Podcast details
Stories from Puranas
The Purāṇas contain truths that transcend intellectual understanding and must be felt in the heart. Their stories awaken love or fear and describe miracles the modern mind cannot grasp. We often dismiss these ancient accounts as impossible or primitive, relying on argument instead of faith. For instance, a story tells of a child dead for hours being revived by a blessing, which medicine and logic reject. As devotees, we may verbally accept such events, but that acceptance often remains in the head, not the heart. True belief requires the direct experience of a witness, like a mother who saw her child restored to life. We commonly believe all ancient humans were primitive, yet the Purāṇas suggest a different reality where divine incarnations performed miracles regardless of human development. When God incarnates, His actions are by nature miraculous. Our intellect hits a wall; only direct witness or heartfelt faith can bridge the gap to belief.
"Sometimes the stories are described in a manner that the present human intellect cannot understand or grasp, because they are so miraculous."
"But if you were that mother... and he gave it life, you would tell us so clearly, with that confidence: 'It is true.'"
Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic
This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.
The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:
- Yoga in Daily Life - The System
Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda. Ibera Verlag, Vienna, 2000. ISBN 978-3-85052-000-3 - The Hidden Power in Humans - Chakras and Kundalini
Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda. Ibera Verlag, Vienna, 2004. ISBN 978-3-85052-197-0 - Lila Amrit - The Divine Life of Sri Mahaprabhuji
Paramhans Swami Madhavananda. Int. Sri Deep Madhavananda Ashram Fellowship, Vienna, 1998. ISBN 3-85052-104-4
