Mindrolling with Raghu Markus

Author & human rights lawyer Anu Gupta sits down with Raghu to explore meeting division with “soul force”—the compassionate, spiritual power that lives within us all.
Learn more about Anu’s project, Soul Force for the 21st Century
This time on Mindrolling, Raghu and Anu have an in-depth conversation on:
The precipice of our karma and how past negative actions are coming to a head globally
Anu’s recent work in South Africa with racial healing and dissolving borders
How Artificial Intelligence lacks ethics and moral virtues
Resisting commodification and profit-driven systems through awareness and conscious choice
How modern society has dulled our innate human capacity to care
Returning to our shared primary identity as human beings rather than focusing on what makes us different
Buddhist teachings on interconnectedness and the illusion of separateness
Meditation as an antidote for the negative habits that we have stored within ourselves
Navigating Kali Yuga with Bhakti yoga and merging with the divine
Finding the divinity in every single human being
Keeping the faith and remembering that uncertainty does not have to be dangerous
How small acts of kindness can add up to global change
The PRISM acronym that Anu discusses in his book, Breaking Bias
“Recognize that everything that happens is perfectly designed to open up your eyes, your mind, your heart, to one thing or another that you need in this lifetime.” –Raghu Markus
About Anu Gupta:
Anu Gupta is a human rights lawyer, scientist, scholar of bias, meditation teacher, and the founder and CEO of BE MORE with Anu, a professional development company that trains corporate, nonprofit, and government leaders to advance inclusion and wellness by breaking bias. He is also the author of Breaking Bias: Where Stereotypes and Prejudices Come From and the Science-Backed Method to Unravel Them(2024), with a foreword from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Check out Anu Gupta on Substack, Linked in, and Instagram.
Interested in working directly with Anu? Head over to Bemorewithanu.com to learn more.
“It’s really a spiritual power that we all have as human beings, as a spirit in this body suit; it's the loving strength of will to confront injustice and violence without mirroring. That is what we must reinvigorate within ourselves, but also between ourselves. That soul force, to see it with kindness and compassion and when we divert from it, to be able to call ourselves and others back on that path.” –Anu Gupta
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Reflecting on Ram Dass’s core teachings, Hanuman Dass and Raghu Markus discuss the immense power of love, service, and compassion.
Check out There is No Other for more of Ram Dass’s teachings on the path to harmony. Also, stay tuned for the release of Hanuman Dass’s forthcoming book Be Yourself, formed out of his conversations with Ram Dass.
This week on Mindrolling, Raghu and Hanuman Dass have a conversation on:
Hanuman Dass’s experience growing up in a deeply connected, matriarchal family
Living spirituality in everyday life, household puja, and devotional practices
How karma dictates our lives and puts us right where we are supposed to be
Hanuman Dass’s relationship with Ram Dass and becoming inspired to serve through food donation
The Upanishads, self-inquiry, and Ram Dass’s perpetual devotion to Maharaj-ji
Compassion as the direct road to enlightenment
Empowering those we help rather than impoverishing them or pitying them
Reflecting on the dharma of humanity and our shared responsibility to one another
You can now watch Bridge of Grace to learn more about KK Sah, a Maharaj-ji devotee and close friend of Ram Dass. Click here to learn more.
About Hanuman Dass:
Hanuman Dass is the founder of the UK-based charity Go Dharmic (GD). GD’s core mission is global hunger relief, supported by their humanitarian crisis response work and campaigns for environmental action, poverty alleviation, education, and plant-based and organic diets. Hanuman Dass was inspired into service through his relationship with Ram Dass, whom he met in his 20’s. GD's founding ethos is based on the philosophy of Sanatana Dharma. Their mission is to “Love All. Feed All. Serve All.” Check out the GD website for more information and stay in touch with Hanuman Dass on social media. Pick up a copy of this guide to the Hanuman Chalisa created with Hanuman Dass
“I feel lightest here, I feel happiest in service and love…drink is nice, you go up and down. Drugs might be nice, you go up and down. But, love is forever, you can stay in that space.” –Hanuman Dass
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This week, we pause to remember the life, presence, and artistry of a friend of the show who will be deeply missed.
Recorded in 2021, this conversation features Grammy-winning artist John Forté in his first appearance on the podcast. John and Raghu talk about the spirit of music, the highs and lows of success, and John’s experience headlining the Ram Dass Soul Land Music Series.
John Forté (January 30, 1975 – January 12, 2026) is survived by his wife and two children. If you’d like to offer support, a donation link is available here: Honoring John Forte by Supporting His Family
This special episode features an inspired conversation on:
Community as the spirit of music: John Forté’s Brooklyn upbringing in the economic downturns of the 70s and 80s
The emotional, mental, and physical hardships of struggling to get by in an underserved community
Perseverance through love: John’s inspiration for his musical career
John’s highest highs, lowest lows, & what it is like to start over
John’s friendship with the iconic Ms. Lauryn Hill, linking up with The Fugees, and their co-creation of a Grammy-winning, multi-platinum record, The Score
John's stint in prison, where in his cell, his refuge and musical rebirth came in the form of an acoustic guitar
Music as internal alchemy and Ram Dass’s influence on John’s song Gong Guru from his album Riddem Drive
Venturing further into spirituality: John’s deep affinity for wisdom teachers like Ram Dass, Terence McKenna, Alan Watts, and Abraham Hicks
Listen to John’s other visit to the Mindrolling Podcast on Ep. 405 and a conversation about resonance, integration & catharsis on this special Ram Dass Fellowship with host, Jackie Dobriska, available on Ep. 124 of the Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast.
