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Ram Dass / Love Serve Remember


Ram Dass shares his heart-centered wisdom in each episode featuring excerpted lectures given throughout the last 40 years, with an introduction from Raghu Markus of Ram Dass' Love Serve Remember Foundation.





Ram Dass Here And Now

Ram Dass talks about finding a balance between emptiness and compassion, then answers questions from the audience, including on how to deal with fear around current events. 

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 weekend workshop Ram Dass held in San Jose, CA, in May of 1992, not long after the LA riots took place: 

 • Ram Dass begins by discussing how it can be difficult to find a balance between the plane of emptiness and the plane of compassion. He talks about the paradox of seeing suffering as grace and still working to ease the suffering of those around us. 
 • Ram Dass takes questions from the audience, including about seeing synchronicities, practicing compassion with people who are hard to love, whether consciousness survives death, and how to best honor the guru. 
 • The final question is about dealing with fear related to current events, particularly the LA riots that had just happened in 1992. Ram Dass gives an abbreviated version of his lecture on “Riding the Waves of Change,” talking about how the art form is to be part of that in the universe which can handle change without being reactive to the fear by cultivating the parts in yourself that are not afraid. 

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 at ramdass.org.

“So we’re talking about the balance between emptiness and compassion. We’re talking about the balance between control with the mind and boundless love with the heart. I’m just giving you the balances or tensions that you and I, as human species, play with. We’re dealing with the tensions between ourselves as separate entities, with ego structures and bodies and so on, and ourselves as part of one thing that has no separateness at all.” – Ram Dass

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Ep. 290 – The Balance Between Emptiness and Compassion

Celebrating the release of There Is No Other, a new book of teachings from Ram Dass' lectures, Parvati Markus and Raghu Markus listen to and reflect on some of the material used in its creation. 

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 special episode of Here and Now celebrates the new book, There Is No Other, a collection of teachings taken from Ram Dass’ lectures. In these times, Ram Dass’ teachings on wholeness and unity are more needed than ever. 

 • We begin with a clip of Ram Dass exploring the mindset of “us versus them.” Who exactly is 
us • ? Who is 
them • ? Raghu and Parvati reflect on how this clip is central to the theme of 
There Is No Other • .
 • The next clip features Ram Dass talking about the balance of heart and mind. Sharing a powerful real-life example, he explores how we cut ourselves off when we veil our hearts. Raghu and Parvati share how the book is about walking a path to harmony and wholeness.
 • The third clip finds Ram Dass examining Ramana Maharshi’s concept of “God, Guru, Self,” and how we can begin to appreciate that the Spirit is everywhere. Parvati and Raghu discuss how Ram Dass' new book speaks to this really important moment in our lives.
 • We end with a brief clip of Ram Dass talking about the path of love. “Finally,” he says, “you become an environment, a vibratory rate…” 

“So the mind, if it gets too strong, out of balance with the heart, shuts down all the information that the heart can give. It cuts you off from your wisdom, really. You don’t even see all the stuff. I mean, you and I are simultaneously existing on so many planes of reality, but because of the power of our minds, we keep limiting which realities are real, and the rest of it we either treat as error or we don’t even notice. It’s so deeply unconscious, we just don’t even notice all the rest of us, of ourselves.” – Ram Dass

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

Ep. 289 – There Is No Other, New Ram Dass Book Release with Parvati & Raghu Markus

Ram Dass explores facing fears of the future as we age, opening up to the mystery of death, and seeing dying as a window of opportunity for awakening.

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.

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 

This episode of Here and Now comes from a talk Ram Dass gave in August 1995 as part of an aging study group. If you’re interested in stepping even deeper into the mystery of aging and death, check out Love Serve Remember Foundation’s new course: Walking Each Other Home. 

