RG. No…, not Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Godara is spiritual.

Spirituality is a deep and vast approach with various interpretations. The common theme is connecting with a higher being that is bigger than ourselves. The focus is to make a positive impact and find a deeper meaning in life. It is a catholic human experience that touches and shapes us. Many find a mosque or temple. synagogue, church, yoga, or a small group to connect and enhance their spiritual life. Others pray, meditate, recite, serve or connect with nature and art.

Rahul is self-aware of his spiritual growth, strengths, and weaknesses. The Hindu faith allows him to get in touch with his feelings, emotions, and the spiritual world. Rahul was a school captain and a gap student at Harrow. We connect and talk about spirituality, meditation, spiritual healing, and spiritual meditation, and find many common themes between Hinduism and Christianity.

Rahul, I love talking about spirituality, faith, travel, food, and family. Let’s start by telling my audience a little about you?

One of the highlights of my school life was meeting Tarsem Singh Dhandwar, an alumnus, a leading figure in Hollywood in the world of Visual Art.  He was perhaps the first person I really looked up to for his artistic and brilliant mind, coupled with an exuberant love for the world, and its colors.

I had always fancied myself as a man living in New York, with a trench coat, and a smoke on my lips! As a result, I fulfilled that when I went to study acting at the New York Film Academy. After that, I lived in NYC for 2 years, acted on Broadway, worked in a boutique hotel and did other things. My long and steady search for the divine and spirituality, led to a meeting with my Guru Amma, in New York. In conclusion, I returned to India in 2012 and spent 7 months with her.  As a result, it became a fundamental turning point in my life.

I learned a lot about the values of true spirituality, the concept of a Satguru (A fully realized being), and the principles of Sadhana (spiritual practise), as a means of emancipation from the cycle of suffering that we undergo as human beings.

Currently, I spend my time between Kasar Devi, a very spiritually charged Himalayan Village in the Kumaon Himalayas, and in Punjab, North India with my parents. I am running a travel company focused on Spiritual Travel and Immersion, and a culture center in Kasar Devi. By the way Jerry, Bob Dylan visited Kasar in his heyday! So did Cat Stevens, and Swami Vivekananda had some of his highest realizations here.

I have a very beautiful and amazing woman in my life, from the Himalayan mountains, whose identity we shall keep mysterious and hidden~~ ;).

What motivated you to start the Resplendent Soul? Walk me through the whole process and what is it all about?

While spending time at Ammas ashram, and traveling around Dharamshala (Home to the Dalai Lama), I realized that a lot of people were looking for the depths of Indian thought, but could scratch only the surface of it. I felt like I could facilitate their outer and inner journeys within India, and then the idea of Resplendent Soul popped up. Resplendence is my favorite word in English.  It means ‘Dazzling Measureless Splendour”.

The tours are 4, 7, and 18 days long.  We take people through some of the regular well-known Indian spiritual hubs like Rishikesh, Vrindavan and then the more abstract places like Babaji’s ashram, or my village of Kasar Devi.

On the tours, people experience the deep ocean of Hindu life and thought, while we also showcase other religions. They are able to experience the devotion of the Hindu people, in terms of the rituals like fire ceremonies, pujas, devotional worship via songs and music, etc. They are able to appreciate both the outer aspect of the use of colors, life, people, and the deeper metaphysical meaning behind them. For example, many people are not aware, but the fire ceremony of India is very beneficial for psychological ailments and gives one a profound love for life. Cool aye?!!

The tours also include social aspects like service and social entrepreneurship, so as to enable one to see God in all of creation, and not limit it to prayer and worship.

Currently, I do 2-3 big tours annually for Germans, Kiwis, and sometimes a mixed group, apart from the small ones.

Help me understand what you mean by let’s get deeper into the heart of the universe?

The Heart of the Universe! Hmm… I don’t know, how to put this, cause even I am perhaps at the foot of the universe.  As I grow older, I realize that we are unable to fully experience life’s deepest joy, strength, and confidence because we live on the periphery.  We are too much in the mind of the mind, and not in the Heart of the Mind.  To really understand the depths, one has to go very deep, dive deep within, to the very source from where the mysteries of the universe unfold.

Like Anandamayee ma, the great Bengali saint said “The world was born out of joy that is why you find joy in the fleeting things of the world, otherwise life would be an ordeal, but you must attain to that great joy, which brought forth the world!

How does one understand more of the guiding principles of life, of truth and Godliness via tours, retreats, working with communities, creativity, blogging, photography, friendship, and humanity?

