Wisdom of the Sages
by Raghunath Cappo & Kaustubha Das · 1,000 episodes
ReligionSpiritualityHinduism
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...
Latest episodes
-
58 min
The Absolute Truth Goes to School | Why Krishna Studied Under a Guru
He is the origin of every branch of knowledge, and yet he sits down at the feet of a teacher. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha, live from the ISKCON temple in Toronto, follo…
-
1 h 00
Can You Love Without Possessing? | Siddhartha and the Art of Letting Go
A sage who has found peace beside the river is suddenly undone by love for a son he never knew he had, and Time, in the form of the river, laughs at him. In this episode Raghunath…
-
1 h 05
Hurt Others, Hurt Yourself | The Web of Mutual Obligation
"I'm independent. I don't owe anybody anything." It's the modern dream: happiness without obligation. Moral teachings answer that we're woven into a web of mutual obligation. Deepe…
-
59 min
If You Don't See God in All, You Won't See God at All | Beyond Religious Ritual
You can attend every service, perform every ritual perfectly, but if you're unkind to the people around you, then you've missed God entirely. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubh…
-
1 h 02
Adapting Ancient Wisdom Without Losing It / Q&A Vol. 302
How does an ancient wisdom tradition survive for thousands of years? It needs teachers who hand it down unchanged, and yet each generation has to hear it in a new way. In this epis…
-
1 h 06
Living Bhakti Among People Who Don't Share It / Q&A Vol. 301
There's a sticky note in Ashley's refrigerator that reads "meat section." She's the only devotee in her home, and between a loving family that doesn't share her path and a day with…
-
56 min
Bhakti Doesn't Grow in a Hard Heart / Q&A Vol. 300
Someone on the street asks you for money, and you're fairly sure where it will go, and it's not good. Can walking past be compassion, or is it quietly hardening your heart? Raghuna…
-
54 min
A Field Guide to Your Inner Demons | Bhaktivinoda Thakur Decodes Krishna's Pastimes
In the 19th century, British colonial scholars dismissed the pastimes of Krishna as primitive and immoral, and a generation of educated Indians began to believe them. The brilliant…
-
56 min
We Never Learned the Power of Our Thoughts | You Become What You Think About
Be good. Behave. Behave yourself. Growing up, most of us heard plenty about our actions and almost nothing about the thoughts that produce them. In this episode Raghunath and Kaust…
-
58 min
The Emptiness of Peace and the Fullness of Love | Meditation Beyond Stillness
Most of us long for a quiet mind. But what fills it once the noise is gone? On a solo bike ride across upstate New York, Raghunath finds that solitude alone doesn't bring peace. Le…
-
51 min
Why the Comment Thread Is Killing Your Soul | Speaking Truth to Power
When something is wrong and we say nothing, our own inner light begins to fade. But speaking up only heals when it comes from a place of love. Raghunath and Kaustubha draw on an ol…
-
1 h 02
Our Labels Are Warping Our Vision | The Many Ways We Respond to Krishna
I'm a man. I'm a woman. I'm American. I'm this, I'm that. Every label we carry colors how we see the world, ourselves and God. Yoga starts from a bold premise: our perception is cl…
-
1 h 04
You're Not in Control | The Placebo Illusion and the Bhakti Reality
Our sense of security is based on illusion — confirmed by both modern science and the sages of the Bhakti Yoga tradition. A landmark psychiatric study reveals something startling a…
-
56 min
Life Is Sacred and Life Is Everywhere | The Earth Personified in Krishna's Pastimes
In the form of a beautiful teenager God enters a new city, meets a hunchback girl in the street, transforms her body and enters a romance with her. On the surface it sounds bizarre…
-
57 min
Grace in Your Face | Human Nature's Resistance to Unconditional Love
Are we all like wounded animals caught in a fence, biting the hand of the person trying to help? Is spiritual grace something exceptionally rare — and most of us the unfortunate on…
-
55 min
Krishna Doesn't Need Your Zucchini Bread | But He Wants Your Love
The Bhagavad-gītā sings of Krishna as the Absolute Truth — complete in himself, independent and lacking nothing. He doesn't need anything we can offer him. And yet — he wants our l…
-
55 min
They Took Him Into Their Hearts Through Their Eyes | Krishna Enters Mathurā
When Krishna and Balarāma entered Mathurā, the women climbed to the rooftops and showered them with flowers. They took him into their hearts through their eyes — embraced him, the…
-
59 min
Daring to Fly Higher | Jonathan Livingston Seagull and the Ascent to Bhakti
In the 1970s the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull became a bestseller. A parable about a gull who refuses to follow the flock and discovers that his true nature is limitless. It se…
-
59 min
Why Nothing in This World Satisfies Us
Voltaire — the greatest writer of the French Enlightenment wrote that there is a dim flame burning in every heart — an intuition that somewhere there is a home, a happiness that is…
-
1 h 00
All Rivers Flow to the Sea | Beyond Exclusivism and Hyper-Inclusivism
Westerners who take interest in Eastern Spirituality may be reacting to elements of exclusivism found in Western religion (we're right and everyone else is wrong). The swing to the…