Breaking Trail

All genuine spiritual processes are based on discipline. And even if you strive for material success, you will still need to apply the spiritual principles of hard work, respect, discipline, and a higher goal.

This episode was inspired by Emma Raducanu, the 18-year old tennis star who won the US Open in September 2021, who explained that her success was due to her hard training and discipline at home, inspired by a grandmother who had such a determination that nothing could bring her down. You’ll hear us talk a lot about the role of parents, and how the training should begin in the home.

The fact is, we’ve become so afraid of hurting or offending our kids that we shy away from saying ‘no’ to and disciplining them. Which in the end will hurt them far more. We bring up the example of the so-called leaders of today’s society, who are simply grown up kids fighting with each other for lordship over the sandbox.

Similarly, in spiritual life, following any desire we might have or just “doing what we feel like”—without any authority, discipline or actual guidance on where happiness is to be found—will at best only take us in circles.

Highlights:

• (05:05) The story of the 18-year old tennis star Emma Raducanu who won the US Open; spiritual life is based on discipline, something that is missing heavily in today’s society
• (15:28) We need to dare to say ‘no’ to (and discipline) our children. If you want the highest level of material life, you've got to apply spiritual principles to achieve it; discipline, respect, hard work, and a higher goal.
• (27:04) The functioning, active members of society are just grown up (immature) kids. When Balakhilya grew up, kids always had had duties to perform, work to do.
• (34:19) How Bhaktivedanta Swami came to the hippie movement and introduced the no-discipline hippies into the world of real spiritual life, happiness and discipline
• (43:48) The ‘Chant Anyway’ writing by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur; there will be ups and downs, and we need to have the discipline to keep chanting anyway
• (1:09:22) In the spiritual world, everything is perfect; every word is a song, every step is a dance. And when we chant, we bring that spiritual world into our life.

Recorded on September 13, 2021. Read episode transcript on https://breakingtrail.life/podcast/42

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We always promote people to engage in a spiritual lifestyle, but what does ‘spiritual’ really mean then? Is it (or does it have to be) cosmic, filled with experiences of higher vibrations, or based on some drug-induced alternate states of consciousness?

Spiritual life really means a gradual evolution of soul toward the Absolute Truth, culminating in the topmost satisfaction of a loving relationship between the Supreme Soul and us, the spirit soul. In other words, spiritual life means experiencing a change of heart. And nothing else will truly satisfy us.

Highlights:

• (9:04) The advertised version of spiritual life says it’s cosmic, filled with higher vibrations, and for it to be real there has to be physical and emotional result. Real spiritual life is a natural ecstasy of love, not a drug-induced alternate state of consciousness.
• (19:22) We don’t just jump into an affectionate relationship with the Supreme Soul; it’s a gradual evolution of the soul. Spiritual life is not self-entered, but focuses on nurturing and cultivating that relationship.
• (30:00) Regardless of our initial motivation, the process of Bhakti Yoga purifies a person of the unwanted desires of the heart. All that’s required is enough faith to apply that process to ones life.
• (38:23) Transcendental sound works on everyone, regardless of whether we experience an immediate effect or not. Real religion means the relationship of devotion between the individual person and the Supreme Soul; which is beyond sentimental experiences.
• (53:12) Don’t start at the highest goal of spiritual perfection, but let your goal be the next small step towards that direction

Recorded on November 15, 2021. Read episode transcript on https://breakingtrail.life/podcast/41

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There are a lot of misunderstanding about what spiritual life really is. Including the idea that if you don’t care about personal hygiene or your appearance, if you are very poor, or refuse to make any plans for the future but choose to float around in a careless bubble of “be here now”—you’re somehow a spiritual person.

If we really to want to taste the happiness of genuine spiritual life, we need to learn how to live a life of full responsibility. There is no need to renounce the world. You can be a busy mother taking care of a demanding child 24 hour a day, but if you see that child as a spirit soul, a spark of the Supreme Soul, then you will be able to spend all those 24 hours actively working to fulfill your spiritual duty, spiritual responsibility. Thus helping your child toward true spiritual wellbeing becomes your spiritual life.