I feel deeply that most of our education has been based to help us become survivors. We learn all the tools like mathematics, biology, English, etc., to simply earn a livelihood and make a name for ourselves. But we have not cultured the heart truly. We have many negative emotions like hatred, jealousy, lust, the works, but not enough self-knowledge and antidotes to transform them. I feel we can re-educate ourselves slowly and steadily. Just like 4 columns believes in a holistic attitude towards life, we can relearn the basic fundamentals of living a happy and contented existence, via the mediums of creativity, self-knowledge, scriptures, sharing in community growth, social service, family, hearing great stories and positive information that is already existing in the world. I like to use knowledge resources quite a bit, to understand the various spectrums of life and living, and I feel any and every human being can do so, by reading and understanding more effectively.

Explain who Guru Amma is and what is the message of the divine?

Amma and Haidakhan babaji are my two gurus. A guru literally means “Dispeller of Darkness”.  They are both Satgurus, meaningfully enlightened beings who have only taken birth to help all mankind, just like Christ.

Does your spirituality include a God, a holy book, and what is the supreme self?

To me, spirituality is both form & formless. So as a practicing Hindu on the journey towards God-realization, I worship all the forms of divinity present in the Sanatana Dharma (The original name of Hinduism) and all other faiths.

I especially enjoy loving Lord Shiva, Lord Ram, Krishna, Devi, and Hanuman!

I have a very big reverence for the ancient and present masters of India like Amma, Babaji, Neem Karoli Baba, Papaji, Padmasambhava, Nisargadatta Maharaj, and also many from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

I do read different spiritual texts as is the way in India, and not a single Holy Book. My favorite scriptures are mostly words of Masters who are living or have left the body.

The Supreme Self just is. As it is! Before, and beyond a name. Perhaps God is another word we use for it. Just like the Yogis use Pure Consciousness.

Sat-Chit-Ananda!  Truth –Consciousness- Bliss.

Let’s talk about tours. What is your goal here? Is it to showcase India? Is it to connect the traveler to their own spirituality or to connect with Indian spirituality?

The goal of the tours is to show the wealth of India’s spiritual light, so the seeker can benefit from those and use them in their own life. The Sanatana Dharma is very scientific, vast, and alluring and can provide many tools to crossover from suffering to endless union with self!

India has an endless ocean of knowledge, devotion, and beauty. Perhaps that’s the reason this country has been so tolerant and loving towards all, even those who plundered it. It is Mother India!

By showcasing the many modalities of spirituality present, we wish to inspire the seeker, who has come on a journey, to connect to their own hidden potential.  Some of them get inspired to take on practices and insights from the Indian traditions, and some just enjoy it, get a nice feeling, and do what they were already doing.  It’s a bit like “Eat, Pray, Love”!!!

Rahul, India is not a safe country for women. How do you ensure the safety of women on your tours? Give me practical aspects of your security procedures?

Yes, India is facing a major problem with women’s security, and we wish to do our best to be a part of the change in consciousness towards the removal of this problem. Usually, our women travelers do not face any issue, as we travel in groups, and they are mostly in very safe areas, with us.  If we are helping a single woman traveler navigate her way towards India, we try to connect her to the best people and services, wherein her risk is minimized. Until now, fortunately, there have been no negative incidents in the last 5-6 years since our inception.

Why does the world need art, music, spirituality, and getting in touch with these things?

The world needs these, like music, for example, is one of the easiest ways to connect to oneself, and thereby to one’s godliness. As a result, spiritually charged devotional music from any tradition helps us to feel rejuvenated in spirit, to take care of our negative emotions, and help cross over the difficult times. Nanak, the great Saint, and founder of Sikhism used to often say that just by listening to the Lord’s name, one can become perfectly happy and perfect!

I think art can really help in catharsis and helping one unload both the beauty and the darkness within. Ditto for spirituality.  The greater we are attuned with the cosmic truth, the happier, more contented, and dynamic we become!

Talk to me about food? I am sure spirituality means taking care of your own body?

Jerry, I have learned slowly how important food is. Gurumayi, says that we mostly only need about 60-70% of the food that we eat. The rest is just our hunger for God, for truth.

I feel if we eat too much, or not the right combinations we become tamasic, lazy, in inertia, and slowly degrade ourselves and our minds.

While eating light vegetarian meals, we remain uplifted, sparkly, and can have a stronger cognitive ability, provided we combine that with the right thinking and feelings!  I am experimenting more with foods these days and enjoying the effects.  For example, I am more of a pitta type person, a fiery type, so lessening caffeine has been beneficial, so has decreasing spicy foods. I have also incorporated a self-massage 2-3 times a week, called Abhyanga, from the ancient Ayurvedic style, which also helps alleviate the daily pent up tensions, and helps remove toxins from the body as well! The results have been amazing!

