Gabriella Burnel read Sanskrit, the language India’s most ancient Hindu philosophical texts, including its great epics, the Ramayan and the Mahabharat, at Oxford and has gone on to became one of the most loved Sanskrit singers in the world. But the knowledge of Sanskrit brought her more than just knowledge and fame - it brought her freedom and a sense of everyday bliss. It taught her how to live, and how to accept the reality of death. It gave her lessons in living that freed her from the anxiety of ambition and consumption. In this podcast, she talks about the universal lessons of Sanskrit. 

Did the ancient world, Greek and Hindu, imagine robots and technology that are coming true today? Dr. Adrienne Mayor at Stanford University, a  research scholar in classics, history and the philosophy of science,  says yes. She has written a wonderful new book called Gods and Robots:  Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology and spoke in this podcast about the nature of technology, whether human use and abuse of technology and whether artificial intelligence (AI) could ever develop the conscience for mercy, or even crack a dark joke. 

Braja Sorensen is an Australian writer and poet. About 20 years ago, she moved to lived in the village of Mayapur in the eastern state of Bengal in India. Mayapur is the village which has been one of the most influential centres for the Vaishnavite tradition in Hinduism for more than 500 years. It is also the headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, more commonly known by the acronym ISKON. In this episode she talks about why she chose the spiritual life and what that decision has meant for her.  (Editors note: There is a slight echo in a small portion of this conversation due to the shaky internet and voice connection from the village of Mayapur.)