1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,480 From the time that they pronounced me deaf was a good 45 minutes. 2 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:13,440 They cut my clothes and then they paddled my heart, my heart had stopped. 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:18,120 And I could see people screaming and crying, but I didn't realize that was actually my 4 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,320 physical body because I was somewhere else. 5 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:27,400 The only thing that I could feel, if you could imagine, absolute love and peace, there wasn't 6 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:29,400 anything else to be felt. 7 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:32,560 I was greeted by people I'd known in the past. 8 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:34,240 On back home again. 9 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:39,040 Incredibly safe and felt at home. 10 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,800 Welcome welcome to round trip death everybody. 11 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:47,640 And I would like to welcome our special guest, Ragnoth, or in other words, Ray Ragnoth Kapo. 12 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:49,600 Did I say that right? 13 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:50,600 Thank you. 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:51,600 Good. 15 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:53,920 I'm glad I got close. 16 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:59,320 Before we get into your interesting, interesting story, tell us just a little bit about you. 17 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:00,320 Sure. 18 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:01,320 Thank you. 19 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:06,280 When I was young, I started a band that became pretty popular within the punk and the hardcore 20 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:10,360 music scene in New York City and became international. 21 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:16,040 When people hear punk, they think of it's crazy, noisy, negative, but this was very, the message 22 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:17,120 was very positive. 23 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:22,960 We were into clean living, clean diet, positive mental attitudes, self control. 24 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:27,960 And I started diving deeper into Eastern thought and Eastern spirituality. 25 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:34,720 But the success of the band, my father had won into a coma for three years, side by side 26 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:36,720 with my success of the band. 27 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:44,280 And then when he left his body, when I was 22, I had enough study under my belt that 28 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:47,280 I realized I want to study spirituality myself. 29 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:49,600 I want to enter the experiment. 30 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,600 And I went to India to move into an ashram. 31 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:56,840 I lived in ashrams in and out of India for about six and a half years, studied bhakti 32 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:58,480 yoga. 33 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,800 Now years later, I have a household myself. 34 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:02,800 I'm the opposite of a monk. 35 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:04,520 I was a monk for six and a half years. 36 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:06,720 Now I have five children. 37 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:09,400 I run a retreat center in upstate New York. 38 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:11,840 I teach yoga internationally. 39 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:15,800 I just published my book called From Punk to Monk, A Memoir. 40 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:16,960 I can't wait to read it. 41 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,480 It looks super interesting. 42 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:20,480 Thank you. 43 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,360 It's getting good, very, very positive reviews on Amazon. 44 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:24,360 Is it? 45 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:25,360 That's awesome. 46 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:26,960 It's great for me, yeah. 47 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:33,600 Okay, for those that don't know the punk scene that well, tell me the name of the band. 48 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:39,000 The band that I started when I was a teenager was Youth of Today, famous for popularizing 49 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:44,360 straight edge, which means no drinking, no smoking, and vegetarianism, which at that 50 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,640 time was not really in the conversation. 51 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:52,760 It was very peculiar to be interested in vegetarianism, clean living, what to speak 52 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:57,960 of within the punk scene, which was really drugs, et cetera, and violence. 53 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:02,160 From what I know about the punk scene, yeah, it seems completely opposite. 54 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,200 It was the opposite. 55 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:06,760 It was only bound in the punk scene. 56 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:15,320 I think the common denominator was it was very loud, fast music and very harsh vocals. 57 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:16,320 But that's what I was into. 58 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:21,200 I was attracted to that energy, mosh pit stage diving, all that stuff. 59 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,160 I just wasn't into a negative lifestyle. 60 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,760 That was the message we put out there to the world. 61 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,480 Without expecting it, we got thousands of followers. 62 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:36,360 I think some of that is just the age of young men. 63 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:39,840 A lot of us go through this weird stage. 64 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:44,120 I don't know, but you really acted on yours, obviously. 65 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:49,160 Just to give our listeners an idea of where we're going today, this is going to be really 66 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:54,520 interesting, but we're not talking about the normal everyday NDE here. 67 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:59,760 We're not going to be talking about dying, heart stopping, going through the tunnel 68 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:01,120 to the light and all that. 69 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:07,160 But something that I personally believe is much more common, which is the spiritually 70 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:11,640 transformative experience is also known as STEs. 71 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:13,680 They can come from all kinds of different things. 72 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:16,960 They can come from trauma, like we're going to talk about with you. 73 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:20,080 They can come from meditation. 74 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:28,080 They can come from other types of spiritual places or experiences that can change us deeply 75 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,240 and help us become a better person. 