I believe in loving people unconditionally, getting in touch with my own brokenness, so light can come in, forgiveness, gratitude, peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness. Do we have anything in common?

We have a lot in common Jerry. I do understand and appreciate the Christian principle of “the brokenness” within. We all come enmeshed in our karmas from previous lives and to that, we add on the ignorance of this life. By accepting our brokenness, our not knowing, we open the door for God’s light to come in. To recharge us, to show us our own inner greatness, and to live the Biblical maxim, that we are made in his image. By surrendering the individual will to the Supreme will, we are able to merge ourselves back in him and gain greater and greater joy and love, until only That remains.

Yes, I am trying to work towards unconditional love, and go beyond my own judgments, resentments, past, present, future, and perceptions. It’s a long journey, isn’t it? But it’s become more and more exciting, ever since the name of the Lord has been planted more and more in the heart within!

Many warm greetings from the Kumaon Himalayas and I pray that all is well in Canada and your family, and orbit!

Om Namah Shivaya. (Salutations to the Supreme)

Photo Credits: Ian Espinosa  Mohamed Nohassi  R D  134-3488_IMG by Enayut Rasul CC BY-SA 2.0, Juskteez Vu Jon Flobrant

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Prayer is a form of communication or supplication directed toward a deity, higher power, or divine being. It is a practice that is often associated with religious or spiritual traditions and is found in various forms across different cultures and belief systems.

In prayer, individuals express their thoughts, feelings, gratitude, requests, or devotion to the object of their worship. Prayers can take many forms, including spoken words, silent thoughts, rituals, or written expressions. The content and purpose of prayers can vary widely, ranging from seeking guidance, expressing gratitude, asking for assistance, seeking forgiveness, or simply fostering a sense of connection with the divine.

Different religions and spiritual traditions have their specific practices and beliefs regarding prayer. In some traditions, prayer may involve specific rituals, gestures, or recitation of sacred texts. In others, it may be more personal and spontaneous. Overall, prayer serves as a means for individuals to connect with their spiritual beliefs, seek comfort, and find a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives.

I talked to Pastor Beth Graf about prayer.

Beth, a pleasure having you onboard. Please share with my audience a little about you?

I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart for 26 years.  I’m a mom to two amazing teenagers. I’m a former E.C.E. and Kindergarten teacher. Currently, I’m the Ministry Health Pastor (part-time) at Sanctus Church and a certified Spiritual Life Coach in my private practice. The best part of my life is the incredible adventure of following Jesus Christ for 43 years!

This month you released The Truth About You: God’s Thoughts For You. What is it about? What is the main message? Why should we read it?

I’m thrilled to share that I have recently published a children’s book on Amazon called “The Truth About You: God’s Thoughts For You”. While it’s geared toward younger children, the book is full of “identity-shaping” truths for all ages.

Amazingly, all the words/concepts in this book come from Listening Prayer with my daughter and son when they were 4 to 10 years old.  After they would say their bedtime prayers, we would pause and listen to see what the Lord Jesus wanted to say to them in response. I recorded all the simple, profound truths that came to their child’s hearts. Two years ago, the Lord impressed upon me that He wanted other children to know these same truths, so He inspired me to create this book!

There is also a bonus section at the end for Parents/Caregivers to help their children hear from God for themselves. Children can easily hear from the Lord if they are shown how.

I know you were a pastor for prayer and now a ministry health pastor. I want to know what is prayer.

From my experience, prayer is an authentic, ongoing conversation with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. You speak with honor and transparency to God and He speaks lovingly and truthfully to you.

Your depth of knowing God depends on your choice. Let me explain – To know God the Father and the Holy Spirit intimately, you first must welcome a relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The reason for this is that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is the only thing that makes us perfect and holy again.  When we personally accept Jesus’ sacrifice and invite Him into our lives to lead us, God shifts from being outside of us to the inside of us. This internal dwelling of Jesus Christ is what can make our relationship and prayer life more profound and intimate with God. God is no longer, “the universe” or far away, we can know and experience Him profoundly within.

One final thought, to grow in your prayer life requires making it part of your everyday life. Just like exercising your body or brushing your teeth, make it an intentional holy habit. For me now at this point in my life, it’s like I never hang up the phone on God, I’m communicating with Him and He is sharing with me constantly.

Many people treat God like a genie in a bottle and buy into the prosperity gospel. What should we know about prayer? Do we really need it in our daily lives?

