Introduction

India is home to a lot of unparalleled wonders. And surely Sanskrit is one of the greatest heritages of
its ancient history. To the unassuming eye, Sanskrit may appear like an immensely sophisticated
language with countless subtleties making it impossible to decipher. But in reality, when one gets to
know the language a little better, he is bound to realize how scientific, structured and truly fascinating
it is. The seemingly large number of rules actually make the language more flexible (not rigid, as one
might assume), than its western counter-parts, which despite having much flexible grammatical
structures, are barely flexible when it comes to sentence structure, word formation, the meaning a word
can convey etc.

This feature of the ancient language gives its writer immense freedom to convey the subtlest of thoughts
in a small number of words, or, if we were to talk about poetry, in beautiful verses whose whose
symmetry and harmony is bound to leave one astounded.

In this report, we have tried to point out two of Sanskrit’s intricacies, followed by an exploration of one
of India’s greatest philosophical systems, whose teachings are enshrined in one of our country’s
greatest literary jewels.

The Benedictive Mood

Language is more than just a tool for communication. It is not a mere combination of sounds, to which
meaning has been associated. It is a beautiful manifestation of our subtle, internal ‘vibrations’,
possessing the capability to mold the thoughts of all those who experience it, to alter our environment
and impact us on much subtler platform. It is the voice which speaks, rather, shouts to convey to us the
centuries or millennia of history that the civilization holds as its heritage. A simple analysis of the
language’s sounds, diction, grammatical structures, semantic sophistication can tell us volumes about
the culture in which the language was bred.

When speaking of grammar, verbs occupy one of the spotlights. Their study can reveal a lot to us.
Every verb is guided by a few descriptive markers such as the tense, aspect, mood etc. Tense conveys to
us the time of the occurrence of the action, the aspect talks about the degree of completeness of the
action, while the mood tells us about the sense that the verb, or the sentence in general, conveys.

Different linguistic systems define different moods and taking a look at these will, without doubt, give
us some insight into the types of sentences used frequently by the parent civilization, or the most
frequent moods of conversations; which in turn can be used to understand the state of affairs of the
people that spoke the language in the past.

For instance, if a language defines a mood for issuing orders, commanding, or exhorting (the jussive
mood); it might show that the language might have been through times inflicted by war, or maybe
developed in a colonial, or domineering context.

Let us now look at one special mood: the benedictive. This mood is used to express a blessing or a
wish. It is distinguished from other moods like the imperative by the sense of explicitly desiring for the
benefit of others, as opposed to wishing for one’s own personal gain. This mood is especially unique
because it is defined in only one language: Sanskrit.
Called the Ashirlinga in Sanskrit, the mere fact that there exists such a separate grammatical structure
for conjugating verbs, when used to wish for the welfare or others, shows the culture that has parented
this language. Unless the society was one in which the qualities of abnegation and the likes were
second nature to people, benedictive sentences would not have been so prevalent, so as to garner the
necessity for a systematically defined grammatical structure.

The following is a table of the parasmaipada conjugation for verb bhU(to be):

The benedictive mood also renders a special effect to many verses. Simply by hearing the words of an
empowered person, certain samskaras arise in the listener, and the spoken word becomes effective.
Thus, it is said that verses written by great sages, when in the benedictive mood, have the power to
grant us various blessings. For instance, Vyas dev, the compiler of the vedas, writes in a certain verse
“become virtuous,” in the benedictive mood: the effect of which is to arise virtue in the mind of the
listener even if he is inclined to vice.

