David Nichtern – Creativity, Spirituality & Making a Buck – Ep. 39 – Chanting, Music, & Sri Siddhi Ma with Nina Rao

Nina Rao joins David to share the clarity and wisdom of her Guru, Sri Siddhi Ma, and discuss chanting, music, Maharaj-ji, the Goddess, and Hanuman.   

Nina Rao is a devotional singer. She tours with Krishna Das, playing cymbals, singing, and acting as his business manager. Nina has two of her own albums, “Antarayaami – Knower of All Hearts” and “Anubhav”. Nina regularly leads kirtan, workshops, and retreats in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York and beyond.

 

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“It’s all about purifying. The practice is helping us drop all the stuff considered obscurations or kleshas to seeing clearly. If we see clearly we can understand. If we understand we can have a compassionate heart. With that compassionate heart we can feel our interconnectedness. Then what else is there to do in this body but feel that interconnectedness, feel that love, and share.” – Nina Rao

Nina Rao visits Jaya Prasada to discuss the innate radiance of their Guru, Sri Siddhi Ma, on the BHNN Guest Podcast Ep. 114

In this episode Nina and David discuss:

  • How all aspects of our self and life weave together
  • Nina’s relationship to Sri Siddhi Ma, Maharaj-ji (Neem Karoli Baba), and Hanuman
  • Sri Siddhi Ma as a fully integrated being of wisdom, clarity, love, and presence
  • Meeting Maharaj-ji through Krishna Das’ chanting
  • Nina’s life-changing first darshan with Sri Siddhi Ma
  • Western culture, Eastern spirituality, and cultural appropriation
  • Kirtan, chanting, music, and creativity
  • Goddess, Shakti, and the Divine Feminine
  • Connections between Bhakti and Buddhism
Transform your meditation practice with Dharma Moon’s 1-on-1 mentoring program: 1:1 MENTORING

About David Nichtern: 

David Nichtern, founder of Dharma Moon, is a senior Buddhist teacher who has been practicing and teaching meditation for over 40 years. He was one of the initial American students of renowned meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival in the United States in 1970. He is also a business consultant with companies creating a variety of offerings integrating meditation in a larger health and well-being context. David is also a multiple Grammy-nominated and Emmy award-winning musician.

Listen to more from David: 

David sits down with psychologist and author Daniel Goleman for conversation around the intersection of awareness, creativity and business, in CSM Ep. 1.
Krishna Das joins David for chanting and chatting about transforming negative karmas, the path of surrender, & the connections between Hinduism and Buddhism, in CSM Ep. 13
Anthropologist, Alberto Villolda, PhD, joins David to illuminate ancient shamanic wisdom to heal our modern world through imbibing the natural, intuitive flow of consciousness, nature, and service, in CSM Ep. 18
David speaks with his longtime friend, Jamie Lee Curtis, about her meditation practice, the bhav of creativity, and playing to your strongest suits in life, in CSM Ep. 2
David and Daniel Aitken share a conversation around the creative process and meditation, manifesting our visions, and Trungpa Rinpoche’s Shambhala teachings, in CSM Ep. 19
Transform your meditation practice with Dharma Moon’s 1-on-1 mentoring program: 1:1 MENTORING
Photo via Nina Rao