 • Ram Dass begins with a brief meditation centered around the words of Dudjom Rinpoche. It’s used as an example of how we can learn from these powerful texts. 
 • Ram Dass discusses facing future fears as we age and how death has begun to emerge from the cultural closet. For him, death is an incredible movement of consciousness into the mystery; it’s a window of opportunity.
 • Ram Dass explores dealing with pain as we age and face death. He shares the story of a friend who created an incredible space for the process of her death, rather than being in a space where there was denial around the idea of death. He urges us to remain students of the mystery of life and death.
 • Ram Dass ends by reading a series of quotes about death and near-death experiences. He talks about opening to death and making friends with it, rather than seeing it as a dreaded, dark hole. 

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.

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.

“It’s like the moment of birth, the moment of death, it’s the same thing; it’s an incredible movement of consciousness into the mystery. It’s a window of opportunity. Every death or every birth I’m present at is like a gift from God, as far as I’m concerned.” – Ram Dass

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

Ep. 288 – Opening to Death

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.

Ep. 287 – The Secret of Compassion

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.

Ep. 286 – The Pull of God Versus the Pull of Humanity

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.

Ep. 285 – Across the Decades: Resting in Awareness

In this recording from 1979, Ram Dass gives a talk at a benefit for a food bank, emphasizing that every human being has a right to be fed. 

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 is from a talk Ram Dass gave at a benefit event for a food bank in Santa Cruz, California, in February 1979. 

 • Ram Dass begins by repeating some of the words his guru passed on to him about the importance of food and making sure people are fed. He talks about how we need to rethink the way we approach the issue of food in our culture.
 • Ram Das explores the paradox of suffering: On one level, it stinks, and on another level, it’s all perfect. But it’s very hard not to close our hearts to the tremendous suffering around us. 
 • Sharing stories about his friends and his guru, Ram Dass talks about awakening to a place beyond “us” and “them,” a place where we’re all One. 
 • Ram Dass emphasizes the importance of quieting our minds and opening our hearts. “I kinda wonder about how the game really works,” he says. “Don’t you? The game of hunger and starvation and feeding and faith and manna from heaven and connectedness. I keep feeling that the game is different than my mind can yet comprehend, but that I’m on the right track when I keep quieting my mind and opening my heart and just serving and feeding and doing what I can.” 

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

“And all I remember was my guru saying every human being has a right to be fed. A right. A right to food. He said even if it’s the worst thief in the world, he has a right to food. That food is not a bargaining tool of power; food is a basic, shared manifestation of God. And somehow, the haves and have-nots lose sight of that very easily. We can bargain about television sets. We can bargain about automobiles. But we can bargain about food.” – Ram Dass

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

Ep. 284 – Every Human Being Has a Right To Be Fed

In this recording from a 1992 retreat, Ram Dass talks about dealing with change, using the stuff of your daily life to get free, and how your karma defines your dharma. 

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

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 is from a talk Ram Dass gave during a retreat at the Omega Foundation in 1992. 

 • Beginning with quotes from the great poets Kabir and Rumi, Ram Dass talks about how you start to work with each thing in your life as a method, as a practice. What you’ve got in life becomes what you work with, so your karma defines your dharma.
 • Ram Dass brings up the constant changes we’re dealing with in terms of ecology, politics, and how living in “interesting times” can be seen as a blessing instead of a curse. “In dealing with these changes that are going down,” he says, “part of the real art is to look at what is changing and see how your identification with that which changes is creating so much fear in you that you’re pushing against change.”
 • Continuing with his exploration of change, Ram Dass brings aging and death into the mix. He digs into dealing with changes to the body as we age, and how his work with people who are dying is really work on himself. “For me,” he says, “each act becomes part of the awakening.” 

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.

“And what you do is you just start flipping and taking what you’re given and start to work with it. In other words, your karma defines your dharma. That means what you got is what you work with. I mean, like, my baldness is my karma. I mean, it’s my genetics, it’s everything. Now, it becomes my dharma. Now, I can use it in order to become free of being bald, or being not bald, or whatever.” – Ram Dass

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

Ep. 283 – Your Karma Defines Your Dharma

In this recording from 1978, Ram Dass reads stories about his guru, Maharaj-ji, and his many miracles. We invite you to set aside your analytical mind and simply enjoy these miracles 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

This episode of Here and Now is from a recording of Ram Dass at the Lama Foundation in June of 1978. Here, he reads stories from the manuscript of Miracle of Love, which would be published about a year later. 