Chandas
Sanskrit verses are known for their beautiful meter. Often a single composition contains hundreds of
verses, all of which are in the same meter! This astounding feature is rather common in Sanskrit
literature. In other languages, such a task would be almost impossible to accomplish. The incredible
flexibility that Sanskrit offers, in terms of its unique ability to combine a large number of words into
one, or to construct new words from existing sound combinations makes this language extremely fertile
for writing perfectly structured compositions.
Sanskrit prosody is very well organized and scientific in its approach. Different meters and feet
have been given different names, much like the way it is in English. Furthermore, specifications have
been made about which meter should or should not be used in different kinds of literature, based on the
type of effect they produce on the reader.
These suggestions may point to the fact that the meter of the composition or text being read a
particular reader, produces a tangible psychological influence on his mind. Each meter, in fact, different
arrangements of the feet in the same meter, are bound to produce differing influences on the
reader/listeners’ state of mind. It is probably not very unreasonable to say that just as we see music
inducing different moods based on its ‘raaga’, different chandas can also have the same effect.
This may possibly be manifested on the physical platform in terms of change in posture, tone,
seriousness of the reader etc...
Another interesting personal observation is regarding the ease with which different chandas can
be read. Some seem very natural and flow almost spontaneously, while others are quite a struggle.
Compositions written in the anustubh, or the jagati can be read even by novice readers with great ease.
On the other hand, the gayatri, or the tristubh will leave an inexperienced reader confused as to how he
should go about reading it. These differences may serve to show how the human mind is hardwired to
patterns, how we are more inclined to noticing a pattern in which the repeating unit has an even number
of entities, or maybe how we have a knack for noticing symmetry.

The Jagati Chandas

In this report, we have specifically chosen to study the Jagati meter, which is a 32 syllabic
meter, divided into four trimetric lines. This chandas (meter) has a very beautiful ‘jingle’ to it, which
can be perceived even by the most novice of readers. This feature of the chandas makes it rather
inappropriate for serious literature. Thus it has been advised that this meter be used for descriptive and
devotional compositions, and not for kavyas and darshan.

There are many types of jagati meter, based on the type of foot composing the meter. Some common
ones include:
The Bhujangaprayata: Each foot has two unstressed syllabus on either side of a stressed syllable.
The great acarya, shanakra has written many compositions in this meter.

शरररर ससरपर तथथ वथ कलतर यशशथर चचतर धनर ममरतसलयर

मनशमन लगर गसरररचङङपदम ततत चकर ततत चकर ततत चकर ततत चकर

The Totaka: Each foot is composed of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed one.
A major part of the famous ‘Venkateshastotra’ is composed in this meter.

कमलथकस चचचसकसमतर
चिनयतथचिणतथतसनरलतनर ।

कमलथयतलरचन लरकपतम
चिवजयर भव वमटशशपतम ॥

The sragvini: A foot has a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones.

bālikātālikātālalīlālayā saṅgasandarśitabhrūlatāvibhramaḥ |
gopikāgītadattāvadhānaḥ svayam saṅjagau veṇunā devakīnandanaḥ

The Jalodhatagati: A combination of the Bhujangaprayata and the Totaka.

Bhakti Yoga
India is mother to a multitude of philosophical systems. It has theistic, atheistic and agnostic schools,
each accompanied by an ocean of literature on various philosophical discussions regarding
epistemology, metaphysics and the likes. It is indeed far too expansive for anyone to completely
explore. And, of these countless systems, one of the most renowned, and ever expanding is the
knowledge of bhakti yoga, which has its roots in various upanishads and other vedic texts.
Bhakti yoga’s principles are elucidated in various texts and the foremost of them is the Srimad-
Bhagavatam. This voluminous purana has a unique history and is considered by many to be the highest
of all puranas.
The Srimad Bhagavatam
The Sanskrit language has harbored a huge amount of literature spanning an immense range of topics.
It has given India many literary gems which stand as India’s heritage and shine bright for the world to
see. Among all this exalted literature, one which distinctly stands out is the Sri Mad-Bhagavatam, the
amala purana.
 It sets itself apart from the other vedic spiritual literature because of its exclusivity: it speaks of
pure philosophy, without any mention of ritualistic ceremonies, tantric performances etc. and thus is
called an amala purana, the spotless purana. Its story of origin explains why this is so:
Srila Vyasadeva; the compiler of the vedas; writer of the puranas, mahabharata and the vedanta sutra;
after having compiled the vedas, felt the need to make spiritual knowledge available to the common
man, for he realized that the vedas were too complex for the average man to comprehend. He had thus
written the puranas (except the bhagavat purana). For the sake of the lesser intelligent, he wrote the
great epic Mahabharata, which is a darshan kavya, a poetic composition propounding philosophy. And
then realizing knowledge was still too esoteric for the common man, he wrote the vedanta sutra (the
end of all vedic knowledge). Despite doing all of this, he still felt dissatisfied. His guru then revealed to
him that the cause for his dissatisfaction was that he did not write anything which exclusively described
the absolute truth in its completeness. Thus was born the Srimad-bhagavatam.

