Websites from the ISKCON Universe
Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/If%20we%20stay%20in%20our%20comfort%20zone%20while%20doing%20service%2C%20how%20will%20we%20grow.mp3
The post If we stay in our comfort zone while doing service…
https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2018/10/demons-krishna-lila-1-metaphorical-points-transcendental-putana-represents-false-guru//
https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2018/10/demons-krishna-lila-2-shaktasura-overcoming-lethargy//
https://www.thesp…
Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/Is%20satisfaction%20an%20austerity%20of%20the%20mind%20or%20it%20is%20an%20illusion%20that%20traps%20us.mp3
The post Is satisfaction an austerity of the mind or…
Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/Does%20God%20take%20credit%20for%20our%20good%20deeds%20and%20give%20us%20blame%20for%20our%20bad%20deeds.mp3
The post Does God take credit for our good deeds a…
Answer Podcast
https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/Despite%20your%20conservative%20training%20how%20did%20you%20become%20so%20accomodating.mp3
Transcription :
Transcription by: Suresh Gupta
Question: Despite your conservative training how did you become so accommodating?
Answer: I would not really use the word liberal or conservative or orthodox because each word comes with a certain connotation. The word becomes charged with certain meanings that later resides in the minds of people. Most liberals use the word progressive for themselves but that also implies that those who are not progressive are regressive. Hence, there is a kind of negative labelling there. I would prefer to use two words – sensible and effective. When I got my training, it was a very rigid practice of Krishna bhakti and I felt nourished by it for some time, but then I had intellectual needs which were not addressed by the kind of philosophical classes I was hearing. After being introduced to the world of intellectuals, I realised that scriptures and the broad bhakti tradition was much bigger. In general, by interacting with devotee scholars who were aware of the bigger picture of the world, I started becoming aware of the realities.
When we live in a monastery as monks, there is tendency to demonise the outer world as an abode of maya. However, a part of maturation is to recognise and appreciate that there are shades of grey. For me, it started by first intellectually appreciating that there are shades of grey and that there are many scholars who may not be devotees but have lot of sensible things to say, not just about the world but even about religion and ISKCON.
Hence, I think it was an intellectual study of the broader world, that broadened my horizons. As I started travelling, not just in India but across the world, and started interacting with people, I realised that the situation and dispositions from where each people came is so widely different from where I was coming. Thus, I realised that they will naturally practice Krishna consciousness according to their situation and dispositions. At first, I went through a phase of being judgemental but over a period, I realised that by being judgemental I was ending up failing to see Krishna, where he was undeniably present. Being sensible and being effective means that while interacting with the world, we can see how Krishna is present somewhere or not. We could see the absence of Krishna consciousness is the problem or we could see the potential for Krishna consciousness as an opportunity.
If we look at the first vision, then the world can appear very dreary and dark place with very little prospects for Krishna consciousness. We might give ourselves a self-congratulatory pat that how demoniac the world is, and how insightful we are in exposing the demoniac nature of the world but such analysis can only be convincing to the convinced or be appealing only to those who are already totally fried out with the world. If we want to appeal and present Krishna consciousness to people who are the movers and shakers of the world […]
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Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/When%20does%20philosophical%20speculation%20change%20to%20mental%20speculation%20-%20what%20makes%20certain%20explanations%20of%20scripture%20unacceptable.mp3
T…
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http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/Why%20did%20Vidura%20not%20instruct%20Dhritrashtra%20to%20apologize%20to%20the%20Pandavas%20and%20to%20thereby%20become%20offense-free%20for%20practicing%20bhakt…
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http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/How%20can%20we%20persevere%20amidst%20distractions.mp3
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[Talk at Udupi, India]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/Gita%20Jayanti%20talk%20-%20The%20Gita%20provides%20Partha%20with%20paramartha.mp3
Video:
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/How%20can%20motivate%20us%20to%20move%20on%20in%20our%20spiritual%20life%20-%20can%20the%20saints%E2%80%99%20realizations%20inspire%20-%20don%E2%80%99t%20we%20ne…
Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/What%20is%20the%20significance%20of%20Shukadeva%20Goswami%27s%20prayers%20in%20Bhagavatam%202.4.mp3
The post What is the significance of Shukadeva Goswami’…
Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/If%20someone%20doesn%E2%80%99t%20do%20their%20allotted%20service%20properly%2C%20how%20can%20we%20deal%20with%20the%20resulting%20anger.mp3
The post If someone …
[Class at Sharjah, United Arab Emirates]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/No%20problem%20is%20too%20big%20for%20God%20-%20or%20too%20small%20-%20Hindi.mp3
Podcast Summary…
[Balotsva talk at Dubai, United Arab Emirates]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/How%20to%20choose%20wisely%20-%20Learning%20from%20Karna.mp3
Video:
The post How to choos…
[Bhagavatam class at Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/Appreciating%20Krishna%E2%80%99s%20attractiveness.mp3
Video:
The post Appreciating Kris…
The post When advice works and when vice works (2) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
[Seminar at Abudhabi, United Arab Emirates]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/When%20advice%20works%20and%20when%20vice%20works%20-%202.mp3
The post When advice works and …
[Seminar at Abudhabi, United Arab Emirates]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/When%20advice%20works%20and%20when%20vice%20works%20-%201.mp3
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The post When advice wo…
[Youth meeting talk at Dubai, United Arab Emirates]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/Dealing%20with%20fear%20of%20rejection%20-%20Analyzing%20Karna%27s%20character.mp3
Vi…
[Friday feast class at Dubai, United Arab Emirates]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/How%20to%20immigrate%20to%20the%20spiritual%20world%20-%20Hindi.mp3
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The post …
Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/Can%20you%20explain%20the%20concepts%20of%20anvaya%20and%20vyatireka%20practically%20and%20as%20explained%20in%20Bhagavatam%203.9.36.mp3
The post Can you explai…
Answer Podcast
https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/If%20a%20child%20was%20abused%20and%20God%20didn%27t%20answer%20their%20prayers%20for%20protection%2C%20how%20can%20we%20help%20them%20develop%20faith%20now.mp3
Transcription :
Transcriber: Suresh Gupta
Question: If a child was abused and God did not answer their prayers for protection, how can we help them develop faith now?
