Born in ISKCON in 1975, Sundar Gopal das (Simon Haas) is an internationally renowned bestselling author and teacher of yoga philosophy. He is currently working on a 6-year PhD research project at the University of Oxford on the ontology of the self (svarupa of the jiva) in the Caitanya Vaisnava tradition, focusing on Sri Jiva Gosvami and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. In this episode, he explains why Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s presentation was not a “preaching strategy” or a recent innovation, but instead closely follows a long and highly respected sastric commentarial tradition.