The Free Radical Podcast

Join Swami Padmanabha and Patrick Beldio, a Sufi practitioner, scholar, sculptor, and sweet human being, as they dynamically explore the connection between mystery, the mystic, and art in living relationship with each other.

Quote From Radical Personalism that opens the discussion:
“In general, present-day Gaudiya Vaishnavism seems to be stuck in what we may call an overdose of confidence, or a profound inability to deal with uncertainty, liminality, and paradox, all of which create a necessary displacement from our comfort zone. Instead of discarding mystery by claiming a perfect understanding, we are invited to harmonize and include all contradictions and dilemmas in a higher synthesis, as part of our inner project. We call this Radical Unknowing.”

• To this Patrick adds from his own early experience with the Catholic tradition, where often the “right answers” are taught, this prevents a living experience of knowledge, where there is nothing to discover on the other side.

• Then Patrick and Swami share a magical unfolding of the process of evolution of the artist through the art, regardless of the medium. The artists themselves do not fully understand what they are encountering, that they are contending with something that they don’t understand. This is the difference between artists and performers.

• Each new layer of discovery positions the artist n a new level of ignorance which leaves the artist feeling-un-finished. Patrick shares that each sculpture is an object of failure. Acknowledging the failure is part of the success of the art.

• Touched by a quote from Dostoevsky that “Beauty will save the world,” an illuminating discussion further ensues of how art is an entering into mystery and extracting a new sense of purpose, and how by finding that purpose, the world will be save. We are all invited to be artists and to enter int the unknown, extract meaning and purpose and offer that to the world. That is beauty.

• The creative process unites opposites and is a messy job. Those who appreciate that will be transformed. “Art reveals what nature hides” . The creative tension is to reveal the mystery, while at the same time retain the mystery and not feel the necessity to solve it. the artist facilitates a revelation of mystery beyond that of the mind.

• Patrick very openly and vulnerably shared his experience of entering the cave of mystery, and coexisting there for some time as part of his journey, participating in the spiritual exercises as design by St Ignatius, and the crucial role of surrender in the spiritual journey, where there is both an honest wrestling with and an opening to the divine’s will. Silence, and the profound breaking of that silence, has the ability to dissolve the boundary between that separates the gross plane and the spiritual plane, and “let the spiritual energy rain down on earth.”

• Vulnerability and unconditional love was discussed, and how, never having experienced such love, one may be traumatized by it, not knowing where to put it. The English word “blessing” is related to the French word “blessée” which means wound.

• The discussion wound its way to speaking about the value of opposition as fuel for progress and how this is an all-pervading theme throughout sacred texts. Patrick often discusses this with his students. We know that opposition is healthy but yet we still don’t like it. It is experiences as an imperfect means that manifests perfection.

and much much more…

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Join Swami Padmanabha and Rory McEntee—founder, President, and Executive Director of the Charis Foundation for New Monasticism & Interspirituality, and co-author of The New Monasticism: An Interspiritual Manifesto for Contemplative Living—as they discuss a new way of conceiving an ancient way of being. Expanding Raimon Panikkar’s notion of “The Monk” as an archetype, this conversation invites a more inclusive accessibility to the total life commitment to one’s spiritual transformation and journey that was previously reserved for restricted orders within a particular tradition, and recognizes new ways that that commitment can be lived out beyond the traditional form of “monasticism”.

The flow of this river touched upon:

• the needs of teachers to have peers and not just students

• humanizing the over-expectations of traditional monastics

• how teachers offer student’s energy back to them

• teacher helps you sort through what to let go, what to embrace, and how to integrate that into humanity

• monasticism as spiritual bypassing

• demystifying the mystic

• redefining obstacles

• the power of simplicity

• dichotomizing spiritual and material life

• not just adding meditation to our life but our life to our meditation

• being discouraged by the wrong expectations

• normalizing sexuality

• monks, new and traditional, need to deal with their sexuality

• interfaith vs inter spirituality

• intimate fellowship beyond borders

and much much more…

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Join Swami Padmanabha and Ilia Delio, a Franciscan nun, author, theologian, scientist and much more, as they explore the importance of language and how it shapes our experience of reality. Carrying the unique yet mutual threads of their traditions, the conversation flowed through reflections on:

•Evolution as our reality in relationship

•Love as the core energy of the universe

•Suffering as part of loving

•Compassionate expansion of the heart

•The interests of God: adventure, play, love

•Creativity and chaos

•Unfinished humanity not failed humanity

•This earth has the potential to be heaven

•Navigating technology - the nature of it as an extension of personhood

•Religion’s responsibility to enter into and shape the discussion of technology

•Technology of seen as solving “the problem of God”

•A flat humanity will mistake emotional mimicking of technology as love

and much much more…

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Join Swami Padmanabha and Dhanya dasi, who holds a Master’s Degree in Counselor Education and a specialist degree in couples and family therapy, as they explore the value of relationships as a vital and necessary medium through which, and in which, we can integrate our humanity and our divinity, creating a full and fulfilling wholeness that blossoms to the point of becoming truly wise elders.

