Mindrolling with Raghu Markus

Be Here Now Network invites you to listen to this special look back at Dr. Robert Thurman’s many appearances on Mindrolling. We hear about Ram Dass, surfing reality, keeping an open heart, and so much more.
You can help continue Dr. Thurman’s life’s work to preserve Tibetan culture. Visit Tibet House to learn more.
Spanning 10 years of collaboration with the podcast, Dr. Thurman talks about:
His decades-long friendship with Ram Dass
Unclamping the heart and seeing our connection with all people
Clearing out the poison of fear and judgment
The precious gem of our human embodiment, the waking bardo
Surfing through reality, rather than trying to control it
A realistic take on the Eightfold Path and right livelihood
How releasing selfishness actually benefits us and creates joy
Lessons on altruism & education from the Dalai Lama
Cultivating both a clever mind and an open heart
About Dr. Robert Thurman:
Robert Thurman (1941-2026) was an American Buddhist author and academic who wrote, edited, and translated many books on Tibetan Buddhism. He was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University before retiring in June 2019. He held the first endowed chair in Buddhist Studies in the West. After education at Philips Exeter and Harvard, he studied Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism for almost thirty years as a personal student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He wrote both scholarly and popular books and lectured widely all over the world. As President of the American Institute for Buddhist Studies, he convened the First Inner Science Conference with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Amherst College in 1984. He was also a founding trustee of Tibet House New York. Check out his most recent book Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life.
“When you’re not generous enough, when you’re not open-hearted enough, when you haven’t cultivated opening yourself, then you shoot right past it, just like we shoot through our life. At the moment of death, people report, ‘My life flashed before my eyes in a split second.’ What that means is they didn’t live lucidly. They ran around making money, getting pleasure, doing things, and they have only one split second of quality time when they were there now somewhere” –Dr. Thurman
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Author Phil Goldberg explores the laws of karma as an educational tool for awakening rather than as a system of spiritual judgment.
Help us celebrate 10 years of Be Here Now Network and support the next chapter of Ram Dass Here and Now. Gifts are matched dollar for dollar through June 30. Learn more and give here: BHNN 10th Birthday Fundraiser
This week on Mindrolling, Phil and Raghu discuss:
The rise of karma in American pop culture
The Law of Karma by Dr. Robert Svoboda
Looking to science to understand the laws of karma
Exploring consciousness through The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
How the same action can produce different karmas depending on our states of mind
Every moment as the result of karma
Grab a copy of Phil's book, Karmic Relief, and explore more about karma and how it can be used.
About Phil Goldberg:
Philip Goldberg is the author or co-author of numerous books, including the award-winning American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the World (2010); the definitive biography of Paramahansa Yogananda, The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru (2018); the timeless Spiritual Practice for Crazy Times: Powerful Tools to Cultivate Calm, Clarity, and Courage (2020); and his latest, Karmic Relief: Harnessing the Laws of Cause and Effect for a Joyful, Meaningful Life (2025). His numerous articles have appeared in publications ranging from the Los Angeles Times to Huffington Post to Spirituality & Health. As a public speaker and workshop leader, he has presented at leading venues online and in person. A spiritual counselor, meditation teacher, and ordained Interfaith Minister as well, he hosts the Spirit Matters podcast and writes substantive essays on his Substack, Practical Spirituality with Philip Goldberg. He is also an active board member of the Association for Spiritual Integrity.
“The same action can produce different karma depending on the state of the mind of the person doing it and their intention. Someone can write a big check, but if they’re doing it to get their name on a plaque, it doesn’t have the same karmic impact as a humble person giving what they can without any hope of recognition or any ego.” –Phil Goldberg
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Old friends RamDev and Raghu revisit memories of Maharaj-ji as they explore the wisdom of holding both joy and sorrow in the awakened heart.