In this talk we take a closer look at what ‘responsibility’ actually means, and why it’s so essential for us in order to live a meaningful life.

Highlights:

• (2:05) Spiritual life does not mean wandering around like a beggar, having no job and no obligations. Neither does it mean disregarding our material responsibilities and hope that someone else (or God) will automatically take care of us.
• (12:42) Being a renounced person (sannyasi) requires a very high level of spiritual qualification, depending completely on the mercy of the Supreme and spending one’s time giving spiritual guidance to others. This was a system of the past, and most people who apply it today simply become a burden to society.
• (21:31) Real renunciation means in the consciousness. The saintly kings of the past were extremely wealthy, but simultaneously not attached to any of that wealth or power; simply assuming the position of king as a spiritual responsibility, protecting the citizens from being overpowered by lust and anger.
• (31:13) Some people think that you have to go to India to advance spiritually, which is just part of the illusion that, “I am my body”. The reality is that westerners are gullible, naive, easy targets for the many fake gurus of India who want to exploit us. Balakhilya shares a story from a public lecture he held in Queensland, Australia.
• (39:29) What we teach in this podcast may externally not look spiritual at all. You might go to a factory and work for eight hours, coming home with dirty clothes and a tired body, but may be on a very high spiritual level. Some other guys are sitting around in the twilight zone totally in illusion, still conditioned by material nature.

Recorded on October 21, 2021. Read episode transcript on https://breakingtrail.life/podcast/40

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The storms of this material world comes in many forms; war, conflict, being hurt by someone we love, feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and so on. We try to find comfort and shelter in friends, family, career, prestige, or even in drugs and alcohol. But as hard as we try, the shelter we strive for always seems to slip through our fingers.

Nothing lasts in this world. So how can I safely rest not only my body, but my mind and heart too? How do I find shelter in the eye of the storm?

Highlights:

• (4:02) There will always be storms in the material world, because that’s how the material world is designed; we need spiritual protection
• (14:17) We’ve gone away from what really is necessary in life, and replaced it with all this artificial stuff. What if you knew that in 7 days, the world was going to end?
• (22:28) Love is the one thing that we fear the most. But love is also the one thing that can remove all fear. Why is that?
• (33:03) We need to take responsibility for our own suffering, and seek out an eternal love protection, an eternal eye of the storm
• (40:24) Reading from “Gems of Wisdom”: suffering in this world is natural for the spirit soul. Just as us It is natural for fish to be suffering and unhappy when he's not in the water. What's unnatural is not the suffering but the spirit souls being here in the material world.

Recorded on March 14, 2022. Read episode transcript on https://breakingtrail.life/podcast/39

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Due to so many religious fanatics (though fanaticism really has nothing to do with real religion), we tend to think that having faith is a dangerous thing. Actually, without faith, one can never make any real progress. But such faith does not come from joining a certain team and blindly aligning with whatever so-called truths are put forward.

So what is the process by which faith is developed?

• Step 1. Apply this to your life
• Step 2. Take a step back and see if things are changing in your life, if your heart is changing
• Step 3. Ask yourself: “Do I feel happier? Do I feel more satisfied?”
• Step 4. What experience you have will indicate if this is valuable or not, and real faith may develop because the process works for you, not based on the fact that somebody just said so

Let’s take a closer look at blind following, the root cause of fanaticism, and the real meaning of faith.

Highlights:

• (5:36) A real guru wants his followers to have their eyes fully open and understand what they’re doing, while a fake guru prefers blind followers
• (16:50) How the yoga system views faith as opposed to in worldly religions; in bhakti yoga, you gradually come to directly experience and realize the truth, thus faith develops
• (26:51) A fanatic is a a person with a lot of emotion and sentiment, but no knowledge. We can’t just plug in but need to actually take the teachings to our heart and do the work.
• (41:58) The bhakti yoga process is a scientific execution of transcendental activities which enables one to return home. But we have to actually follow that process to have the results.
• (49:47) In the Vedic society being taught spiritual truths was normal, and we have a responsibility to also educate our children in that field. If we all do our own work, the proper vision will be given to us.

