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Ray "Raghunath" Cappo was a hard core punk rocker in his younger years. During his life he has had multiple Spiritually Transformative Experiences (STE's).
Near Death Experiences (NDE's), Shared Death Experiences (SDE's), and STE's are often all categorized under the near death experience label. While there is no scientific data, it is believed that STE's are much more common that full-on, heart stopping, NDE's. In this episode we discuss the differences and similarities of the above mentioned experiences.
Raghunath's life was changed through his STE's and the tragic death of his father at a young age. He chose to change his life and go on a search for truth wherever it lies. His journey took him to India to study eastern religions for nearly 7 years. His deep questions included, "why are we here?" "What are we meant to do?" And "what is life all about?"
Through his rough experiences, Raghunath realized the interventions that saved him. "We find our biggest breakthroughs from the great, horrible experiences."
https://www.raghunath.yoga/from-punk-to-monk-a-memoir
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From the time that they pronounced me deaf was a good 45 minutes.
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They cut my clothes and then they paddled my heart, my heart had stopped.
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And I could see people screaming and crying, but I didn't realize that was actually my
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physical body because I was somewhere else.
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The only thing that I could feel, if you could imagine, absolute love and peace, there wasn't
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anything else to be felt.
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I was greeted by people I'd known in the past.
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On back home again.
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Incredibly safe and felt at home.
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Welcome welcome to round trip death everybody.
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And I would like to welcome our special guest, Ragnoth, or in other words, Ray Ragnoth Kapo.
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Did I say that right?
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Thank you.
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Good.
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I'm glad I got close.
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Before we get into your interesting, interesting story, tell us just a little bit about you.
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Sure.
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Thank you.
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When I was young, I started a band that became pretty popular within the punk and the hardcore
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music scene in New York City and became international.
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When people hear punk, they think of it's crazy, noisy, negative, but this was very, the message
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was very positive.
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We were into clean living, clean diet, positive mental attitudes, self control.
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And I started diving deeper into Eastern thought and Eastern spirituality.
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But the success of the band, my father had won into a coma for three years, side by side
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with my success of the band.
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And then when he left his body, when I was 22, I had enough study under my belt that
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I realized I want to study spirituality myself.
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I want to enter the experiment.
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And I went to India to move into an ashram.
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I lived in ashrams in and out of India for about six and a half years, studied bhakti
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yoga.
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Now years later, I have a household myself.
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I'm the opposite of a monk.
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I was a monk for six and a half years.
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Now I have five children.
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I run a retreat center in upstate New York.
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I teach yoga internationally.
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I just published my book called From Punk to Monk, A Memoir.
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I can't wait to read it.
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It looks super interesting.
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Thank you.
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It's getting good, very, very positive reviews on Amazon.
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Is it?
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That's awesome.
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It's great for me, yeah.
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Okay, for those that don't know the punk scene that well, tell me the name of the band.
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The band that I started when I was a teenager was Youth of Today, famous for popularizing
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straight edge, which means no drinking, no smoking, and vegetarianism, which at that
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time was not really in the conversation.
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It was very peculiar to be interested in vegetarianism, clean living, what to speak
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of within the punk scene, which was really drugs, et cetera, and violence.
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From what I know about the punk scene, yeah, it seems completely opposite.
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It was the opposite.
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It was only bound in the punk scene.
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I think the common denominator was it was very loud, fast music and very harsh vocals.
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But that's what I was into.
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I was attracted to that energy, mosh pit stage diving, all that stuff.
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I just wasn't into a negative lifestyle.
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That was the message we put out there to the world.
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Without expecting it, we got thousands of followers.
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I think some of that is just the age of young men.
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A lot of us go through this weird stage.
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I don't know, but you really acted on yours, obviously.
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Just to give our listeners an idea of where we're going today, this is going to be really
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interesting, but we're not talking about the normal everyday NDE here.
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We're not going to be talking about dying, heart stopping, going through the tunnel
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to the light and all that.
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But something that I personally believe is much more common, which is the spiritually
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transformative experience is also known as STEs.
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They can come from all kinds of different things.
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They can come from trauma, like we're going to talk about with you.
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They can come from meditation.
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They can come from other types of spiritual places or experiences that can change us deeply
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and help us become a better person.
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We're going down that road today.
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Like I said, I think it's much more common.
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I think it's something that we need to be talking about from time to time.
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If you don't mind, Roggenath, if you would just go back and tell us about what led up
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to that horrifying night in New York City.
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Okay.
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Now, my first experience was not that horrifying night.
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That's in the book.
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It happened years later.
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Okay.
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I've got them backwards then.
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You got it backwards, but...
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Chronologically, let's start with the first one.
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Okay.
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Well, I don't think there was like an aha moment for me.
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And I think sometimes people are waiting for that hard shift of the pulling of the lever.
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Now I was going south and now I'm going north.
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I think it was more like a straw on a camel's back.
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And it builds and builds and builds and builds and builds.
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And then there becomes like a fire inside that says, you know what?
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There is nothing of this material world for me here.
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And if you do that with the proper cultivation of some type of spiritual information, then
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when things get really dark, you can turn towards light.
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If you don't have any proper spiritual cultivation of spiritual information, things get really
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dark and you head south and people become intoxicated in alcoholism, suicidal, take
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drugs, etc.
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So for me, there was a spiritual calling.
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It had to get to a boiling point for me to act on it.
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And I just feel like the universe knows exactly what that recipe is.
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And so for me, it was a combination.
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Sometimes you see people's spiritual transformation, you see it in a midlife crisis, or you see
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it in a person's old age thinking, what have I done with my life?
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Or you see it miraculously in a young child.
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I've met young children who are like spiritually lit up.
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For me, it sort of happened with a combination of success within a material sphere, meets
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my father going into a coma for three years, which was sort of tragic.
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It's a tragic sort of place to be in where you don't know if a person's alive or if
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they're dead.
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Are they a vegetable?
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Are they conscious?
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Do they hear what I say?
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Are they just like brain dead, like a lobotomy or something?
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What is going on?
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So in that confusing state where someone very solid in your life becomes now a mystery wrapped
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in an enigma, it's like, what is he now?
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And if he could happen to him at such a reasonably young age, he was 64 years old, I'm 58 years
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old.
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So if it could happen to him randomly, that could happen to me randomly.
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And it started to make me question how solid the material world is, how we're building
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these homes in sand, so to speak, like we're building castles of sand, and we expect to
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find everlasting love, everlasting joy in a temporary world.
