About a month ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Ram Dass about a series of audio tapes that were found in the archives at Naropa Institute. The talks were given in 1974 by Ram Dass to a group of Naropa students on the topic of Love, Service, Devotion and the Ultimate Surrender.
In my interview with Ram Dass we speak about the Gita and the tale of the warrior Arjuna and his divine friend Krishna. The story serves as a metaphor for the recurring dilemmas that we encounter as we spiral into the depth of our spiritual journey. Our dialogue together is about the Arjuna and the challenges his is faced with because he is taking his role as a warrior to seriously, and his true journey is to understand his souls calling . Krishna is informing Arjuna throughout the Gita the various paths one can take to experience God.
As a warrior Arjuna is looking across the field seeing his family and teachers and is faced with the dilemma that he might have to kill some of his family and friends. Krishna advises Arjuna that he should not be so upset that he is doing his Damara and they are doing their Damara, and not matter who kills who you will emerge from this battle with your soul. Krishna in the 11th chapter of the Gita ultimately shows Arjuna that he is everything, that he is God.
The lessons that the Gita teach each of us are deep and provide a better understanding and relation to the challenges we are all faced with as we walk the spiritual path. In these sessions on this CD series, Ram Dass illuminates the Gita’s essential verses with insights spanning many traditions, from Runi’s ecstatic poetry to Basho’s koans, from devotional chant to monastic silence, from Sri Ramana’s self-inquiry to Saint Paul’s devotion to Christ. The Destination? A new perceptive on the crucial moments of contradiction and questioning that all spiritual seeks must face again and again.
Ram Dass advises reading the Gita three times, once as an interesting story, second from the perspective of Arjuna and the third time from the perspective of Krishna. As Ram Dass states our world is currently in turmoil and reading the Gita from the perspective of Arjuna will certainly shed light and a better understand on our spiritual paths and what actions we might want to take to awaken to our souls calling.
During the course of my interview with Ram Dass, I personally had some amazing insights and awakenings. I hope that as you listen to my interview and clearly pause to reflect on the words of wisdom that Ram Dass is articulating—give reflection to the God within you. Give thought to how Love, Service , Devotion and the Ultimate Surrender might yield new answers to your deepest spiritual questions.
If you would like more information about Ram Dass you can visit his website by clicking here, he also has a series of talk coming up with Wayne Dyer and Echart Tolle please click here to be directed to the registration website. His website is a wonderful resource, video, webcasts and writings. I hope you enjoy my interview with Ram Dass as much as I enjoyed doing the interview. Namaste.
