Straight from his heart space, Krishna Das explores how peace comes from practice, the concept of waiting for grace, chanting to alleviate the suffering of others, and much more.
This episode of Pilgrim Heart is from Krishna Das’ Hanging in the Heart Space session on February 4th, 2021. Join Krishna Das in virtual Satsang every Thursday at 4 pm PST for the live recordings of Hanging in the Heart Space – featuring music, conversation, & live Q&A with Krishna Das.
Peace Comes From Practice
Krishna Das answers questions about the possibility of finding peace, if finding peace within is a requisite to serving to others, and the genesis of ‘Bernie’s Chalisa,’ which was inspired by Zen master Bernie Glassman. Krishna Das talks about why peace only comes from a practice such as meditation, chanting, or service.
“If we’re still attached to our thoughts, if we’re still identified and attached to all our emotions, if we’re still pushed around by the shadows of our own unresolved psychological issues, then peace is probably not possible for us. Peace is only gonna come from some kind of practice.” – Krishna Das
Jack Kornfield explores the peaceful heart on Heart Wisdom Ep. 114
Dust on the Mirror (15:00)
Krishna Das fields questions about hiding our spirituality and faith from others, getting bored while chanting, and what it means to wait for grace. He talks about how grace is always there, we just can’t always experience it because of the dust covering up the mirror of our hearts. Practice is what helps us keep that mirror clean.
“It’s hard to talk about grace… Very simply, we need to clean the mirror of our hearts so that what’s reflected is accurate and not distorted by the dust on the mirror.” – Krishna Das
Chanting and Service (30:45)
Krishna Das answers questions about getting started on the path, creating reality through visualization, mantra seed syllables, and whether the practice of chanting can be used to help alleviate the suffering of others. For Krishna Das, chanting and service go hand-in-hand, but he cautions us about the potential ego trip that service can bring on.
“What you don’t want to do is get too busy trying to cure everybody. This tends to get into a very big ego power trip.” – Krishna Das
Spring Washam talks about compassionate service in the world on BHNN Guest Podcast Ep. 69
Heart Space Kirtan (44:05)
Krishna Das closes out this session with a round of Kirtan, including the Hanuman Chalisa.
