Baba Ram Dass

This is how we all like to remember Ram Dass, at least I do. A beautiful, charismatic, if not sometimes enigmatic spiritual leader of our times; the baby boomer times, and post baby boom times, belonging to Generation Jones, as I now read that we are called, the supposed forgotten generation born between Baby Boomers and Generation X.

I say enigmatic, because sometimes we can't understand the mysteries that some attempt to convey to us, unless we have walked a mile in those same shoes; however, we have looked to Ram Dass, formerly known as Richard Alpert, as one of the few, from the Original Hippie Era, who might lead us out of the self-imposed darkness that previous generations had led us into. He was counter-culture, to say the very least. Ram Dass, the name given to him by his beloved Maharaji Neem Karoli Baba, meaning Servent of God, would be one, of a handful, who would run ahead, then look back and shine the light, leading the way.

Richard Alpert came into this world in a privileged position, his father being a very prominent lawyer in Boston, a co-founder of Brandeis University, as well as the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Wow! What credentials! Richard grew up on 300 acres, with their very own 3-hole golf course, and seemed to have been the family mascot, as his brother once described him; everyone loved Richard, who was bright, happy, and engaging.

Richard earned a PhD in psychology from Stanford University and went on to fill a prestigious position at Harvard University. He would later lose his position there, along with Timothy Leary (the original Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out - Guru) for their experimentation with LSD.

There was a whole new generation
of individuals who were discovering
ways to get outside their bodies, leave behind their conditioning, releasing the powers and secrets of the mind, through these types of experimentation... and all this, purely for the enrichment of the soul.


Not to let the loss of his position at Harvard discourage him in any way, Richard continued his mind expansion explorations at a remote country location, joined by many other counter-culture icons of the day. Eventually, Richard found his way to India, via Bhagavan Das (the first Westerner to be initiated by Maharaji Neem Karoli Baba, Richard's Guru, as well as the first Westerner to meet Kalu Rinpoche, who was one of the first Tibetan masters to teach in the West).















Upon meeting Maharaji, Ram Dass's life would change for all time.

He found that he no longer needed mind expanding drugs to reach the levels of Bliss and Ecstasy and Awareness that the drugs had once afforded him. It's worth a mention, here, that he gave Maharaji-ji a handful of LSD, upon meeting him, and Maharaji-ji never even felt the effects. Richard was onto something permanently mind altering, consciousness altering, and therefore, spiritually life-changing. From that moment on, Richard would march down a Path in which he would become an icon of spiritual revelation, for all the many baby-boomers, and anyone else, who were searching for something more.


In 1971, he would write a book whose very title Be Here Now would become an expression in terms of describing a way of living and being. Forget about yesterday, let it drift away, like a leaf on a moving stream, there's nothing we can do to change it, we can only move on... and don't
worry about tomorrow, for it will surely arrive, and on time... just BE HERE NOW... experience the stillness of each passing moment of time, or else lose the knowledge, and the peace that comes with it, that could be ours.

He would also to onto write other books, Grist For The Meal being one of them.




He would
form organizations,
support groups,
and foundations
that would
assist humanity
in numerous ways.






He had, truly, become a servant of God, and a living embodiment of his spiritually given name.










I didn't come to find this books until the mid 90's. Boy, was I ever late, but better late than never. I discovered them through one of my earliest spiritual teachers, Golden Sky Cougar, who looked, strangely enough, a lot like him... but without the Joy attached to his face, that is so apparent in Ram's. We call this Bliss... and he got it from BEing here... now. These are lessons in attachment.


One of the things which I found interesting, and quite beautiful, about Richard Alpert's Journey, is that his Jewish family was quite supportive, when masses of people began gathering together and showing up at their country estate, where Baba Ram Dass would welcome them, teach them, and love them. Though the family was taken back by the loss of privacy, and amazed at the throngs of people that came to their home, they were not turned away, and the family held the greatest regard and respect for what Richard was doing... they could see that humanity was seeking something, that Richard had this something, and that others wanted to know how to obtain this something...

...and there could be nothing wrong with that.

I can't help but wonder what his Path might have been, had his family rejected the new way of life that Richard had found. After, all, this was a very prominent Ivy League family, and Richard had lost his position at Harvard, this could have turned into major embarrassment for them. But they didn't reject his chosen path, and his teachings were a complete success. There is a lot to be said for the love and support that a family gives. There is also a lot to be said for the strength to carry on, in adverse circumstance.

Ram Dass, as he is today, with Bhagavad Das to his left, and Alan Steinfeld on his right, who heads up a new Consciousness cable program. In 1997, Ram Dass suffered a near fatal stroke, from which he is still steadily recovering. He suffered this stroke while in the midst of writing Still Here, which chronicles the declining years, and deals with that thing which we, all, cannot eventually escape... death.

Much as life happens, he did not expect to find himself in this position. But, life continues to teach us, even when we don't expect it. I recently watched a video about him, Fierce Grace, which is really worth watching. If you've never read a book of his, or heard him speak, this video will give you a glimpse into the Heart of a man who is driven by compassionate service to others, and still delivers, even while trying to come to terms with his own particular situation. The "stroking", as he refers to it, has forced a man to look even further within, just when he thought he had it all right... as he jokingly refers to himself, Mr. Spirituality. But, he manages to do so with grace and humility... and with fierce grace, if you will.

Amazingly, one of the most powerful things that he did, as directed by Maharaji, was to give up his family inheritance. Now, he could have chosen to turn his head away from the spiritual teacher that had carried him so far, but he chose to stay the course, and did as he had been directed. One area of difficulty came for him when Dr. Wayne Dyer (now, I know you know who that is!) presented a picture of Ram Dass as a man who was without worldly riches. This did give him, Ram Dass, reason to examine the image of himself, who, having come from a prominent and well-to-do family, had continued to think of himself as one who was with "position" in society. He had not been pleased with that reflection, a lesson in that, he was yet to learn. We do keep on learning, if we do it right.

I continue to hold the highest regard for this man who has been a servant of God for nearly all of his adult life... and who, even through the most difficult of times, continues to come through, in response to the Love that has been generated in his direction. He seems a bit tired, perhaps ready to go home... but, for us, he hangs in there.

I've never had the opportunity to sit with him, or even hear him speak, in person. My significant other, however, tells me that his mother and father once sat with him, back in the early 70's, just the three of them, alone, meditating in a little house in Columbia, SC... something quite rare, in a town such as that, and especially back then. She says he is a wonderful person; no doubt, quite an understatement.

Today he continues to struggle. And I send prayers to him. Perhaps you will, too. Please visit his website, Ram Dass, where you can see more recent footage of him, and be sure and click onto the Chanting button on the right, while you rummage through the pages.

Credits: The two black and white prints of Ram Dass are to be attributed to Robert Altman, the first colored one of Ram came from seekersway.org. The 2nd colored one of Ram came from jayadevyoga.com. The third colored photo of him is from the New Realities with Alan Steinfeld online site. The photo of Bhagavan Das came from his official website. The photo of Maharaji-ji came from www.dzogchen.org/library/bios/maharaji-ji.htm. The poster of Timothy Leary is from unknown origin.

Peace & Love,

Shimmerrings