Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 412 – Hollywood to the Himalayas w/ Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati

Spiritual Teacher, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, joins Raghu to share her transformational and healing journey from ‘Hollywood to the Himalayas’ – her trust-fall into the universe.

Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati PhD is a renowned spiritual leader, motivational speaker, and bestselling author based in Rishikesh, India. Originally from Los Angeles, California, and a graduate of Stanford University, Sadhviji has lived on the banks of the sacred Ganga river, in the lap of the Himalayas for nearly 25 years engaged in spiritual service, wisdom teaching, sacred action, and deep spiritual practice. Sadhviji serves as Secretary-General Of The Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, President Of Divine Shakti Foundation, and Director Of The World-Famous International Yoga Festival At Parmarth. She has spoken at United Nations events and has been featured in CNN, NY Times, Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, BBC, NPR, and Times of India. More info Sadhviji.org

Trust-Fall into the Universe

Welcoming, spiritual leader, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati PhD to the Mindrolling podcast, Raghu invites her to dig into her new book, Hollywood to the Himalayas: A Journey of Healing and Transformation, outlining her vegetarian-food fueled “happenstance pilgrimage” to India sparking a metamorphosis from a micromanaging PhD student into a free and open-hearted being – her proverbial “trust-fall into the universe.” Raghu shares his own ‘trust-fall’ when he first met Ram Dass.

“There [Ram Dass] was, and he just stopped, the whole world stopped. He stopped his world to allow me to be completely embraced by unconditionality.” – Raghu Markus

A Story of Grace (18:00)

Wading deeper into her awakening moment on the banks of the holy Ganges River in Rishikesh, Sadhviji explains the foreground-background flip in her consciousness which allowed her to free herself from the limitations of ‘needing to be fixed,’ – an inner healing process which she explains only as pure grace.

“I felt disqualified from grace, that there was something wrong with me, and I needed to fix it. I was on what I thought was a path to fix myself through therapy, treatments, practices, but it was a matter of: ‘to make myself fixed, whole, enough.’ But in that moment, suddenly it wasn’t about me being whole—it was about wholeness existing and me not being separate from it.” – Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati

Hanumanji as Ishta Devata (26:36)

Reflecting on his times in India with Maharajji, and explaining his relationship with the the Hanuman Murti at the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram and Hanuman Temple in Taos NM; Raghu invites Sadhviji to offer insights into Hanuman – her devotion and service based ‘Ishta Devata’ (personal deity).

“Ram said to Hanuman, ‘There’s no way I can repay you. Whatever you want, I will give it to you.’ This is where Hanuman falls down at his feet and says, ‘Save me from the tentacles of egoism!’ There was nothing going on with Hanuman except that. We all now know, without Maharajji saying anything: this is what it’s all about.” – Raghu Markus

“If this monkey can actually make himself enormous, and tiny, and fly across oceans, and carry the mountains, hold the sun under his arm, and do all of these amazing miracles by his love and his devotion to God, then maybe I actually really can be this vehicle, this instrument of healing.” – Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati

Conscious Action, Conscious Karma, Conscious Service (41:41)

Reflecting on Karma Yoga, daily practice, and conscious service, Sadhviji explains how action that is steeped in love for God is actually yoga – union. Exploring how we can use our daily meditation to move past the ‘culture of objectification,’ they describe the great opportunity service provides to witness our motivations and reactions.

“I’m really hopeful that we will see a great shift in the way of thinking, from the Hollywood way of thinking to the Himalayan way of thinking – of letting go, healing, and transforming.” – Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati