Mindrolling with Raghu Markus

While in L.A., Raghu drops by for a chat with a newly made friend, comedian Natasha Leggero. They talk about what led Natasha on a path of self-inquiry. How Ram Dass has played an important role in her life and career. Natasha talks about how inspirational relationships and self-work have brought her a life she couldn’t have imagined as a struggling comedian. Raghu touches on the topics of shakti, mantra, and “drugs”.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Raghu gets the opportunity to chat with new found friend Vincent Horn, host of the Buddhist Geeks podcast. They discuss the interplay of technology and spiritual experience. In what ways do the internet, smartphones, and emerging technologies affect our spiritual practice and how can we utilize them to their greatest potential?   Vincent founded his podcast "Buddhist Geeks" and website "Meditate.IO" with the philosophy of taking a fresh approach to old practices. He and Raghu talk about this philosophy and what role they think technology and the internet have in the practice of spirituality. What are the potentials of our newfound interconnectivity via the internet and smartphones? How can they be used to foster a network of awakened individuals as opposed to separating and polarizing us? Listen as Vincent tells his vision of our "technodelic" future. Using technology as a teaching tool to bring us into altered states of consciousness and awareness. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mindfulness and approaching it from as many practical approaches as possible. In this latest episode, Raghu and Ramesh look at: What does mindfulness really mean? What kind of perspective you can have about it that can change your life, the different practices of it that people can do on a day to day basis without joining anything, you can sit there and work with your breath, so you can bring awareness and the witness into your life so you can see your motivations and have a curiosity on who you really are. Bringing mindfulness into your life so you can just relax into a moment where you’re not judging yourself and can just be. In a world that asks us to be constantly multi-tasking, how do we curb the monkey mind? Ramesh and Raghu explore a variety of practices and perspectives that help to cultivate a less discursive mind. Such as the breath, which brings all your life systems to one place and is critical to focusing. Or Vipassana, also known as Insight Meditation, is a meditation that helps develop concentration and facilitates having clear focus, or one-pointedness. Whatever the practice, it’s about settling the mind and body down, so that one’s consciousness can come together. Amazon Recommendations Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening by Joseph Goldstein The First and Last Freedom by Jiddu Krishnamurti See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Raghu welcomes Mirabai Starr- famous for her Christian Mystic books and now her memoir- Caravan of No Despair. Raghu asked what in the world she asked for while still in the Bardos between lives - her first few decades in this incarnation being so full of intense suffering! As if she knew what she needed to transform her being but she really asked for the full monty and managed to come through with flying colors! At one point Mirabai talks about how she "fired" God- "...all the teachings I had once embraced I now dismissed as artifacts of magical thinking." Of course this led to our discussion of the dark night of the soul and St John of the Cross whose book she then translated. And in the midst of that work she had a realization. "Tragedy and trauma are not guarantees for a transformational spiritual experience, true, but they are opportunities." Mirabai also explains two key concepts- Radical Unknowingness and Sacred Unraveling. These two form the backbone of a spiritual path that is not pre-digested concepts but more visceral reality. For more from Mirabai Starr, visit her website or Facebook page. Mirabai's Book: Caravan of No Despair See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Raghu and his Guru pal Duncan Trussell, get together for an illuminating conversation with Trevor Hall at the most recent Ram Dass retreat on Maui. Trevor shares his amazing transformation through discovering the guru, Neem Karoli Baba, by meeting Raghu’s younger brother at the age of 17, and eventually winding up living in a Kali temple in Laguna Beach, CA. Duncan’s infectious curiosity anchors this podcast as Trevor describes the many layers of symbolism found in the image of the fierce goddess Kali. Most people don’t see the significance behind the many layers of this Goddess, usually getting distracted by the gore depicted and not seeing the undertones of motherly unconditional love represented. Trevor draws from his years living at the Kali temple to explain the iconography and the unconditional love behind the Divine Mother Goddess Kali. Duncan’s questions serve as a guide as Trevor elaborates on all facets of the portrayals of Kali: from the reason Kali is seen biting her tongue, to the implications of her holding the sword of discernment in one hand, and a severed head in the other. In the case of Kali’s bloody garland of 50 skulls, Trevor helps to break down the symbolism: “the 50 heads represent the 50 letters of the sanskrit alphabet, which includes all sound. All sounds come from the mother, everything we hear: good, bad, the sound of the ocean, this language, everything is filled with the mother’s presence. So what happens if we have that mindset, everything I hear is just ma, ma, ma…” Or as Duncan summarizes it: “So everything I hear is a severed head on the neck of Kali.” Raghu recounts his experiences with different embodiments of the Divine Mother: with reading the “Gospel of Ramakrishna”; a meeting with Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual partner, “Mother” in Pondicherry; and his interactions with his Indian mother, the saint, Siddhi Ma. Together, they continue to explore their own personal experiences with Divine Mother, their mothers, and the spectrum of both positive and negative attachments Western culture has with the word “Mother.” To wrap up, Trevor chants a prayer to the Divine Mother, or Ma.