⁠  ⁠Moving beyond...

Duration: 00:54:23
Time is Gonna Kill You, but Eternity is Just a Mantra Away
Jun 27, 2025

Time doesn’t just pass—it devours. In this raw and thought-provoking episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack a powerful moment from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, where the tyrant Kaṁsa wakes in dread, realizing that Time itself—the force that ends all things—has come for him.

With lyrical insights from Pink Floyd, unexpected depth from the Insane Clown Posse, and timeless wisdom from ancient India, they explore what it means to live with urgency, die with clarity, and access the eternal—right now.

Key Takeaways:
•⁠  ⁠“The sun is the same in a relative way—but you’re...

Duration: 00:59:22
Krishna’s First Words Reveal the Missing Ingredient in Spiritual Practice
Jun 26, 2025

In one of the most powerful moments of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Krishna speaks for the first time—and what He says sheds light on the real aim of yoga, austerity, and spiritual discipline.

Raghunath and Kaustubha, joined by Radhanath Swami in the studio, unpack this pivotal teaching: that it’s not the practice alone that transforms us, but the devotion that infuses it. Without bhakti, even the most intense austerity leaves us spiritually unfulfilled. With it, every action becomes divine.

Tune in for deep insights into Krishna’s words, reflections on a moving initiatio...

Duration: 00:57:00
Austerity + Purpose = Growth: A Yogi’s Formula for Rebooting the Mind
Jun 25, 2025

Could the computer of your mind be full of corrupted files? In this fiery and hilarious episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how ancient yogic wisdom offers a practical system for mental clarity and inner growth. Drawing from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and everyday insight, they explain how tapasya (austerity), prāṇāyāma (breath control), and the guidance of a guru work like an antivirus program to restore your true nature.

You’ll hear about the dangers of comfort addiction, why meaninglessness thrives in a pleasure-soaked culture, and how purpose + austerity = real growth.

And check out the Ma...

Duration: 00:59:32
Love Hurts & That’s the Point: Bhakti, Vulnerability & Risk on the Spiritual Path
Jun 24, 2025

If you want to keep your heart safe, you must give it to no one—but it’ll cost you life’s deepest fulfillment. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how Bhakti Vedanta reveals vulnerability not as weakness, but as the key to spiritual growth and the soul’s highest potential.

They reflect on a striking quote from C.S. Lewis and discuss how the fear of emotional exposure drives many toward impersonalism, while the path of Bhakti embraces risk as sacred. Real love always carries the risk of pain—but in the fulfillment of Bhakti, that pain...

Duration: 00:59:55
Let It Be, It Ain’t Me: Hendrix, Vedanta & The Fog of War
Jun 23, 2025

When the world shakes, can you stay anchored?

In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack how deep spiritual clarity allows one to remain peaceful—even when chaos reigns. Inspired by a lyric from Jimi Hendrix, they explore lessons from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and the film The Fog of War to reveal how fear collapses when we root our peace in truth.

It’s not apathy—it’s clarity. It’s not withdrawal—it’s preparation for wise engagement.

Tune in for stories, insights, and unexpected humor on the path to unshakable peace.

SB...

Duration: 00:55:39
Western Souls, Eastern Roads: The Spiritual Migration to India
Jun 21, 2025

Westerners are booking flights to India—not for sightseeing, but to chant Sanskrit mantras in rice fields, live in ashrams, and rise before dawn for kirtan. What’s really going on here?

In this eye-opening episode, Raghunath speaks with anthropology PhD student Keli Lalita to explore a growing phenomenon: Westerners adopting spiritual practices rooted in ancient India. A yoga class in Brooklyn often leads to a pilgrimage in Vrindavan—and a deeper search for meaning beyond material life.

Together, they unpack the global remix of yoga culture, the anthropology of spiritual longing, and why Bhakti Yoga i...

Duration: 01:00:50
Scientists Failed to Find Consciousness—The Yogis Never Lost It
Jun 20, 2025

A neuroscientist lost a 25-year bet to a philosopher—and it may be one of the most revealing failures in modern science. In 1998, Christof Koch bet David Chalmers that within 25 years, neuroscience would identify the precise brain mechanisms responsible for consciousness. Research teams around the world launched ambitious experiments to track and measure conscious experience in the brain. The deadline came—and the mystery remained.

In this fascinating episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack the implications of that failed wager. Why can’t the most advanced minds in science explain subjective experience? And what did the ancient yogis know t...

Duration: 00:57:19
Breaking the Universal Code: What the Yogis Found Within
Jun 19, 2025

Just like a codebreaker working through symbols can gradually uncover a single unifying truth—a key that makes sense of everything—the spiritual journey can unfold in a similar way.

Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how a path of trust, focused attention, and turning inward can reveal a deeper coherence beneath life’s confusion. What at first feels chaotic and fragmented—like an unbreakable code—can suddenly click into place when one discovers the truth that pervades it all.

The great yogis found that key in the knowledge of Vishnu—the all-pervading presence within and behind everything...

Duration: 00:55:05
1628: The Mind Is the Altar: Mental Worship, Bhakti Yoga & Inner Transformation
Jun 18, 2025

What matters most in yoga isn’t the ritual—it’s the transformation of the mind and heart.

In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the practice of manasa pūjā (mental worship) through the story of Vasudeva mentally offering charity while imprisoned. They unpack why internal devotion is not only valid—but often more powerful than external performance. Whether you’re on a yoga mat or stuck in traffic, your inner world is where the real yoga happens.

🎯 Takeaways:
•⁠  ⁠Why the mind is the true altar in bhakti yoga
•⁠  ⁠How to avoid spiritual burnout by going be...

Duration: 00:59:44
George Harrison Knew It: We're All Looking for Krishna
Jun 17, 2025

Pop culture meets divine consciousness in this episode exploring the birth of Krishna—and what it means to be lit up with bhakti. Raghunath and Kaustubha reflect on George Harrison’s powerful spiritual insight: “Everyone is looking for Krishna… some don’t know it, but they are.”

With humor, depth, and wisdom, they unpack why Krishna appears not just anywhere, but in the heart aligned with devotion—and how we can open that space within ourselves.

🎯 Highlights include:
•⁠  ⁠George Harrison’s mystical role in publishing the Krishna Book
•⁠  ⁠The “God-shaped hole” everyone’s trying to fill
•⁠  ⁠Becoming perm...

Duration: 00:56:31
Love Isn’t a Feeling—It’s a Full-Time Job
Jun 16, 2025

Raghunath is joined by longtime friend and spiritual brother Henry Schoellkopf for a lively and deeply honest conversation about devotion as action—not just emotion.

Drawing from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and decades of lived spiritual experience, they explore what it really means to love—not just God, but people. This episode is part comedy, part confessional, and entirely grounded in yogic truth.

Highlights include:
•⁠  ⁠“Love isn’t a feeling—it’s a verb.”
•⁠  ⁠Why asking Krishna for stuff doesn’t count as a relationship
•⁠  ⁠The deeper meaning of seva
•⁠  ⁠Turning Washington Square Park into Vaikuntha Duration: 01:01:24

Wisdom Blockers: Why Some Spiritual Truths Stay Out of Reach
Jun 13, 2025

Some truths hit you like a lightning bolt. Others hover like clouds for years—until something cracks your heart open and lets the rain in. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the invisible barriers that keep spiritual truths from fully landing—the wisdom blockers that arise from fear, ego, or unresolved resistance.

They unpack how knowledge matures through humility, devotion, association—and a willingness to get emotionally honest. Drawing from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and reflections on Henry Ward Beecher’s insight, the conversation reveals how real wisdom requires more than intellect—it requires openness of heart. Bha...

Duration: 00:59:35
Satyam: Recognizing Truth in a World of Spin
Jun 11, 2025

In a world of shifting narratives and temporary identities, even the most intelligent minds can struggle to find what’s truly real. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha turn to the timeless wisdom of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam to explore Satyam Param—the highest truth beyond all illusion.

From the prayers of the demigods to the nature of the soul and Super Soul, they examine how truth isn’t just debated or believed—it’s lived, embodied, and revealed through character.

Key themes include:
• The prayers of the devas and the nature of eternal truth<...

Duration: 00:55:23
Heart-to-Heart Transmission: Spirituality Beyond the Externals
Jun 10, 2025

How does one truly enter a spiritual path—beyond the ritual and formality? It’s not about externals—it’s about what’s alive in the heart.

In this eye-opening episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the deeper dimensions of spiritual life, focusing especially on the heart-to-heart transmission of spiritual knowledge, realization, and conviction. Through the lens of Krishna’s miraculous appearance in the womb of Devakī—and some fascinating Bhaktivedanta commentaries—they unpack the true meaning of initiation on the bhakti path: not as a mere ceremony, but as the sacred connection when divine consciousness is awakened in the heart of a...

Duration: 00:55:52
Beauty, Longing & the Sigh of Spiritual Awakening
Jun 09, 2025

Spiritual awakening may feel more like a sigh than a celebration. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore why our most profound encounters with beauty—whether through art, music, or moments of stillness—are often blended with a kind of sweet ache or longing. Could that aching sensation be a clue? A sign that the soul is remembering something sacred? Through the lens of bhakti yoga, they unpack the idea of Viśvātmā—God as the soul of the universe—and how real connection is not found through constant searching outward, but by turning within.

