In this Maharaj-ji focused episode, Krishna Das shares Dada’s ‘tale of two blankets,’ Dr. Robert Thurman’s theory on dead beings, and offers chants to Ma Durga and Sri Hanuman-ji.
In this Hanging Out in the Heart Space session from April 15, 2021, Krishna Das offers deep insight into his guru, Maharajji (Neem Karoli Baba). Reflecting on their time spent in India together in the early 1970s, he shares how he got his spiritual name, Hanuman’s connection to Krishna, explores Dr. Robert Thurman’s statement, “There are no dead beings,” and offers Dada’s theory on Maharajji’s two blankets—one physical, one ethereal.
Open to Krishna Das & Michael Sternfeld’s new Bhakti course on the Ramayana: Hanuman’s Leap of Faith
Getting a Spiritual Name // Hanuman & Krishna // A Tale of Two Blankets
Opening with the funny story of how he got the spiritual name “Driver” from Maharaj-ji, Krishna Das shares the lila of how he got his real spiritual name, meaning Servant of Krishna/God. Through this lens, he describes Hanuman’s relationship of service to Krishna in the great battle of the Mahabharata. From here, describes his teacher and friend Dada’s theory on Maharajji’s “two blankets,” his outer physical one, and an inner ethereal one.
“One day in my diary I wrote, ‘Well, I guess you’ll always be [named] Driver…’ Later on in the day we went to Kainchi. I got called into Maharajji’s room, and he looked at me and said, ‘Arjuna, nahin. Krishna, nahin. Krishna Das!’ I looked at him and said, ‘Krishna Das? What’s the deal? I’m a Hanuman guy!’ He just laughed and said, ‘Hanuman served Krishna too.'” – Krishna Das
Krishna Das reflects longing, letting go, & the lineage of Hanuman, on Ep. 97 of Pilgrim Heart
There Are No Dead Beings (23:00)
Asked to sing a chant for someone recently deceased, after obliging Krishna Das contemplates his friend and Buddhist scholar Dr. Robert Thurman’s candid statement that, “There are no dead beings.” Diving into consciousness, awareness, and reincarnation, Krishna Das shares how we can both accept and feel the pain of the loss, while still communing with the ever-present love from that being. Next, he shares on love, emotions, and what he learned from his close mentor in India, K.C. Tewari.
“Bob Thurman has said at times, ‘There are no dead beings.’ The bodies come and go, the karma of the body wears out, finishes, but the being is not only alive, but present. You can feel that presence, you can feel that love, even if the body is gone.” – Krishna Das
Sharon Salzberg & Dr. Bob Thurman explore wisdom, joy, freedom, & bliss, on Ep. 164 of the Metta Hour
Bhakti Session: Jai Jagatambe & Sri Hanuman Chalisa (43:00)
Turning the page from the question and answer portion of the show, Krishna Das picks up the harmonium for some devotional kirtan chanting to bring us all home. In the first song of this Bhakti Yoga session, Krishna sings sweet and potent mantras to the Divine Mother, Ma Durga; before switching tunes and Deities in a deep and bounding Hanuman Chalisa offered to all beings lost and caught in suffering. Om Shanti.
“Any practice we do—any chanting we do, any meditation—it helps everyone in the universe—all souls, all beings—because we’re also connected to all those beings. Also, at the same time, it can deepen attention and feeling if we dedicate that practice to helping all beings. If we know someone in pain, someone suffering, we can bring them to mind and offer them the fruits of this practice.” – Krishna Das
Krishna Das offers insight into coming home & bearing witness, on Ep. 111 of Pilgrim Heart