Since it was written after the vedanta sutra, it is often called a natural commentary (a
commentary by the author himself) on the brahma sutras. It thus starts with the very same words.
Janmady asya yatah…

The vedantists are often divided on what the conclusion of the vedanta sutra is? Is God formless energy
or is He capable of taking up a form. Is He a personal God? What happens after death? Do we merge
into God, or do we go to His abode? Is everything we experience reality or is it merely a dream? Such
metaphysical questions are often quite ambiguously answered, because of how diversely the small text
of the vedanta sutra can be interpreted.

But the Bhagavatam clarifies it all. It tells of the different features of the absolute truth that exist: the
form-less aspect, the localized aspect, and the personal form. Knowledge of the different attributes of
each of these aspects is given in great detail and the symptoms of realizing each aspect are also
described herein. With an immense number of historical references, each replete with astounding
imagery, it concludes that the highest aspect of the absolute truth is His ‘all attractive’, “Krsna”
(derived from a root common with the word aakarshan) personal form.

A thorough reading of this beautiful scripture, containing the most exotic descriptions of spiritual
realms, and transcendental occurrences in great detail, will give any man the highest realizations,
whereby he will be able to see how God’s different manifestations as Allah, Christ, Yahweh etc. or his
seemingly different (or maybe even contradicting!) messages available in the form of various holy texts
such as the Bible, Quran, Gita etc, are all the same Absolute truth, realized to different extents.

About Speculation
People often come up with new ideas which are, unfortunately, completely baseless. What is
unfortunate, is that even the most intelligent of men fall into the trap of the intellectual titillation, that
such speculation about God provides. They claim to be quoting from the puranas and shastras but don’t
actually show any verses which propound their philosophy. Some of them say God is an infinite blob of
energy, or an unending expanse of light, or a mind, or a creative potency etc. It is especially fascinating
to hear such philosophers say that they are quoting from the scriptures. To such claims I can only say,
show me one verse in all of the vedas put together which says so about God. One is not supposed to
‘build up’ a philosophical system, no matter how much western philosophy he has read, or how many
upanishads he has analysed. All the required philosophy is already present in the vedas. One needs to
merely accept what is written, as it is, under the guidance of a bona-fide teacher.
God and His Nature
वदचनत तततवचवदसततवर यजजथनमदयमम ।
बहमचत परमथतममचत भगवथचनचत शबदतम ॥
God has three features: His feature as Brahman which is realized by the ‘advaita-vadis’, His feature as
the localized super-soul within each heart is realized by the yogis through meditation, His feature as the
supreme person, realized by the bhaktas.

The Brahma Samhita says:

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

The absolute is the embodiment of Sat (eternality), Cit(Cognizance, Creative potency), Ananda(Bliss).
He is without beginning or end, and is the cause of all causes. The advaita vadis and the yogis only
realized the sat and cit aspects of the absolute. They are unaware of the ananda aspect. Only one who
realized the Personal form of the Absolute can experience that infinite bliss. (BS 5.1)

na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate

na tat-samas cabhyadhikas ca drsyate
parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate
sva-bhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca

He does not possess a bodily form like that of an ordinary living entity. There is no difference between
His body and His soul. He is absolute. All His senses are transcendental. Any one of His senses can
perform the action of any other sense. Therefore, no one is greater than Him or equal to Him. His
potencies are multifarious, and thus His deeds are automatically performed as a natural sequence.
(Shvetashvatara upanishad 6.8)