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It started making me question the very foundation of what is life about?
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Why are we here?
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What are we meant to do in the short amount of time that we're here?
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And that was a driving force on my quest for spirituality.
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That's my story.
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I think it comes in different recipes for different people.
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Well, I think the huge key to it there is you are asking questions.
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And there was something going on in your life like your father in a coma that caused you
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to ask the questions that so many people don't.
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It's hard to have a transformation unless you're willing to dig deep and go, I don't
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get this.
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Be humble enough to admit, I don't get it.
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I want to know more.
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I'm curious, what were some of those questions you were really digging on?
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Sure.
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First of all, I just want to clarify the point you're making is incredibly valid.
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People oftentimes do ask questions like, you know, I work in advertising, but what am I
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selling?
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I'm selling people things they don't need.
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And I think it's about me, by the way.
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Oh, are you an advertiser?
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That's been my career.
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Yeah.
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Oh, so thank you for talking about you.
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But then you're obviously asking the questions.
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Yes.
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I suppose if you're in that position, because someone recently said that to me, I'm an advertiser,
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I'm selling people things they don't need, but then I thought, oh, well, that's just
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the way life is.
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You just do it.
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So they get a question and then they don't follow through with the answers to that question.
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Because usually when you follow through the answers, you get another question and another
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question and it opens one door after another after another and it brings you into different
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chambers of a castle, so to speak.
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Sometimes people just never open the first door.
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They get a question, but then they, eh, it's not worth thinking too deep.
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It is worth thinking that deep.
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If I'm going to base my whole ideas of meaning and direction and values and ethics and family
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and love, I got to ask those questions.
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So I think the first questions were for me is what is a win?
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Like what's a win?
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Is it just to be, you know, have a house in a swimming pool, you know, do whatever you
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want?
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Is that a win?
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Is it freedom?
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Is it love and romance?
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Is it a wonder loss where you get to travel all over the world and put your foot in every
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continent?
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Is it, is it just go for it and have as much sense pleasure and like a hedonistic sense
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pleasure?
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What actually is a win?
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And I really started to analyze each one and I started journaling on all of that as
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a teenager.
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And I think those were the questions and the understanding like, hey, life is tragically
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short and it can even be shorter.
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It's not like, you know, my dad perhaps didn't live the full term of life by averages, but
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there's people that die when they're six and nine and 15.
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So okay, what happens if I die in two years?
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In that case, I'm an old man right now.
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What am I doing with these next two years then?
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So to value the moment and ask the questions, what am I going to do that's actually significant?
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And even that question, is there a significance of this life or is life actually nothing and
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we just try to create some meaning to it?
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These were the questions running through my mind as a teenager.
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Those are good questions.
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Most teenagers are just thinking, what does that girl think about me and, you know, what
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are we going to do to party tonight?
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By the way, speaking of that, the punk rock scene in New York, you were the quote straight
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edgers.
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Where were you playing?
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Wasn't it mostly bars and places like that?
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Yeah, actually encounter intuitive.
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Actually no, there's good questions.
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They would oftentimes they'd play matinees shows, which were all ages, which means kids
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underage could come.
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Sometimes they'd put a mark on your hand, which means you can't drink.
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That's where the in straight edge people generally would wear an X on their hands because if
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you had a big X on your hand, you couldn't drink at the bar.
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They started wearing as a symbol of pride almost.
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We're going to wear an X on my hand anyway, even though there's no alcohol served.
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But we had we played night clubs and we prefer playing all all ages clubs as well that way
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because a lot of our fans were, you know, under 18.
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I think back then the drinking age was 18.
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Okay, I teased it earlier.
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We better jump to it.
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Tell me about the beat down night.
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Okay.
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All right, that was that was a very spiritually.
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This is one of those beautiful gifts of pain, which I open my book with, but it happens
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a little bit later on my spiritual journey.
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I was a monk.
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This is another twist in the book plot twist, which was after I became a monk after I lived
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like three years as a monk, I started to realize no, no, no, no, the teachings of India are
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not giving up what you do.
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It's taking what you do and use them in a spiritual way to glorify divinity instead of glorifying
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your ego.
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And that was the big shift.
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So what I did was at that point, I started a band not far different from my first band,
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but with spiritual ideas and spiritual lessons and this band, it sounds, oh, come on, how
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did that work out?
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I'll tell you how it worked out.
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It became bigger than the first band and we toured internationally.
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One night we did a performance.
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Again, we're all monks.
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We cook our own food wherever we go.
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We meditate for two hours a day.
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We set up just like a regular band.
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We set up merchandise and we have roadies.
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What was it called?
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This band was called Shelter.
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So yeah, and that night after the show, I'm not going to tell the whole story because
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it's in the book.
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I also tell the story on Joe Rogan too, but basically randomly we played in a ghetto and
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in that ghetto we got attacked by these guys with guns, baseball bats, and I got the living
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crap beat out of me.
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Randomly.
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Randomly and senselessly.
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A little more detail.
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Were you on stage?
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Were you headed home?
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No, thank you.
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It was after the performance, after everybody was leaving and I was getting interviewed
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outside and the band and the roadies were loading up our vehicle, which was parked inside the
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club.
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And so while I was getting interviewed outside in the alley, I see a car pull up with a gang
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of guys get out of it and they just start beating somebody up randomly.
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Young guy.
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I mean, the people go to our shows are young, you know, under 25 and 14 and up, 14 to 25.
255
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So then they stop beating one guy and they beat another guy.
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By the time they got to the third person, everybody's sort of running.
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I ran in the club and I said, hey, you guys, we got to get out of here.
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It's two in the morning and there's like a gang of guys outside just kicking the crap
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about everyone.
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And so all our van doors were open and I could see they were in the middle of loading in
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all the gear and the merchandise and they just said, you know, we can't go anywhere.
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We're not even loaded out yet.
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And all of a sudden the bad guys, they drove their car in the club and they parked right
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in front of our van.
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The biggest guy, the leader of them got out and the guy was, I mean, you couldn't
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create an evil villain.
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This guy was so huge and ripped and massive.
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And he put his hand in his pocket and just said, I've got a gun and I'm going to kill
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everyone tonight.
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00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:20,480
Now, there wasn't a lot of people left in the club.
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There was a couple of bands.
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There was a sound man and people breaking down the PA and there was our band breaking
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down our equipment.
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And I was like, oh my God, we are trapped in a club with a bunch of crazy guys.
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To make a long story short, they started beating people up in the club.
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And then this is going to sound crazy.
