In this powerful lecture on responding to suffering, Ram Dass draws on the wisdom of the Buddha, Trungpa Rinpoche, and Wavy Gravy, and offers his insight into the secret of compassion.

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

This episode of Here and Now comes from a lecture Ram Dass gave at the Omega Institute on June 28th, 1983.

• Ram Dass talks about how suffering is everywhere. He examines the different kinds of reactions to it, including denial, pity, cynicism, or trying to “do something about it.”
• Ram Dass invokes the wisdom of the Buddha and Wavy Gravy to provide a path for us to open to suffering, and offers some insight into the secret of compassion.
• After a brief review of the Four Noble Truths, Ram Dass explores the concept of being nobody. He discusses the predicament of identifying with anything in form and how we aren’t who we think we are. We exist behind form.
• In the final part of the talk, Ram Dass introduces the rascally Trungpa Rinpoche, sharing stories of their early meetings. He recalls a dialogue between Trungpa and Wavy about responding to suffering and how they were representing two parts of the same dance.

Sponsors Of This Episode:

Ram Dass Here & Now is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ramdass and get on your way to being your best self.

This episode is also sponsored by Magic Mind. Go to magicmind.com/ramdass or use the code RAMDASS for up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one-time purchases at checkout

You can support this podcast and listen to episodes AD-FREE on our Patreon. Sign up for a free 7-day trial: patreon.com/RamDassPodcast

About Ram Dass:

Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him.

“Because part of the secret of compassion is being able to embrace darkness into light. It’s being able to embrace suffering into yourself. It’s being able to acknowledge and allow. And then, the impeccable warrior hears what to do about it.” – Ram Dass

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this often fierce talk from Ram Dass, he reflects on the pull of God versus the pull of humanity and how we can find the balance between keeping one eye on God and one eye on the world.

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

Ram Dass Here & Now is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ramdass and get on your way to being your best self.

This episode of Here and Now comes from a talk Ram Dass gave in Florida in 1975.

• Ram Dass describes how, through practice, we can come to a point where we have a choice between fully merging back into God or returning into form. “That moment,” he says, “You have choice. Choice to give up the form, go into the formless. Or, choice to play in the formless, but come back into the form.”
• Why would we come back into form? Ram Dass talks about seeing the perfection of the universe, including all of the suffering, but also playing your part as an instrument of the Dharma. “You are a statement that will enlighten those who are ready to be enlightened. That is your only function, it’s the only reason you’re on Earth.”
• Ram Dass explores how true service arises not from the desire to help, but the desire to find freedom for ourselves and others. He talks about how the spiritual path requires balancing the pull of God and the pull of humanity; to recognize the perfection of the cosmic dance and the reality of human suffering.

You can support this podcast, listen to episodes AD-FREE, and receive regular guided meditations from Ram Dass & Friends on our Patreon. Sign up for a free 7-day trial: patreon.com/RamDassPodcast

“You get so fascinated with God, with enlightenment, with the wisdom of the ages. And in your zeal to do that, it’s very easy to forget. To forget humanity. To forget politics. To forget human concerns. To overlook the daily stuff around you.” – Ram Dass

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Speaking across the decades from the 1970s to the 2010s, Ram Dass shares his wisdom on the importance of resting in awareness.

Ram Dass Here & Now is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ramdass and get on your way to being your best self.

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

This episode of Here and Now is a compilation of Ram Dass discussing the concept of resting in awareness throughout the decades.

• We begin in Washington, D.C., in 1976, with Ram Dass exploring being in harmony with the Tao, the Way of things, and how awareness and love are really the same thing. “When you are aware without clinging,” he says, ‘And in harmony with all of the forces, you are no longer in time.”
• We move on to 1985, with Ram Dass meditating on the qualities of awareness. These are qualities such as spaciousness, equanimity, and love. He encourages us to become instruments of light, love, and presence. “Just allow your awareness to expand, to embrace everything you hear or feel or think.”
• The next stop is the Virgin Islands in 1995, with Ram Dass comparing awareness to the sky. The clouds in the sky are simply the passing phenomena of life. “Your whole concept of who you think you are,” he says, “All the stuff of ‘me’ is all the cloud. And the cloud is being appreciated or embraced or carried by the sky. The sky is just awareness.”
• Finally, we end in Maui in 2016, when Ram Dass had learned how to completely rest in his loving awareness. He guides a meditation to connect us to the space of loving awareness, where we can all go for a swim in the ocean of love.

You can support this podcast, listen to episodes AD-FREE, and receive regular guided meditations from Ram Dass & Friends on our Patreon. Sign up for a free 7-day trial: patreon.com/RamDassPodcast

About Ram Dass:

Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him. Learn more about Ram Dass, his teachings, and more at ramdass.org.

“I would say my life is about awareness. And becoming or being aware. Because becoming’s already a trip in the cloud. ‘I’m getting aware.’ It’s another one. ‘I’m washing dishes, now I’m getting aware.’ It’s just another trip, it’s another thing you’re doing. So, I’d say my life is resting in awareness. And into the awareness come phenomena.” – Ram Dass

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.