Who was Ram Dass and what did he do?
Dec 22, 2019 · When did Ram Dass go to India? It begins in 1999 when I interviewed psychedelic explorer Terence McKenna in New York City. McKenna said he doubted a famous anecdote in Be Here Now involving Neem Karoli, a.k.a. Maharajji, a guru whom Ram Dass met in India in 1967 and who gave him his new name. Click to see full answer.
Does Ram Dass believe in Hinduism?
Ram Dass first went to India in 1967. He was still Dr. Richard Alpert, a prominent Harvard psychologist and psychedelic pioneer with Dr. Timothy Leary. He continued his psychedelic research until that fateful Eastern trip in 1967, when he traveled to India.
What happened to Baba Ram Dass?
Jan 06, 2020 · Ram Dass, the former Harvard professor and spiritual leader whose book Be Here Now inspired Steve Jobs to visit India (and also to try psychedelic drugs) died on December 22 at 88. He not only ...
When did Ram Dass start his talk radio show?
For. the man was Baba Ram Dass, formerly Dr. Richard Alpert, returning to the United States after a year and a half in. India, his second journey to the East. During his absence from this. country, a book he had written, Be Here Now, had been. published in …
When did Richard Alpert go to India?
Who Did Ram Dass go to India with?
How old was Ram Dass when he had his stroke?
What did Ram Dass do with his money?
When did Richard Alpert become Ram Dass?
When was Richard Alpert born?
What disease did Ram Dass have?
Who said be here now?
How old is Richard Alpert?
Why did Ram Dass change his name?
Where did Ram Dass stay?
After Alpert returned to America as Ram Dass, he stayed at the Lama Foundation in Taos, New Mexico, as a guest. Ram Dass had helped Steve Durkee ( Nooruddeen Durkee) and Barbara Durkee (Asha Greer or Asha von Briesen) co-found the countercultural, spiritual community in 1967, and it had an ashram dedicated to Ram Dass's guru. During Ram Dass's visit, he presented a manuscript he had written, entitled From Bindu to Ojas. The community's residents edited, illustrated, and laid out the text, which ultimately became a best-selling book when published under the name Be Here Now in 1971. The 416-page manual for conscious being was published by the Lama Foundation, as Ram Dass's benefit for the community. Be Here Now contained Ram Dass's account of his spiritual journey, as well as recommended spiritual techniques and quotes. The proceeds from the book helped sustain the Lama Foundation for several years, after which they donated the book's copyright and half its proceeds to the Hanuman Foundation in Taos.
Who is Ram Dass?
1. Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, psychologist, and author. His widely known book, Be Here Now (1971), has been described as "seminal", and helped popularize Eastern spirituality and yoga with the baby boomer generation in the West.
What did Ram Dass do in the 1970s?
During the 1970s, Ram Dass was focused on teaching, writing, and working with foundations. He founded the Hanuman Foundation, a nonprofit educational and service organization that initiated the Prison-Ashram Project (now known as the Human Kindness Foundation), in 1974. The Hanuman Foundation is focused on the spiritual well-being of society through education, media and community service programs. He co-founded the Seva Foundation by joining with health-care workers to treat the blind in India, Nepal, and developing countries. Co-founded in 1978 with public health leader Larry Brilliant and humanitarian activist Wavy Gravy, it has become an international health organization.
What drug did Alpert use?
After returning from a visiting professorship at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1961, Alpert devoted himself to joining Leary in experimentation with and intensive research to the potentially therapeutic effects of hallucinogenic drugs such as psilocybin, LSD-25, and other psychedelic chemicals, through their Harvard Psilocybin Project.
Why was Leary and Alpert dismissed?
Pusey, Leary was dismissed for leaving Cambridge and his classes without permission or notice, and Alpert for allegedly giving psilocybin to an undergraduate.
What is "Be Here Now" about?
Be Here Now contained Ram Dass's account of his spiritual journey, as well as recommended spiritual techniques and quotes. The proceeds from the book helped sustain the Lama Foundation for several years, after which they donated the book's copyright and half its proceeds to the Hanuman Foundation in Taos.
Who was Richard Alpert?
Dass was personally and professionally associated with Timothy Leary at Harvard University in the early 1960s. Then known as Richard Alpert, he conducted research with Leary on the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs.
What happened to Ram Dass?
In 1997, Ram Dass suffered a near-fatal stroke which left him partially paralyzed and temporarily unable to speak. He was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. "He was a very strong personality, but when he had his stroke it completely melted that because he became dependent," Sruti Ram says.
Where was Ram Dass born?
And there's still a lot we can learn from him. Ram Dass was born Richard Alpert to a wealthy family in Newton, Massachusetts -- his father was a founder of Brandeis University and president of the New Haven Railroad. Educated at Tufts and Stanford, Alpert became an assistant professor in psychology at Harvard.
Who is Baba Ram Dass?
He chose to go a different way. Baba Ram Dass (Richard Alpert). Ram Dass, the former Harvard professor and spiritual leader whose book Be Here Now inspired Steve Jobs to visit India (and also to try psychedelic drugs) died on December 22 at 88.
Who taught Alpert the way of Hindu asceticism?
With plenty of free time, Alpert traveled to India as a tourist, but then left his friends to follow an American turned spiritual wanderer named Bhagavan Das who began teaching him the ways of Hindu asceticism and mindfulness. Alpert would start to tell a story about his past, and Bhagavan Das would say, "Don't think about the past. Just be here now." Alpert would ask a question about where they were going and Bhagavan Das would say, "Don't think about the future. Just be here now."
