it actually is all good / the celestial Ganges river as a universal highway / the season, or cycles of the universe / the universe unfolds from Vishnu's lotus / if a woman can create a human in her abdomen, is it really so impossible for Vishnu to create the universal Lotus from His? / cultivating spiritual vision - seeing equality on the spiritual level

SB 3.8.3-15

Does God have to be a person? / What are some good practices for spiritual contemplation while walking in public? / I want to follow traditional fasts as part of the yoga culture but I work construction which is very physically demanding - what to do? / How do you trust "spiritual people" after you've been hurt, lied to, tricked, used, and manipulated by someone you looked up to?

devoting exclusive time for spiritual practice / a focused commitment to change / first life clue - the death of Raghunath's cat / spiritual knowledge grants immunity to material miseries / these books aren't just for philosophizing - they're life instructions! / seeing the museum piece with devotional eyes / the book Bhagavatam & the person Bhagavat / our entangled lives & the solution in one verse & commentary

SB 3.7.39 - 3.8.2

the blind men & the elephant / Hinduism & Buddhism in Nepal / Krishna's beauty is absolute / puncturing the romance of the material world / human life is meant for inquiry about the Absolute Truth / Brahma Vishnu & Siva / dharma disconnected from prema (divine love) is useless / God doesn't want us to be Ned Flanders / the material world bubble is gonna pop

live from Kathmandu! / self-realization not sense gratification / burning is learning / the potato chip shloka / spiritual addiction is healthy / all there is within the universe for satisfying one's senses cannot satisfy a person whose senses are uncontrolled / be detached & serve with love / training the mind to be always thinking of doing good for others / the more we think of sense enjoyment, the more the mind becomes dissatisfied / diverting the mind to the Vedic literature

BG 17.16

secret thoughts come out in our words & actions / austerity of speech means speaking words that are – truthful, pleasing, beneficial, not agitating to others, & regularly reciting Vedic literature / validation hounds / no junk food no junk speech / being a kind friend of every living entity

BG 17.15 & 12.14 & 15

What exactly is a guru? / How should one correctly go about self criticism and introspection? How can I be honest with myself without evoking self hate? Moreover, once I identify my shortcomings how do I turn them from being a hindrance to a means for spiritual growth? / Is there a custom or even a ritual/prayer to be performed before starting with the Maha Mantra? / How can I stay true to my spiritual path when my family members aren't practicing along with me?

the gunas for children / if our capacity for austerity is meager, serve mahatmas / a human has to consider how they eat, sacrifice, perform austerity, give charity / once you take a picture of it, it's not yoga / austerity of the body - respecting great souls, cleanliness, simplicity, celibacy, nonviolence / it all boils down to kindness & simplicity

SB 3.7.20 & BG 17.14

our value isn't based on the body / our disturbances have no other basis than the movement of the external energy / the fool is happy & one with transcendental intelligence is happy / when it's bad it's good & when it's good it's bad / service is the way out / Krishna is called Madhusudana because he slays our doubts and slays the false ego

SB 3.7.15-19

our miseries are due to a misconception of self-identity / the counterintuitive key - human life is not meant for sense gratification, it is meant for self-realization / we're chasing a mirage that draws us deeper & deeper into the desert / controlling our senses means freedom / Bhagavad-gītā (2.59) - the higher taste / consciousness is active by nature

SB 3.7.12-14