Recorded on March 2, 2022. Read episode transcript on https://breakingtrail.life/podcast/38

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Society is definitely making huge progress—going nowhere really fast. Material sense gratification has replaced spiritual growth, and is now the standard of civilization. We always try to get ahead of everyone else; whether it’s within sports, career, or family life.

We all need to take a step back and ask ourselves; “Is the world as a whole, the people on planet Earth, are we as individuals more happy?” When we do, we see that our striving for so-called progress takes us further away from the ultimate goal of happiness. The house of cards is falling down. And the further we move away from a spiritual foundation of life, the more we lose our spiritual values, morals, our spiritual compass.

In our life, we have to know clearly what the goal should be, how to reach our desired destination, and what hindrances and stumbling blocks are in the way. We need to know, “How do I know if I am actually moving forward in my life?”

In episode #37, we’ll take a closer look at the difference between real and apparent progress to be able to know whether or not we are actually moving forward.

Highlights:

• (4:59) What we see as a success are often just material achievements, and they can never satisfy the soul
• (15:53) The ancient Vedic civilizations were geared toward making spiritual advancement, but the material achievements were also unprecedented. There is no contradiction between the two.
• (25:19) The material world is a dangerous place full of calamities. The duty of the sane person is therefore not to be disturbed by these calamities, which are sure to happen in all circumstances, but one should make progress in spiritual realization. This is the mission of human life.
• (36:19) One must learn both the means to approach the desired destination and making progress, as well as the hindrances to such progress
• (47:40) The biggest calamity of life is not earthquakes, floods, or wars. The biggest calamity is losing our spiritual values, losing our spiritual morals, our spiritual compass, our sense of right and wrong. We need to take responsibility for our life and help those who want to be helped.

Recorded on August 9, 2021. Read episode transcript on https://breakingtrail.life/podcast/37

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Did you ever try to learn tennis simply by reading a book?

But to many of us, the word ‘Guru’ or ‘Spiritual master’ may be associated with exploitation, mystic tricks, and dominating over others. For good reason, because there are so many cheaters that misuse the position of being a teacher.

So how can we make sure we are not in the position of being the ones that are being cheated?

Highlights:

• (1:56) Many people misunderstand what a true guru is—for a good reason, since many of the so-called gurus simply want to exploit others
• (10:05) The perfect example of the relationship between student and teacher is there in the Bhagavad-gita, when Arjuna says to his spiritual teacher, Krishna; “Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I'm asking you to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple and a soul surrendered on to you Please instruct me.”
• (20:19) The perplexities of life come automatically, without our wanting them. To get out from this predicament, one must approach a spiritual master who is in the disciplic succession.
• (34:14) The 3 ways to check whether or not someone is a true spiritual master
• (43:58) “A guru is someone who is so filled with bhakti, or love for the Supreme, and therefore love and compassion for all living beings, who he understands are part and parcel of the Supreme, that he sees himself as a servant of everyone and dedicates his life to helping everyone to find true happiness.”
• (48:45) The story of how Balakhilya found and came to accept his spiritual teacher

Recorded on February 21, 2022. Read episode transcript on https://breakingtrail.life/podcast/36

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In a society characterized by conflict and “hair-splitting sophistry”, we might be attracted to solve the discords by concluding, “Whatever, all roads lead to the same place!” But giving in to wishy-washy philosophy in order to avoid conflict is not being truthful. And it won’t do anyone any good. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free”. And the opposite is equally true; without truth, we are imprisoned.

So how can we understand the idea of absolute truth? Is everything just relative to our perspective, or are there some universal axioms that the world runs by? And perhaps more importantly, the question of epistemology; if there is a truth, how can I come to know it?

Whether you are looking for real relief from a stressful everyday life or you are looking for the deeper meaning to life, this episode will inspire you to move forward. And inward.

