608. Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, 2nd Interview

Sadhvi Bhagawati SaraswatiThis interview centered around Sadhvi’s new book, Hollywood to the Himalayas: A Journey of Healing and Transformation. Her website dedicated to the book is hollywoodtothehimalayas.com.

Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, Ph.D. is a renowned spiritual leader, author, and motivational speaker based in Rishikesh, India. Originally from Los Angeles and a graduate of Stanford University, Sadhviji has been ordained into the sacred order of Sanyas by her guru HH Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji and has been living at Parmarth Niketan Ashram for the past twenty-five years. She is the Secretary-General of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, an international interfaith organization dedicated to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene; president of Divine Shakti Foundation, a foundation that runs free schools, vocational training programs, and empowerment programs; and director of the world-famous International Yoga Festival at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh—which has been covered in Time, CNN, the New York Times and other prestigious publications and has been addressed by both the Prime Minister and Vice President of India. She serves on the United Nations Advisory Council on Religion and on the steering committees of the International Partnership for Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD) and the Moral Imperative to End Extreme Poverty, a campaign by the United Nations and World Bank. She was also the Managing Editor for the monumental project of the 11-volume Encyclopedia of Hinduism. She oversees a variety of humanitarian projects, teaches meditation, lectures, writes, counsels individuals and families, and serves as a unique female voice of spiritual leadership throughout India and the world.

Some of the topics discussed in this interview:

  • How Sadhvi’s journey has bridged spirituality and humanness.
  • Grace doesn’t discriminate. Spirituality is available for everyone!
  • The ecstatic story of Sadhvi’s awakening on the banks of the Ganga and the healing and transformation that followed.
  • The lifelong process of integration and embodiment of spiritual awakening experiences.
  • How we can see the Divine in all beings and how that increases our spiritual experience.
  • The role of the guru: the guru shines the light that enables us to see our own light, thus dispelling our darkness of ignorance.
  • How Sadhviji’s guru Pujya Swamiji inspires her to dedicate herself to awareness of that which is eternal rather than things that quickly fade.
  • Becoming a vessel for the flow of grace.
  • Everyone enters the world with their own karmic packages, and awareness of our own and others’ packages is key.
  • Mindfulness teaches us how to stay conscious and present.
  • In order to experience grace, sometimes there’s a lot of work to be done!
  • Sadhviji’s childhood trauma and how she was taught to forgive and let go so she could be free.
  • Forgiveness: regardless of what others have done we deserve to be free. Freedom is our birthright, our highest dharma, purpose, and calling.

Websites:

Book: Vegetarianism: For Our Bodies, Our Minds, Our Souls & Our Planet

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.

First BatGap interview with Sadhvi.

Interview recorded July 25, 2021.

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump interview
  • 00:03:30 – Honesty and Humaneness in Spiritual Awakening
  • 00:07:49 – Bridging the Gap: Hollywood to the Himalayas
  • 00:11:38 – The Shift in Perception
  • 00:15:15 – A Sudden Knowing in Rishikesh
  • 00:19:19 – A Profound Spiritual Experience on the Banks of Ganga
  • 00:23:52 – Swarg Ashram: The Heavenly Abode
  • 00:27:41 – The Beauty of Being Non-Verbal
  • 00:31:29 – Living in the Deepest Level of Awareness
  • 00:34:52 – Shame and Authenticity
  • 00:38:01 – The Humility of an Enlightened Master
  • 00:41:14 – The Qualities of the Guru
  • 00:44:41 – The Light of the Guru
  • 00:48:02 – The Garden and its Animals
  • 00:51:03 – The Story of the Sleeves and the Cat
  • 00:54:17 – Emptying the Cup and Finding the Guru
  • 00:57:46 – Overcoming Unconscious Patterns with Mindfulness
  • 01:01:24 – Being Present in Daily Life
  • 01:04:39 – Productivity in Moments of Freedom
  • 01:07:10 – The Experience of Grace without Spiritual Practice
  • 01:10:43 – A Transformational Experience
  • 01:14:11 – Renunciation and Transformation
  • 01:17:36 – The Biological Urge for a Baby
  • 01:21:01 – The Journey of Forgiveness
  • 01:24:25 – The Power of Forgiveness
  • 01:27:47 – The Stain on Our Hearts
  • 01:30:53 – Letting Go with Forgiveness
  • 01:34:05 – Understanding Dis-ease and Harm towards Others
  • 01:37:10 – The Transformation and Healing Journey
  • 01:40:39 – Sharing and Appreciation
  • 01:43:26 – The Spiritual Path

543. Cynthia Jurs

Cynthia JursCynthia Jurs is a Tibetan Buddhist lama and a Dharmacharya in the Order of Interbeing of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh whose source of refuge and spiritual inspiration is Mother Earth; Gaia. In 1990, she made a life-changing pilgrimage to meet the hermit and meditation master, Kushok Mangden Charok Rinpoche, a 106-year-old lama living in a remote cave in Nepal from whom she received the practice of the Earth Treasure Vases when she asked him, “What can we do to bring healing and protection to the Earth?”

For thirty years, Cynthia has been building a global community committed to planetary healing and collective awakening in partnership with elders and activists around the world. Cynthia teaches an innovative blend of engaged Buddhism and sacred activism through the Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Project, the Open Way Sangha in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the international Gaia Mandala Community. Through her nonprofit, Alliance for the Earth, Cynthia has worked with former combatants and the women who stopped a war in Liberia, West Africa, to build peace, teaching mindfulness and co-founding the Peace Hut Alliance for Conflict Transformation. Cynthia’s book, Summoned by the Earth, is forthcoming.