Key Highlights...

Duration: 00:57:41
Before Religion, Beyond Boundaries: Interview with Author Nitesh Gor
Jun 08, 2025

Can ancient Indian wisdom heal the rifts of modern religion? In this mind-expanding and often hilarious episode, Raghunath sits down with author and educator Nitesh Gor (a.k.a. Navin Krishna) to explore his new book Before Religion: Ancient India’s Reconciling Vision for Universal Spirituality. From philosophical elephants and Ratha-yatras down Fifth Avenue to quantum physics and peacock-feather cosmology, they unpack what makes the Bhāgavatam a master key for global spiritual unity.

Can you be loyal to one tradition without becoming intolerant of others?
Does God really care which team you’re on?
And w...

Duration: 00:54:00
The Sex Episode: Yoga Wisdom Meets Real-Life Hormones | Q & A Vol. 281
Jun 07, 2025

In this hilarious and revealing Q & A, Raghunath and Kaustubha tackle one of life’s most powerful forces—sexual desire—with honesty, insight, and bhakti-based wisdom. It’s a down-to-earth exploration of how the yogic tradition views it, and lays out a yogic framework for navigating desire without losing your mind (or your integrity).

Highlights include:
•⁠  ⁠4 responses to desire: indulge, repress, ignore, or resolve
•⁠  ⁠The monk’s 8-fold path of NOT having sex
•⁠  ⁠How rāsa-līlā becomes a tool for inner purification
•⁠  ⁠Why spiritual life doesn’t mean becoming rigid or resentful
•⁠  ⁠What it takes to truly redirect...

Duration: 01:00:15
Devotion Follows Destruction-- Evolution and the Death of Our Lower Nature
Jun 06, 2025

With their signature blend of humor and clarity, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack a timeless spiritual principle: real transformation always involves a kind of death—of ego, comfort, or illusion. Drawing from the allegory of Krishna’s birth following the death of His six brothers, they explore how the destruction of our lower nature clears the way for divine consciousness to take birth in a purified mind and heart.

Key themes include:
•⁠  ⁠The cosmic law that death precedes rebirth
•⁠  ⁠The symbolism of Devakī’s six sons
•⁠  ⁠How ego resists—but ultimately must yield to—divine consciousness
•⁠  ⁠Self-su...

Duration: 00:57:56
Identity Politics, Self-Esteem Battles & the Spiritual Solution
Jun 05, 2025

Modern society is in the midst of an identity crisis. From gender and race to body image and social status, we’re defining, defending, and dividing ourselves by external labels. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how ancient yogic wisdom provides a powerful alternative: knowledge of the self.

Through discussion, humor, and insights from the bhakti-yoga tration, they unpack how we can stop tiptoeing around fragile identities and live from the truth of who we really are.

Key Themes:
•⁠  ⁠Carl Jung’s insight on identity and self-definition
•⁠  ⁠How real kindness comes from seeing through lab...

Duration: 00:56:50
Your Thoughts Are Drafting the Blueprints for Your Next Body
Jun 04, 2025

What if your thoughts today are already shaping your next body?

In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the deep yogic teaching that the subtle precedes the gross—your desires, thoughts, and habits now are laying the foundation for your future form.

Drawing from ancient texts, dream metaphors, and even a few punk-rock detours through Texas, this episode sheds light on how our inner life drives our destiny—and why Krishna is the ultimate object of meditation.

New episodes daily. Subscribe and join the global Bhakti journey

SB 10.1.41-43

*********************************************************************

<...

Duration: 00:56:32
You’re Not That Voice in Your Head: Ancient Yogic Wisdom for Self-Realization
Jun 03, 2025

At any moment, we can initiate a higher level of consciousness—simply by observing the mind instead of identifying with it. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the Bhagavatam’s opening to the Tenth Canto, where Vasudeva speaks timeless yogic truth: you are not the body, not the mind—you are something divine.

A modern spiritual insight meets ancient Vedic wisdom—and yes, there’s even a Raghunath senior discount incident that makes the point unforgettable.

SB 10.1.26-40

*********************************************************************

LOVE THE PODCAST?

WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO...