When I was first following Jesus, prayer was all about asking God for what I wanted and for Him to help me with my plans. Now after years of following, surrendering to Him, and becoming more like Jesus, my prayers are often, “God, what do You want? Have Your Way. Your kingdom comes, Your will be done.”

I have tried to release God of all my expectations of Him and what I thought was the way He should answer and respond to my prayers. It just led to such disappointment. Yet, what would our world be like if God were obligated to fulfill the will of every human being? That would be disastrous! Thankfully, the LORD is obligated only to His will. So now when I pray, I ask the Lord what He wants regarding situations and people, listen for His answer, and then pray it back to Him. As a result, I see incredible and specific answers to my prayers.

Let’s be honest. Prayer is not natural. Give us some practical examples of how we can get better at it. How we can make it a habit?

We all seem to make time to brush our teeth, why? Because it’s important for our health and we value our smile.

In making prayer a habit, it’s so important to first realize that prayer is incredibly valuable! For some reason, God has chosen to work with humanity to see His will fulfilled on the earth. Prayers that aren’t prayed, won’t be answered by Him. I used to think that God didn’t really need my prayers and that He was just going to do whatever He wanted anyway. However, as I got to know Him and read the Bible, I realized that although He was Sovereign overall, God still decides to use our feeble prayers to usher in His will on the earth (Matthew 7:7).

Once I realized my prayers mattered, it was motivation to make it a habit.

I recommend the following on how to get better at prayer:

Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to pray.

Be intentionally aware of God’s presence in your everyday life.

Create a prayer rhythm in your schedule. Start simple with a short prayer time once a day. As you find it beneficial, increase the length of time or frequency. For me, I have an intentional prayer time in the morning, as I get ready, where I give God all that I’m facing that day and ask for His help. Before bed, I also get on my knees and unload all the stresses of my day on Him and pray whatever else the Holy Spirit brings to mind.

Make room for spontaneous prayer in your day. As stuff comes up, have an internal conversation with Him or out loud when you’re on your own.

When you don’t know what to say to God, pray for a Bible verse that resonates with you. The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 is helpful. Writing/journaling prayers are powerful as well.

Help me understand as a pastor what women’s empowerment means to you.

It means fair opportunity, respect, and an equal voice at the table.

The more I read about Jesus, the more I am impressed. He was always surrounded by women. He cared for the prostitute, and the menstruating woman, and talked to them. This was unheard of in His time and culture. What can we learn from this and apply it to the 21st century?

I don’t fully understand why women have always seemed to be “less than” men – not taken as seriously, marginalized, objectified, covered/hidden, silenced, or poorer. We can truly learn from Jesus who honored women and gave them a voice and significant roles to play in His life story and mission. It was an ordinary teenage girl who was chosen as His earthly mother and a former prostitute who was first given the gospel to share with others that Jesus was alive from the dead.

Jesus empowered the marginalized, those that others would overlook or even reject. He loved them, taught them, and then entrusted them with His mission of sharing the good news of His salvation. Jesus had both male and female followers who were valued and called to fulfill His vision. We’re all in this together.

You have been married for a while and are a mother. Please give my audience three practical tips on being a mother and wife.

As a wife and mother:

Ask God to help you be unselfish and give you wisdom all the time.

Communicate honestly, respectfully, and kindly – treat your husband and kids the way you want to be treated.

Let go of control. There are seasons when children are young and need you to protect them but as they grow, give them space to breathe, discover, and take risks. Don’t feel the pressure to change your husband. Leave him and your kids in the trustworthy hands of God and be free of worrying over them.

Beth, we can read our Bible, trust God, and pray all we want. However, we have to be intentional in dealing with our issues, hurt, pain, anger, resentment, and other challenges. Give me some practical examples of how we can do this.

Forgive others – truly from your heart. When you forgive, it’s not that you are agreeing that what happened to you was right, it’s choosing to let the person off your hook and leave them on God’s hook. Un-forgiveness, bitterness, and resentment take up too much emotional energy. Let it go. You’ll find it so freeing not to keep track of every wrong that has ever happened to you. You’ll have more time to think of other things and feel more positive emotions – anger and bitterness are “joy-killers.”

Forgive God and yourself. In our brokenness, we can hold unforgiveness toward God in our heart for times He let us down and allowed things to happen to us that were painful. Release God of your expectations and forgive Him, it’s just a block in your relationship to Him if you don’t. The truth is He’s perfect, He can’t do anything wrong, it’s our pain that distorts our perception. You can’t be perfect, that’s why Jesus lived a perfect life for us and died for our imperfections, that we would be made right with our perfect Creator God. Let yourself go free of unrealistic expectations and ask for Jesus’ help moving forward.

