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Ram Dass’s Revelatory Exchange With His Guru, Maharaji
It’s about the power of serving others.
In a talk he gave in 1986, Ram Dass spoke of a conversation he had with his guru, Neem Karoli Baba, known as Maharaji to his devotees. It went like this:
Ram Dass: How do I get enlightened?
Maharajii: Feed people.
Ram Dass: How do I know God?
Maharajii: Serve people.
Bingo. End of conversation. That’s all we need to know.
I come back to this basic teaching of Maharajii when I feel like I’m getting stuck in my head around spiritual practices whose purpose is to release me from being stuck in my head! In other words, when I catch myself going down the me, me, me road.
“I need to let go of these nervous emotions around the tennis tournaments I’m playing in.”
“I need to concentrate harder during my meditation sessions.”
“I need to work on being more mindful in my daily life.”
What’s the common, dominant word in those three examples: ‘I.’ Yes, that work needs to be done. And ‘I’ am the one who needs to do that work.
Self-absorbed spiritual seekers