  • New website – GaiaMandala.netthe home for our global healing community with many practices, calls, courses and more ways to get involved in our work of global healing and collective awakening.
  • Old Website: EarthTreasureVase.org
  • Join the monthly Full Moon Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Meditation here. This is a free call via Zoom. A recording is automatically sent out to registered participants.
  • Monday Mindfulness Meditation, a weekly gathering via Zoom at 4 pm Pacific // 5 pm Mountain // 7 pm Eastern. As we shelter at home, we can meet this moment of collective crisis and opportunity with calm and clarity by cultivating a practice of calm abiding in mindfulness.  In this weekly 1.5-hour practice group, we will sit, walk and sit again—entering into the quiet space within and stopping to catch our breath, to center ourselves, to let go of worry and fear and reconnect with our true source of Being. At the end of our practice, there will be an opportunity for mindful sharing around the circle. Click here if you are interested in participating.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded March 28, 2020

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
  • 00:04:45 – The Wisdom and Suffering of the Virus
  • 00:09:00 – The Trim Tab Effect on Climate Change
  • 00:12:38 – The Wisdom of the Dogon Elder
  • 00:16:53 – Meeting the 106-year-old Lama
  • 00:20:07 – Healing and Protection for the Earth
  • 00:24:50 – The Power of Earth Treasure Vases
  • 00:28:49 – The Power of Offering and Alchemy
  • 00:33:32 – Becoming a Vessel for Healing and Protection
  • 00:37:34 – Getting Out of Our Own Way
  • 00:41:11 – Women’s Peace Movement in Liberia
  • 00:45:30 – The Ceremony and Burial
  • 00:49:24 – From Soldier to Peace Builder in Liberia
  • 00:53:10 – The Urgency of Addressing the Crisis in Congo
  • 00:57:39 – A Symbolic Wedding: The Burial Ceremony
  • 01:01:39 – The Power of Clay Pots and Tree Planting
  • 01:04:57 – Distributing Treasure Vases to Sacred Places
  • 01:09:31 – The Balance Between Masculine and Feminine Energies
  • 01:14:24 – Healing Cultural Disruption and Oppression
  • 01:19:44 – The Liberating Power of Reframing the Story of the Buddha
  • 01:24:14 – A Blessing From the Wise Woman in the Cave
  • 01:27:46 – The Earth as my Greatest Teacher
  • 01:31:25 – Awakening to a New Evolutionary Turn
  • 01:35:58 – Making Offerings and Establishing Relationships
  • 01:41:21 – The Importance of Balance and Service
  • 01:45:16 – The Practice of Service
  • 01:48:21 – The Possibility of Something Different
  • 01:52:06 – Stewarding the Vases
  • 01:55:32 – Full Moon Meditation Announcement and Gaia Calling Course Information
  • 01:58:19 – Closing Remarks and Contact Information
  • 02:00:27 – Music Segment

540. Clare Dubois

Clare DuboisClare Dubois is the founder and CEO of TreeSisters.org, a global women’s movement spanning over 200 countries, that has collectively funded the planting of over 25 million trees. TreeSisters is a social change movement and a tropical reforestation organization working towards normalizing cultural reciprocity with nature. The aim of both Clare and TreeSisters is to make it as normal to give back to nature as it currently is to take nature for granted while supporting humanity in its transition from a consumer species to a restorer species. Before founding TreeSisters, Clare worked internationally for over two decades, coaching business leaders and facilitating group behavior change processes in multiple sectors. Known for her direct, catalytic energy, her inspirational speaking and her holistic approach to collective transformation, Clare is a walking invitation to anyone ready to step up and step in on behalf of the planet.

Short, informative videos:

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded March 7, 2020

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction to Clare Dubois and TreeSisters.org
  • 00:03:55 – Clare Dubois: An Invitation to Collective Transformation
  • 00:06:18 – From Victim to Survivor
  • 00:10:50 – Inauthentic Feminine Behavior and Patriarchy
  • 00:15:11 – Stepping into Personal Responsibility
  • 00:19:05 – The Consciousness of Nature and Our Relationship with Trees
  • 00:23:14 – The Global Brain in the Forest
  • 00:27:14 – The Shift in Consciousness and the Oneness of Nature
  • 00:31:38 – The Sacredness of All Life
  • 00:35:51 – The Sacred Seeds of Pure Sanity
  • 00:40:02 – Connecting to Fullness and Generosity
  • 00:43:45 – Witnessing the Rocky Mountain Forest Dying
  • 00:47:55 – The Urgency of Awakening and Remembering Our Power
  • 00:52:19 – Merging with the Natural World
  • 00:56:51 – Awakening to the Sacredness of Nature
  • 01:01:12 – The Sacredness of All Life
  • 01:05:36 – A Leap of Faith in the Chasm
  • 01:10:07 – Overcoming Limitations and Self-Realization
  • 01:14:09 – The Death of Our Planet and the Age of Restoration
  • 01:18:22 – The Story of the Seagull and the Ocean
  • 01:22:38 – The Mother of Initiations
  • 01:27:08 – Trees as Conduits for Energies from Different Planets
  • 01:31:48 – Merging with Nature and Living in Intimacy
  • 01:36:11 – Navigating through Class Five Rapids
  • 01:40:08 – Embracing the Suffering
  • 01:44:06 – Discovering Your Purpose in Life
  • 01:48:47 – Self-liberation and Living a Meaningful Life
  • 01:52:23 – The Perpetuation of Life and the Insanity of the Current System
  • 01:56:13 – The Circulatory System of Gaia
  • 02:00:15 – Creating a Thriving World
  • 02:04:15 – Planting Trees for Restoration