Ep. 195 – Descent into the Heartspace

Pilgrim Heart with Krishna Das - Be Here Now Network

In this episode of 'Pilgrim Heart,' Krishna Das shares profound personal reflections on devotion, spiritual transformation, and the nature of awareness. Drawing from his deep connection to Indian spirituality, he recounts

Key takeaways

• True spiritual identity transcends ego; awareness is our fundamental nature, distinct from thoughts and emotions.
• Devotional stories like Tulsidas' Ramayana are not just narratives but living practices that guide the soul inward.

Main topics

• The nature of awareness and consciousness
• Devotional practices and the Ramayana

Notable quotes

"What's aware of all those thoughts is pure being, pure consciousness. That's our deeper reality."

"The more you do it, the better it is. Just do it."

Conclusion

Krishna Das concludes this episode with a powerful reminder: our deepest truth lies in pure

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) A good meditation teacher isn't just someone who meditates a lot. Helping someone work with their own mind is a genuine skill, and it requires training. Join Buddhist teacher David Nickturn for a free online talk on Tuesday, August 25th at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. Drawing on more than 50 years of practice and teaching, David will explore what it takes to offer clear meditation instruction, listen deeply, guide meaningful discussion, and share the teachings in your own voice. You'll also learn about Dharma Moon's upcoming 100-hour mindfulness meditation teacher training offered in partnership with Tibet House US, the Dalai Lama's cultural center in the United States. You'll have a chance to meet the teaching team, ask questions, and find out whether the program is right for you. Visit dharmamoon.com backslash path to learn more and reserve your spot for this free online event on August 25th. Speaker 2 (12:09) The Tulsidas Ramayana, there's quite a few translations, not quite a few, there's a few translations, but the one I'm most familiar with is from the Gita Press. And I believe you can get it on Amazon. Also, there's another one from, where is it? It's over there. Speaker 2 (12:36) from another very good company in India. I think it's Motilal Banarsidass or Munshiram, one of those two. But the one I like the most, because it's the one I've read, you know, millions of times, is the Gita Press. And it's in Indian English, so it's very enjoyable. It's not too polished. Tulsidas tells the story of Brahma. from a different point of view because it was in this age that Tulsidas told the story, wrote the story down. And he wrote it in verse and he wrote it in a very devotional way because in this time, devotion, bhakti, and the repetition of the name is considered to be the easiest path to follow. Speaker 2 (13:51) Valmiki first wrote down the Ramayana in a different age for a different time, in a different way, that the people of that age understood. But at this time, we needed to have a different way of relating the story to inspire us. So it's called the Ram Charita Manasa, which means the lake. mind-like lake of the stories of Rama. And every chapter is a descent into the depths of the mind-heart, a deeper descent down into the depths of the mind and the heart. Speaker 2 (15:02) I don't know much about the Devi Bhagavat Purana, but it's the stories of the goddess. And just like the Bhagavat Purana is the stories of Krishna, Srimad Bhagavatam, the Devi Purana is about the goddess. All the stories, all the legends, all the manifestations. Speaker 2 (15:40) Did my guru tell me to wear red or for everyone to wear red? He told me to wear red. After I had my nervous breakdown in the temple, when he was putting me back together, one of the things he told me was that I should wear red. He changed my name, actually. He tried to change my name. I didn't let him. He said to me, Speaker 2 (16:11) And he said, what's your name? I said, Krishna Das. And he said, no. He said, you're Bajrangbali. This is powerful, thunderbolt body, lightning bolt body, Hanuman. You know, Bajrangbali. Speaker 3 (16:26) But Speaker 2 (16:26) of course, he's Hanuman, so I would not accept that name. Speaker 2 (16:31) He said, what's your name? I said, Krishna Das. He said, Nate, Bajrangbali. What's your name? I said, Krishna Das. Bajrangbali. Back and forth. And finally I said, okay, you want me to be Bajrangbali? Okay. But you remember, he was the eternal celibate. He'd been trying to get me married. He'd been teasing me about getting married, which is one of the things that precipitated this meltdown, one of many things. Speaker 2 (17:00) And so now he was trying to tell me that, okay, I'm trying to build me up, make me like Hanuman. So I said, okay, you want me to be, then you remember he's the eternal soul. He just laughed. He laughed so hard it was really, he slapped his thighs. He was laughing so hard. Then he said, okay, you're Janaka. Janaka was Sita's father. Speaker 2 (17:28) who was a Raja Rishi. He was a saint and a king, an enlightened being and a king at the same time. Very rare. And he said, you'll have, you're Janaka, you'll have yog and bhog. Yog, of course, is union with God, and bhog is worldly enjoyments. So, I got the enjoyments, how about the union with God? Okay, we'll see. That's up to him. Speaker 2 (18:02) So yeah, that's so then in the process he told me I should wear red, Hanuman's color. And also, you know, he made me the pujari of the Devi temple and told me I was already wearing my red, ulfi, long red shirt. And so yeah, he didn't tell everybody, he just told me to wear red. I needed that. And it's Hanuman's color, that's why he told me to wear it. Do I still have the drum? Yes, I still have the drum that Maharaja gave me the 50 rupees for. It's around here somewhere. Where is it? Somewhere. Definitely have it. It doesn't work very well anymore. It's all, the leather straps are all stretched and the heads, you know, don't work very well. Speaker 2 (19:18) When I came back to the United States, somebody's asking, did I initially stay in an Eastern state of mind or did I slip back into a more rock and roll vibe for a while? You know, I don't know. After being in India for so many years, it was hard. Western music didn't sound right for a while. It sounded square and kind of... Eastern music was soft and deep and... Speaker 2 (19:56) Different feel, West Indian music. But I, you know, but I got, I love rock and roll, so I was definitely into it. What time should japa be done? It should be done when you do it. I don't know anything about those rules and regulations. Nobody ever told them to me. Maharaji didn't require us to do anything like that at any time. He said, go on repeating the name, no matter what you're doing. He didn't say sit down and pretend to meditate and do it. He said repeat