Raghu Markus and Ann Tashi Slater dive into The Tibetan Book of the Dead, bardo states, and how embracing death and impermanence can help us live with greater presence and purpose.

Pick up a copy of Ann’s September 2025 book, Traveling in Bardo

This week on Mindrolling, Raghu and Ann discuss:

• The Tibetan Book of the Dead and how it can help us in modern Western culture
• Bardo states: the in-between, liminal spaces between death and rebirth, birth and death.
• How we regularly experience metaphorical death through the impermanence of relationships, identities, and moments
• Accepting the reality of death and impermanence to avoid struggle and suffering
• Finding grace in life-lessons and why Ram Dass initially thought his guru gave him the stroke
• Ann’s Tibetan lineage and strong connection to her grandmother
• Ensuring that we are living in alignment with the things we care most about
• Why reflecting on death while alive can lead to more conscious, intentional living
• Maintaining traditions as a way to accept reality, process grief, and find meaning in loss
• Recognizing our interdependence and having compassion for other people

Check out the film The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Way of Life, narrated by Leonard Cohen

About Ann Tashi Slater:

Ann Tashi Slater has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Paris Review, Tin House, Guernica, AGNI, Granta, and many others. Her work has been featured in Lit Hub and included in The Best American Essays. In her Darjeeling Journal column for Catapult, she writes about her Tibetan family history and bardo, and she blogged for HuffPost about similar topics. She presents and teaches workshops at Princeton, Columbia, Oxford, Asia Society, and The American University of Paris, among others, and was a regular speaker at NYC’s Rubin Museum of Art during the museum's 20-year run. You can learn more about Ann and sign up for her newsletter at http://www.anntashislater.com.

“The really fundamental lesson of the bardo teachings is that awareness of impermanence allows us to actually, counterintuitively, find the happiness that we’re looking for. When we struggle against it, we make ourselves miserable because there’s nothing we can do to change it. Things end.” – Ann Tashi Slater

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Recorded live at the 2025 Summer Mountain Retreat, this homestyle chat with Raghu Markus, Nina Rao, and Robert Thurman explores the Bhakti-Buddhist lineage of Ram Dass and Maharaj-ji.

Join us this December for the 2025 Ram Dass Legacy Open Your Heart in Paradise retreat in Maui!

This time on Mindrolling, Raghu, Nina, and Robert discuss:

• The story of finding Neem Karoli Baba and filling up on poori and potatoes
• How Maharaj-ji miraculously healed Krishna Das’s injured knee
• The wonderful interplay between Ram Dass and Buddhist teachers
• Nina’s relationship with Sri Siddhi Ma, an intimate devotee of Maharaj-ji (considered by many to be a saint in her own right)
• Seeing everyone as the guru and living the best way that we can
• Nina’s journey to the foothills of the Himalayas and meeting Siddhi Ma for the first time
• The Buddhist perspective on the soul (ātman) and whether we truly have one
• Why ‘Be Here Now’ is actually a mantra of care and femininity
• The Bhagavad Gita and the meaning of karma yoga
• Letting go of fear around birth and death by focusing on liberation from suffering
• Being here now in the best way we can by loving those around us rather than running away from the pain in the world

“My own take on it in terms of what we represent and what goes on here is really, truly, a combination of Bhakti and discriminating wisdom represented by Buddhist perspective.” – Raghu Markus

About Nina Rao:

Nina Rao is a devotional singer. She tours with Krishna Das, playing cymbals, singing, and acting as his business manager. Nina has two of her own albums, “Antarayaami – Knower of All Hearts” and “Anubhav”. Nina regularly leads kirtan, workshops, and retreats in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York and beyond. Together with Chandra and Genevieve Walker, Nina operates the 21 Taras Collective. You can keep up with Nina on her website or find her on Instagram @nina_rao and on Facebook @NinaRaoChant.

“I didn’t realize that I was looking for a guru until Krishna Das started talking about Neem Karoli Baba. When I heard about him and I felt that presence that came alive when Krishna Das was talking about Maharaj-ji, I wanted to meet him.” – Nina Rao

About Robert Thurman:

Robert Thurman is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University and President of the Tibet House U.S., and is the President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies. His new book, Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life, is now available.

“What is the best way to 'be here now'? It’s to love Raghu, to love Nina, to love Maharaj-ji, it’s to love everything here and now and make it beautiful and the best. Be as beautiful and as best as you can be because that’s absolute. That’s the way to 'be Nirvana now'.” – Robert Thurman

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.