 • Ram Dass begins by reading one of his own stories about Maharaj-ji, which involves a dead bird coming back to life. This was one of many experiences that overwhelmed Ram Dass’ analytical mind.
 • Next, Ram Dass reads a series of stories from some of Maharaj-ji’s oldest devotees. He dealt with each person in a unique fashion and would often touch places of the deepest love within people. 
 • Ram Dass slips in a story about another great Indian saint, Ramana Maharshi. He then turns back to Maharaj-ji stories, focusing on miracles around food. Maharaj-ji said, “We have an inner thirst for food. We don’t know of it. Even if you don’t feel you could eat, your soul has a thirst for food.”

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.

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 show is also sponsored by Magic Mind, a matcha-based energy shot infused with nootropics and adaptogens designed to crush procrastination, brain fog, & fatigue. Get 60% off your first subscription to Magic Mind with our link: magicmind.com/ramdassmf

“You see why it’s peculiar to live in a culture like India, where all of these events are sort of like everyday occurrences. In the villages we live in, in the mountains, every family has dozens of these stories, and they just sit by the fire of the evening telling them. To come back to the West, where these stories are thought to be ‘miracles,’ is very confusing sometimes, difficult to integrate.” – Ram Dass

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

Ep. 282 – Of Miracles and Maharaj-ji

Speaking across the decades from the 1960s to the 2010s, Ram Dass shares his thoughts on the feeling of love and the path of the heart.

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 is a compilation of Ram Dass speaking about love and the path of the heart across the decades:

 • We begin in 1969, with Ram Dass talking about Maher Baba, whom he calls the personification of pure love. He describes a particularly powerful LSD trip where he gained insight into the true nature of love. He says, “I now conceive of the fact that falling in love means like falling into a bathtub of love.”
 • We move on to 1979, with Ram Dass addressing the Christian Community of San Francisco. He describes the different stages of falling in love and talks about the devotional nature of the path of the heart. “And that’s one of your predicaments,” he says, “that when you really fall in love, it just opens and opens and opens, and you just don’t know where to hold on anymore.” 
 • The next stop is 1986, with Ram Dass touching on conditional love and the deprivation model we’ve been working with all our lives. He digs deeper into the different stages of love and talks about the need to give up the deprivation model. He says, “You change from the deprivation model to the model where there’s an abundance of [love].” 
 • We fast forward to the 1990s, with Ram Dass reading from the 
I Ching • about the path of love and the path of the heart. He talks about how we are hungry ghosts who get addicted to the method of love, but all methods are traps. “And yet,” he says, “the bizarre thing about methods is they don’t work unless you get trapped.”
 • Finally, we end in 2017, with Ram Dass telling a delicious story about loving everything, including a rug with spots on it. He talks about how judgment is in the mind, but love is in the heart. “I don’t judge,” he says. “But if I do judge, I love it.”

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.

“Now, if you look at in the sense that, in the usual way of, ‘I fell in love with this person, there’s another way of seeing that, which is this person is a stimulus, is something in the world that was just right in a key sense to release us into the place in ourselves where we are love. And we say, as a result, ‘I am in love with you.’ Another way of saying it is, ‘You turn me on to the place in myself where I am love, where I can’t get to without you.’ Now we’re talking about you being my connection to that place in myself where I am love, where I can’t get without you. And then I want to hold on to my connection, just as any good junkie would like to do.” – Ram Dass

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

Ep. 281 – Across the Decades: Ram Dass on Love and the Path of the Heart

Change is an opportunity for growth, but it requires consciousness that holds an inner quality of equanimity and openness to the unknown. A certain way in which the chaos of the moment doesn't undercut you because you are not dependent on the external for your equanimity. You and I are in training to be instruments in a society where we can be stable in the presence of change, not holding onto the old system, but being able to move into the unknown without fear.

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

Ep. 64 - Making Friends with Change

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