Similar information about God’s body is given in the Brahma samhita:

angani yasya sakalendriya-vrtti-manti

pasyanti panti kalayanti ciram jaganti
ananda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth, substantiality
and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses
in Himself, the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the
infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane. (BS 3.52)

The isopanishad also tells us of Gods personal form:

चहरणमयमन पथतमण सतयसयथचपचहतर मसखमम।

ततवर पचषनपथववणस सतयधमथरय दषयम॥

O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly
remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee. (Iso. 12)
The bhagavad Gita also reveals to us the nature of God. Arjuna says:

त्वममाददिदिदे व: पपुरुष: पपुरमाण-

स्त्वमस्य ववश्वस्य पररं वनिधमानिमम् ।
वदेतमाससि वदेदरं च पररं च धमाम
त्वयमा ततरं ववश्वमनिन्तरूप

You are the original Personality of Godhead, the oldest, the ultimate sanctuary of this manifested
cosmic world. You are the knower of everything, and You are all that is knowable. You are the supreme
refuge, above the material modes. O limitless form! This whole cosmic manifestation is pervaded by
You! (Bg 11.38)
Elsewhere we find:
पररं ब्रह्म पररं धमाम पववतरं परमरं भवमानिम् ।
पपुरुषरं शमाश्वतरं ददिव्यममाददिदिदे वमजरं ववभपुमम् ॥

Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute
Truth. You are the eternal, transcendental, original person, the unborn, the greatest. All the great sages
such as Nārada, Asita, Devala and Vyāsa confirm this truth about You, and now You Yourself are
declaring it to me. (Bg 10.12)

In the Bhagavatam, we find:

निमस्यदे पपुरुषरं त्वमादममीश्वररं प्रककृतदे: परमम् ।

अलक्ष्यरं सिवर्वभभूतमानिमामन्तरर्ववहिरवसस्स्थितमम् ॥

Śrīmatī Kuntī said: O Kṛṣṇa, I offer my obeisances unto You because You are the original personality
and are unaffected by the qualities of the material world. You are existing both within and without
everything, yet You are invisible to all. (SB 1.8.24)

All these verses, picked from various texts which are frequently referred to by the bhakti cult, prove, to
the believer of the vedas and shastras, that God, in his most complete manifestation, is a person.

Why Bhakti Yoga?

Expansive and All Encompassing
The principles of Bhakti yoga encompass a wide range of philosophies. Buddhism, the advaita
philosophy of Shankara, the Visista Advaita philosophy of Ramanuja, the dvaita philosophy of
Madhvacarya, all of them are comprehended by the bhaktas. They know the sources of the differences
within these philosophies and the reason why these realized acaryas propounded differing philosophies,
when the absolute truth is one. The bhagavatam has an extensive description of sankhya yoga also,
beginning with:

मशतमय उवथच
चवचदतवथथर कचपलर मथतसररतथर
जथतस‍नमहर यत तनवथचभजथत: ।
ततवथमनथयर यतपवदचनत सथरखयर
परवथच वश भचकचवतथनयरगमम ॥
Śrī Maitreya said: After hearing the statement of His mother, Kapila could understand her
purpose, and He became compassionate towards her because of being born of her body. He
described the Sāṅkhya system of philosophy, which is a combination of devotional service and
mystic realization, as received by disciplic succession. SB3.25.31

For the intellectuals, it is more than just titillating. It has so much philosophy, and so much application,
that one will thoroughly enjoy the brain-work.
Qualities
The purpose of any philosophy is to bring about a tangible change in the life/ lifestyle of an individual.
If a philosophical system only gives one some set of facts which bring about no change in him, it can
immediately be rejected. The philosophy propounded in the vedas is extremely practical. It is caters to
different needs. On the gross level, one is compelled to do good, maintain cleanliness, performyagnas,
etc. On the subtler level, the individual is undergoes a transformation of heart whereby he filled with a
plethora of good qualities.