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So I'm going to ask you just to believe this.
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But all the guys in the band were younger than me.
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So they all said, well, Raghu, what are we going to do?
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At the time I was like, I don't know why.
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I was like, let's not fight back.
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Let's not run.
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I was convinced we were all dead.
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So I just said, you know, we're going to die.
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And so we're going to chant.
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Hey, just a quick interruption.
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This month we're asking for your support for the show.
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It's definitely a labor of love for Will and I, but it takes a ton of time and money and
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we need donations to keep things going.
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For those that donated last week, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
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For everyone else, it's easy.
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Go to roundtripdeath.com, click on the little donation button in the upper right hand corner.
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You can show your support for the podcast and help us move forward.
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We have had requests for video interviews.
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That's something that will be unveiling soon as well as other improvements.
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Thank you.
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Thank you in advance.
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Now back to the guest.
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00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:51,280
So in the tradition I follow, and there's a lot of traditions of Indian that the munchers
300
00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:52,280
are very sacred.
301
00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:54,640
They're like divine sounds.
302
00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:59,600
And that at the time of death, when you're old or dying, you're to close your eyes and
303
00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:05,440
you're to meditate on these divine mantras so you can pass through this body and through
304
00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:07,400
this world and reconnect.
305
00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,020
That's the goal of yoga.
306
00:17:09,020 --> 00:17:14,600
So I went into the drum, I'm into the car rather, and I got a clay Indian drum that I
307
00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:15,800
play.
308
00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:21,480
And we all stood in a circle and we started chanting these prayers, these munchers, like
309
00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:22,560
singing a song.
310
00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:24,960
It was the most surreal thing you could ever think of.
311
00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:30,040
Here's chaos breaking out everywhere and we're in a circle singing.
312
00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:31,040
Now we didn't look like munchers.
313
00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:33,400
You didn't hope the fear go away.
314
00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:34,720
You know what?
315
00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:39,640
I don't know what happened, but I definitely had a transcendental experience because they
316
00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:43,080
came up to all of us and all the guys in my band ran.
317
00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:48,200
Some people ran under the van, above the van, in the van, here and there, and I was standing
318
00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:58,280
alone surrounded and the guy grabs a gun and he looks at me and says, do you want some?
319
00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,480
And I didn't know what to do.
320
00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:03,600
And I put my hands like in a namaste.
321
00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,720
I'm still wearing this big clay drum.
322
00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:13,920
Put my hands in like a prayer mudra and I just said, I'm a devotee of Lord Krishna and I
323
00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:15,760
have no idea why you're angry.
324
00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:23,400
I said it in a very calm voice and then I felt like a thousand fists in my face and I tell
325
00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:30,720
you I have never felt helpless in my life until that moment, like totally helpless.
326
00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:34,960
And every time I got hit, something very peculiar happened.
327
00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:36,600
Every time I got hit, I was chanting.
328
00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:43,660
I was chanting some divine mantra, some name of God, Madhava Govinda Krishna Ram.
329
00:18:43,660 --> 00:18:48,600
Every time I hit and as I was getting hit, I was thinking, these guys are about to like
330
00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:53,600
kill me because all I know, I've seen this happen before.
331
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:58,760
Someone falls to the ground and then they start getting hit, kicked and their head stomped.
332
00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:01,640
And I was thinking, and there's no way to get out of this.
333
00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:08,560
And so I just thought, I'm about to die and I'm chanting divine names.
334
00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:11,160
This is the perfection of my life.
335
00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:17,040
And I can't explain, I don't think it was me because I'm not a very evolved person.
336
00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:22,200
But I feel like there was some divine intervention that took away all of my anxiety.
337
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:23,760
I had no anxiety.
338
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:29,320
And then five girls came with baseball bats and I thought they were there to save me,
339
00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:34,660
but they were the girlfriends of these guys and they started hitting me repeatedly with
340
00:19:34,660 --> 00:19:37,600
a baseball bat three times on the head.
341
00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:42,080
And then still I continued chanting through each hit.
342
00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:46,600
And again, I was like floored, I was like, I cannot believe what's happening right now.
343
00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:50,480
I am in divine consciousness.
344
00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:52,680
So anyway, that's a teaser for the story.
345
00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:58,880
But yeah, it was an out of body experience where I thought, I can't die.
346
00:19:58,880 --> 00:19:59,880
I can't be killed.
347
00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:03,480
The body, yeah, they can wreck this body, they can damage this body, but I'm not the
348
00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:05,840
body, I'm a driver of this body.
349
00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:11,680
And I felt like it was not just because, like again, I'm so evolved or I'm this being of
350
00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:12,680
light.
351
00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,480
It's more that there was some divine intervention.
352
00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:18,420
Like yeah, in a spiritual way, we do reach up.
353
00:20:18,420 --> 00:20:23,200
But also there's a benevolent divine force reaching down.
354
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:28,680
So I felt that divine force reaching down and giving me some type of clarity in a time
355
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:35,480
where there should be nothing but panic, fear, anxiety, begging for forgiveness or
356
00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:37,480
anger and spite and revenge.
357
00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:38,480
There was none of that.
358
00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,360
I tell you, I don't want it to happen again.
359
00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:46,040
I wouldn't pray for it again, but it was the most spiritual experience in my life.
360
00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:47,040
That's crazy.
361
00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:48,040
That's hard to.
362
00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:49,040
It was crazy.
363
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:53,880
It's hard to believe and hard to understand, but amazing and good for you for being at
364
00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:57,640
a place where you could react like that.
365
00:20:57,640 --> 00:20:58,640
Just curious.
366
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:03,520
I don't want to get too off tangent here, but were your other bandmates and friends,
367
00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:07,080
were they okay or did they all get beaten up too?
368
00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:08,080
You know what happened?
369
00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:10,400
I didn't realize this till later.
370
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,200
They had all jumped in the van.
371
00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:18,560
And even though we are sort of parked in by the bad guy's car, they had started the car
372
00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:23,880
and they plowed through their vehicle, the other people's vehicle.
373
00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:27,320
And they all escaped, but when they did a head count, they realized I wasn't in the
374
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:28,480
car with them.
375
00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,000
And so yeah, it was a little sketchy.
376
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:32,480
They didn't get hurt.
377
00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:39,000
I miraculously, you know, I went to the emergency room and despite five hits with a baseball
378
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:45,480
bat and getting pounded on, the doctors were like, you don't have a concussion.
379
00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,560
You don't have any broken bones.
380
00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:51,640
And we're just going to give you some ibuprofen on heavy doses.