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Raghu is joined by his roommate from back in the day in India, Rameshwar Das Lytton or just plain Ramesh! Ramesh has been Ram Dass co-author on his two latest books- Be Love Now and Polishing The Mirror. Raghu quotes from Ram Dass about those who saw the physical Guru- “None of us knew Maharaji- we just knew our own projections” More fodder for the reality of not needing to meet the Guru in the flesh. Also on the table is; what is a Guru vs a Saint vs a Siddha or perfectly enlightened one. Raghu and Ramesh also delve into the reality of our overactive, busy minds and the effect on our lives. Referring from a NY Times article that corroborated scientifically that “the capacity for original thinking is markedly stymied by stray thoughts, obsessive ruminations and other forms of mental load” and “your internal exploration is too often diminished by an overly occupied mind”. So our only conclusion is Meditate Now! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Raghu with his co-host, true blue soul mate wife, Saraswati Markus hang with Gil Fronsdal- newly named Baba Gil. Gil hails from the Insight Meditation family and was discovered by Saraswati during her long nite festivals of Dharama talks. When we talk about the difficulties people have with meditative practice Gil calls out to people to remember that it is a "failure free zone". We talk about the Be Here Now concept and Gil renames it "unconditional acceptance of the present moment". And of course the hosts inevitably have to ask about mindfulness and it's very worldly application in these times- Gil suggests that we use mindfulness to check out our thoughts and motivations and follow and be aware of where our focus wanders. Saraswati engages Baba Gil about the Buddhist No Self teaching which he comments on as " the self is like wind drag- when you eliminate that drag you can become free- no self".   Gil Fronsdal- The Issue At Hand- Essays on Mindfulness http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org   Amazon recommendations; Radiohead- A Moon Shaped Pool When Anger Hurts Matthew Mckay See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Raghu is joined by Duncan Trussell and Lama Surya Das at the Ram Dass Maui spring retreat  live podcast session. Unfortunately, just before the session Raghu cut someone off in the bathroom line and then was reprimanded by the aggrieved party. Of course there ensued guilt and recrimination which Duncan, in his wisdom, reassured Raghu that we all can't live up to impossible standards all the time- he then drifted into some comparison to the crucifixion.... Lama Surya Das on the other hand came to the table with exemplary explanations of the very difficult Buddhist concept of emptiness in his inimitable practical teaching style. In the end a sense of humor and a sense of our human predicament mashed in with a sense of the possibilities of a human incarnation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Raghu chats with Danny Goldberg- a man well versed in culture and politics to discuss the intense polarization in this country in this election year. The discussion circles around an article by Arthur C Brooks entitled Bipartisanship isn’t for Wimps, After All. Even friends are polarized by loyalties to Hillary or Bernie not to mention between Democrats and Republicans. As Mr Brooks mentions in his article- “we don’t like each other very much” and bigotry reigns all the way to contempt. How do we deal with this in our lives and stop the individual tendencies towards this polarization in our society. The Dalai Lama suggests the anti-dotes. Of course looking to ourselves and our behavior and not to governments and institutions to make the necessary changes. The Dalai Lama goes further to suggest a cultivation of warm heartedness towards those with whom we disagree. Sound squishy? No it’s actually tough but practical advice. As Danny says though- I don’t think it’s a contradiction of warm heartedness to say to those you disagree with- I respect your pain, I can love your soul but there are some moral issues that you advocate that I cannot agree with and I will counter in every way that I can. And Danny tells of ride sharing with a Trump supporter that featured two warm hearts! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Raghu is joined by Frank Osteseski, a Buddhist teacher andguiding light for people who are facing the death and dyingprocess.Raghu talks about his recent experience with the transition ofhis close friend Jyoti and it how it was like being at the veryprecipice of awakening when he sat with her as she was slippingthrough the Bardos.Frank describes being with someone who is dying as anopportunity to let go of our of all preconceived notions and to usethe transparency and rawness of that experience to bring ourselvesinto the moment.Frank encourages everyone not to wait to tell our near and dearthat we love them, and practicing for the eventual transition issomething to consider sooner than later. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.