Let go of shame. It makes us hide from God and others. God made you to shine for Him! Ask Him to forgive you and He will.

Renounce lies you believed about yourself through pain and trauma – lies like I’m fat, I’m ugly, I don’t matter, I’m unworthy, What I have to say isn’t important, unlovable, I’m not good enough or I don’t measure up. Like shame, lies keep us from being all God wants us to be. DON’T HOLD BACK, SHINE!

Know the truth about God and who He really is according to Scripture and know the truth about you and how He sees you. Walking in these truths will set you free.

I know you went through a serious physical challenge a couple of years back. Walk me through how you dealt with it and came out thriving at the end of the tunnel?

When I was 27, I came to a place in my life where I wanted to experience God. I knew about Jesus but I didn’t really know Him – there’s a big difference. In desperation, I cried out to the Lord to encounter me. I wanted to know Him and He came to me. His peaceful presence overwhelmed me and as a result, I learned to love Him and His Word – the Bible. I also gained an intense desire to worship Him and put Him first and began to discern His personal thoughts for me and others.

When I was 41 years, I became very sick and started to lose weight for a whole year. Eventually, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (bowel disease) and hospitalized in September 2012. I remember when the GI specialist said, “I think I’m going to upgrade your diagnosis to Crohn’s Colitis”. This was devastating because there is no known cure for Crohn’s disease. It felt like he had dropped 2 tonnes on me and that I’d been given a life sentence.

When he left the hospital room, I immediately cried out to God and this was the memorable dialogue that ensued.

Me: “Lord Jesus, I know that what You say is the truest reality! What do You want to tell me right now? I need Your voice.”

Jesus: “HEALED!” (I was astonished!)

Me: “Do You mean the ultimate healing in death?” (I frankly felt so awful and was in so much pain, I wanted to die).

Jesus: “No.”

Me: “Then when will You heal me, God?” (I wanted His healing yesterday).

Jesus: “Soon.”

Me: “Is that according to Your sense of time or my timeline?”

I never got an answer. But from that moment onward, I clung in faith to His word HEALED even though things didn’t initially change. One important thing I remember doing was not agreeing to the doctor’s diagnosis and owning it. I never said ”I have Crohn’s” or “My disease”, instead I would say, “I’ve been diagnosed with Crohn’s Colitis”. I took God’s word to me seriously and I wasn’t going to agree to anything less than HEALED.

Long story short, listening for His voice got me through such a dark time when I was stripped of everything. I couldn’t even mother my children and had to go stay with my parents for 2 months. I was broken so profoundly but I kept hearing God say to me that He would raise me up and that was the bright light at the end of a dark tunnel. I realized that HOPE is imperative. To not have hope is deathly. His voice was so reassuring and hopeful.

Prayer also helped. So many people at my church and my family were praying for me faithfully. I prayed constantly. On multiple occasions, I was blessed to have people visit and pray over me asking God to heal me. Praying against the enemy of my soul and breaking off his legal claim to me was incredibly beneficial too.

Dealing with my emotional pain, especially fear, was healing for me. Science has proven that our emotional brain is the lining of our digestive system and with Crohn’s Colitis affecting my whole digestive system, addressing my emotional baggage was essential.

But ultimately it was God. I remember the day in July 2015, I had spent a rare 5 days in a row alone with Him.  The Holy Spirit lead me in a deep healing experience and I was remarkably set free from a lot of fears in my life and even a spirit of fear. The LORD told me that because I had let Him deal with the root cause of the illness, I could go off Imuran, my medicine. This was very risky because the drug managed the Crohn’s Colitis. But I took a leap of faith and trusted God’s voice over anyone else. That was almost 4 years ago and I’m eating everything. I gain weight and I lose it when I want. I don’t have irritable bowels. I don’t have any further symptoms.

All I can do is praise the LORD and agree with Him – HEALED!!

To sum it up, learning to discern and obey the true voice of the Father, The Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit, eating well, exercise, dealing with emotional pain/fears, natural supplements/probiotics, medicine, healing prayer – God used all of it to restore me. 

Finally, how do you find balance and place priority in your own life with regard to food faith finance, and family?

I don’t always do this well. It’s tough. I was recently talking with someone and they didn’t like the word balance and it got me thinking. Sometimes there are seasons where you need to give more to your family, sometimes there are seasons when you need to give more to your faith and relationship with God and sometimes you need to focus more on your health.

I don’t know the answer to this, but I do know that the closer I am to God, the more the rest of my life/responsibilities are harmonized.

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