381
00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:56,320
So I couldn't walk for two days or move for two days, but three days later I played a
382
00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:59,480
show with a cane.
383
00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:01,480
Unbelievable.
384
00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:04,280
It was unbelievable.
385
00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,280
It was unbelievable.
386
00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:09,800
The twists and turns this crazy world takes us, isn't it?
387
00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:15,320
So you had already had some major spiritual transformations before that, but be a little
388
00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:21,260
more specific on what happened that night, not physically, but spiritually.
389
00:22:21,260 --> 00:22:22,440
What changed in you?
390
00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:26,000
What kind of switch flipped at that point?
391
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,680
You know, that's a great question.
392
00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:36,240
I always, you know, I study, I'm a fan and it's what I do is I study wisdom literature
393
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:37,240
of the East.
394
00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:38,400
I study it.
395
00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:43,240
I try to imbibe it, but it's almost like a fruit, you know, to really study the fruit
396
00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:47,840
without biting into the fruit or experiencing it, you can never, I can never quite explain
397
00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:51,400
what a plum is to you until you take a bite of a plum.
398
00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:55,720
I can explain, well, it's sweet, it's round, it's sort of fruity, you know, it's hard to
399
00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:56,840
really understand it.
400
00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:02,440
So by studying wisdom literature, you can understand, okay, life is temporary.
401
00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:04,040
Yeah, of course life is temporary.
402
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:05,040
Life is full of pain.
403
00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:08,160
Yeah, I could live life is momentary.
404
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:09,560
It could end at any minute.
405
00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:11,000
It's almost like a dream.
406
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:12,520
Yeah, that makes sense.
407
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:18,760
All these things make sense, but I remember where I was after the after all the violence
408
00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:22,480
was over and everything was a mess and people took off and I thought they were, I thought
409
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:28,400
they were killing my band members, I was in some garage that was open and I was on my
410
00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:29,600
knees.
411
00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:33,680
I didn't know where my health, what my health condition was.
412
00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:38,040
I thought I had a broken skull because blood was all over my face.
413
00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:43,280
I thought I had a concussion because I was hit with a club and therefore I thought, you
414
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:47,960
know, my brain is going to hemorrhage and I'm going to fall asleep and I'm going to
415
00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:48,960
die.
416
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:55,920
So my realization at that moment was very, very sanguine and very, very loud.
417
00:23:55,920 --> 00:24:04,680
It was, it was, you just had an experience of being saved, meaning even though you're
418
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:09,840
about to leave your body, there was an intervention where you had divine vision.
419
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:15,120
You always say, you have some lyrics that say, oh, this world's like a dream.
420
00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:16,320
It's not what it seems.
421
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:18,580
We think it's solid, but it fades.
422
00:24:18,580 --> 00:24:22,520
You had that realization, but now you know that's a reality.
423
00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:24,080
It's not just knowledge.
424
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:29,440
This is a real reality and your experience of the dream and guess what?
425
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:30,600
The dream is over.
426
00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:35,240
You're about to fall asleep and wake up into a new dream.
427
00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:40,280
And so then I got very, very prayerful and I thought, you know, I started saying prayers,
428
00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:42,240
you know, and I worship God as Krishna.
429
00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:43,960
That's the way they say God in India.
430
00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,960
I said, Krishna, this world is a dream.
431
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,080
And no one knows where I am.
432
00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:50,240
My mother doesn't know where I am.
433
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:55,000
I loved ones don't know where I am, but I'm about to leave my body.
434
00:24:55,000 --> 00:25:02,400
But I tell you, Krishna, please, you gave me such divine vision and such focus.
435
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,560
If you're going to take me, please take me while I'm awake.
436
00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:11,040
Don't let me fall asleep where my mind won't be, where my mind will be clouded and I'll
437
00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:13,520
just, you know, I won't be able to meditate on you.
438
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:17,880
Take me now and I prayed to die with that focused vision.
439
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:19,160
I closed my eyes.
440
00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:23,640
I got a vision of divinity of Krishna and I started chanting these beautiful Sanskrit
441
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,200
mantras that I had studied.
442
00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:30,040
And now I felt like, wow, this is the final test of my study, these beautiful prayers
443
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:31,840
and mantras.
444
00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:37,760
And then unfortunately I lived because I was in very, very great consciousness.
445
00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:42,120
But when I lived, I realized, okay, Krishna wants something else from me in this life.
446
00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:45,880
Have you figured out what that is, what else he wants of you in this life?
447
00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:52,640
Yeah, he wants me to dedicate my heart, my mind, my soul, my thoughts, my words, do
448
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:54,640
what I do best as an offering.
449
00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:55,640
That's what I did with the book.
450
00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,240
That's what I did with my music.
451
00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:05,360
That's what I do with my podcast is to translate all these cryptic ancient teachings into practical
452
00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:06,360
life.
453
00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:10,520
I lived like an impractical monk and now I live like a practical householder.
454
00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:12,160
So it's like, how do you do that?
455
00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:13,840
How do you find the balance within that?
456
00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:15,400
And that's sort of my message.
457
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:20,560
Well, and that, by the way, startled me when we did our pre-interview the other day because
458
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:25,760
the whole living like a monk and having this yoga retreat and stuff, I don't know.
459
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:30,320
I guess I expected you to be sitting in a tent or something.
460
00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:32,920
And it's fun.
461
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:34,160
Don't mean that rude in any way.
462
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:35,240
I do like tents.
463
00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:37,160
I slept outside last night.
464
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,360
Or I should say to a teepee even is more what I was thinking.
465
00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:46,720
But sure, no, behind you, you're just in a regular, really nice suburban home is what
466
00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:48,240
it looks like to me.
467
00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:50,160
Yeah, it's not suburban though.
468
00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:52,080
I live in the woods pretty much.
469
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:53,080
Okay.
470
00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:59,000
But yeah, I live on, you know, 11 acres farm and we have a retreat center here.
471
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:03,240
I have another second house that guests stay in.
472
00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:08,480
Part of this house has guest rooms where we have people stay in and sort of like a spiritual
473
00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:10,680
bed and breakfast of sorts.
474
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,400
It has four walls, but it's surrounded by nature.
475
00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:19,000
But I don't live in a hobbit house.
476
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,800
But I have a strong, you know, my spiritual journey has brought me closer and closer to
477
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,560
nature and natural living for sure.
478
00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,560
So I had in my notes the word drowning.
479
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:31,680
Did you have some kind of a drowning episode?
