Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 409 – Diving Into the Pages of Be Here Now with Noah Markus

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Be Here Now, Noah Markus joins Raghu in mind-expanding conversation on the continued transformative importance of Ram Dass’ 1971 ‘counter-culture bible.’

Raghu welcomes his son – and Mindrolling favorite – Noah Markus back to the podcast for an in-depth dive deep into the pages of Ram Dass’ pivotal 1971 book—and namesake of this podcast network—Be Here Now. Celebrating the 50th Anniversary since the culture-changing, mind-expanding, and heart-opening From Bindu to Ojas boxset containing the original Be Here Now arrived on doorsteps, we offer insights from two generations of Markus’ directly touched by Ram Dass, his teachings, and his loving presence. Enjoy!

“Ram Dass was human; Ram Dass was not enlightened, and never would have said he was enlightened. But he was enlightened in one way, which was: he did get to love everybody. That’s pretty enlightening, just look around this world. The only way he could get there was being present in the moment.” – Raghu Markus

Join us October 24th for an Immersive Ram Dass Experience & Concert live inside the WISDOME LA featuring Journey – a 360 virtual reality Ram Dass psychedelic experience by Tripp; concert performances by Krishna Das, John Forté (formerly of the Fugees), East Forest, Justin Boreta of Superposition with Nailah Hunter, and Nina Rao; as well as a day summit featuring key figures in Ram Dass’ life including Buddhist teachers Jack Kornfield and Trudy Goodman, Kirtan artist Krishna Das, actor/comedian Pete Holmes, author and teacher Mirabai Starr, LSRF Director Raghu Markus, and more. Get tickets here.
Celebrating 50 Years of Be Here Now

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Ram Dass’ Be Here Now, Noah Markus flips the script on Raghu, interviewing his father for juicy details, origin stories, and synchronicities surrounding the creation, publication, and reception of the culture-changing 1971 classic, which originally came to doorsteps as part of From Bindu to Ojas – a multimedia boxset outlining a bevy of spiritual teachings Ram Dass picked up on his transformational journey east to the feet of his guru, Neem Karoli Baba.

“There’s that place where the world just stops and you’re just at ease in the moment, and that was a large part of what Ram Dass’ life work has been up until he left almost two ago now, was to offer to everyone the goal of being in that moment.” – Raghu Markus

Music artists Jon Hopkins & East Forest talk about their Be Here Now 50th Anniversary music video, on Ep. 406 of Mindrolling
How ‘Be Here Now’ Came to Be // Samadhi & Enlightenment (14:14)

Raghu shares the intricate connections that lined up for the creation of the original Be Here Now, outlining the many hands that helped create the unique art-filled, practice-steeped experience birthed through inspiration around Ram Dass’ permeating and groundbreaking lectures upon first returning from India in the late ’60s. From here, Noah prompts Raghu to share stories and miracles surrounding Maharajji’s interactions with the book; and digs into the subtle nuances between levels of samadhi.

“Just be kind, loving, compassionate. To think about enlightenment and all that stuff is fun to study, but the reality is turning ourselves to the point where once we do get to that presence and all of what it represents, then we can just relax and be of some use to people around us because we’re not thinking about ourselves. That’s the biggest thing around ‘be here now’ – you stop thinking about yourself.” – Raghu Markus

RamDev goes in depth into Ram Dass stories, including a Be Here Now Maharajji miracle, on Ep. 42 of Healing at the Edge
Realistic Mindfulness & Channels of Awareness (33:33)

Harkening back to the ‘Mindrolling Episode he just did with Dr. Robert Thurman, Raghu shares a mindfulness passage from Bob’s new book rewriting Buddha’s Four Noble Truths: Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your LifeThrough the lens of ‘realistic mindfulness,’ he asks Noah to explore his relationship with traversing the many channels in the matrix of awareness.

“To bring it back to Ram Dass and Be Here Now, he put in his story in the beginning: something was wrong. Before he discovered psychedelics or Maharajji, he knew somewhere deep down inside of him, something was wrong. We all can associate with that feeling—something wrong but we can’t put our fingers on it.” – Noah Markus 

For Noah and Raghu diving into discussion on working with afflictive emotions, tune into Ep. 327 of Mindrolling