शरपहथद उवथच
बहथदय: ससरगणथ मसनयरऽथ चसदथ:
सतवशकतथनगतयर वचसथर पवथहश: ।
नथरथचधतसर पसरगसणरश धसनथचप चपपस:
चकर तरषष महरचत स मम हरररगजथतम: ॥

Prahlāda Mahārāja prayed: How is it possible for me, who have been born in a family of asuras,
to offer suitable prayers to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Even until now, all the
demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, and all the saintly persons, could not satisfy the Lord by
streams of excellent words, although such persons are very qualified, being in the mode of
goodness. Then what is to be said of me? I am not at all qualified. SB 7.9.8

चचतकम तसरवथच
पचतगवहथचम तम शथपमथतमनरऽञचलनथचममकम ।
दमवशमरतयथरय यतपरकर पचवरचदषर चह तसय ततम ॥
Citraketu said: My dear mother, with my own hands folded together I accept the curse upon me.
I do not mind the curse, for happiness and distress are given by the demigods as a result of one’s
past deeds. SB 6.17.17

तवर नचनमससरथणथर न: पररक: परमर गसर: ।

यर नरऽनमकमदथनधथनथर चवभरशर चकसरथचदशतम ॥

Since Your Lordship is indirectly the greatest well-wisher of us demons, You act for our best
welfare by posing as if our enemy. Because demons like us always aspire for a position of false
prestige, by chastising us You give us the eyes by which to see the right path. SB 8.22.5

नचनर चवमसषमतयसतव मथययथ तम

यम तवथर भवथपययचवमरकणमनयहमतर: ।
अचरचनत कलपकतरर कस णपरपभरगय-
चमचछचनत यतसपशरजर चनरयमऽचप नवणथमम ॥

Persons who worship You simply for the sense gratification of this bag of skin are certainly
influenced by Your illusory energy. In spite of having You, who are like a desire tree and are the
cause of liberation from birth and death, foolish persons, such as me, desire benedictions from
You for sense gratification, which is available even for those who live in hellish conditions. SB
4.9.9

शरशसक उवथच
एवर भगवतथचदषर दसवथरसशचकतथचपत: ।
अममररषमसपथववतय ततपथदद दस:चखतरऽगहरतम ॥
तसय सरदममथवरकय पथदसपशरचवलचजत: ।
असतथवरतम तदरमरसर कव पयथ परचडतर भवशमम ॥

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: When thus advised by Lord Viṣṇu, Durvāsā Muni, who was very much
harassed by the Sudarśana cakra, immediately approached Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. Being very
much aggrieved, the muni fell down and clasped the King’s lotus feet. When Durvāsā touched his
lotus feet, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was very much ashamed, and when he saw Durvāsā attempting to
offer prayers, because of mercy he was aggrieved even more. Thus he immediately began offering
prayers to the great weapon of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. SB 9.5.1-2

The above verses highlight the qualities of a bhakta. Bhaktas are filled with qualities such as humility,
submission, and compassion. They are not bothered by external circumstances and are always blissful
(nityananda). They are also characterized by undying energy and equanimity. It is said that for such
saintly people, all living entities are the same: from the dog on the street to the brahamana.

But Isin’t It Sectarian?

No. The vedas are not “hindu” literature. The karma kanda activities in the vedas are often confused to
be the essence of ‘hinduism.’ Hinduism isn't even a real religion. It is merely the name given to the
vedic knowledge by the islamic invaders. Which is not very sensible, because the vedas also talk about
the advent of Jesus, and Muhammad, and Buddha. Does that mean Christians and muslims and
buddhists are all actually ‘Hindus’?

In reality, the Srimad-Bhagavatam talks about sanatana dharma. Whatever is written in absolute and
eternal. To call it a hindu text would be rather non-sensical.

एतचसममनतरम‍मलमचछ‍आचथय्र्यमण‍समचनवत:| महथमद‍इचत‍खयथत:
What about the ‘Hindu’ names then?
In Sanskrit every name conveys a meaning. When someone says Vishnu, we need not reject him saying
he is merely a Hindu. The word Vishnu means all-pervading. And if one believes that God is indeed all
pervading, he may call God Vishnu. Thus based on the context, different names have been given to the
Absolute truth to describe his activities and qualities.

