On this episode of the Mindrolling Podcast, David and Raghu look at the intersection of politics and spirituality and talk about practicing activism without anger.
Show Notes
War and Peace (Opening) – Raghu and David share their political background and talk about their perspective on mixing spiritual practice with social activism.
“This gets back to something we talked about in the 60’s and 70’s too, which was, how can we reconcile trying to follow a path of peace and love while fighting against things that were clearly awful? Martin Luthor King Jr. showed us how to do that. His Ghandi’esque approach to a nightmarish situation in the United States of America was to be a peaceful warrior.” – David Silver
Compassionate Action (8:00) – Our hosts talk about the ethical schism that divided political and spiritual leaders alike during the American civil rights movement. We listen to words of wisdom from Ram Dass on approaching social activism without undermining the principles of our inner work.
“Like a scientist realizes that the experimenter is part of the experiment, so a political activist realizes that their being is part of the political action.” – Ram Dass
To What Lengths? (20:30) – Looking towards the recent increase in Tibetian monks protesting Chinese occupation through self-immolation, Raghu and David discuss the implications of these actions. They play a story told by Ram Dass about reactivity and social action.
“The one thing we can do, no matter how horrific it seems, is deal with the situation with a certain kind of presentness, detachment and compassion.” – David Silver
Quiet Heart in the Face of Adversity (29:40) – David shares a story about his opportunity to interview Richard Nixon. He describes his choice to find a common ground with Nixon and communicate from that place, rather one of conflict.
Making Change Within (39:40) – Raghu talks about an impactful experience of learning to make change in our world from a place of loving-kindness.
Image via fran_kie