Duration: 00:54:51
Full-Hearted Bhakti: Vivid, Personal Krishna Devotion | Q & A Vol. 280
Jun 01, 2025

From epic failures and ego clashes to tender moments of empowerment and encouragement, Raghunath and Kaustubha open up about what they love most about Krishna Bhakti—and how it transforms even the most ordinary day into an offering of beauty, meaning, and joy.   In this candid Q & A episode, you’ll hear stories of spiritual growth, forgiveness, and the joy that comes from living with a fully invested heart.   Highlights include: • Black-and-white Vedanta vs. full-color Bhakti • One humbling breakfast invitation, one roasted ego, and a lot of growth • Gossip vs. grace: a Bhakti PSA on spiritual etiquette • Parking lot kirtans and singing pa...

Duration: 01:01:15
Is Yoga All About the Journey—or About Hitting the Target? | Q & A Vol. 279
May 31, 2025

Modern spirituality often says yoga is all about the journey. But is that what the ancient teachings really meant?

In this focused and eye-opening Q & A episode, Kaustubha explores samādhi and the true aim of yoga. Drawing from the Upanishads and Bhakti tradition, he reveals how yoga isn’t aimless—it’s intentional, transformational, and love-driven.

You’ll also hear how Krishna’s call for surrender in the Bhagavad-gītā—often misunderstood as bossy—is actually rooted in compassion and transcendental clarity.

What You’ll Learn:
•⁠  ⁠The real goal of samādhi and how yoga stays focu...

Duration: 00:51:35
Myth or Reality: The Misunderstood Tech of the Yogis
May 30, 2025

Could ancient yogis have tapped into a science we still don’t understand? Mystical experiences—like hearing divine messages within the heart—may sound like fantasy today, but 300 years ago a FaceTime call would’ve seemed like wizardry.

Arthur C. Clarke famously said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how imagination and humility may be the keys to rediscovering spiritual truths often mistaken for myth.

Highlights include:
•⁠  ⁠Why Einstein called imagination more important than knowledge
•⁠  ⁠Yoga maya vs. Maha maya: illusion that either binds or liberates
•⁠  ⁠Wh...

Duration: 00:54:48
Cosmic Vision, Parental Panic & the Purusha Sukta Mantras
May 29, 2025

Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the need to shift perspective shared in Srimad Bhagavatam.  Seeking to relieve the suffering of Mother Earth, the gods and goddesses gather for an epic moment of clarity—chanting the Purusha Sukta hymn of the Vedas. What follows is a brilliant meditation on zooming out of our small dramas and plugging into the greater cosmic intelligence behind it all.   Raghunath shares a story of fatherly panic as his daughter falls ill across the ocean, while Kaustubha unpacks the deeper meaning of the universe as a unified being—rooted in the divine Purusha. Carl Sagan makes a guest...

Duration: 00:53:13
Parenting, Japa Meditation & How to Stay Inspired on the Bhakti Path | Q & A Vol. 278
May 26, 2025

From parenting struggles in spiritual life to the elusive experience of deep japa meditation – Vulnerability meets wisdom in this very real Q & A episode recorded live at the Wisdom of the Sages Retreat.
Whether you’re trying to inspire your kids, stay inspired yourself, or figure out what absorption in the japa meditation actually feels like, this episode has something for you.

🌀 Key Highlights:
•⁠  ⁠“Future fakers” and the art of letting go (yes, your kids might be doing it)
•⁠  ⁠Japa as a spiritual shower for the soul
•⁠  ⁠The illusion of control in parenting (and the relief in surrender) Duration: 00:51:20

Struggling with Expectations & Self-Worth: Bhakti Yoga Insights | Q & A Vol. 277
May 25, 2025

When your spiritual ideals meet your messy, modern life—what gives? In this live Q & A episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha tackle real-world questions from sincere seekers navigating work, relationships, insecurity, and the struggle for spiritual progress. With wisdom, clarity, and plenty of humor, they explore how Bhakti yoga applies when the employees let you down, the self-doubt runs deep, and the to-do list feels longer than the Ganges.

Key Highlights:
•⁠  ⁠My contract with my employee vs my contract with the Universe
•⁠  ⁠Can Bhakti heal your emotional wounds—or is that your therapist’s job?
•⁠  ⁠“I’m not the Spiller!”—Raghuna...

Duration: 00:58:22
Surrender, Purpose, Love: Bhakti Answers the Big Questions | Q & A Vol. 276
May 24, 2025

Raghunath and Kaustubha tackle powerful questions about surrender, purpose, and love in this live Q&A from Super Soul Farm—offering timeless bhakti wisdom on the struggles modern seekers face. What does surrender really look like in practice? How do you discover your dharma without drowning in options? Can you strive for spontaneous love of God without ruining its spontaneity?

This episode brings clarity to the most misunderstood teachings of bhakti, grounding them in the lived experience of devotion. No platitudes—just real talk, deep insights, and a spiritual path that meets you where you are.

Ke...

Duration: 01:00:26