“It is often believed that relationships are counterproductive to what we want to accomplish as an individual—a necessary evil I have to go through until I can get back to the internal thing that we were doing—but actually relationships are necessary components in the completion of our contemplations.”

“Our spiritual practices often fit into our lives in a formal, ritualistic way, with the community being a part of our ritual but it’s not necessarily connected to our deep inner practice. There is a bridge that is missing.”

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In this episode of The Free Radical Podcast, Swami Padmanabha and Bhaktirasa discuss the necessity of the moment to upgrade our tradition’s past by recognizing our current responsibility to stay alive in our present participation rather than rest on the past achievements of great stalwarts who came before us or arrest our progress because of the tradition’s past mistakes and immaturity. If the Sweet Absolute is always expanding, becoming ever more himself/herself, that creates an even a great necessity to continually adapt anew.

TUNE IN for more reflection on:

• OUR MISSING ELDERS - responsible elders listen to the upcoming generation and provide supportive guidance to address their concerns and help translate the tradition’s essence into a new language that keeps participation relevant and progressive. Elder’s can empower the next generation through trust.

• UPDATING OUR LANGUAGE isn’t just about learning the new catch phrases so we can attract more people, but it is about reconceiving traditional terms with deeper and broader understanding

• NOSTALGIA is not meant to be an institutionalized form of faith

• WHITEWASHING our historical downsides

• PRETENDING TO BE PERFECT because we do not accept that we are already UNCONDITIONALLY LOVED

• EVOLUTION does not speak of survival of the strongest but rather greater capacity to adapt and change

• BETWEEN DENYING AND BLAMING IS GRIEVING - and it might take an entire generation to grieve past traumas into a place of compassionate healing

AND MORE…

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In this episode of The Free Radical Podcast, Swami Padmanabha and Vrinda-sundari, a transformative coach and founder of Harmony Sanctuary in Denver, discuss the vital role of communication in relation to cultivating our hearts so that there can be real transformation and fresh progress in our devotional practices, as well as the necessity of transformative communication in connection to this moment’s humanity at large…

Sharing the teachings Bhaktivinode Thakura, as well as Srila Jiva and Rupa Goswamis, and Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, Vrinda-sundari showed how honest, empathic and trusting communication is one of the corner-stones of not only our relationships within Gaudiya Vaishnavism, but of our very existence…

Communication means union and is synonymous with relationship. Ontologically, we exist in relationship, therefore, communication is an essential part of our existence as individuals, and especially as Gaudiyas…

TUNE IN to learn more about:
• DIFFERENCE between INFORMATIVE and TRANSFORMATIVE communication

• INTROSPECTION as being more than a parade of thoughts

• RELATIONSHIP between introspection and communication

• MAPPING the inner landscape

• CONFESSION as part of our transformation

• TRUST as a container to facilitate honest vulnerability

• PERCEPTION without conclusion

• LISTENING as a service - shining an additional light for a person who is processing their human experience

• HEALING power of being received

• BEING UNDERSTOOD is a deep need

• EMOTIONS are an expansion of the self

• MAKING FRIENDS with our emotions as signals to what to pay attention to

• PRESENCE of transformative communication of the practices of bhakti - sravanam, kirtanam, austerity of speech, being honest…

AND MORE…

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In this episode of The Free Radical Podcast, Swami Padmanabha and Arcana-siddhi, a marital counselor and practicing Vaishnavi for almost 50 years, consider a wide range of topics circling around the necessity to debunk the false myth that the grihasta ashram is intrinsically inferior to other ashrams and redeem the conception of the grihasta ashram from being the “deep, dark well of material existence” into the sacred position it is meant to hold, just like the sannyasa ashram can be both in potential. Everything is about how we approach it.

Some of the topics included:
•OVER-ESTIMATION of monastic superheroes
•EFFECTS OF DENYING VALUE OF FAMILY : disappointment, guilt, shame, marital discord, abuse, broken vows, and child and spousal neglect.
•POSITIVE ATTACHEMENT and affection
•SACRIFICES in the grihasta ashram that lead to a healthy self-forgetfulness
•DENYING THE POTENTIAL SACREDNESS of marriage and family, feelings and emotions, our humanity
•SACRED SEX REQUIRES the proper intimacy with one’s own emotions—it is not a cheap thing.