480
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:32,680
Yeah.
481
00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:33,680
I had an episode of a new...
482
00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:35,680
Do you want to talk about that?
483
00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:36,680
Sure.
484
00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:38,880
It was another great, another great, horrible experience.
485
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:44,320
And I think sometimes, by the way, if any listeners are going through hell out there
486
00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,560
right now, because sometimes we have a season in our life where we're just going through
487
00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:49,080
hell and I get it.
488
00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:54,760
Sometimes that hell lasts a day or 20 minutes or sometimes that hell is like, you know,
489
00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:56,760
a few months or a few years.
490
00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:58,520
I got some good news for you.
491
00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:02,580
It's at those times of hell that we find our biggest breakthroughs.
492
00:28:02,580 --> 00:28:04,600
It's God directly speaking to us.
493
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:12,360
And sometimes when there's no hell, when things are just going wonderfully, we're never introspective.
494
00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:15,480
Whenever I see a person going through hell, I was like, they must be sincere about their
495
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:21,200
spiritual life because it's the universe is forcing them to go deeper and ask some bigger
496
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:22,200
questions.
497
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,360
And those are the times we have to ask those questions.
498
00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:29,880
So I did have a moment when that second band I did was starting getting really popular
499
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:32,640
and we had a hit record in Brazil.
500
00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:34,560
And so we were on a Brazil tour.
501
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,840
I didn't even realize how big we were there at the time, but they were playing our song
502
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:40,440
on the radios and on MTV.
503
00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:45,840
And we were doing all this press conferences and we were in Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro.
504
00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:46,840
And I'm one of these persons.
505
00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:47,880
I like to wake up very early.
506
00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,280
I like to meditate, especially if there's like the beach or something like that.
507
00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:56,560
I woke up and I sat and did meditation on my beads for like two hours.
508
00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:02,760
And I studied a chapter of the Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit and this was like my travel spiritual
509
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:04,480
morning practice.
510
00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:06,120
It felt really good.
511
00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:10,680
The sun was coming up, went back to the hotel to see if anybody else was up.
512
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:12,200
Maybe they want to take a morning swim.
513
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,760
It's good to swim in the ocean before breakfast.
514
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,400
There's lots of tropical fruits.
515
00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:20,960
Everything seems perfect.
516
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:25,680
And then the only person who was awake was our publicist, nice guy named Paulo.
517
00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:28,240
I asked him, hey, let's go swim in this morning.
518
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:32,880
And he said, I said, before we eat, it's really healthy to, you know, to bathe first in the
519
00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:33,880
salt water.
520
00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:35,960
And he said, you know, I really don't want him.
521
00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:36,960
Not a great swimmer.
522
00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:38,280
I said, well, I'm not a great swimmer either.
523
00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:39,440
We don't have to swim very good.
524
00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:42,280
We'll just go splash around on the waves.
525
00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:49,780
And because I'm a persuasive son of a bitch, I convinced him against his will to swim.
526
00:29:49,780 --> 00:29:53,560
And so we're splashing around, not where the big waves are crashing, but sort of in the
527
00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:56,240
aftermath of the waves.
528
00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:00,720
But we happened to be in, I don't know if it was a storm or if this is how eponema is
529
00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:03,320
regularly, but the waves were very big.
530
00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:07,880
Everything was going great until I couldn't find Paulo anymore.
531
00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:10,400
And I was like, where the heck is my friend?
532
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:13,200
No one is on the beach except me and him.
533
00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:14,440
And I'm looking around.
534
00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:18,200
And then finally I just hear a voice going, help me.
535
00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:19,920
I have a cramp.
536
00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:20,920
I'm drowning.
537
00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:22,400
Please help me.
538
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:25,600
I was like, I couldn't even see where it's coming from.
539
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:26,600
But I heard it.
540
00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,960
And then I looked and it was just in the deeper water.
541
00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:34,040
And I saw his face on top of the water, just like coming out of the water.
542
00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:35,760
Help me, please help me.
543
00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:36,760
You know, I wasn't sure.
544
00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:38,320
Is he joking or is he serious?
545
00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:40,400
So I swam over, are you okay?
546
00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:42,280
Hey man, you okay?
547
00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:46,440
And then as soon as I went to him, I did what I wasn't supposed to do, which is you're never
548
00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:50,400
supposed to approach a drowning person from the front.
549
00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:51,560
You got to go from behind.
550
00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:54,280
I never took that lifeguard course.
551
00:30:54,280 --> 00:31:00,960
He gripped me with all of his force and held me underwater, which is, I think, from what
552
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:06,040
I understand, a natural instinct of a drowning person is you're fighting for your life.
553
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:09,800
And he pulled me underwater until I started choking.
554
00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:11,880
And he's like scratched me with his nails.
555
00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:17,680
It was like almost like this fight or flight type of situation in desperation.
556
00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:19,640
And he started screaming, help me.
557
00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:20,640
I'm drowning.
558
00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:26,080
And I was still like worried about him, even though I was sort of choking.
559
00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:28,520
But I was on the bottom of the ocean floor there.
560
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:29,920
I just sprung off the floor.
561
00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:31,520
And I was like, are you okay?
562
00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:32,520
Are you okay?
563
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:34,840
And he starts screaming at me again.
564
00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:37,280
And again, with all force pulled me underneath.
565
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:40,160
And I started coughing and choking.
566
00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:44,640
And then out of nowhere, two people came up and pulled him out of the water.
567
00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,120
And at that point, I realized I'm the one that needs help.
568
00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:50,280
Actually, I'm over my head.
569
00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:53,800
I feel I feel I'm caught in a riptide.
570
00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:54,800
And I need help.
571
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,640
And I just started saying, help me, help me.
572
00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:03,320
And by my third help me, I was like in the impact zone of all these waves.
573
00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:05,520
And the first wave knocked me.
574
00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:08,400
I was just getting tumbled and tumbled.
575
00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:11,520
But because I was in the rip, I just kept them getting pulled out.
576
00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:16,720
And by the time I came above water again, hit in the impact zone again.
577
00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:27,320
And by the third time I came up, I was dragged so far out to the ocean, it was almost laughable.
578
00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:31,080
I was like, I actually got up, I said, this is almost like hysterical.
579
00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:33,800
I am so far away from the sea.
580
00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:34,800
I have no energy.
581
00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:36,920
I have no breath.
582
00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:40,640
And I better just start screaming for help.
583
00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:42,640
Now, there's something humiliating.
584
00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:46,400
And you just go, when you have to call out in desperation.