76 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,480 We're going down that road today. 77 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:36,760 Like I said, I think it's much more common. 78 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,800 I think it's something that we need to be talking about from time to time. 79 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:46,440 If you don't mind, Roggenath, if you would just go back and tell us about what led up 80 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,400 to that horrifying night in New York City. 81 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:51,400 Okay. 82 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:56,040 Now, my first experience was not that horrifying night. 83 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:57,040 That's in the book. 84 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:58,520 It happened years later. 85 00:04:58,520 --> 00:04:59,520 Okay. 86 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:01,160 I've got them backwards then. 87 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:02,160 You got it backwards, but... 88 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:04,360 Chronologically, let's start with the first one. 89 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:05,360 Okay. 90 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:09,800 Well, I don't think there was like an aha moment for me. 91 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:15,800 And I think sometimes people are waiting for that hard shift of the pulling of the lever. 92 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:18,480 Now I was going south and now I'm going north. 93 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,880 I think it was more like a straw on a camel's back. 94 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:25,080 And it builds and builds and builds and builds and builds. 95 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,880 And then there becomes like a fire inside that says, you know what? 96 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:32,160 There is nothing of this material world for me here. 97 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:38,400 And if you do that with the proper cultivation of some type of spiritual information, then 98 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:41,520 when things get really dark, you can turn towards light. 99 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:46,960 If you don't have any proper spiritual cultivation of spiritual information, things get really 100 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:53,360 dark and you head south and people become intoxicated in alcoholism, suicidal, take 101 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:55,480 drugs, etc. 102 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,960 So for me, there was a spiritual calling. 103 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:02,960 It had to get to a boiling point for me to act on it. 104 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:08,840 And I just feel like the universe knows exactly what that recipe is. 105 00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:10,800 And so for me, it was a combination. 106 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:16,760 Sometimes you see people's spiritual transformation, you see it in a midlife crisis, or you see 107 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,920 it in a person's old age thinking, what have I done with my life? 108 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,040 Or you see it miraculously in a young child. 109 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,240 I've met young children who are like spiritually lit up. 110 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:34,880 For me, it sort of happened with a combination of success within a material sphere, meets 111 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:39,800 my father going into a coma for three years, which was sort of tragic. 112 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:44,360 It's a tragic sort of place to be in where you don't know if a person's alive or if 113 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:45,360 they're dead. 114 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:46,360 Are they a vegetable? 115 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:47,360 Are they conscious? 116 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:49,160 Do they hear what I say? 117 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:53,600 Are they just like brain dead, like a lobotomy or something? 118 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:55,280 What is going on? 119 00:06:55,280 --> 00:07:02,920 So in that confusing state where someone very solid in your life becomes now a mystery wrapped 120 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:06,800 in an enigma, it's like, what is he now? 121 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:13,680 And if he could happen to him at such a reasonably young age, he was 64 years old, I'm 58 years 122 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:14,680 old. 123 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:18,080 So if it could happen to him randomly, that could happen to me randomly. 124 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:23,760 And it started to make me question how solid the material world is, how we're building 125 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:30,640 these homes in sand, so to speak, like we're building castles of sand, and we expect to 126 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:36,840 find everlasting love, everlasting joy in a temporary world. 127 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:42,280 It started making me question the very foundation of what is life about? 128 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:43,280 Why are we here? 129 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:47,440 What are we meant to do in the short amount of time that we're here? 130 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:52,720 And that was a driving force on my quest for spirituality. 131 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:53,720 That's my story. 132 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:57,360 I think it comes in different recipes for different people. 133 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:03,080 Well, I think the huge key to it there is you are asking questions. 134 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:07,240 And there was something going on in your life like your father in a coma that caused you 135 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:11,880 to ask the questions that so many people don't. 136 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:17,200 It's hard to have a transformation unless you're willing to dig deep and go, I don't 137 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:18,200 get this. 138 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:20,800 Be humble enough to admit, I don't get it. 139 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:22,120 I want to know more. 140 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,920 I'm curious, what were some of those questions you were really digging on? 141 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:26,920 Sure. 142 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:31,920 First of all, I just want to clarify the point you're making is incredibly valid. 143 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:37,480 People oftentimes do ask questions like, you know, I work in advertising, but what am I 144 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:38,480 selling? 145 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:40,560 I'm selling people things they don't need. 146 00:08:40,560 --> 00:08:42,800 And I think it's about me, by the way. 147 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:45,560 Oh, are you an advertiser? 148 00:08:45,560 --> 00:08:46,760 That's been my career. 