About John Forté:
John Forté is a Grammy-winning recording artist best known for his work with the hip-hop group, The Fugees, writing and producing songs on their multi-platinum record The Score. After a stint in prison while riding the volatile waves of success and failure, John coupled his refuge of music with messages of wisdom and love from inspirational spiritual teachers. Listen to John’s album Riddem Drive, and don’t miss him on the Soul Land Music Series: Songs & Stories Inspired by Ram Dass.
“My journey with music has been the relationship of having it, experiencing it, seeing it morph and take on different colors and shapes. It showed me from a very early age that collaboration was going to be the key for the source of my continued inspiration—working with others, finding that harmony—that’s the spirit of it. The spirit of music is community, it’s communication, it’s air itself.” –John Forté
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Author and nonviolence practitioner Kazu Haga explores why fierce vulnerability is a vital practice for inner and outer transformation.
Read an excerpt of Kazu’s book, Fierce Vulnerability, and purchase your own copy HERE.
This time on Mindrolling, Raghu and Kazu Haga chat about:
Kazu’s difficult upbringing and how meeting Japanese Buddhist monastics transformed his life
Combining social action and spirituality
The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and addressing both inner violence of the spirit and outer systemic violence
How an “us vs. them” worldview fuels division, suffering, and ecological destruction
Healing childhood trauma and collective trauma by integrating the fractured parts of ourselves
How getting vulnerable opens up our capacity to heal
The Seven Fires Prophecies from the Anishinaabe people
Rebuilding the world through spiritual practice rather than material accumulation
Remembering that personal healing is inseparable from collective healing in an interdependent world
Listening deeply and being comfortable with uncertainty
Check out the book Hospicing Modernity for more powerful insights on social action
About Kazu Haga:
Kazu Haga is a trainer and practitioner of nonviolence and restorative justice, a core member of the Ahimsa Collective and the Fierce Vulnerability Network. He is a Jam facilitator and author of Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm and Fierce Vulnerability: Healing from Trauma, Emerging from Collapse. He works with incarcerated people, youth, and activists from around the country. He has over 25 years of experience in nonviolence and social change work. He is a resident of the Canticle Farm community on Lisjan Ohlone land, Oakland, CA, where he lives with his family. You can find out more about his work at www.kazuhaga.com.
“The work of nonviolence has to start by looking at the ways in which we hold internal violence of the spirit, that unhealed anger, hatred, resentment, delusion, as well as our unhealed traumas, and understanding how all of that is the source of external violence in the world. Yes we need the social movements, but if we’re not grounded in some sort of inner work and introspection a lot of the violence we want to change out there gets replicated in our own work, in our own communities.” –Kazu Haga
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Longtime friends David Silver and Raghu Markus discuss Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and the legacy of Dzogchen maintained by his four sons.
Grab a copy of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche’s memoirs, Blazing Splendor, for a deeper look into his magnificent life.
This time on Mindrolling, Raghu and David have a discussion about:
The life and teachings of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, one of the greatest Dzogchen meditation masters of the 20th century
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche’s sons and how they continue to spread Dzogchen wisdom to the West
Core principles of Dzogchen philosophy, including the nature of mind and nondual awareness
Understanding cognitive emptiness and the illusion of a solid identity
Why contemplating death and impermanence can be a path to liberation
Working consciously with loss and mortality before the end of life
Not falling into the trap of believing this life is permanent
Viewing dreams and meditation as parallel practices for awakening
The patience and discipline required to form new spiritual habits
Living fully while recognizing the inevitability of death
Learn about dealing with the bardo of dying in the book In Love with the World by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche or hop into The Bardo Guidebook by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche
About David Silver:
David Silver is the former co-host of the Mindrolling podcast. He is a filmmaker and director, most recently coming out with Brilliant Disguise. Brilliant Disguise tells the unique story of a group of inspired Western spiritual seekers from the 60s, who in meeting the great American teacher, Ram Dass, followed him to India to meet his Guru, Neem Karoli Baba, familiarly known as Maharaj-ji. Two days before he left his body, Maharaj-ji instructed K.C. Tewari to take care of the Westerners, which he did resolutely until the day he died in 1997. Silver’s #1 charting MGM/UA/Warners film, “The Compleat Beatles” is the critically acclaimed biopic movie about history’s most famous band. The term ‘rockumentary’ was first applied to this two-hour movie. Rolling Stone recently described the film as a “masterwork.” Silver’s Warner Brothers’ feature film, “No Nukes” also started the whole trend of music/activism feature documentaries.
“Urgyen and his sons and all Dzogchen people believe that dreaming is as important as meditating. Dreams are fluid, anything can happen in a dream. You can fly, you can walk through a wall. What Mingyur says is that is the perfect analogy for life itself; life is as fluid and as transparent as that dream, but we don’t know it because we think it’s solid because we can’t put our finger through our hand.” –David Silver
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