Raghunath (shelter) interview 02

[Sunanda]

Following is an interview with Ray Cappo (Raghunath Dasa) the singer from the Krishnacore band Shelter, done in LA, june 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my last minutes with Raghunath… After staying more than 2 months at his house in Los Angeles, California, working on his projects, eating natural foods, learning yoga, chilling out… I thought it could be cool to do an interview, as we talked a lot about different stuff related to spirituality, metamorphosis and other deep subjects. We recorded this on the road to Venice beach, on the highway, with Sri's cassette recorder helded close to his mouth. It was fun !! While putting this on paper I remembered the nice landscapes we saw while talking. Aaahhh!! California!! I love doing interviews with Raghu, he always have tons of great stuff to tell, so… enjoy, be happy and chant!!

Sunanda dasa

 

 

What is Ray Cappo's lifestyle now ?

 

I try to live a pretty natural life, I practice yoga every morning for an hour and a half, I also practise brazilian ju-jitsu 5 days a week. I follow a strict, but not super strict raw food diet, I eat mainly raw fruits and vegetables, and fasts on juices. I have found that this diet give me the most energy, more ability to get closer to nature, and I feel more in tune with my body. I feel I could develop extra strength and actual endurance, it's a little adventure !

 

After 15 years of practicing Krishna Consciousness, what is your opinion about the evolution of the movement in western countries, good sides, bad sides ?

 

I think when you take something from the ancient world, and try to adapt it to the modern world, it can come out sort of crazy. At the same time in the old world they had some interesting ideals, and I think that the older world was a little more intelligent than the modern world in some aspects. So I think when you take a healthy balance of wisdom and intelligence from the old world and blend it with practical life in the new world, I think you have a really progressive lifestyle. Like for example yoga: no one knows when yoga actually began, but all these books in the world are talking about yoga. So when you practise some things like that in the modern world, it's like an amazing thing. Yoga, acupuncture, even martial arts are very cool because it comes from an ancient culture that had a deep wisdom and understanding about the body. But there are great things about the modern world as well: I can get organic fruits from South America if I live in NYC. That's very cool ! My biggest joy is to get more back to the nature. To get back with Krishna Consciousness, I met the coolest people and also the craziest people. It's been a really fun adventure, that's for sure! I met the coolest, artistic, thoughtful people I met in my life. But I also met some crazy people !! For example right now I'm gonna hang out with my friend, he's a devotee who teaches yoga to Madonna everyday ! How many people teaches yoga to Madonna !?

 

Krishna Consciousness can appear to be a difficult religion to follow, with strict principles. Young westerners can feel like they cannot relate to devotees when they go to a temple, for example. What would you say to encourage the average young westerner, who drinks, smokes, eat meat…?

 

I would just say "look !", if you're interested in eastern culture, I think the Krishnas have a really deep understanding of what is going on. I've been into a lot of yoga groups, and I know them, but I'd say the Hare Krishnas have a lot of knowledge about India, they really understand the philosophy. I would say "have a look and then you can ask me a question, but you have to go in with a broad mind because… you know we are used to the western culture…" I mean, I'm not into drinking and partying and all that stuff, for me it's uninspiring, it sort of go nowhere, even at its best it goes nowhere: big deal, you stay home, watch TV, drink beer, you forget about life. I don't wanna forget about life, I wanna get deeper into life. I want to figure out things about myself, know myself better. Things about intoxication is that it's just like putting your head into the ground and think about nothing. It's like life is a challenge and it's fun and it's joyful. I think we have reduced our pleasure to really simple things… We eat, we sleep, we mate… Big deal… I think when you get into Indian culture you find happiness again. Life is not just about having fun, it's about being really happy, I think there's a difference.

 

I know some people, they're interested into spirituality, but they still have bad habits and are not ready to give them up. It discourage them to engage into a spiritual practice, which I think is sad because you can practice anyway and grow gradually, what would you say to someone who still have bad habits but who want to grow spiritually ?

 

I don't think God hates people who do such things. Sometimes we say "oh this people are sinful !" but you know, I think there's a natural way to live, and the more we live according to the nature, the more we get closer to God. My understanding of God is that He doesn't hate, for anything. In certain religions there is different principles to follow, that help to understand yourself better, in relationship to nature. As far as Krishna Consciousness goes I would just say "just get into a meditation, chanting or prayer or stuff like that" and eventually I think you'll really realize that these things that appears to satisfy us don't really satisfy us that much, and then they'll naturally be given up.