What Bhakti Has Given To The World?

People all over the world have taken to the practice of bhakti yoga and they vouch for its
effectiveness as a life changing philosophical system. The implications of this exemplary process are
unending. The acceptance of such a drastically different (in terms of cultural and social norms)
philosophy, truly shows how effective it is.

On an Individual Level
Followers of bhakti yoga, the bhaktas, tend to be more cultured, ethical, and productive.
They are more controlled in thought and are less likely to take self deprecating decisions. They are
specially known for being consistent and loyal. They have regulated lifestyles and are naturally
characterized by good health and energy. On the mental platform also, they are always at peace, which
some scientists are trying to understand.
This is in fact stated on various occasions:

ससखमथतयचनतकर यतद‍मसचदगथहमतरचननयमम ।
वमचत यत न चशवथयर चसथतशचलचत ततवत: ॥
यर लबधवथ चथपरर लथभर मनयतम नथचधकर तत: ।
यचसमचनसथतर न दस:खमन गसरणथचप चवचथलयतम ॥
तर चवदथद:स खसरयरगचवयरगर यरगसरचजतमम ॥

In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through
transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he
thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst
of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact. (Bg
6.21-23)

On the Societal Level

All these people have not only transformed their lives in terms of changes in lifestyle and
character, but are also helping society on a grand scale. Programs such as food for life, which feeds
millions of people each day, and Bhaktivedanta national hospital etc. offer great help to the general
populace, both in terms of ‘material’ as well as spiritual well being.

On a Spiritual Level
It has provided people with the vision to look beyond the mundane things in their lives and find
bliss in a higher reality. Thus innumerable people have been able to fight with the seemingly
unconquerable problems in their lives and overcome them to find happiness. It might seem that every
philosophical system does this. But nothing can be farther from the truth. The ultimate goal of many
philosophies might be to find bliss or evolve to a higher platform, but the process is either not very
clear, or does not give measurable, tangible results. This phenomena is often justified within the
philosophical system itself, saying it is not very easy to tap into higher dimensions and hence we
should not base our practice on the experiences we beget. But what is the point of submitting to such a
system, when there are other systems which actually give us higher experiences.
 Most importantly it has given happiness to many people, as can be seen in the bright, smiling
faces of its ever-enthusiastic followers. It is reviving the ancient cultural and social systems of India,
which were perfectly designed self-sustaining systems, unlike today’s social structure, which always
pushes communities towards strife.
On the whole it is making the world a better place, one step at a time by re-introducing the
timeless features of the vedic era into the modern world.

Why this topic though?

Being philosophically inclined since my childhood I have always wondered about a lot of
question concerning life and its meaning. I spent many nights sleepless, in tears, wondering what the
purpose of all the things in life was. Do all our ideas, thoughts, memories etc. just cease to exist when
we die. We might live on in the memory of others, but what about a 100 years from now? We will just
be a figment of imagination. Our existence will just become a small speck on the fabric of time,
insignificant and meaningless. Is that what life is all about?
On my quest to find answers, I ventured about a lot of different philosophical systems. Though
many were quite intriguing, none seemed convincing; neither in content, nor in their practice. Finally
when I decided that maybe, after all life is ‘just a combination of chemical reactions’ and we are
nothing more than a chance occurrence of an almost impossible event, I came across the teachings of
bhakti yoga. The consistency of the philosophy and its completeness greatly inspired me and put a lot
of things into perspective. Not only did it give me direction in life, but also helped me reconcile the
differences between various philosophies.
I thus felt this would be a befitting topic to discuss within this report and duly hope everyone
who reads it finds it informative and thoroughly amusing.

References
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: With the Exposition of Vyasa
wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_prosody
SanskritMetres 12 JagatiStotraMetres, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffbqy_W76Co
Bhagavad Gita As It Is, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Srimad Bhagavatam
Isopanishad
Brahma Samhita
Shvetashavatara Upanishad.

References not directly quoted from

An introduction to Indian Philosophy, Satischandra Chatterjee
Philosophize This!, podcast by Stephen West