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David Nichtern – Creativity, Spirituality & Making a Buck – Ep. 39 – Chanting, Music, & Sri Siddhi Ma with Nina Rao

Nina Rao joins David to share the clarity and wisdom of her Guru, Sri Siddhi Ma, and discuss chanting, music, Maharaj-ji, the Goddess, and Hanuman.   
“It’s all about purifying. The practice is helping us drop all the stuff considered obscurations or kleshas to seeing clearly. If we see clearly we can understand. If we understand we can have a compassionate heart. With that compassionate heart we can feel our interconnectedness. Then what else is there to do in this body but feel that interconnectedness, feel that love, and share.” – Nina Rao

In this episode Nina and David discuss:

  • How all aspects of our self and life weave together

  • Nina’s relationship to Sri Siddhi Ma, Maharaj-ji (Neem Karoli Baba), and Hanuman

  • Sri Siddhi Ma as a fully integrated being of wisdom, clarity, love, and presence

  • Meeting Maharaj-ji through Krishna Das’ chanting

  • Nina’s life-changing first darshan with Sri Siddhi Ma

  • Western culture, Eastern spirituality, and cultural appropriation

  • Kirtan, chanting, music, and creativity

  • Goddess, Shakti, and the Divine Feminine

  • Connections between Bhakti and Buddhism

Lama Live! Lama Tsultrim Allione with Special Guest Nina Rao

Please enjoy this recording from Lama Live! offered on August 14th, 2022 with Lama Tsultrim Allione and special guest Nina Rao.

The event opens with Lama Tsultrim Allione welcoming everyone and reminding us of the importance to truly understand what our intention is to come together in this way as a group. Lama Tsultrim then begins the prayer requests and states that a prayer is “mind energy” and that we are sending this mind energy with intention as prayer to be of benefit to the individuals in need. Lama makes a special request to include fish and other beings that live in the Oder River which runs through Poland and Germany that is currently being impacted by an unknown toxin. The focus for this event is on the 12th Tara, who is the Tara connected and most suited to help with the impacts of climate change. Special attention will be given to these deceased fish that are washing up on the shores of the Oder River. Lama Tsultrim leads us in an expansive loving-kindness meditation to come home to our bodies and to heal both ourselves and all beings with this ambrosia of loving-kindness. Lastly, Lama introduces our very special guest, Nina Rao, who offers teachings, shares past experiences and provides details about important environmental projects she is engaged in. Nina shares that she is dedicated to preserving the precious habitats on earth that are remaining, planting native species and urges us to be careful about what we are putting into the earth as a way to help Tara’s activities to reduce climate change impacts. Nina then leads us in chants of the mantra of the 12th Tara. We close the event with an invocation to the goddess as a dedication of merit.

BHNN: Healing at the Edge – Ep. 84 – Mantra Repetition with Nina Rao and Dale Borglum

Published on Aug 15, 2022
Nina Rao joins RamDev Dale Borlgum to share in the simple yet powerful devotion of repeating mantras. 

Both Nina and RamDev share in the magic of repeating mantras. Nina says that even just repeating the name Ram is enough to ground you into the moment and offer clarity. We can let go of obstructive thoughts and emotions when we put all of our focus onto the mantra, over and over again. We do not even need to think about what the mantra means, just saying it is enough.

Nina Rao – BHNN Guest Podcast – Ep. 117 – Inner Mountains with Wasfia Nazreen

Nina Rao speaks with Wasfia Nazreen about her adventures as a mountaineer, her friendship with the Dalai Lama, her work as an activist, and how she climbed her own inner mountains.

Wasfia Nazreen is best known for being the only Bangladeshi and first Bengali in the world to climb the Seven Summits, the highest mountains of every continent. She is also the only woman to hold the simultaneous titles of National Geographic Explorer & Adventurer. An outspoken activist since her late teens, her passion has always been driven by causes close to her heart. A human-rights activist, an environmentalist, a writer, educator, pilot, and producer – Wasfia wears many hats, all of which are grounded in strong foundations of meditation and self-realization practices.

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Sacred Music for Sacred Forests Protecting the Wild Elephant

Join us for this intimate evening of sacred music to honor and conserve the sacred groves of wild India, home of the majestic tiger and elephants.

Join us for this intimate evening of sacred music to honor and conserve the sacred groves of wild India, home of the majestic tiger and elephants and a diversity of flora and fauna.