Help us celebrate 10 years of Be Here Now Network and support the next chapter of Ram Dass Here and Now. Gifts are matched dollar for dollar through June 30. Learn more and give here: BHNN 10th Birthday Fundraiser
In this episode, Raghu and RamDev have a conversation on:
Memories with Maharaj-ji from Allahabad (now Prayagraj), India
The Tibetan Buddhist concept of Rigpa (the awakened mind)
K.C. Tewari’s constant mindfulness and advanced yogic state
Honoring the religion of our roots as we explore spirituality
Compassion: keeping your heart open when there is suffering
Tantric Buddhism and empowerment
Holding both joy and sadness at the same time
Shifting from the cerebral to embodied mindfulness practice
‘Minding the gap’ between thoughts and the breath
Coming out on June 16th, preorder RamDev’s newest book: How to Live So You Can Die Without Fear
About RamDev:
RamDev Dale Borglum is the founder and Executive Director of The Living/Dying Project. He is a pioneer in the conscious dying movement and has worked directly with thousands of people with life-threatening illness and their families for over 30 years. In 1981, Dale founded the first residential facility for people who wished to die consciously in the United States, The Dying Center. He has taught and lectured extensively on the topics of spiritual support for those with life-threatening illness, on caregiving as a spiritual practice, and on healing at the edge, the edge of illness, of death, of loss, of crisis. Check out RamDev’s podcast, Healing at the Edge, on the Be Here Now Network.
“He’s looking at this picture, and the feeling started getting so thick. Some tears started coming down Maharaj-ji’s cheeks. The feeling was that he was remembering the moment when Ram embraced Hanuman. All the people in the front began weeping; there was so much love.”–RamDev
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Help us celebrate 10 years of Be Here Now Network and support the next chapter of Ram Dass Here and Now. Gifts are matched dollar for dollar through June 30. Learn more and give at: BHNN 10th Birthday Fundraiser
Joseph Goldstein, along with Noah & Raghu Markus, discuss how to maintain a balance of compassion and equanimity for a more peaceful life.
This time on Mindrolling, Joseph, Noah, and Raghu explore:
Buddhist philosophy on relative truth vs. ultimate truth
Feeling the body as an energy field of changing sensations rather than something solid
How one can tend the heart in troubled times
The manifestations of reactivity that make the heart retract
Seeing our reality as a blip in cosmic time
Inspiring awe through nature as a way to open and soften the heart
The book Fall of Civilizations by Paul Cooper
Balancing the qualities of compassion and equanimity
Investigating the phenomena of thinking rather than the content of a thought
Lessons on direct experience from the Bāhiya Sutta
About Joseph Goldstein:
Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and loving-kindness meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. He is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where he is one of the organization’s guiding teachers. In 1989, together with several other teachers and students of insight meditation, he helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.
“At those times, you’re stronger on the compassion side and less strong on the equanimity side. When you see that, that can be a good reminder: ‘Oh yeah, this is what’s happening; I need to go out and look at the stars’. We need both. Either one by itself can tend to states that may not be that helpful.” –Joseph Goldstein
About Noah Markus:
Noah Markus is a content curator & archivist for Love Serve Remember Foundation. He spends his time curating Ram Dass content for podcasts, courses, and much more.
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Author and speaker Eric Zimmer shares how committing to small, sustainable habits transformed his life—moving him from addiction and homelessness to integrity and meaning.
Grab Eric’s book, How a Little Becomes a Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life.
This week on Mindrolling, Eric and Raghu chat about:
Burning the house to the ground: Eric’s experience with kleptomania, addiction, and homelessness
Embarking on a life-long spiritual quest and journey of self-transformation
How meditation creates more space between stimulus and response
The opportunity to make better choices when we slow down through mindfulness
Why lasting change is so difficult
Cultivating new habits of both thought and behavior
Treating yourself as if you are a friend or child
Becoming a positive force in the world
“Things that feel insurmountable now often can become almost second nature down the line." –Eric Zimmer
About Eric Zimmer:
Eric Zimmer is an author, teacher, speaker, and the creator of The One You Feed podcast—an award-winning show with over 50 million downloads across 800+ conversations exploring meaningful living. At 24, Eric was homeless, addicted to heroin, and facing prison. His journey from those depths sparked his lifelong inquiry into human transformation and resilience. Through his behavior coaching, workshops, and mentorship, he has guided thousands worldwide in creating sustainable habits that last—not through willpower or epiphany, but through steady change. His approach combines cutting-edge science with timeless wisdom, providing practical pathways to greater integrity and deeper meaning. His story and his work have been featured in the media, including TedX, Mind Body Green, Elephant Journal, the BBC and Brain Pickings. Check out his new book, How a Little Becomes a Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life.
“One of the critiques of the modern mindfulness movement is that it divorces the practice from the ethical structures from which it evolved, which leads to ‘I’m just focused on me getting better and feeling better.’ While that’s an important and useful aim, it’s only half the game. The other half of the game is that it is in service of other people and being able to be a positive force in the world. We all have the ability to be a positive force in the world.” –Eric Zimmer
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