Krishna Das – Ep. 63 – Who You Think You Are

Krishna Das - Ep. 63 - Who You Think You Are

This week Krishna Das delves into questions around identity and ego, looking at how spiritual practices can help us overcome our struggles with both.

Show Notes

Pulling You Back In (Opening) – Krishna Das reflects on the opposing forces of the ego and the unconditional love that was found in Maharaj-ji. We look at the power of regular practice and the interconnection between God, Guru and self.

“Maharaj-ji opened the door to that love and we could walk right in. In fact, he would drag us in but we would pull ourselves out of it. He would open the door to this room and we would feel loved in a way that we had never been loved before, but our own stuff pulled us out over and over again.” – Krishna Das

Who You Think You Are (8:45) – Have you noticed that you tend to believe almost everything that you think? KD investigates why it is that we identify so much with the thoughts that ultimately isolate, mislead and afflict us.

Joseph Goldstein explores ways in which we can work with awareness without identifying with it on Ep. 43 of the Insight Hour Podcast.

Love, Serve, Remember (15:15) – Krishna Das talks about how mantra can be misused to bypass our afflictive thoughts and emotions. He shares the methods for working with our emotions and reflects on what it means to walk in the path of God.

“So, he didn’t want to hear English because English is the language that we tell ourselves the stories about ourselves to ourselves. It never stops, so he wanted a break from that, and I understand that but we can’t stop thinking; we can’t stop those stories. What we can do though is substitute different stories, which is why all the great saints say to serve people. Don’t think about yourself, think of others.” – Krishna Das

Ego and Karma (23:00) – Is there such a thing as a healthy ego? Krishna Das looks at the nature of the ego and its role in our karma.

“Asking the ego/mind to find and destroy itself is like asking the thief to be the policeman. There will be a lot of investigation, but no arrest will ever be made.“ – Ramana Maharshi

Opening to Suffering (37:10) – What did Maharaj-ji have to say about the suffering that all beings endure?

“The reason that we want to open to the reality of suffering is so that we can look for those causes in ourselves and because the stronger we are the more we can help others.” – Krishna Das

        

Art via Eirinknut