585
00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:50,640
And I just started going, help me, help me.
586
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:54,480
But I was so far behind the waves that no one could hear me really.
587
00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:58,480
There were some people on the beach at this point, but no one could hear me.
588
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:02,640
So finally, I just said, OK, humans aren't going to help you.
589
00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:04,520
You're going to have to call out to God.
590
00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:08,800
And I just said, Krishna, help me, Krishna.
591
00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:11,000
And then, of course, no response.
592
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:13,960
And I thought, OK, humans aren't going to help.
593
00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:16,200
Krishna is not going to help.
594
00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:17,200
Guess what?
595
00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:19,400
Today, Ray, you're going to die.
596
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:21,360
And guess what?
597
00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:22,360
Happens all the time.
598
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:25,000
It's been happening since the beginning of time.
599
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:26,880
People screw around in the water.
600
00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:29,240
They got caught out in the sea.
601
00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:30,520
And they die.
602
00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:31,520
It's not a big deal.
603
00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:32,800
This happens.
604
00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:36,640
And I was like, oh my god, I wasn't ready to die today.
605
00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:39,520
I'm just about to start this big tour.
606
00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:40,720
Our record is big.
607
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:44,520
And I started thinking, OK.
608
00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:48,440
I'm just going to say a prayer and just give up.
609
00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:54,280
And I just said, I know I'm not very evolved in my spiritual life.
610
00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:57,560
And I know I was attached to all these things that are happening
611
00:33:57,560 --> 00:33:59,840
and seem so exciting.
612
00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:04,040
But my dear Lord, please, I know I'm not
613
00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:06,400
advanced enough spiritually to be evolved.
614
00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:09,920
I know it takes work in this world to evolve.
615
00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:12,840
I said, but can I ask for this prayer
616
00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:16,440
that in my next life I get born into a family that's
617
00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:18,480
very focused on their spiritual life so they've
618
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:22,840
raised me from childhood, very focused.
619
00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:24,200
And then I started chanting.
620
00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:26,080
And I gave up.
621
00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:27,720
And that's that.
622
00:34:27,720 --> 00:34:28,360
That's that.
623
00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:29,160
You drowned.
624
00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:30,520
We haven't seen you since.
625
00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:32,000
Yeah, I haven't been there since.
626
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:36,560
Yeah, no, a 12-year-old kid came out and saved me on a surfboard.
627
00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:40,080
Just put my body over the surfboard and paddled me in.
628
00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:42,080
You know, there's something that's been on my mind.
629
00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:45,320
Thank you so much for these stories and for your wisdom.
630
00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:46,440
All real.
631
00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:47,800
All real, my friend.
632
00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:52,040
And I tell you, sometimes we need a dose of tragedy
633
00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:55,440
to make us wake up to reality.
634
00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:58,960
Tragedy, trials, whatever it is.
635
00:34:58,960 --> 00:34:59,460
Yeah.
636
00:34:59,460 --> 00:34:59,960
Yeah.
637
00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:03,600
And something we touched on earlier,
638
00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:05,720
you know, it's hard to ask those big questions
639
00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:09,680
because of the ramifications of the answers.
640
00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:11,920
Frankly, we don't want the answers sometimes,
641
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:13,640
because then we may have to change.
642
00:35:13,640 --> 00:35:15,280
And that's hard.
643
00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:20,520
Now, I, sorry, I feel like I need to go down a road that I just
644
00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:22,120
don't normally go down.
645
00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:26,440
So to my regular listeners, hey, if you don't like this,
646
00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:28,240
fast forward, that's OK.
647
00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:31,400
But I think there is so much misunderstanding
648
00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:34,240
out there in religions.
649
00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:37,720
And there's persecution.
650
00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:40,120
There's people that just believe they're right
651
00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:42,360
and everybody else is wrong.
652
00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:45,560
And on this fundamentalism.
653
00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:46,320
Yeah.
654
00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:50,800
On this particular podcast, we keep it non-denominational.
655
00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:51,200
Sure.
656
00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:53,640
And we're not pushing any one religion
657
00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:55,840
or putting down any other religion.
658
00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:59,920
But you have mentioned Krishna and these Indian teachings
659
00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:05,640
so much that I would just like, for people who have not
660
00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:08,360
been exposed to that before, to feel a little bit more
661
00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:10,280
comfortable with it.
662
00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:12,520
Because some of us grew up in a time
663
00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:15,360
where the only thing that we knew about what you're talking
664
00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:19,640
about was the white robes and the tambourines
665
00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:25,880
in the airports chanting or on Kala Kala Drive
666
00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:29,560
in downtown Waikiki or wherever somebody was.
667
00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:30,160
Right.
668
00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:32,080
That was all that we knew about it.
669
00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:34,280
And they were these crazy young hippies.
670
00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,680
And who knows what they were chanting about or what.
671
00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:41,160
So I think, one, it's a breath of fresh air
672
00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:46,720
for us to see your regular people, just like people
673
00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:48,560
of other denominations are.
674
00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:51,400
And I believe from what you've said,
675
00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:54,560
you believe in a God that may have a different name
676
00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:58,360
than someone whose Christian would give that God.
677
00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:01,600
Is there anything else that you would like to say
678
00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:03,920
for people of all other religions out there
679
00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:06,720
to just help keep the peace and the respect
680
00:37:06,720 --> 00:37:07,960
amongst all of us?
681
00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:09,240
Sure.
682
00:37:09,240 --> 00:37:11,600
The idea, at least in Eastern thought,
683
00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:13,800
in which why I was attracted to it,
684
00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:15,080
is that there is one God.
685
00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:16,040
We believe in one God.
686
00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:17,200
And God has different names.
687
00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:19,960
In the same way, you called me Ray.
688
00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:21,920
And some people call me Ragnarok.
689
00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:24,800
And my little kids call me Daddy.
690
00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:26,840
And my mom's got a nickname for me.
691
00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:29,400
So it's like, I'm the same person.
692
00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:31,000
But I'll go by different names according
693
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:32,640
to different audiences.
694
00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:35,160
Krishna just means the all attractive one.
695
00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:37,600
God just means the one who is good.
696
00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:40,280
So we believe in one, it's theistic.
697
00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:45,440
But we believe that all people are on a spiritual journey.
698
00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:48,520
And the soul is eternal.
699
00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:51,320
And India has always been a hub
700
00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:53,560
of spiritual information where people
701
00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:55,200
from all over the world have gone to.
702
00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:57,080
Because there's not a holy book.
