Ram Dass Here And Now

In this moving and humorous talk about using the stuff of life to get free, Ram Dass shares how we can celebrate spirit through service by merging our divinity with our humanity.This episode of Here and Now is a continuation of the talk started in Episode 216 – From Psychedelics to ServiceToday's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdassIn this episode, Ram Dass talks about:Moving home to care for his elderly father and how that became a method for himGetting called away from a meditation retreat to help out his cancer-stricken stepmotherLarry Brilliant and the founding of the Seva FoundationHow the Seva Foundation put service into action on a very large scaleThe difference between the Sanskrit words Dharma and SevaThe paradox of sufferingNEW Meditation Series: Pause, Breathe, Be Here Now with Ram Dass, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Joseph Goldstein, John Lockley, Ram Dev, Trudy Goodman, Lama Tsultrim Allione—FREE January 16 to 25. Sit in true peace, love, and tranquility. Join thousands of people around the world for this collective meditation experience: onecommune.com/ramdassWant to be part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join the Ram Dass Fellowship virtual meetup, sign up for the General Fellowship group here to receive more information.“So you end up understanding that you serve in order to work on yourself, and you work on yourself in order to be a better instrument of service. And you can feel the circle work, you can just feel that circle work.” – Ram DassSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Raghu Markus returns to lead us into the new year with a talk from Ram Dass that reminds us of our interconnectedness and the need to keep our hearts turned toward the spirit of generosity.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdassDo you want to share what you learned from the most recent episode of the Here and Now podcast with a like-minded community? Join the Ram Dass Fellowship virtual meetup on January 3rd at 8 pm EST. Sign up for the General Fellowship group to receive more information."You and I came out of an undifferentiated identity with all things, then we learned we were separate.But you have had many experiences in your life, one way or another, where you have felt that kind of connection with all things. Maybe it is lying under the stars. Maybe it occurred in church. Maybe it occurred whenever you transcended your separateness. It could have occurred in a traumatic experience. It could have occurred when you lost someone you loved. It could have occurred chemically. It could have occurred through meditation or a thousand ways it could occur.You see the predicament is, once you have experienced that connection with all things - and that is part of your humanity too - then you don't know what to do with that. So you end up denying it to go back into your separateness. You live with this predicament, this tension that is created by the statement, 'We are all one, but it's my television set." - Ram Dass See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ram Dass explores how his psychedelic awakening and quest to always stay high started him on a path to take the curriculum of being human and use service as a means to get free.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdassWant to be part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join the Ram Dass Fellowship virtual meetup on January 3rd at 8 pm EST. Sign up for the General Fellowship group to receive more information.“You have to work with your attractions as well as your aversions. Many of you are good at working with attractions; you get a little weak on the aversions...Don’t rush, it’s all right. There’s lots of time, and we’re human and it’s not an error.” – Ram DassSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is the second of a two-part extended release of Here and Now's first episode.In this mind-bending and perspective-altering conclusion to one of his most famous early talks, Ram Dass explores some of the different methods available to us on this spiritual journey.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass“The final place one gets to is that one has a dial that is completely flexible and you can bring in all levels at all times and you see how it is at every level all the time. Because what in fact is going on is you are living at a certain vibrational rate, and that’s what makes it all seem real to you. And you change that vibrational rate just a tiny bit and all of this is gone and something else is here.” – Ram DassSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is the first of a two-part extended release of Here and Now's first episode.In part one of this classic talk from 1969, Ram Dass shares the experiences of his journey to that point in time, from Harvard professor to psychedelic explorer to finding his guru in India.