THE MAIN ISSUES for which devotee couples seek counseling:
1.SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL INTIMACY-a lot of discord is in relation to the idea of “sex for procreation only”. This topic lead to the discussion of taking standardized vows, 1 size fits all, which are known to cause dysfunction either because many who make them know they will break them, or they go neurotic in trying to keep them for the sake of fitting. 1-size anything is not very personal.
2.ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES—often the wife works outside the home but is still seen as responsible for all of the house hold duties such as cleaning, cooking, shopping,
3.LEGACY BURDENS—paradigms that we have imbibed from prior generations and transmit without noticing. Each generation bears the responsibility to stop the hand-me-downs of trauma. One big one to retire is MISOGYNY: if women are considered “less than” then how can they be valued in a relationship.

The discussion wound its way to the Enneagram and how it can help us more clearly see the traps of our particular ego, the paradigm thru which we filter reality, the key to open our cell, and reveal our strategies working against us.

The exploration concluded speaking about the importance of having a regular and steady practice of meditation. Arcana-siddhi provided personal account as well as that of studies and her own experiences with counseling couples that a regulated practice has an affect on all levels—psychic, emotional and physical—of both the individual and the couple.

Tune in for some healing.

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In this episode of The Free Radical Podcast, Swami Padmanabha and Tamal Krishna explore various facets of prayer—from what it is not to many of its potential layers in the heart of the pray-er. Tamal Krishna shared the powerful effect that the book EFFECTUAL PRAYER by Frances W Foulks had on him since his youth, providing a process of prayer from relaxation, to preparation, to meditation, to contemplation. Contemplation is the point of assimilation, when what you have been ruminating on in previous stages gets swallowed and digested. Many jewels were unearthed during this conversation such as:

• prayer is what happens to us, not something that we do
• grace allows us to reside within the temple (contemplum)
• when we reach the limit of our thinking capacity, then something else happens
• prayer is what happens INSIDE the container, and is NOT the container
• prayer, like vulnerability, means having the courage to show up when I have not control over the outcome
• the symbolism of BAT, NIGHT, DARKNESS in relation to prayer
• guilt trips, dangers of elitism and cheating
• role of humility
• prayer as a LIFESTYLE
• lamentation in the context and contrast of God is healthy
• Intercession prayer
• practitioners actions and inner world in relation to the ideal in eternity
• the necessary circle of protection
• and more…

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In this episode of The Free Radical Podcast, Swami Padmanabha and Deva Madhava courageously explore many facets of Radical Organization and the shape it takes as institutions, and the relationship between them and people. During this balanced, thoughtful and free-flowing discussion, honestly acknowledging the deficiencies of both the institution and its members—such as over-expectation, idealization, exploitation, guilt, shame, feelings of unworthiness and bypassing the needs of the individual for the sake of the institution— it became clear that deep compassionate caring is the foundation for any meaningful institution seeking to facilitate and support its members to grow into a position of personal responsibility and stability; where caring for people is seen as the goal rather than a means to sustaining the institution; and how one of the functions of an institution is to hold a sacred space so that the individual can attain heights that they could not attain on their own. Deva Madhava also shared the challenges he experienced by consciously trying to approach leadership with a community member-centered focus, and how, once the pretense that people usually hide behind in institutions is removed, it is overwhelming to see just how deficient and broken people are. The need for deep healing was discussed as well as possible ways we can work toward that. If we keep in mind that an institution is a natural, organic extension of a mission, and that mission is the shape of a heart, then the commitment to care for each other with the affection of kindred spirits will not be superseded by the needs of the institution divorced from its members. Tune in to learn about a new underground railroad currently under construction.

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In this episode, Swami Padmanabha and Jaya Jagannath discuss the importance of individuation, of “knowing who we are as an individual; accepting who we are; being who we are; becoming all that we can be”, and how Individuation is not only a preliminary requisite for a balanced experience of bhakti, but also a principle of reality that will play out in all of the different stages of our devotional progress into perfection.

Many restrictions to such individuation were also explored: fear of being a person and all that that implies; ••• anger arising from unresolved grief over the loss of idealized expectations; ••• unwillingness to accept our responsibility to our own progress, handing that off to others, such as the guru or the institution; ••• compelled by the need to fit in, connecting our sense of self too tightly to the collective community, and therefore fearing repercussions if we step outside the box; ••• misconceptions about bhakti that close us off from opportunities to receive bhakti in our life because the form doesn’t “conform” to how I conceived it should be.

Also explored was the collapse of our conceptual framework as being an invitation by god to upgrade and refine those conceptions. And interesting observation was shared that our contemporary culture lacks rituals that traditionally assisted people going thru those critical moments of dis-integrating old ideas of self and the world making room for new growth.

All of this and much more in a lively discussion, trying to keep pace with the necessity of the moment. And remember, crisis is not a bad word and variegatedness is not deviation.

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▶ PURCHASE RADICAL PERSONALISM: Revival Manifesto for Proactive Devotion in hardcover, paperback, and/or Kindle formats on Amazon

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▶ CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION: Gaudiya Reform Forum on Facebook.

▶ FOR MORE INFO: SwamiPadmanabha.com