Raghu is joined by his old friends, and armchair Ramayana scholars, Rameshwar Das and Krishna Das, for an in-depth discussion on the Ramayana and how it can impact our daily lives.
Using K.K. Sah’s insightful Ramayana commentary as a reference, the group explores the nine forms of devotion taught in the Ramayana. They give a fresh perspective on true devotion and how we can all apply its lessons in our day-to-day living.
Podcast Show Notes
A Whole New World (Opening) – Our group shares their experience of, as westerners, getting to India, meeting Neem Karoli Baba, and being introduced to the Ramayana for the first time. Krishna Das and Rameshwar Das share their knowledge and perspective on the history of the Ramayana and the Hanuman Chalisa.
“Just reading the Ramayana re-wired my brain. Before that, there were no pathways for it to flow in this direction. There are no concepts of devotion like this in my mind.” – Krishna Das
Save Me! Save Me! (6:50) – Raghu shares one of his favorite stories from the Ramayana. When Hanuman returned from finding Sita in Lanka, he was gifted a boon by Ram for his heroism and service. In response, Hanuman fell to Ram’s feet and asked, “Save me! Save me!”
Real Compassion (12:45) – The group talks about how they connect the most important messages from the Ramayana in their day-to-day life. They discuss the place they were at in their lives as young people when they encountered the Ramayana and why so many young people gravitate toward the path of Gyan (knowledge) before the Dualistic path of the Heart.
“People think that they can sit down and meditate and then are going to go directly to heaven. They don’t realize that they still have to live out their lives. Unless you have a way of transmuting your negative thought forms and the negative stories we tell to ourselves, we are just going to continue creating negativity in our lives. Reading the Ramayana does exactly that; it frees us to express and experience these blissful loving states that we are just not familiar with.” – Krishna Das
Devotion in the Ramayana (17:55) – In his commentary, K. K. Sah discusses the nine types of devotion in the Ramayana. The group discusses these forms of devotion in more practical terms.
“When you see God everywhere, in everything equally, you see him in everyone. That is real devotion. That is the place of love with no object.” – Rameshwar Das & Krishna Das
Love, Serve, Remember (49:20) – In his commentary, K. K. Sah opens by talking about Maharaj-Ji’s central teachings: love, serve and remember God, which are all virtues extolled and lessons taught in the Ramayana. The group talks about the lessons they have learned from their study and what people today, the youth especially, have to gain when they open their hearts to the story’s messages.
“People are recreating the Ramayana and it just keeps going. It echoes in different ways at different times. So, it really is a practice in itself.”
Find more about K.K. Sah’s and his most recent work at Ramdass.org. Krishna Das can be found online and you can follow him on facebook.
Get your free copy of the Bbhagavad Gita from Gita Press by clicking here. You can find more free material from Gita Press online.
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