Audible sampleLove, Service, Devotion, and the Ultimate Surrender: Ram Dass on the Bhagavad Gita
Audible Audiobook – Original recordingRam Dass (Narrator, Author), Sounds True (Publisher)
4.5 out of 5 stars 7 ratings
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The Bhagavad Gita is a gem so precious in India's spiritual treasury that many regard it not as a volume of sacred verse, but as a living manifestation of the Divine. In the summer of 1974, inside a balmy Boulder, Colorado, warehouse that served as a main hall of a fledgling Naropa Institute, some say a minor miracle occured: The reawakening of the Gita's living presence, as it unfolded in a series of wisdom teachings led by Ram Dass. With Love, Service, Devotion, and the Ultimate Surrender, you are invited to experience these legendary gatherings.
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12 hours and 3 minutes
Author
Ram Dass
Product details
Listening Length 12 hours and 3 minutes
Author Ram Dass
Narrator Ram Dass
Audible.com Release Date August 23, 2011
Publisher Sounds True
Program Type Audiobook
Version Original recording
Language English
ASIN B005IT1IUE
Best Sellers Rank #28,490 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#19 in Hinduism (Audible Books & Originals)
#21 in Bhagavad Gita (Books)
#340 in Other Eastern Religions & Sacred Texts (Books)
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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Rd. Northern California
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for the spiritual pathReviewed in the United States on January 16, 2019
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Again Ram Dass delivers. I have traveled the spiritual path for many years and there is a great quantity of material on the subject but Ram Dass gives a clear and insightful message for the western yogi.
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Robert Perry
3.0 out of 5 stars Where's the chanting?Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2016
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I own the original cassette tape version, and was very disappointed to discover that so much of the footage - both from Ram Dass's lectures and from the kirtans, the latter of which were the heart of the recording - had been cut out. It has been over-edited.
6 people found this helpful
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Dian
5.0 out of 5 stars Great wisdomReviewed in the United States on August 16, 2014
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So much wonderful wisdom, I keep listening to it over and over!
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Reader
3.0 out of 5 stars More like Ramdass's adventures in spiritual seekingReviewed in the United States on September 14, 2013
Ramdass is a great and very engaging speaker/teacher. You can listen to him regardless what is the topic he talks of, or how controversial it may be. In that way this is a great and very engaging talk, recorded in the 70s at Naropa. The point is just that it is not a whole lot about the Gita. He refers to the Gita now and then, but it is largely about his own adventures in spirituality - which of course includes considerable adventures with psychedelic drugs and a lot of stories about his guru Neem Karoli Baba. It is interesting, and there are things you can learn from him that you probably would not learn from anyone else. Such as the conflict between ahimsa and eating meat. And of the serious differences between Buddhist and hindu traditions. Along with it you will hear a lot of stuff which is to me a little disgusting, such as how many acid trips he took and why he thinks such dangerous experiments are 'sometimes ok'. All said and done, worth hearing if you are up for it. And definitely not the Bhagavad Gita.
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ronnie white
5.0 out of 5 stars awesomeReviewed in the United States on January 15, 2020
Like all of Ram Dass's books Awesome!!
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william
5.0 out of 5 stars Ram Dass on the Bhagavad Gita (audio CD)Reviewed in Canada on February 11, 2013
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Ram Dass puts spirituality into easily understandable terms, speaking from personal experience with anecdotes and stories to amplify his message. His approach is practical and down to earth, given from a Western point of view. This is important, since much of Eastern Philosophy comes to us from an Eastern culture, making it that much harder for a Westerner to grasp. His message is from the heart. Ram Dass is a brilliant speaker, enjoyable to listen to. This CD is based on the Bhagavad Gita, so may require a basic review of the Gita’s story line for some. Well worth the cover price.
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Love, Service, Devotion, and the Ultimate Surrender: Ram Dass on The Bhagavad Gita
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Nate
117 reviews
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December 18, 2018
Charlie Chaplin once said, "what do you want a meaning for? Life is a desire, not a meaning."
On Quantum mechanics, Robert Oppenheimer wrote, "If we ask, for instance, whether the position of the electron remains the same, we must say 'no'; if we ask whether the electron's position changes with time, we must say 'no'; if we ask whether the electron is at rest, we must say 'no'; if we ask whether it is in motion, we must say 'no.'"
Psychology demonstrates how motivation effects perception. Karma tasks us with working within the desire system, faced with being unattached to the ego as a doer. To do work in the world in an impersonal way, and not to feel threatened by fear or driven by shifting meanings of desires (called passionate desire).
Jana Yoga is the practice of discriminating real from unreal. Service, giving and love can only be performed via desire. Pure desires bring us closer to God, passionate desires/fears attach us to ego. This discrimination directs the electrons of our being.
On detachment, outing attachment: karma is dharma; in other words, what we must work out in this life, is precisely the obstacles and experiences we face. If the inner ego (I/me/mine desires/fears) win (external win/lose, don't matter), that obstacle/experience is faced all over again in this life or the next. The inner ego is extricated only when we remain detached from the obstacle/experience/dharma. This is how we work out our karma. We remain a non-judgmental witness to all happenings.
Divinity is indivisible: Faith, no fear; fear, no faith (can't have both: only to the One, or to the many). Faith is being grace. Being a non-judgmental witness is loving union against and amongst the human condition. Finding unity in diversity. What we think is wrong, what we know is Real. Aldous Huxley grasped at absolute, unchanging Truths via perennial philosophy - "I Am" and "God is" - all else is transitory.
