Krishna Das gives insights on continual grace and transforming our self-limiting inner narratives through spiritual practice.

This week on Pilgrim Heart, Krishna Das thoughtfully discusses:

• What it means for the guru to have a key to our minds
• Teachings from Siddhi Ma: knowing that everything is grace, but acting like it isn’t
• Putting effort into loving everyone, serving everyone, and remembering God
• The story of Maharaj-ji in England with a military devotee
• Our subjective reality as the product of our karmic cycle
• Reconciling our faith with spiritual practice and seeing God in many forms
• Krishna Das’ take on Buddhism and dealing with the afflictions of the mind
• Using chanting and mantra to release shame and stay rooted in the present moment
• Letting go of the stories we tell ourselves and reclaiming the power to change our lives

About Krishna Das:

Layering traditional Hindu kirtan with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation, Grammy nominee Krishna Das has been called yoga’s “rock star.” With a remarkably soulful voice that touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener, Krishna Das – known to friends, family, and fans as simply KD – has taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon and the best-selling chant artist of all time. His album ‘Live Ananda’ (released January 2012) was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age album category.

KD spent the late ’60s traveling across the country as a student of Ram Dass, and in August 1970, he finally made the journey to India, which led him to Ram Dass’ own beloved guru, Neem Karoli Baba, known to most as Maharaj-ji. Krishna Das now travels the world sharing his kirtan practice and wonderful stories of his life, of Maharaji-ji, of his life on the Path and discusses bringing chanting into our lives through retreats and workshops. To date, KD has released 15 well-received albums, most recently Trust in the Heart released in October 2017.

MORE INFORMATION and OFFERINGS VISIT: https://krishnadas.com/ KRISHNA DAS ON SOCIAL: FACEBOOK: facebook.com/KrishnaDasMusic INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/krishnadasmusic YOUTUBE: / krishnadasmusic X: @krishnadas #KrishnaDas

"We have to make our effort to open to that grace, calm the mind, repeat the name, think of others. Like Maharaj-ji said, ‘serve everyone, love everyone, remember God’. There's not one of those three things that I can do completely, and so, my effort is required to open to the space where that's reality." – Krishna Das

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

Sharing personal stories of his time with Maharaj-ji, Krishna Das walks us down the path of recognizing grace, loving all beings, and keeping the heart open, no matter how hard it gets.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

"Grace is always here but we're too busy, too involved in our stuff, our thoughts and emotions. We're too identified with our negative emotions. From our side, it appears we lose contact with the grace. But, that's not the case. We just lose awareness of the presence. Maharaj-ji doesn't go, doesn't come, doesn't leave us. He never lets go. Once he takes your hand, he never lets go." – Krishna Das

This time on Pilgrim Heart, Krishna Das responds to questions about:

• Hanuman’s favorite food and providing offerings from the heart
• The ever-presence of Maharaj-ji and his grace, even when we are too busy to notice
• The struggle to connect with others and find a community
• Loving everyone, regardless of their actions or if we like/dislike them
• A short retelling of the story of Hanuman’s birth
• Working through addictions and the avoidance of pain
• A memory of an almost-marriage in India, and how Maharaj-ji always saw right through Krishna Das’ ego
• How it took Krishna Das 21 years to begin singing to Maharaj-ji as his primary practice

"The big community is human beings, that's our real community. Our work is to allow our hearts to open to all beings, even the ones we don't like, even the ones that are doing terrible things. It's not our job to judge—it's our job to love everyone as best we can, and that's hard enough." – Krishna Das

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

Krishna Das shares a realistic path for resting in the true nature of love that is always accessible to us all.

In this episode of Pilgrim Heart, Krishna Das thoughtfully discusses:

• The many versions of The Bhagavad Gita from different lineages
• Figuring out which practice works for you
• How the soul/buddha-nature is always present, even when we aren’t looking
• Meditation practices that increase the awareness of being (I am-ness)
• Appreciating and accepting all the different parts of ourselves
• A mantra given to Krishna Das from Ram Dass, “When the sun is kept in the heart, all evils vanish from life”
• How relationships can help us see the work we need to do
• Calming down the mind via chanting
• The magnetic force and energy within in India
• Being in relationship with everything all the time
• How real love does not come and go, and is not conditional

“We're in relationship to everything all the time. We have relationships with this table, the computer, the harmonium, the iPad, the floor, the walls, the house, with other people. We're in relationship to everything in the world all the time. When we're in a romantic relationship, we feel loved in the way we want to be loved and we think it's coming from the other person—it isn't. It's coming from our own hearts.” – Krishna Das

Check out the harmonium tutorials mentioned by Krishna das to learn about playing KD-style chords and chalisas!

“If you don't love yourself, then what? Where do you sit? Where do you rest? Your self, your true self, is not different than God, not different from the guru. If you don't learn to appreciate and accept all the different parts of yourself, you can't find rest inside." – Krishna Das

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