Ram Das Batchelder - Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview

Also see http://batgap.com/ram-das-batchelder/

Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Ram Dass and Amma
00:04:17 - The Divine Hug
00:07:32 - The Divine Hug and Humanitarian Work
00:10:54 - A Divine Presence in Disguise
00:14:09 - Amma: The Embodiment of Divine Mother
00:17:30 - The Divine Mother Incarnate
00:20:44 - Comparing Amma with Lord Krishna
00:23:50 - Cultivating Personalities
00:26:58 - Bliss and Peace in the Ashram
00:30:19 - The Evolution of Meditation Journey
00:33:49 - Opening up into pure being
00:37:06 - The Dissolution of the Ego
00:40:14 - The Profound Experience of Sitting with a Saint
00:43:29 - A Global Celebrity and a Source of Charity
00:46:49 - Reaching out to Alleviate Suffering
00:49:48 - Serving the Suffering with Compassion
00:52:55 - Amma's Selfless Service
00:56:05 - Amma's Omniscience
00:59:36 - Epiphanies and Divine Encounters
01:06:24 - The Beginning of the Spiritual Path
01:09:44 - The Revelation of Alma's Identity as God
01:12:57 - Struggles with Relationships and Celibacy
01:16:05 - Reflections on Past Wrong Actions
01:19:15 - Celibacy and Determination
01:22:21 - Transition back to a normal married life
01:25:34 - Overcoming Difficulties in Marriage
01:28:52 - Amma's Divine Intervention
01:32:08 - Return to Amma and Charity Donation
01:35:17 - Organizing Tours and Contact Information
01:38:41 - Farewell and Thank You

Ram Das Batchelder was born in Pennsylvania in 1961, had a spiritual awakening in his early twenties, and has spent most of the last 25 years in India as a devotee of Amma, the “hugging Saint.” He has written four children’s books, which have been translated into several European languages, and also a novel in rhyming verse, three full-length plays, and 40 original songs. In 2012, he and his wife, Tarini Ma, wrote and co-taught a university course on Hinduism in Venezuela. He has given numerous talks and workshops about various aspects of spirituality in many locations around the world. He and his wife are currently offering 5-star tours of the sacred cities of India, to both Spanish and English-speaking groups.

“Rising in Love: My Wild and Crazy Ride to Here and Now, with Amma, the Hugging Saint” tells the story of Ram Das Batchelder’s powerful marijuana-fuelled spiritual awakening in America (which included meeting an angel), his two-year struggle with delusion and addiction, his subsequent renunciation of drugs, and his eventual discovery of Amma (the living Guru known in the West as “the Hugging Saint”). The narrative then covers the 27 amazing years he has spent in quest of Enlightenment as Amma’s devotee, most of that time in India. It is a story of profound healing from drug addiction and despair into a joyfully fulfilled life, and is therefore a ray of hope for all who suffer from addiction or mental illness of one kind or another. The book is a suspenseful psychological thriller, “a real page-turner” (as more than one reviewer has said), yet there is so much humor in the narrative that it reads like a comedic novel. It describes his struggles with dysentery and sexual desire during his first several years at Amma’s ashram, and also includes descriptions of numerous miracles he has witnessed, a vision of Krishna, and the steady progression of his meditation, which has culminated recently in states of samadhi. It also discusses how the author left Amma’s ashram for a six year period, visited numerous other Gurus, and then returned, with a fiancée, and was married by Amma in 2001. One chapter is dedicated to the difficulties he and his wife have faced in their marriage, and the beautiful healing Amma has given them as a couple. There is also a section about the Asian Tsunami, which occurred when they were in Amma’s ashram; hundreds were killed in the surrounding area. “Rising in Love” will appeal to anyone interested in spirituality, Enlightenment, Hinduism, Saints or Gurus, as well as psychology, psychotherapy, angels or Jesus.

Website: http://rising-inlove.org

Other books:

You Are The King- A Parable For Amma's Children
Sathyaram Discovers the Mother of All

Interview recorded 1/17/2015

Видео Ram Das Batchelder - Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview канала BuddhaAtTheGasPump