 

When I stayed with you these 3 months we talked a lot about your work on your resentment with people, can you tell us more about this work, why did you feel that need ?

 

I think it's important in my own spiritual growth to work threw the problems I had with my past, so therefore part of my spiritual practise is to deal with resentment. I don't like to have any resentment to anyone. I find that if I'm carrying some type of anger to somebody, in one sense I feel like I'm torturing them. Suppose I'm angry at my mother, because she mistreated me… This isn't not true but suppose it is… I'm resenting her and I refuse to speak to her anymore. I feel like I'm punishing her, but really I'm punishing myself because I'm carrying around this anger. It's like carrying around a heavy suitcase: it's my own problem, not her. Sort part of the work isn't just like we want everybody feels good and a nice relationship. That's also good, but the real thing is it burdens me for carrying around al this weight. It's horrible to carry around anger. People who have a lot of resentment, they tend to be very miserable people. So if I could I went through a daily process, I actually called every person I had resentment for, I honestly wrote a list of people, since I was a little boy, and I called and I said "look! I don't know where I feel cheated, but I know where I was responsible in bad relationships, failed relationships" when I stop blaming and accept some responsibilities , then a lot of the resentment goes away. It doesn't mean that people haven't cheated me, but I had a part in it also, I can't do anything about what they did to me, but I can do something about how I'm reacting, I can honestly admit what I was responsible for. There are times where we blame everybody around. If my career doesn't go well I blame my girlfriend, maybe I'm not happy with something so I blame the weather, I blame my work, my boss, my friend. It is related to materialism. Materialism means "I'm the center, everything works around me" which is just .. Basically I'm not the center, I'm a tiny little piece, and because I'm so self centered I can't see what is actually true. I only see things that make me look right. I feel more peaceful and closer to God since I've done that work.

 

It's a method inspired from the Alcoholic Anonymous handbook, do you have any other books to advice ?

 

No, I think people have to search out and look for their own path. In my life I had to search things out and I think people should do that themselves.

 

What do you see as the most potential destructive force on this Earth ?

 

I think selfishness. Same things as the Buddha talk about: lust, greed, anger. With evolve around selfishness: "how can I please me above anybody else ?". The other day I was on the beach, it was a beautiful day, there was dolphins in the water, and people were surfing it was really nice, and then this guy, with his gigantic boat, made so much noise with this boat, it was so disturbing. Everyone was so disturbed just because of this ., some rich guy, who bought his 400 000 dollars boat at least. It was the perfect example of I'm selfish, I'm bored so what can I do ? I'm gonna enjoy at everybody else expanse.

 

If someone told you "I don't need a guru, they're all cheaters, I can learn things by myself", what would you answer ?

 

I don't think a guru is necessary, but I think they are necessarily helpful. I think a lot of things you can learn by yourself, that sometimes people take a guru because they need to be told what to do, they can't figure out themselves. I think that if a guru acts that way: "Do this, do that, go there !", giving a lot of instructions, its takes away the power of the individual.

At the same time, I think it's important for people who have learned things to teach other people. For example I learn Ju-jitsu, I could figure out by myself but not as well as with a good teacher, cause teachers have walked the same path. It's not necessary, necessary, but it is necessarily helpful. But then you have to make sure who is your teacher, if he's qualified, if he's intelligent and know what he's doing because you really make yourself vulnerable, you're giving yourself to this person. But I think it's important to have a teacher.

 

Is it easy to be a hardcore singer at the age of 37 ?

 

Yes and no. I do it just enough not to be bored ! the way I do it, like 3 month a year, it is still fun. I don't see myself doing it all my life bit it's still fun.

 

Do you have the feeling that you are still "True til Death" ?

 

To be really true and genuine to me, it's a minute by minute choice, you know what I mean. All day long today I've maybe been on the Internet and being true… I think every time you become pretentious or fake, maybe for a moment, you're not true. It was a straighedge slogan and I don't think people really think deeply what it means… to me when I say true, it's sort of an important thing and… I don' tknw if I'm true at this very moment, it would takea little of self-analysis.

 

(Arriving to Venice beach….) you're here !!

 

Thanx for everything my friend, see you soon !!

Ray drive his Saab away, crying while remembering his dear friend Sunanda !!