Wisdom of the Sages

“These people were so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes. They were embracing material things and expecting a sort of hug back.” - Tuesdays With Morrie / everyone is starving - but not for food -  for love / the highest dharma is divine love / addiction to material life leads to darkness / Yamunacharya squirrel / take the dust of the feet of the Vaishnavas / we’re just a tiny blade of grass in a huge meadow / arrogance is a truth blocker / Krishna’s presence accumulates in the heart, and we draw from that when we chant SB 7.5.30-32

“People haven’t found meaning in their lives, so they’re running all the time looking for it. They think the next car, the next house, the next job. Then they find these things are empty too.” - Tuesdays With Morrie / we’ve gotta figure out what success looks like before we start climbing the ladder / the old musk deer analogy / externals just won’t make us happy / am I chewing the chewed? / your new car is chewing the chewed / Krishna’s name is heart deep not lip deep / Bhakti is an everlasting ever sweetening gobstopper / can we be happy with nothing? / Bhakti gets more bubblelicious as you go SB 7.5.25-30

You get an authentic experience through an authentic lineage / “Everybody is looking for Krishna. Some don't realize that they are, but they are.” - George Harrison / Rishikesh Kirtan mela / the love is in the details / one incarnation for one devotee / just by remembering the great souls before us we get pulled in their draft / a little self disgust can be healthy / service is a natural expression of love / the Vedas have already given us a map / don’t be a Kramer to Krishna / love in the mood of service, love in the mood of a friend SB 7.5.23-24

No more inattentive chanting / hear and chant here to prepare to hear and chant in holy places (and vice versa) / India is messy but pure / accept that our life is in Krishna’s hands and get on the Uber motorcycle / see God in the temple to practice seeing God everywhere / there has to be someone in the center of existence, to create harmony, otherwise we just battle in competition - Krishna is that center / we have to accept responsibility for the evil in the world / the devotion is in the details / It’s hard to find God in the heart, but easy to find God in the temple Follow our friend on IG at silver_tulasi_mala

Raghu and Mara chant Yamunastakam on the banks of the river / Kaustubha says goodbye to Sri Dham Mayapur / PULL THE TRIGGER! / concentrate your thoughts like the sun’s rays through a magnifying glass / the practices of Bhakti are not mere religious rituals, they are yogic practices designed to focus the mind on the most satisfying object / “Let my mind, with attention fixed on no other object, repeatedly carry its affection to Krishna, just as the Ganga carries a full stream of water to the ocean“ - Queen Kunti / Bhagavatam is one royal calamity after another / never let go of desperation even when things are rosy / bathing in the dust of Vrindavan

the power in hearing about lives of the great saints / the sun is setting, move along / the power in eating saffron filled gulab jamuns / Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati’s vision / You cannot vibrate the holy name simply by moving the lips and tongue. The pure name of krishna is not lip deep, but heart deep / the sound descends from the transcendental world into the heart, then rises through the lips and tongue - that vibration is the holy name of Krishna / "Maintain your worldly obligations in whatever way you can, but make the eternal principle, devotion to Krishna, the true provision for your voyage through life” / we’re wasting time trying to beautify a reflection

“Each one of us matters, has a role to play, and makes a difference.” - Jane Goodall / both Hanuman and the little squirrel were equal, because both were giving their all / “Krishna has some plan for you. Always think in that way, and very soon he will provide everything to your heart's desire.” - Srila Prabhupada / Kaustubha is not Taylor Swift / lose faith in the material world providing us happiness / trade your expectations for appreciation BrahmaJi! / the chanting and hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are transcendentally full of mellows / we don’t need a high birth or good karma to advance in spiritual life - just chant SB 7.5.19-24

let resentment go to free up the mind in chanting meditation  / What are the qualities of a Bhakti-yogi? They are like a rooster, a crane, salt, and you! / a rooster picks out the valuable nourishment even in the dung / salt enhances all the other flavors and yet takes no credit / the crane ignores the petty little fish and stays focused on what counts / in the end, Radha and Krishna are the only “Big Fish” / don’t let validation from others be your food / we can be the handle of the Vishnu axe / dharma, artha, kama, moksha, and beyond that is prema - the highest goal / don’t go to the jewelry store and walk out with some plastic - don’t go to the Vedas or the sadhu for material wealth SB 7.5.15-18

Bhagavatam presents the theology of devotion in the context of the creation of the universe and the following lineages of demigods, sages and royal lines descending from the gods of the sun and moon / omniscience helps in debate / to the extent we are sectarian, we’re rowing the boat but the anchor is down / party line spirit blocks  perception of the Paramatma / Krishna’s like a magnet, we’re like iron - when the rust of our illusory desires is removed we are naturally attracted / our love attracts even Krishna SB 7.5.11-14

“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” - William Blake / “…when the good is a furlong off, and we with our beetle eyes can only see three inches, it takes some confidence in general principles to pull us through.” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle / confidence in the principle of aham
bramasmi / the pandit sees everyone equally / saintly persons try to emulate Prahlada’s character by practicing freedom from animosity / only devotion grants access to the greatest secrets of the Vedic wisdom / the last snare of illusion B 7.5.6-12