Sub Ek: All One-Ram Dass

Becoming Nobody

Thanks to Vasu (Jon Seskevich) for letting us know about this upcoming new Ram Dass Movie. “I love Ram Dass so much🕉️☮️✝️. In 1972 and 1973 I hitchhiked a lot carrying Be Here Now in my back pocket. Sharing about this cool book to the generous people who had picked me up! So happy in 2019 to share about RD’s new movie”

How Can the 4 Noble Truths Help us Alleviate Suffering

Sub Ek: All one-Ram Das

Posted October 3, 2012

Most of Maharaji’s devotees were householders, people who were very involved in daily life. They had children, jobs, all kinds of stuff. And he would just go from house to house, village to village, town to town, constantly wandering from place to place, visiting with people. One time, he was in Vrindavan in the middle of the summer. It was very hot, so he was wandering down the street, and coming towards him in the other direction was this baba – a sadhu, with the long hair and everything. And they had known each other many, many years before in the mountains. And they hugged, and they were so happy to see each other. This other baba said to Maharaji, “Oh, now I’ve found you again after all these years! We’ll stay together and this will be great, we’ll spend time together.” And Maharaji said, “No, no, no, no, no. Brother, brother, you don’t want to stay with me. I’m constantly surrounded by worldly people. All the people I’m with, householders all the time, nothing but problems. You’re a sadhu, you’re a saint; you don’t want to run around with me.” But the sadhu said, “Oh no, Baba, please take me with you, I want to see you again, it’s been so long!” And Maharaji tried to say, “No, no you don’t want to be with me, I’m with all these people all the time.” “Oh Baba, please!”Finally Maharaji said “Ok, chalo. Let’s go. We’re going. I’m walking to Mathura,” which is this town that’s about fifteen miles away. In the middle of the day, in the summer, they start walking off together. And in those days there was nothing. In those days there were about ten or twelve mile stretches with nothing, only desert. There were no villages, nothing. So they start walking and walking, and they were dying of thirst. And finally, in the distance they see a well. Maharaji gets there first, and there’s a woman drawing water, bringing up a bucket from the well.So Maharaji puts his hands out and he says, “Ma! Give me something to drink!” So she pours the water into his hands and he starts drinking. After he’s finished drinking the other baba arrives, and he had a gourd pot with him. This was his only possession, and he carried it. So he gets there, puts his pot out, and the woman pours water in it. While she’s pouring the water, Maharaji starts chatting her up, because he talks all the time to everybody; that’s what he does. He says, “Oh Ma, where are you from? What village? What’s your name? What’s your caste?” And it turns out she was an untouchable.When the other baba heard this he flipped out. He started screaming at Maharaji, “Look what you’ve done!” The nature of the caste system is that when people are deemed untouchables they are, well, untouchable. You’re not supposed to come into contact with them or touch them, forget it. We’re not going to talk about that, however, this was the way it was and this baba was probably a Brahmin which Maharaji also was, but he didn’t care. After this guy heard the woman say she was an untouchable he takes his pot and throws it down on the ground and breaks it. Then he starts screaming at Maharaji, “What is this? Look what’s happened! Look what you’ve gotten me into! My only possession is destroyed because it’s now impure and I can’t use it!” He was screaming furiously.

Maharaji asked, “What? What? What? Kya baat? What’s the matter? What’s the matter? What happened? Oh, oh, oh,” he said, “Oh, I thought you were a sadhu! I thought you were a saint! Oh, I’m so sorry – I thought you were a saint! What’s all this attachment? What is all this anger? What is this?”

The sadhu falls down at Maharaji’s feet, and Maharaji said, “He washed my feet with his tears, and went back to the mountains to finish his work.” Maharaji had warned him, “Don’t hang out with me! Anything could happen.” And it happened.

Excerpt from Barefoot in the Heart: Remembering Neem Karoli Baba, edited by Keshav Das

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True Generosity: A free online retreat with Ram Dass + an unprecedented lineup of teachers...

Dear Satsang,

As many prepare for the upcoming holidays, we are also busy getting ready for our own family reunion taking place at the end of the month on Maui.

This year marks our 11th retreat gathering with Ram Dass and Krishna Das, and this year’s lineup boasts a truly historic reunion: Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, and Joseph Goldstein, the original founders of Insight Meditation Society, will all be in attendance for the first time ever. These wisdom teachers have not appeared on stage together with Ram Dass since the 1970s, so needless to say this will be an expansive and beautiful experience.

This is where you come in – if you were not able to register to join us in person on Maui this time, you are invited to attend this retreat virtually, for free.

The theme of this retreat is well timed – ‘True Generosity: Uncovering Your Intrinsic Goodness Beyond the Veil of Anxiety and Fear’.

Taking place November 30th – December 2nd, this 3-day virtual retreat invites us to investigate and cultivate the strength and flexibility to look at everything as a movement toward internal freedom by asking:

– How can we cultivate joy in forming the intention to give and in the act of giving?

– How can we utilize generosity as an antidote to our own self-absorption?

– How can we create inner space and flexibility through cultivating generosity?

– How can generosity help us learn to see through our attachments to go beyond our self-imposed limitations on joy, gratitude, and spaciousness?

– How does generosity help us to flex our “letting go” muscle in preparation for our spiritual practices like meditation?

In addition to the IMS founders joining Ram Dass and Krishna Das, we will also welcome Vipassana teacher and InsightLA founder Trudy Goodman to the stage, as well as Mirabai Bush, co-founder of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society and co-author of Ram Dass’ latest book, ‘Walking Each Other Home’.

Each day of this virtual experience will feature three hours of contemplations, meditations and dharma talks from this unparalleled lineup of Bhakti & Buddhist teachers and seekers.

I hope you’ll gift yourself the opportunity to immerse yourself in generosity as a resource for moving towards freedom, joy, and love.

Click here to sign up for the retreat

In gratitude,

Rachael Fisher
Development Director
Love Serve Remember Foundation

ps – Registration closes on Thursday, November 29th at midnight ET, so make sure to claim your spot now, and share this offering with friends using the easy share links below…