Answer: Whenever we want to develop faith in God or question his existence, we need to understand God and how He works? God has created systems in this world for our protection and sustenance and usually he offers his care and attention to us through those systems. It is very heart-breaking to hear when a child has been abused. Such abuse can leave permanent emotional scars on them. At the same time, we all need to recognise that God has given everyone free-will but unfortunately, people can misuse their free-will. Humans misuse their free-will and humans also create systems to protect others from such misuse and victimisation. They also need to take the initiative to protect themselves. For example, if thugs beat up someone on the street then it is for other people to stop the thugs or, the person being victimised needs to run or call for emergency or do what is required to protect himself.
In case of children, they have very little intelligence or strength to protect themselves but then children also have guardians who are meant to be very available and protective. If a child has been abused, then it is important that the child be alerted and trained by the parents to report that abuse. Unfortunately, we live in a society where perverted individuals or those who are psychopaths or sociopath prey upon the weak and helpless. People in close family or extended family, whom we would normally trust, turn out to be the ones who betray our trust and commit horrendous abuses. Therefore, belief in God or the expectation from God that he should act as a replacement for the breakdown of human system of protection and rectification, is an unrealistic expectation. When things go wrong at human level, then things need to be rectified at human levels. A child praying to God when in pain; is good, but the child also needs to go to the doctor.
Abuse is not like shame or sickness, it involves element of shame, horror and trauma because the children may feel that they did something to agitate the other person and attract the abuse and unwittingly think that they deserved it. Unfortunately, abuse is widespread in today’s society and it is important for parents to educate the children about “what comprises abuse” and to make them feel safe in reporting anything that they may feel as abuse. This culture of alerting people needs to be created in schools, families, society otherwise children may suffer in silence and it can leave life longs scars on them.
But then, what is God’s role? Is it that when the human system fails then we may turn towards God and expect God to intervene? Well, God also intervenes often through a human agent. In exceptional situations, God may intervene by super-natural or para-normal means or […]
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Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/Why%20did%20the%20Dwarka%20Yadus%20kill%20each%20other.mp3
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Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/12%20-18%20QA/While%20struggling%20with%20conditionings%20how%20can%20we%20avoid%20the%20extremes%20of%20becoming%20hopeless%20and%20becoming%20shameless.mp3
The post While s…
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/Wisdom%20from%20Ramayana%20-%20What%20inspired%20me%20to%20write%20this%20book.mp3
Video:
The post Wisdom from Ramayana – What ins…
[Talk at ISKCON, Bahrain]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/Do%20we%20make%20destiny%20or%20does%20destiny%20make%20us%20-%20Marathi.mp3
Podcast Summary
http://www.thespir…
[QA session at Manama, Bahrain]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/Analyzing%20Postmodernism%20-%20Tough%20Questions%2C%20Real%20Answers.mp3
The post Analyzing Postmodernis…
I am delighted to inform you that my latest book “Wisdom from Ramayana on Life and Relationships” is now available at all leading bookstores, as well as at amazon.com (Wisdom From Ramayana) and amazon.in (Wisdom from Ramayana). This is my s…
Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/11-18%20QA/When%20the%20holy%20name%20is%20self-fulfilling%2C%20why%20do%20we%20need%20other%20things%20such%20as%20elaborate%20analysis%20of%20the%20mind.mp3
The post When t…
[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON, Washington DC, USA]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/Demons%20in%20Krishna-lila%206%20-%20Bakasura%20-%20From%20Appearance%20to%20Substance%20to%20Tr…
[Talk at Manama, Bahrain]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/How%20to%20improve%20our%20intelligence%20for%20managing%20our%20emotions%20and%20actions%20-%20Hindi.mp3
Video…
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[Seminar at ISKCON, Bahrain]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/Responsible%20Relationships%204%20-%20Look%20up%20before%20you%20look%20around.mp3
The post Responsible Rela…
[Vyasa-puja celebration at Manama, Bahrain]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/GURUDEVA%20acronym%20-%20Vyasa-puja%20offering%20to%20HH%20Radhanath%20Maharaj.mp3
Video:
Th…
[Seminar at ISKCON, Manama, Bahrain]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/Responsible%20Relationships%203%20-%20Focus%20on%20your%20values%2C%20not%20on%20others%E2%80%99%20behaviour…
[Seminar at ISKCON, Manama, Bahrain]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/12-18%20classes/Responsible%20Relationships%202%20-%20Make%20judgments%2C%20don%E2%80%99t%20be%20judgmental.mp3
Vide…
Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/11-18%20QA/How%20can%20we%20share%20bhakti%20wisdom%20in%20the%20world%20today.mp3
The post How can we share bhakti wisdom in the world today? appeared first on The Spiritual…
Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/11-18%20QA/Was%20Vritrasura%27s%20bhakti%20covered%20over%20because%20of%20his%20past%20offenses.mp3
The post Was Vritrasura’s bhakti covered over because of his past o…
Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/11-18%20QA/In%20Gita%2009.32%2C%20why%20are%20women%20put%20in%20a%20separate%20category%20from%20the%20various%20varnas.mp3
The post In Gita 09.32, why are women put in a se…