Westerners are booking flights to India—not for the Taj Mahal or butter chicken, but to chant Sanskrit mantras in rice fields, live in ashrams, and wake up at 4 a.m. for kirtan. What’s really going on here?

In this eye-opening episode, Raghunath sit down with anthropology PhD student Keli Lalita to explore a striking modern phenomenon: why so many people from the West are adopting spiritual practices rooted in ancient India. What begins as a yoga class in a Brooklyn studio often leads to life-changing pilgrimages and a search for something deeper than downward dog.

With warmth and wit, they dig into the cultural exchange between East and West, the rise of postural yoga, and the unexpected spiritual longing that’s drawing thousands toward Bhakti Yoga.

Key Highlights:
•⁠ ⁠Why a yoga retreat can feel more real than your “real life”
•⁠ ⁠The anthropology of coffee dates, family structures, and spiritual community
•⁠ ⁠How the Hare Krishnas—and other Eastern paths—captured Western hearts
•⁠ ⁠Modern yoga: more global remix than ancient export
•⁠ ⁠“It’s not just a vacation—it’s a return to something we forgot we were looking for.”

🎧 Subscribe now and discover why a growing number of Western seekers are trading their passports for prayer beads.

#BhaktiYoga #YogaPilgrimage #AnthropologyOfReligion #EastMeetsWest #SpiritualLonging #WisdomOfTheSages #ModernYoga #KirtanRevolution

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A neuroscientist lost a 25-year bet to a philosopher—and it may be one of the most revealing failures in modern science. In 1998, Christof Koch bet David Chalmers that within 25 years, neuroscience would identify the precise brain mechanisms responsible for consciousness. Research teams around the world launched ambitious experiments to track and measure conscious experience in the brain. The deadline came—and the mystery remained.

In this fascinating episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha unpack the implications of that failed wager. Why can’t the most advanced minds in science explain subjective experience? And what did the ancient yogis know that modern labs still don’t?

From Vedic insights to modern mind-benders, this episode blends laughter, science, and timeless wisdom in a way only Wisdom of the Sages can.

SB 10.3.15-22

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Just like a codebreaker working through symbols can gradually uncover a single unifying truth—a key that makes sense of everything—the spiritual journey can unfold in a similar way.

Raghunath and Kaustubha explore how a path of trust, focused attention, and turning inward can reveal a deeper coherence beneath life’s confusion. What at first feels chaotic and fragmented—like an unbreakable code—can suddenly click into place when one discovers the truth that pervades it all.

The great yogis found that key in the knowledge of Vishnu—the all-pervading presence within and behind everything. And once that truth is grasped, fear dissolves and life begins to make sense.

SB 10.3.12-14

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What matters most in yoga isn’t the ritual—it’s the transformation of the mind and heart.

In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the practice of manasa pūjā (mental worship) through the story of Vasudeva mentally offering charity while imprisoned. They unpack why internal devotion is not only valid—but often more powerful than external performance. Whether you’re on a yoga mat or stuck in traffic, your inner world is where the real yoga happens.

🎯 Takeaways:
•⁠ ⁠Why the mind is the true altar in bhakti yoga
•⁠ ⁠How to avoid spiritual burnout by going beyond mechanical practice
•⁠ ⁠A bizarre story of mental sweet rice—and a very real burn
•⁠ ⁠Tips for making your worship alive, even when life gets in the way

Tune in to explore the inner essence of yoga—and why even your thoughts can be an offering.

SB 10.3.9-11

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Pop culture meets divine consciousness in this episode exploring the birth of Krishna—and what it means to be lit up with bhakti. Raghunath and Kaustubha reflect on George Harrison’s powerful spiritual insight: “Everyone is looking for Krishna… some don’t know it, but they are.”

With humor, depth, and wisdom, they unpack why Krishna appears not just anywhere, but in the heart aligned with devotion—and how we can open that space within ourselves.

🎯 Highlights include:
•⁠ ⁠George Harrison’s mystical role in publishing the Krishna Book
•⁠ ⁠The “God-shaped hole” everyone’s trying to fill
•⁠ ⁠Becoming permeated and vitalized by spiritual energy
•⁠ ⁠Devotion as the real high—and how to access it

If you’ve ever felt like something sacred was missing, this one’s for you.

SB 10.2.40-10.3.8

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Raghunath is joined by longtime friend and spiritual brother Henry Schoellkopf for a lively and deeply honest conversation about devotion as action—not just emotion.

Drawing from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and decades of lived spiritual experience, they explore what it really means to love—not just God, but people. This episode is part comedy, part confessional, and entirely grounded in yogic truth.

Highlights include:
•⁠ ⁠“Love isn’t a feeling—it’s a verb.”
•⁠ ⁠Why asking Krishna for stuff doesn’t count as a relationship
•⁠ ⁠The deeper meaning of seva
•⁠ ⁠Turning Washington Square Park into Vaikuntha
•⁠ ⁠What a teenager’s donut gift reveals about devotion

If you’ve ever wondered how to live your devotion—or why even spiritual burnout can be a blessing—this one’s for you.

🌀 Subscribe for daily drops of Bhakti wisdom.
🎧 Listen now.

SB 10.2.37-39

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Some truths hit you like a lightning bolt. Others hover like clouds for years—until something cracks your heart open and lets the rain in. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha explore the invisible barriers that keep spiritual truths from fully landing—the wisdom blockers that arise from fear, ego, or unresolved resistance.

They unpack how knowledge matures through humility, devotion, association—and a willingness to get emotionally honest. Drawing from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and reflections on Henry Ward Beecher’s insight, the conversation reveals how real wisdom requires more than intellect—it requires openness of heart. BhaktiYoga #SrimadBhagavatam #SpiritualGrowth #WisdomBlockers #Personalism #VedicWisdom #YogaPhilosophy #EmotionalHealing #JñānaToBhakti #Transcendence

SB 10.2.31-36

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In a world of shifting narratives and temporary identities, even the most intelligent minds can struggle to find what’s truly real. In this episode, Raghunath and Kaustubha turn to the timeless wisdom of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam to explore Satyam Param—the highest truth beyond all illusion.

From the prayers of the demigods to the nature of the soul and Super Soul, they examine how truth isn’t just debated or believed—it’s lived, embodied, and revealed through character.

Key themes include:
• The prayers of the devas and the nature of eternal truth

• Relative truth vs. absolute truth

• Vedic anatomy and the tree of the body

• Truth as something discovered through humility and alignment with the soul

Listen now and rediscover what it means to live in truth.

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