David Silver returns to the Mindrolling Podcast for a conversation around the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi and the floating factors of being in nothingness.
Links from this episode: Support the New Ram Dass Film: Becoming Nobody | Sufi Heart Podcast with Dr. Omid Safi
Everyone Has a Guru
Raghu and David look at Ramana Maharshi’s approach to becoming free which combined devotional and non-dual practice. David shares a story that leads to reflection on the powerful connection between a great teacher like Ramana and the students who are drawn to them.
The Floating Factors of Grace (17:20)
A guru’s love is unconditional, but their grace is not always meek and kind. David and Raghu discuss the many different manifestations of the guru’s grace. They look at how the guru stokes the fire of our ego and why that can be necessary in order for us to get free.
“I don’t know that we ever really learned this lesson that well, that grace is transmitted many different ways and it is not always pleasant. Usually, when you meet a being like this, you are sucked in by this unconditional love that you have never had until that moment. Then they start to work at the ego – knocking down, cutting under. Certainly, anger is one of the methods.” – Raghu Markus
Dealing with Identity and the Mind (23:40)
What can we do about the echo chamber of the mind and the way we identify with our thought patterns? We look at Ramana Maharshi’s teachings about the methods we can use to get free from our identification with thought.
“We are all bumping against people all the time, getting angry and judging and all that. Of course in meditation, it comes out. It all comes out. Meditation is not about finding bliss, it’s about finding yourself.” – David Silver
Check out Mingyur Rinpoche’s visit to the Mindrolling Podcast on Ep. 289
The Exchange of Self and Other (42:50)
How can we see ourselves in others and begin to truly appreciate our shared needs, desires and suffering? David and Raghu look at teachings that can dispell our separation from one another, temper our reactivity, and open the possibility of getting free together.
“When it comes to judgment, you have to suspend judgment to find compassion. Even though Trump may be irredeemable, within his own lane, he cannot be irredeemable for us. As soon as we shut him out, we are in fact doing what he is doing.” – David Silver