Highlights:

• (5:45) The practice of Bhakti Yoga purifies us so that we begin to appreciate the truth, because now there's an actual direction to our life
• (15:21) You don’t have to experience everything directly to know that it’s true; you can feel it in your heart
• (24:11) A true scientist just wants to find out the final truth, without agendas. Similarly, the great teachers of the past, like Jesus, were just presenting the truth; they didn’t come to start a new religion.
• (36:04) The story of how Balakhilya started toward yoga & meditation: by hearing someone share pieces of the truth
• (44:37) “Seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened unto you.” The four types of people who come to know the truth; the inquisitive, the distressed, those in need of money, and the wise.
• (48:53) Finding the truth starts with an honest desire, without that we will drown in the ocean of information and not know up from down

Recorded on September 27, 2021. Read episode transcript on https://breakingtrail.life/podcast/35

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Chandra is an exceptionally talented, well-spoken freelance type of guy; yet incredibly humble and reflective. The words we used the most in this episode was Fun, followed by Skiing - Chanting - Feel - Nice - Friends - Smoothies - Biking. Tells you something about the guy.

Only 23 years old, he has already been invited to go to the Olympic Games as part of the Canadian Taekwondo team (an invitation he declined, thinking “there are so many other things you can do”), had a brief career as a model/actor, built a 630m2 retreat center together with his father, and traveled all over the world. In winter it’s all about skiing, in summer all about BMX and mountain biking.

Chandra’s parents are old-time friends of Balakhilya’s, and Chandra grew up with the Bhakti-yoga lifestyle. He is all about having fun, but thanks to his upbringing always understood that the pleasures of this world are fleeting and always mixed with some degree of pain. One second you ski in the most amazing powder, the next you are in total anguish due to a dislocated shoulder;

“My parents have always been able to give me an answer, or a solution, with this process, and always shown me that there's a way to be happy while you're in this material world. The process shows it, and you can feel it in your heart. When you apply it, it speaks for itself. You feel it.”

Highlights:

• (3:08) Balakhilya introduces you to Chandra; a talented yet humble freelance fun-seeker
• (14:43) The story of how Chandra was selected to join the Canadian Taekwondo team for the Olympic Games in 2012
• (22:45) Everyone is trying to have fun. The lifestyle of meditation gives a genuine, heart-felt fun to carry us through the ups and downs of the worldly fun.
• (32:12) The importance of having to work for what you’re getting, and how chanting brings us together; Chandra’s feelings around his upbringing, with parents that both follow a Bhakti-yoga lifestyle
• (42:36) How Chandra and his family made it possible to build a 630m2 retreat center and run a smoothie business together: “Working with each other and finding a happy means to chant with each other, and finding the higher goal which is more important than arguing with each other.”
• (1:07:27) To Chandra, Breaking Trail means breaking free from the materialistic life, to find what your goal is, to know; “This is what’s going to be important for me to be able to be truly happy and have fun”.

Recorded on February 7, 2022. Read episode transcript on https://breakingtrail.life/podcast/34

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“Follow us, surrender, or you will go to hell!” The concept of Hell is often used as a way to control and instil fear in people. For some people (like Ruben), this faulty presentation of hell may lead to a full rejection of anything that has to do with religion. After all, why would a loving father punish his obstinate children with a torment that has no end?

Tune in for a full picture of the concept of hell; an explanation that leaves no blind spots, and no room for speculation. Because like Ruben, you deserve to know the truth.

Highlights:

• (4:35) The faults and misunderstandings in the popular view of heaven & hell (often based on instilling fear in people)
• (12:30) The story of Ruben leaving his religious faith behind at a Christian surf camp in New Zealand in 2009, when the idea of eternal hell didn’t match his understanding of unconditional love
• (22:14) The material world is arranged with planets with celestial pleasures (heavenly planets), intermediate planets with both pain and pleasure, as well as lower hellish planets where suffering and pain is predominant. The law of karma decides where you go after you leave your current body.
• (33:43) Our idea of going to heaven (and avoiding hell) are often completely self-centered, based on material enjoyment. And that doesn’t satisfy the soul’s need for spiritual love.
• (41:43) We should all ask ourselves: is the pleasure worth the pain? If we act without being guided by a superior authority, we will remain lost. We need a process to help us replace serving ourselves to serving others.
• (52:54) Why lust is the gateway to hell, and how we can turn that force into its proper direction, namely love. Reestablishing our lost spiritual connection with the Supreme makes us experience heaven right here and now.

Recorded on January 22, 2022. Read episode transcript on https://breakingtrail.life/podcast/33

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