Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 218 – Dr. Robert Svoboda

Dr. Robert Svoboda

Raghu is joined by Dr. Robert Svoboda for a conversation about karma and the Tantric traditions.

Dr. Robert Svoboda is the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India. During and after his formal Ayurvedic training he was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra and other forms of classical Indian lore by his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda. He is the author of twelve books including Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution and the Aghora series, which discusses his experiences with his mentor during the years 1975 – 1983. In the years since 1986, Dr. Svoboda has traveled extensively and often speaks on Ayurveda, Jyotish, Tantra and allied subjects in locales across the world.

Show Notes

At the Left Hand of God (Opening) – Robert introduces the Aghori sect and discusses the importance of shakti in their practice.

“The word ghora in Sanskrit means terrible, terrifying, intense, horrific and difficult to deal with in every possible way. Aghora means the opposite of that. Aghora is one of the names for Lord Shiva, Shiva, of course, is the Lord of Transformation and The God of Dead, who has transcended beyond the reality of death and he is the being who is able to provide people with a good transition between realities. So Aghora is taking things like death and all kinds of undesirable things and finding out how they can benefit us.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda

Internal Alchemy (13:10) – We hear a few stories about Robert’s mentor Vimalananda. He explains the Guru’s philosophies on Soma and other substances meant to connect us with other planes of reality.

Law of Karma (24:40) – Raghu and Robert talk about karma and navigating a world that only becomes more and more complex. Robert offers a practical understanding of karma and the ways we can better connect with our reality.

“Inevitably, karmas being what they are, each karma we experience is going to try and push us in a particular direction. So if we take a little bit of time every day to try to keep ourselves as alert and awake as possible; to reflect on what we have done and try to be awake, in the context of what sometimes are very complicated situations that don’t have immediate solutions, and keep moving forward.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda

Ram Dass explores the laws of karma on Ep. 19 of the Here and Now Podcast. 

Tantra (42:00) – Robert discusses tantra and the role of the guru in tantric practice.

“If you want to become a weaver, you don’t want to try and reinvent the wheel. You want to go to a person who is a master weaver because that person has already gone through the grind and embodied the art of weaving in himself. ” – Dr. Robert Svoboda

Find Dr. Robert Svoboda online at drsvoboda.com.

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Photo via Melinda Nagy