Giving it up to get it: paradoxically, when a method works, we must give it up to move on to the next stage. We don't pray because repentance is liberating; we don't meditate because the still mind is bliss -- these are methods to unite with the Lord of Love ("not my, but Thy will, O Lord") O father, O son <-- holy trinity: it's all the same: no matter which way you go --> pleasure, pain; loss, gain; fame, shame: it's all the same: atop a bridge above water in flow is how and where we can watch our ego-selves go. If you don't have a sense of humor, it's just not funny.
Matthew 16:24-27: "If anyone wishes to come after Me," says Christ, "let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For he who would save his life, will lose it; but he who loses his life for My sake, will find it. For what does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his own soul? ... For he who would save his life, will lose it. But he who loses his life for My sake, will find it."
The spirit is between and beyond moral law and social responsibility. The awakening struggle is comfortably and confidently facing conflicts with social/cultural norms, and transcending both via higher consciousness. The difficulty manifests from the model of oneself by means of standing outside of oneself. Cultural/social training via institutional education is about getting data/action-points from the outside-in rather than the inside-out. Culture and ego work full-time to preserve themselves.
Going against what we previously believed to be right — leads to deeper harmony, negative issues are easy, going against positive issues are the paradoxes. go perpetually keeps us caught in who we thought we were. Anywhere we cling is going to cost. Doesn’t have to be given up all at once, but all attachment will eventually have to go. The discipline to not be caught in any patterns whatsoever, is the discipline to stand nowhere. Over time, meditation will lead to freedom from one’s own thoughts. Active memory is only but a small part of our entire internal consciousness. Get out of the active and into the inactive: slower is clearer.
Ways of dharma: do what we are most inclined to do (follow where God leads); go to where we feel most draw to (not attaching degrees of importance); live out the nature of our being; take everything God gives evenly (that is, by not comparing to anything else). See the relations between forces of nature and action; by listening deeply, we can begin to realize what part of God we are (what role we play in the whole dance-drama of life); there’s no better or worse, only different.
On the theme of karma yoga Gandhi think: (1) result to follow; (2) means thereto; (3) capacity for it - equips one to work without desire for the result (wholly engrossed in task) = how to renounce fruits of one’s action. On working within the desire system: being attached to the doer, but aware of systematic functionality (doing work in an impersonal way) Jana Yoga: discriminating real from unreal. Working with intellectual faculties (levels of the mind) - going inward rather than outward, understanding via internally, not externally. This is a sensing of understanding from inside, which cannot be performed via intellect. Theravada Buddhism: purification, concentration, correct understanding.
What desire do you use to give up all desires? The desire of sacrifice to return to one’s roots The end of all sacrifice is that of spiritual wisdom: learn it all, then give it all up. Practice offering all thoughts into a mantra. Truth is the hardest austerity to maintain. Let manifestations manifest as they are supposed to. Acts don’t change, but meanings and persons doing acts do change. Developing the witness: quiet and observe the mind; doesn’t matter what’s being done, the state of mind and being (attitude) matters.
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Krista Lindgren
28 reviews
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May 2, 2022
Quality stuff, meaningful lectures. For some reason they would cut Ram Dass off mid-story and move on to something else, which I wasn't a fan of. I also didn't agree with his take on Ahimsa.
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Sara Alarcon
21 reviews
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June 14, 2018
I cannot get enough of Ram Dass!!!!!!
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J. Maximilian Jarrett II
127 reviews
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April 8, 2018
Ram Dass by name, Ram Dass by nature. As insightful, compassionate, educative and inspiring as ever. Excellent. Highly recommended. I would give this an 11 out of 10 “ This is Spinal Tap” style if I could ;)
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Christer Edwards
5 reviews
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September 26, 2019
I've enjoyed everything I've heard by Ram Dass.
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Julie
62 reviews
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October 3, 2019
My favorite Ram Dass
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spiritual-inner-work
yoga-ayurveda
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Dean Somers
9 reviews
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July 4, 2022
Lovely teacher, especially on audio! He really knows how to take the pressure off while advocating a spiritual life.
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Craig Bergland
323 reviews
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August 22, 2014
This is only peripherally about the Bhagavad Gita, which is why I gave it two stars. It contains many of Ram Dass' standard stories, which are very enjoyable, but except for the first session or two virtually ignores the Gita in favor of his stories. For that reason, I found it disappointing on many levels.
eastern-spirituality
hinduism
mysticism
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Kathleen
216 reviews
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March 20, 2013
At first I felt like Ram Dass was straying pretty far from the Gita. Then I realized that he was merely taking it off of the page and out into life. Isn't that what we all would like to do?
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Devashish Sharma
26 reviews
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April 5, 2020
Beautiful book. An absolutely must read for a spiritual seeker.
(However not for someone who wants to read verse by verse Bhagwat Gita)
It covers spirituality in general.
Again mesmerising book.
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Gaylon
23 reviews
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February 6, 2013
Ram Dass presents the principles of the Gita in an approachable and pragmatic way.
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John Arnette
84 reviews
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August 30, 2014
Not enough actual info on the Gita.
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Nichol P
30 reviews
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September 25, 2017
Amazing.
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