In this episode of Pilgrim Heart, Krishna Das answers questions about dealing with addiction, how to pick the right daily practice, and what it means to truly follow your heart.
Dealing with Addiction
The first question for Krishna Das is about maintaining spiritual practice while dealing with addiction or mental health problems. Krishna Das talks about how important it is for people with addiction problems to have support from other people. He shares stories of his own struggles with addiction and how he was saved by one of Maharajji’s great devotees.
“One aspect of being a junky is that they can’t stand suffering, and that’s why they do what they do; they just have a very low tolerance for unhappiness.” – Krishna Das
What does Eastern philosophy have to say about treating addiction? Find out on the Awakened Heart Blog
Follow Your Heart (7:55)
Krishna Das answers questions about what it means to truly follow the heart, and how to not get lost in the ego. He talks about how spiritual practice is important because it allows us to let go of the ego and return to our true nature, however briefly. Practice helps us develop the strength not to get caught in our programming.
“Follow your heart, do what you want; it won’t be disrespectful to anybody. And if you don’t follow your heart, you’re being disrespectful to yourself. Don’t let your mind screw up anything for you.” – Krishna Das
Daily Practices (18:28)
Krishna Das answers a question about setting up a daily spiritual practice, and if it’s possible to overthink how the practice is going. He talks about how it’s important to follow the heart and pay attention to what’s working and what isn’t. Motivation plays a role in how things manifest in our practice, and it’s important not to constantly judge how things are going.
“The whole path is you finding out what’s right for you in life; there’s no other path than that. All the practices simply give us the strength to be good human beings.” – Krishna Das
