The Soil of Sacred Service | Free Radical Podcast #61 | Sanan Reid, Jan 7, 2026

About this episode

Swami Padmanabha and Sanan Reid discuss the essence of sacred service, community, and the embodiment of spirituality in daily life.

In this episode of The Free Radical Podcast, Swami Padmanabha sits down with a dear friend and brother, Sanan—a servant leader, community builder, and deep listener whose presence speaks as powerfully as his words. Sanan has been walking a spiritual path since 1977, learning from a wide range of teachers and traditions. In 2009, he was guided to bring the grace he had received into lived, practical expression by moving to the Peruvian Andes. There, he founded and continues to lead a nonprofit service organization, including a school and multiple projects serving his village and surrounding Indigenous mountain communities. Together, Swami and Sanan explore what it means to return to village—not only as a social structure, but as an inner pattern of life: learning how to accompany one another through grief, love, and shared humanity. The conversation moves through themes of grief and mourning, the deeper meaning of love, and the subtle ways spirituality can become another mask if it is not embodied and honest. They reflect on Krishna—the sweetness of His name, His līlā, and how to connect with divine play in the here and now—while emphasizing a spirituality that is grounded…

People in this episode

Host: Swami Padmanabha

Guest: Sanan Reid

Topics covered

• sacred service
• spirituality
• community building
• grief and mourning
• love
• relational spirituality

Keywords

• sacred service
• spiritual path
• community
• grief
• love
• spirituality
• Krishna
• Andes
• nonprofit
• relationships

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Peruvian Andes

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