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass“I now knew what it was that I was reaching for; I understood the possibility, but I didn’t know how to get there.” – Ram DassSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Silver joins Raghu to discuss ‘Brilliant Disguise,’ the new documentary exploring K.C. Tewari and his relationship to Maharaj-ji. In this special bonus episode of the Here and Now Podcast, Raghu and David share teachings from Ram Dass that further explore the film’s themes of grace, devotion and love.Brilliant Disguise tells the unique story of a group of inspired Western spiritual seekers from the 60s, who in meeting the great American teacher, Ram Dass, followed him to India to meet his Guru, Neem Karoli Baba, familiarly known as Maharaji. Two days before he left his body, Maharaji instructed K.C. Tewari to take care of the Westerners, which he did resolutely until the day he died in 1997.K.C. Tewari—in the guise of a headmaster of a boys school in the foothills of the Himalayas—was secretly a High Yogi, frequently able to go into altered states of trance, known as Samadhi, at any moment.Featuring Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Raghu Markus, Radha Baum, and others—including K.C’s two sons, as well as rare archival interviews with K.C. himself—Brilliant Disguise is set in the stunning backdrop of India and is adorned with spectacular and moving footage from the 1989 Maha Kumbha Mela – the largest spiritual gathering in the world, attended by K.C. and the group of Westerners featured throughout this colorful biopic.This film is the story of a man who represents the intrinsic potential in all human beings to live in direct contact with the Divine Presence. K.C. chose to live within the humble disguise of a husband and school teacher. The brilliance is K.C.’s ability at a moment’s notice to go beyond himself into sublime states of consciousness.Watch Brilliant Disguise HereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Continuing his conversation with Mirabai Bush and Sharon Salzberg from our previous episode, Ram Dass explores the path from suffering to grace and talks about the lessons he learned from his stroke.This recording was made at the 2012 Open Your Heart in Paradise retreat in Maui. Check out the first half of this conversation: Bhakti and The Path of LoveToday's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdassWant to be part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join the Ram Dass Fellowship virtual meetup on November 22nd at 8 pm EST. Sign up for the General Fellowship group to receive more information.“I remember the moment I got there. I was in the hospital, but all of the people around me were like, ‘Oh, terrible, terrible stroke, terrible.’ I looked up at Maharajji and he was smiling and smiling, in a picture. And I said to him, ‘You always gave me grace in my life. What happened to you? I was stroked. Did you go out for lunch or something?’ And the positive radiations continue to come from him. So that was fierce grace.” – Ram DassSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this enlightening discussion, Sharon Salzberg, a renowned Buddhist teacher and author, joins Mirabai Bush to explore the path of love. They reflect on the mystical poetry of Hafiz and Rumi, encouraging listeners to redefine their understanding of love amid life's challenges. They share personal anecdotes, including whimsical encounters and the power of connections born from vulnerability. The conversation highlights how suffering can deepen love and foster community, reminding us of love's transformative nature in every aspect of life.

In this dharma talk from the 1980s, Ram Dass talks about hearing what our part in the dance is, opening to form to find the emptiness, and tapping into the higher connections of our intuitive minds.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdassThis episode is also sponsored by Pengwee’s Breath by Debbie Nutley, an award-winning children’s picture book designed for 4-7 year-olds. A great tool for teaching mindfulness to children. Order your copy today: Pengwee's BreathWant to be part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join the Ram Dass Fellowship virtual meetup on October 25th at 8 pm EDT. Sign up for the General Fellowship group to receive more information.“But first, if you’re going to hear the message, the unique message of your incarnation, the unique message of your manifestation, the unique message in which you will find the emptiness, the form in which you will find the emptiness, you must open to the form. You must allow the form.” – Ram DassSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the Q&A session from the 1990s, Ram Dass takes on questions about eating animals and inner work, psychedelics, burnout in service, and dealing with the death of a child.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdassWant to be part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join the Ram Dass Fellowship virtual meetup on October 11th at 3 pm EDT. Sign up for the General Fellowship group to receive more information. “There’s a part of the love that (exists) that is invulnerable to the winds of change, of coming and going. And it’s very hard when you’re missing the form so much to hear that other reality that exists between the two of you. And yet, that’s there.” – Ram DassSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.