Living simply in a complex world: how modern monks navigate AI, social media, and climate change

What does living simply mean in 2025? 

With an increasingly complex world, it is becoming harder and harder to detach from Earthly possessions. 

But what if we don't need to, in order to live an awakened and spiritual life?

The monks of today don't look like the ones you might picture from your childhood. They carry iPhones, have social media, and catch planes across the world. 

From Hare Krishna to Humanistic Buddhism, modern followers of mindful traditions grapple with maintaining a connection to the world while not falling prey to its modern trappings of selfishness, consumerism, and greed. 

How do they do it? And what can we learn from them?

GUESTS: 

• His Holiness S.B. Keshava Swami, a Hare Krishna monk, author, and teacher of the Vaishnava Hindu tradition
• Tosana Krsna Dasa, also know as Tilak, a Hare Krishna teacher, pastor and disciple, also a student in both law and religion at the University of Sydney
• Venerable Dr JueWei Shi, a member of the Fo Guang Shan order of Buddhists and Director of the Nan Tien Institute’s Humanistic Buddhism Centre.

This episode of God Forbid was recorded on Dharawal and Gadigal land and produced on Gadigal land. 

It was first broadcast in January 2025