Krishna Das answers questions about spiritual practice, the Guru, mantra chanting, our relationship to time, and the nature of oneness.
Practice, Understanding, & Longing
Using his time in India as an example, Krishna Das gets to the root of spiritual practice, sharing that we don’t need to understand it, rather, we just need to do it. Through continued practice, understanding and experience will arise naturally. Through this lens, Krishna Das cracks the illusion that we are actually doing anything, as he shares that what is actually moving us is karma, grace, and longing.
“We’re all the same. Everybody has it inside. Everyone of us. It’s just covered up by our stuff. If you do a practice long enough, with enough sincerity, there’s no question that you’re gonna have a response from your heart. It has to happen.” – Krishna Das
Sharon Salzberg joins Krishna Das for a talk on connecting with your practice and navigating the spiritual path on Ep. 76 of Pilgrim Heart
The Guru & Time (4:35)
Krishna Das explores the nature of the Guru and Great Beings, and how they relate to our relationship with time. The Guru is considered ‘The Dweller in Three Times,” which is referring to past, present, and future. Krishna Das explains, that for a Guru, there is no past, present, or future because they are not stuck in time in like we are. For them, there is nothing to do because it’s all already been done.
“Krishna says this in the Bhagavad Gita, ‘I come as time, the great destroyer.’ Arjuna looks and he sees all beings entering into Krishna, and coming out of Krishna; birth, death, and everything going on, and at the same time, he sees nothing is moving in the universe: No time.” – Krishna Das
Join Krishna Das and Robert Svoboda in an illuminating discussion around the nature of the Guru on Ep. 2 of Living With Reality
The Illusion of Outside & Inside (10:30)
Prompted by a question pertaining to chanting mantras out loud vs internally, Krishna Das explains the nuances in these various styles. Functionally, chanting out loud may allow for more cues to remember to come back to the present moment, but in an absolute sense, Krishna Das explains how the Great Beings don’t differentiate between internal and external. For them, it’s all the eternal now. We are invited, through practice, to go beyond the senses and loosen these identifications as well.
“[The Great Beings] see that the same light lives in each heart and is exactly the same. That’s the oneness that they talk about. It’s like the Moon’s light reflected in many different pools…It’s the same light in every pond, but in each pond it looks distinct, and the pond get’s identified with the distinctness, instead of its similarity, the One, the singularness. ” – Krishna Das
For a question and answer session on spiritual practice and the nature of oneness, join Ram Dass on Ep. 151 of Here & Now