149 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:47,760 Yeah. 150 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:50,320 Oh, so thank you for talking about you. 151 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,040 But then you're obviously asking the questions. 152 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:54,040 Yes. 153 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:58,120 I suppose if you're in that position, because someone recently said that to me, I'm an advertiser, 154 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:01,920 I'm selling people things they don't need, but then I thought, oh, well, that's just 155 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:02,920 the way life is. 156 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:04,360 You just do it. 157 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:09,360 So they get a question and then they don't follow through with the answers to that question. 158 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:13,220 Because usually when you follow through the answers, you get another question and another 159 00:09:13,220 --> 00:09:18,640 question and it opens one door after another after another and it brings you into different 160 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:21,800 chambers of a castle, so to speak. 161 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:23,560 Sometimes people just never open the first door. 162 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:28,280 They get a question, but then they, eh, it's not worth thinking too deep. 163 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:30,240 It is worth thinking that deep. 164 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:37,200 If I'm going to base my whole ideas of meaning and direction and values and ethics and family 165 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:41,240 and love, I got to ask those questions. 166 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:49,880 So I think the first questions were for me is what is a win? 167 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:50,880 Like what's a win? 168 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,480 Is it just to be, you know, have a house in a swimming pool, you know, do whatever you 169 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:55,480 want? 170 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:56,480 Is that a win? 171 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:57,480 Is it freedom? 172 00:09:57,480 --> 00:09:59,200 Is it love and romance? 173 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,880 Is it a wonder loss where you get to travel all over the world and put your foot in every 174 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:03,880 continent? 175 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:08,560 Is it, is it just go for it and have as much sense pleasure and like a hedonistic sense 176 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:09,880 pleasure? 177 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:12,360 What actually is a win? 178 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:19,200 And I really started to analyze each one and I started journaling on all of that as 179 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:21,200 a teenager. 180 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:26,480 And I think those were the questions and the understanding like, hey, life is tragically 181 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:29,360 short and it can even be shorter. 182 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:37,040 It's not like, you know, my dad perhaps didn't live the full term of life by averages, but 183 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:40,160 there's people that die when they're six and nine and 15. 184 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:44,640 So okay, what happens if I die in two years? 185 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:46,920 In that case, I'm an old man right now. 186 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,520 What am I doing with these next two years then? 187 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:56,320 So to value the moment and ask the questions, what am I going to do that's actually significant? 188 00:10:56,320 --> 00:11:02,000 And even that question, is there a significance of this life or is life actually nothing and 189 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,840 we just try to create some meaning to it? 190 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:09,200 These were the questions running through my mind as a teenager. 191 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:11,000 Those are good questions. 192 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:16,040 Most teenagers are just thinking, what does that girl think about me and, you know, what 193 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:17,760 are we going to do to party tonight? 194 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:24,240 By the way, speaking of that, the punk rock scene in New York, you were the quote straight 195 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:25,400 edgers. 196 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:26,880 Where were you playing? 197 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:29,040 Wasn't it mostly bars and places like that? 198 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:32,360 Yeah, actually encounter intuitive. 199 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:33,960 Actually no, there's good questions. 200 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:38,880 They would oftentimes they'd play matinees shows, which were all ages, which means kids 201 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,560 underage could come. 202 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:44,320 Sometimes they'd put a mark on your hand, which means you can't drink. 203 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:49,080 That's where the in straight edge people generally would wear an X on their hands because if 204 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,120 you had a big X on your hand, you couldn't drink at the bar. 205 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:54,400 They started wearing as a symbol of pride almost. 206 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:58,800 We're going to wear an X on my hand anyway, even though there's no alcohol served. 207 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:04,760 But we had we played night clubs and we prefer playing all all ages clubs as well that way 208 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:08,200 because a lot of our fans were, you know, under 18. 209 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,360 I think back then the drinking age was 18. 210 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:12,360 Okay, I teased it earlier. 211 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:14,120 We better jump to it. 212 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:15,840 Tell me about the beat down night. 213 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:16,840 Okay. 214 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:19,280 All right, that was that was a very spiritually. 215 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:25,120 This is one of those beautiful gifts of pain, which I open my book with, but it happens 216 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:27,240 a little bit later on my spiritual journey. 217 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:28,240 I was a monk. 218 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:33,360 This is another twist in the book plot twist, which was after I became a monk after I lived 219 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:38,360 like three years as a monk, I started to realize no, no, no, no, the teachings of India are 220 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,160 not giving up what you do. 221 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:48,080 It's taking what you do and use them in a spiritual way to glorify divinity instead of glorifying 222 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:49,080 your ego. 223 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:50,280 And that was the big shift. 