Krishna Das helps us sift through emotional reactions, dust off our hearts, and remember the vital importance of having a spiritual practice.
The Name of God // Emotions & Spiritual Practice
Krishna Das breaks down the importance of spiritual practice and using the name of God. Maharaj-ji used to say that through repeating God’s name, everything is accomplished. We can use this practice anywhere and in any mood. We are constantly flooded by thoughts and emotions and often do not think about where they come from. Krishna Das calls this needless suffering and blind reactions. When we find ease of heart by repeating the names of God, we begin to slow down our emotional reactions and understand our states of mind. It is as integral to our livelihood as breathing.
“How important is taking the name, how important is spiritual practice? It is about as important as breathing. Without the breath you’ve got no life and without practice, without turning towards the spirit in one way or another and calming the mind or emotions, your heart will never open.” – Krishna Das
Check out The Three R’s of Mindfulness Pt. 3 Reactivity with David Nichtern to learn more about emotional responses
Addiction, Pleasure, & Pain (33:36)
Pleasure is the absence of pain and pain is the absence of pleasure. Most people try to only live in pleasure, seeking out objects like food, heroin, sex, etc. However, it is impossible to untie pleasure from pain; they will always be intertwined. If we get in touch with our true nature, it is no longer necessary to find pleasure in objects. Ultimate liberation requires no object and has no cause. It is natural, innate, and comes from our inner selves opening up. We all have the capacity for this.
Tune into Ram Dev’s Healing at the Edge for an episode about addiction: Working with Deep Emotion, Trauma and Addiction
The Chalisa and Changing Fate (54:10)
We have the power to change our fate when we sing the Hanuman Chalisa. Do not worry about having blind faith. Suspending our disbelief for just long enough to chant the names of God or to sing a chalisa may be seriously beneficial for our karmas, our emotions, and our daily lives. Krishna Das tells us about the meaning of the first few lines in the Hanuman Chalisa: the guru lives inside us. Our soul is a mirror and it gets dusty with fear, aggression and greed. Our guru and our practice help us to polish that mirror so that we can see the love that lives within our hearts. To close, Krishna Das serenades us with the Chalisa.
“Everyone has within them everything they need, but it is absolutely covered up. It’s like you have a huge diamond mine under the ground but there are tornados and hurricanes all around, and you can’t get to the spot where everything is. We have to find a way to land, regardless of what is going on in our heads or in the outside world.” – Krishna Das
Photo via Lugowski