703
00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:00,480
There's cannons of literature dealing
704
00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:02,760
with the metaphysical and the spiritual.
705
00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:04,640
It's not devil work.
706
00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:08,320
It predates the world's religions.
707
00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:10,560
But that being said, it enhances.
708
00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:12,760
I find, for example, I grew up Christian
709
00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:14,840
and I have a great respect for Christianity.
710
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:17,360
I will go to church with my mom
711
00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:21,800
and I'll sing the songs and accept the Eucharist, et cetera.
712
00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:23,320
I don't think it's being unchaste
713
00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:24,760
because there's one God.
714
00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:27,400
And no church has a monopoly on truth.
715
00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:29,680
Truth is truth is for all people.
716
00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:31,800
And the truth is that there's one God.
717
00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:34,760
And that we're all part and parcel of some higher power,
718
00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:36,560
whatever you want to call your higher power.
719
00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:38,600
And our job in this world is to remember
720
00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:39,720
that I'm not a material being.
721
00:38:39,720 --> 00:38:41,560
I'm not an American or a European
722
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:43,080
or I'm not black or white.
723
00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:45,920
We're not of a particular gender.
724
00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:47,400
We're actually a spirit soul
725
00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:49,480
that's driving around in a vehicle.
726
00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:51,880
And we should train ourselves to see spirit
727
00:38:51,880 --> 00:38:53,920
in not only people that we're friends with,
728
00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:55,800
but people that are different than us as well.
729
00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:57,520
Even people that don't like us.
730
00:38:57,520 --> 00:38:59,560
And we see spirit in all living entities.
731
00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:00,680
We see spirit in animals.
732
00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:01,880
We see spirit in trees.
733
00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:04,320
We see spirit in planets.
734
00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:07,480
And we see in the earth itself as a being.
735
00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:10,880
So I don't feel like I'm really contradicting.
736
00:39:10,880 --> 00:39:13,440
When I read the Bible, I find like, yeah,
737
00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:15,800
I believe this, love your neighbor.
738
00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:17,320
Love God with your heart, mind and soul.
739
00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:21,000
That's the essence of the teachings of the East, actually.
740
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:26,000
So I feel there is, if we can ask the question,
741
00:39:26,240 --> 00:39:29,080
what do we have in common
742
00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:31,480
instead of what are our differences?
743
00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:34,520
You're gonna find a more beautiful world, period.
744
00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:36,960
And I asked that question as young age
745
00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:38,560
when it comes to religion.
746
00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:40,880
What do we have in common with these religions?
747
00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:43,000
They all speak of some higher power.
748
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:44,440
They speak of controlling the senses,
749
00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:45,840
controlling the mind.
750
00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:48,040
They speak of temptations.
751
00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:50,520
They speak of importance of compassion.
752
00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:53,120
They believe in the importance of self-control.
753
00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:54,920
They believe in the importance of forgiveness.
754
00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:57,760
Why not say, hey, we got a lot in common?
755
00:39:57,760 --> 00:39:59,760
Okay, there's some different outfits,
756
00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:03,640
different haircuts, different ways of maybe meditation
757
00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:04,640
or prayer.
758
00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:05,480
Who cares?
759
00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:08,440
Let that be a detail and let us come together
760
00:40:08,440 --> 00:40:10,000
with some commonalities.
761
00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:12,280
If we could do this in the world,
762
00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:16,960
we wouldn't have this overwhelming hate and divisiveness
763
00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:21,280
that is going on in the world, in politics, in high schools,
764
00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:23,600
state to state, nation to nation.
765
00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:24,960
It's disgusting.
766
00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:27,920
I say this very frankly and easily
767
00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:32,000
because it's woven into those teachings of ancient India
768
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:34,760
that anybody on their God path, we should support.
769
00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:36,240
They have lessons to learn.
770
00:40:36,240 --> 00:40:38,440
We shouldn't try to, we're not trying to convert somebody
771
00:40:38,440 --> 00:40:41,920
from this outfit to that outfit, join our club,
772
00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:42,760
give up your club.
773
00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:45,760
No, the idea is that we're spirit and we forgot.
774
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:49,400
And any way you can wake up and remember that fact,
775
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:50,840
that you're a spiritual being,
776
00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:53,760
and that we're just around on this planet
777
00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:55,360
for a short amount of time.
778
00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:57,120
If you can wake up and remind yourself
779
00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:00,240
of our real identity, that's a win.
780
00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:01,480
So beautifully said.
781
00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:03,240
Thank you, thank you.
782
00:41:03,240 --> 00:41:07,000
One last thing, let's touch on before we take off.
783
00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:10,640
And that is, like I alluded to earlier,
784
00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:14,280
I think spiritually transformative experiences
785
00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:18,160
are relatively common.
786
00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:20,560
I think most people have an opportunity
787
00:41:20,560 --> 00:41:24,160
to have at least one during their life.
788
00:41:24,160 --> 00:41:26,960
And they may come in all kinds of forms,
789
00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:30,160
whether it's being beat up or drowned
790
00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:34,320
or some of these other things that we talked about.
791
00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:36,520
What is your advice for someone
792
00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:39,160
who's either going through something super difficult
793
00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:42,160
right now or has just had one of these experiences
794
00:41:42,160 --> 00:41:45,000
but doesn't quite know how to process it?
795
00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:46,680
Gee, this just happened to me.
796
00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:48,200
I know it was profound,
797
00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:50,800
but I'm not quite sure what to do with this.
798
00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:52,040
Sometimes it's no profound,
799
00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:55,240
sometimes it's just plain tragic.
800
00:41:55,240 --> 00:41:58,600
But we should always understand that there's a,
801
00:41:59,880 --> 00:42:01,960
you ever see one of those tapestries on the wall?
802
00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:05,360
It's like a embroidery with a beautiful picture
803
00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:06,760
of a waterfall or something
804
00:42:06,760 --> 00:42:08,880
and the sun rising in the background.
805
00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:10,320
That's a very beautiful picture.
806
00:42:10,320 --> 00:42:13,680
But if I was to flip that tapestry backwards,
807
00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:16,120
it would just seem like a bunch of random threads.
808
00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:17,480
And if I was to invite you in my home
809
00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:19,440
and say, hey, look at my tapestry,
810
00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:22,040
you would think, oh, so random.
811
00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:26,880
So it starts with just hearing about analogies like this,
812
00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:30,160
that things appear random,
813
00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:34,600
but they have a very specific significance.