224 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:57,120 So what I did was at that point, I started a band not far different from my first band, 225 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:02,960 but with spiritual ideas and spiritual lessons and this band, it sounds, oh, come on, how 226 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:03,960 did that work out? 227 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:05,200 I'll tell you how it worked out. 228 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:09,200 It became bigger than the first band and we toured internationally. 229 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:11,200 One night we did a performance. 230 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:12,200 Again, we're all monks. 231 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:14,320 We cook our own food wherever we go. 232 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:16,880 We meditate for two hours a day. 233 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:18,640 We set up just like a regular band. 234 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:22,200 We set up merchandise and we have roadies. 235 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:23,840 What was it called? 236 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:25,360 This band was called Shelter. 237 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:29,040 So yeah, and that night after the show, I'm not going to tell the whole story because 238 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:30,040 it's in the book. 239 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:35,800 I also tell the story on Joe Rogan too, but basically randomly we played in a ghetto and 240 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:42,880 in that ghetto we got attacked by these guys with guns, baseball bats, and I got the living 241 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:44,680 crap beat out of me. 242 00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:45,680 Randomly. 243 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:46,680 Randomly and senselessly. 244 00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:49,680 A little more detail. 245 00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:50,840 Were you on stage? 246 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:51,840 Were you headed home? 247 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:53,320 No, thank you. 248 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:58,720 It was after the performance, after everybody was leaving and I was getting interviewed 249 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:03,520 outside and the band and the roadies were loading up our vehicle, which was parked inside the 250 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:05,020 club. 251 00:14:05,020 --> 00:14:10,120 And so while I was getting interviewed outside in the alley, I see a car pull up with a gang 252 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:14,080 of guys get out of it and they just start beating somebody up randomly. 253 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:15,080 Young guy. 254 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:23,840 I mean, the people go to our shows are young, you know, under 25 and 14 and up, 14 to 25. 255 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,680 So then they stop beating one guy and they beat another guy. 256 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:30,560 By the time they got to the third person, everybody's sort of running. 257 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:34,480 I ran in the club and I said, hey, you guys, we got to get out of here. 258 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:39,360 It's two in the morning and there's like a gang of guys outside just kicking the crap 259 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:41,680 about everyone. 260 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:46,480 And so all our van doors were open and I could see they were in the middle of loading in 261 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:50,120 all the gear and the merchandise and they just said, you know, we can't go anywhere. 262 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,960 We're not even loaded out yet. 263 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:57,680 And all of a sudden the bad guys, they drove their car in the club and they parked right 264 00:14:57,680 --> 00:14:58,800 in front of our van. 265 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:04,160 The biggest guy, the leader of them got out and the guy was, I mean, you couldn't 266 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:06,880 create an evil villain. 267 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:10,400 This guy was so huge and ripped and massive. 268 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:16,640 And he put his hand in his pocket and just said, I've got a gun and I'm going to kill 269 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:18,040 everyone tonight. 270 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:20,480 Now, there wasn't a lot of people left in the club. 271 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:22,040 There was a couple of bands. 272 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:25,980 There was a sound man and people breaking down the PA and there was our band breaking 273 00:15:25,980 --> 00:15:28,240 down our equipment. 274 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:34,480 And I was like, oh my God, we are trapped in a club with a bunch of crazy guys. 275 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:40,040 To make a long story short, they started beating people up in the club. 276 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:42,760 And then this is going to sound crazy. 277 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:46,440 So I'm going to ask you just to believe this. 278 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:48,560 But all the guys in the band were younger than me. 279 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:52,120 So they all said, well, Raghu, what are we going to do? 280 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,440 At the time I was like, I don't know why. 281 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,560 I was like, let's not fight back. 282 00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:57,560 Let's not run. 283 00:15:57,560 --> 00:15:59,920 I was convinced we were all dead. 284 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:02,920 So I just said, you know, we're going to die. 285 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:04,640 And so we're going to chant. 286 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:08,080 Hey, just a quick interruption. 287 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:11,680 This month we're asking for your support for the show. 288 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:17,160 It's definitely a labor of love for Will and I, but it takes a ton of time and money and 289 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:19,720 we need donations to keep things going. 290 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,800 For those that donated last week, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 291 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:25,760 For everyone else, it's easy. 292 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:30,960 Go to roundtripdeath.com, click on the little donation button in the upper right hand corner. 293 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:35,320 You can show your support for the podcast and help us move forward. 294 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,920 We have had requests for video interviews. 295 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:42,080 That's something that will be unveiling soon as well as other improvements. 296 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:43,080 Thank you. 297 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:44,080 Thank you in advance. 298 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:47,280 Now back to the guest. 299 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.