This gathering is a benefit in support of Dr. Krithi Karanth's conservation work in the remaining forests of India AND Rewilding India! Krithi is the daughter of Dr. Ullas Karanth is widely respected as India's preeminent tiger conservationist and biologist whom some of you met at our earlier in-person event in 2015. Since then we’ve done an online event during the pandemic lockdown which many of you supported. This in-person evening is hosted by Saving Wild Tigers, YOGA AID and NeueHouse Madison Square in NYC

Enjoy hearing of Krithi’s work and be inspired by her perseverance, positivity, practicality, and knowledge. Krishna Das, Nina Rao, and Noah Hoffeld will offer original chant and mantra music.

Your donation goes directly toward the protection of India's forest, for research and programs that support the co-existence of humans with wildlife. It is amazing and immensely hopeful that India, the most densely populated country in the world, continues to have viable shelter for wildlife and a wild tiger and wild elephant population that can still improve, despite ongoing habitat destruction and poaching. It is imperative that along with managing climate change, simply preserving the existing wilderness and bio-diversity and rewilding more land is part of the answer to saving our planet and pure Beauty.

Welcome and brief interview with Dr. Krithi Karanth on news from the field the projects that help support co-existence of wildlife with humans

All proceeds will be ear-marked for Dr. Karanth's conservation projects in India

Saving Wild Tigers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Nina Rao – BHNN Guest Podcast – Ep. 114 – The Grace of Sri Siddhi Ma with Dr. Jaya Prasada

Nina Rao visits Dr. Jaya Prasada in India for a conversation that explores the spiritual legacy of contemporary Indian Saint, Sri Siddhi Ma.

Nina Rao and Dr. Jaya Prasada come together during May 2022 in Teertham, India—Siddhi Ma’s retreat home in the hills—for a Dharma-filled discussion reflecting on their time with contemporary Indian Saint and devoted Neem Karoli Baba lineage-holder, Sri Siddhi Ma. To begin, Nina invites Jaya to describe her early life and transformative destiny which brought her to the path of Bhakti with the grace of sitting at the feet of Saint. From here, Jaya describes the influence her mom and grandpa had on her spiritual path.

“If you ask me why I wrote this book—it was a deep desire within me to share with everyone that came my way the endless love that I received from [Siddhi] Ma.” – Dr. Jaya Prasada

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Sri Siddhi Ma: The Story of Neem Karoli Baba's Spiritual Legacy: Interview with Author Jaya Prasada

This is a video conversation between author Jaya Prasada, my elder guru sister and myself in May 2022 at Teertham, Ma's retreat home in the hills. Jaya spent 37 years as close devoted companion to Ma and we are grateful to hear some of her stories from being in Ma's divine presence and service to Her. The book has been published in June 2022. (from book before foreward) Radhe tu bad bhagini Kaun tapasya keen Teen lok taaran tarana Soh tere aadheen [Radhe, how blessed you are What tapasya did you do? That the redeemer of the three worlds Is subservient to you.] - Neem Karoli Baba to Sri Siddhi Ma Sri Siddhi Ma – The Story of Neem Karoli Baba’s Spiritual Legacy By Jaya Prasada Published by Penguin Books, Available on amazon.com in digital and in print paperback Dr Jaya Prasada was born on 13 August 1948 in Lucknow, India. She graduated from Loreto College, and earned her master’s degree from the University of Lucknow. In 1981, she did her PhD on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the University of Rohilkhand. Jaya lived for thirty-seven years in the closest proximity to the divine mother Sri Siddhi Ma, who inherited the spiritual legacy of Neem Karoli Baba. Her debut book is dedicated to her guru Sri Siddhi Ma and takes us into the life and times of the silent saint of Kainchi. Jaya lives between Kainchi Dham and her hom ‘Teertham’ in Nainital, where Sri Siddhi Ma took mahasamadhi in December 2017. She is an ardent photographer, a keen mountain traveller and likes to keep up with technology.

The Practice of Connection Interview with Yandara Yoga Institute

This week we had a beautiful conversation about connection and trust. Nina Rao, who is a beautiful Kirtan musician, had a very interesting path. She was first introduced to chanting in south India by her chanter-musician grandfather at the age of 9 years old. Nina and her family moved abroad and actually her early work life began in the banking world in NY and then organizing and leading photographic wildlife safaris in Africa and India. It was only when Nina met Krishna Das in NY that her path returned to chanting. Nina spoke with our host Yael Ginzburg about the simplicity of singing together to bringing people together, trusting the pull towards connection, allowing the benefit of the practice to motivate us to continue, not having to ask permission to trust ourselves and more. We had a bird in the studio with us so when you listen, it will be a beautiful reminder of how it is to be in the studio with us on our grounds in Baja.

"We surrender to what is. And what is includes what we want. And then whatever we receive will be the gift.“ -Nina Rao. This clip is about the power of being able to trust ourselves. The way Nina speaks is so heartfelt and moving that it makes one believe in the good of the world.