814
00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:38,320
And when we understand what is the significance
815
00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:40,960
and ask those questions, why did this happen?
816
00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:43,000
Where is this goading me?
817
00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:45,120
And don't let it goad you
818
00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:47,640
to what a Christian would call like the devil.
819
00:42:47,640 --> 00:42:50,480
Let it goad you towards light instead of darkness.
820
00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:52,480
Let it goad you not towards revenge,
821
00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:55,800
not towards spite, not towards hatred,
822
00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:57,840
but towards what can I learn
823
00:42:57,840 --> 00:42:59,880
and how can I grow from these things?
824
00:42:59,880 --> 00:43:02,240
Let that be the burning question.
825
00:43:02,240 --> 00:43:04,600
What is the greater plan?
826
00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:06,920
Nothing is random in this world.
827
00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:09,320
Everything is significant
828
00:43:09,320 --> 00:43:11,360
because you're a significant being.
829
00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:13,400
And therefore, everything is part
830
00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:16,720
of some greater tapestry that I can't see
831
00:43:16,720 --> 00:43:18,200
from my vantage point.
832
00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:20,120
I'm just seeing what's right in front of my face
833
00:43:20,120 --> 00:43:22,120
and it appears like a tragedy.
834
00:43:22,120 --> 00:43:23,320
There's a greater plan.
835
00:43:24,640 --> 00:43:25,640
Thank you.
836
00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:27,600
Do you mind if I add just something to that?
837
00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:30,560
And that is once we figure that out,
838
00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:33,360
the next question is, how do we take that
839
00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:36,120
and now better serve others with it?
840
00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:38,600
Are you asking me that question?
841
00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:41,440
No, I was just sharing that soap box,
842
00:43:41,440 --> 00:43:44,800
but please if you want to add to that, please do.
843
00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:46,520
Okay, that's a great statement.
844
00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:47,520
It's sort of a statement now.
845
00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:50,160
How can we give that away to other people?
846
00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:53,400
Yeah, that's right on.
847
00:43:53,400 --> 00:43:55,440
All right, my last question.
848
00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:58,780
On a scale of one to 10, how much fear of death do you have?
849
00:44:00,280 --> 00:44:05,280
You know, again, it's something I could very easily say,
850
00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:08,720
I have no fear, I'm a spiritual being,
851
00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:11,320
but you never know until you're in the situation,
852
00:44:12,240 --> 00:44:15,240
but I do have faith because it's been proven to me
853
00:44:15,240 --> 00:44:18,160
again and again that to the degree
854
00:44:18,160 --> 00:44:20,600
that I am on my spiritual journey,
855
00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:22,800
even if something's traumatic,
856
00:44:22,800 --> 00:44:25,360
I feel like there will be intervention.
857
00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:27,080
So I'm less worried about it.
858
00:44:27,920 --> 00:44:32,480
And there's a saying that if Krishna wants to kill you,
859
00:44:32,480 --> 00:44:33,440
no one can save you.
860
00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:36,800
And Krishna wants to save you, no one can kill you.
861
00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:39,960
So when you hear like when it's meant to die,
862
00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:41,240
you're meant to die.
863
00:44:41,240 --> 00:44:43,520
And if you're on a spiritual path, you'll be with God,
864
00:44:43,520 --> 00:44:45,400
you'll be connected.
865
00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:47,320
Even if you get hit in the head from behind
866
00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:49,720
where then at that time where you're struck,
867
00:44:49,720 --> 00:44:51,360
God will appear and be with you.
868
00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:55,080
Nothing is random and everything is happening
869
00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:58,040
for some purpose for our growth.
870
00:44:58,040 --> 00:44:59,800
And if you're on a spiritual path,
871
00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:04,360
you should understand that you're really putting yourself
872
00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:07,000
in divine hands.
873
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:10,440
If anybody wants to read Punk to Monk
874
00:45:10,440 --> 00:45:13,960
or find out a little bit more about you, Raganath,
875
00:45:13,960 --> 00:45:15,720
we'll have some info in the show notes.
876
00:45:15,720 --> 00:45:17,280
People can find it there.
877
00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:18,520
Thanks for being with me today.
878
00:45:18,520 --> 00:45:19,600
I really appreciate it.
879
00:45:19,600 --> 00:45:20,440
Thanks so much.
880
00:45:20,440 --> 00:45:22,720
And it's available on Audible for those who don't read.
881
00:45:22,720 --> 00:45:24,520
I'm finding a lot of people,
882
00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:27,360
a lot of people listen on Audible nowadays.
883
00:45:27,360 --> 00:45:29,960
So I got a chance to read it on Audible,
884
00:45:29,960 --> 00:45:30,920
which was very fun.
885
00:45:30,920 --> 00:45:32,240
Oh, so it's all read by you.
886
00:45:32,240 --> 00:45:33,880
That's awesome.
887
00:45:33,880 --> 00:45:35,240
Yeah, I got to read it myself.
888
00:45:35,240 --> 00:45:38,120
That was especially fun to do.
889
00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:41,640
I've always wondered, as the author reading,
890
00:45:41,640 --> 00:45:43,680
do you feel like making a little change here and there
891
00:45:43,680 --> 00:45:45,520
as you're reading along?
892
00:45:45,520 --> 00:45:47,720
Yes, I feel like ad-libbing it.
893
00:45:47,720 --> 00:45:50,640
And the publisher told me I absolutely cannot,
894
00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:53,840
it's gotta be exactly word for word.
895
00:45:54,720 --> 00:45:57,080
They wouldn't let you ad-lib anything.
896
00:45:57,080 --> 00:46:00,640
No, no, because at first I started doing it
897
00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:02,040
and I just called them on the phone
898
00:46:02,040 --> 00:46:03,480
and they were like, you cannot do that.
899
00:46:03,480 --> 00:46:05,360
You gotta go over and redo it.
900
00:46:05,360 --> 00:46:08,240
It sort of stinks, but it stinks, but it's intelligent
901
00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:11,200
because I will just riff into a whole different story.
902
00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:12,960
Part of me glad I didn't do it.
903
00:46:12,960 --> 00:46:14,120
All right, thanks again.
904
00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:17,720
Thank you so much for listening and supporting the show.
905
00:46:17,720 --> 00:46:20,600
Just a reminder, click on over to roundtripdeath.com
906
00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:24,160
to make a donation and we'll put a link in the show notes.
907
00:46:24,160 --> 00:46:26,440
Until then, I wish you every good thing
908
00:46:26,440 --> 00:46:29,720
that you're looking for in this life and the next.