What did Alpert do?
Educated at Tufts and Stanford, Alpert became an assistant professor in psychology at Harvard. He filled his apartment with beautiful antiques and his garage with high-end cars. He even had his own airplane. Everything was on track for a highly successful, if conventional, career.
Where was Ram Dass born?
Childhood & Early Life. Ram Dass was born as Richard Alpert into a rich Jewish family on April 6, 1931 in Newton, Massachusetts. His father, George Alpert, was an illustrious lawyer in Boston. Richard graduated with the highest honours from the private school, Williston Northampton School, in 1948. Thereafter, he embarked on an academic career ...
Who is Ram Dass?
on March 26, 2019 at 12:18 pm. Ram Dass, born as Richard Alpert, is an American spiritual guru, former clinical psychologist and professor. Most notable for his best-selling book ‘Be Here Now’, he has authored several other books on spirituality and religion. After acquiring several degrees, Alpert became a researcher and teacher ...
Who was Ram Dass' mentor?
A chance meeting with his future mentor, Neem Karoli Baba, on his trip to India, changed his life and he transformed into ‘Ram Dass’. After his return to the US, Dass attained fame as an influential leader of young hippies through his lectures and books.
Where does Dass live?
In recent years, Dass suffered a massive stroke and now lives in Maui, where he holds spiritual retreats and continues to spread the message of mindfulness through his website, social media and podcasts.
When was Ram Dass' book "Be Here Now" published?
Without any inkling of what Maharaji-ji was referring to when he asked him ‘to write a book’, Ram Dass wrote ‘Be Here Now’ that was published in 1971 and has since then become a worldwide bestseller.
Who was Ram Dass's former colleague?
After years of disconnect, Ram Dass reconciled with his former colleague, Timothy Leary, at a Harvard reunion party, in 1983. He also made a conscious effort to understand Judaism for the first time when he 60 years old. He received the ‘Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award’ in 1991.
What is the purpose of the Prison Ashram Project?
This also led to the development of the ‘Prison-Ashram Project’ (now known as the ‘Human Kindness Foundation’) to help transform the lives of convicts through meditation and other techniques. Ram Dass also co-founded the ‘Seva Foundation’ in 1978 to prevent blindness and restore sight to people in developing countries.
Who is Ram Dass?
Ram Dass, the counterculture spiritual leader best known for the 1971 bestseller "Be Here Now," smiles during an interview at his San Anselmo, Calif., home, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 1998. Dass, the author of 10 books, went to India to find enlightenment and shared it with Americans. (AP Photo/Susan Ragan)
Where did Ram Dass go to find enlightenment?
Dass, the author of 10 books, went to India to find enlightenment and shared it with Americans. (AP Photo/Susan Ragan) (RNS) — Ram Dass, a spiritual pied piper who introduced a generation of young Americans to Hindu meditation, died Sunday (Dec. 23) in Maui, Hawaii, where he lived and taught. He was 88.
Who is Ram Dass?
For more than 50 years, Ram Dass has watched as other nontraditional spiritual leaders have come and gone while he has remained. He has been active since the early 1960s, back when he was still known as Richard Alpert and worked alongside his Harvard psychology department colleague Timothy Leary, researching the mind-altering effects of LSD and psilocybin and helping to kick off the psychedelic era. Later, as did many people before him, he ventured east, spending time in India as a disciple of the Hindu mystic Neem Karoli Baba. Upon his return, newly known as Ram Dass, he wrote the philosophically misty, stubbornly resonant Buddhist-Hindu-Christian mash-up “Be Here Now,” in which he extolled the now-commonplace, then-novel (to Western hippies, at least) idea that paying deep attention to the present moment — that is, mindfulness — is the best path to a meaningful life.
Who was Ram Dass' guru?
In the long run, this is beneficial to individuals and the culture. Ram Dass at an ashram in India in 1971 with his guru, Neem Karoli Baba. Rameshwar Das.
What is Ram Dass's philosophy?
Upon his return, newly known as Ram Dass, he wrote the philosophically misty, stubbornly resonant Buddhist-Hindu-Christian mash-up “Be Here Now,” in which he extolled the now-commonplace, then-novel (to Western hippies, at least) idea that paying deep attention to the present moment — that is, mindfulness — is the best path to a meaningful life.
What is the soul?
The soul contains love, compassion, wisdom, peace and joy, but most people identify with the mind. You’re not an ego. You’re a soul. You’re not psychologically full of anxiety and fear. Ralph Metzner, Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later known as Ram Dass) in 1965 in Laredo, Tex., where Leary was standing trial on charges of marijuana possession.
Who is David Marchese?
To reidentify there is to change your whole life. David Marchese is the magazine’s Talk columnist. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity from two conversations.
What does "be here now" mean?
“Be here now” gives people an opportunity to reidentify outside of their thinking-mind ego and into that thing that’s called the soul. It is the perspective from which we could live a life without being caught so much in fear.
What happened to Dass in 1997?
A severe stroke in 1997 left Dass unable to speak or move part of his body. He relearned to speak and continued to teach online and host retreats from Maui, Hawaii.
When was Moise arrested?
A police car filled with civilians and policemen drives up the Jalousie township where men accused of being involved in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, have been arrested on July 8, 2021 at the Jalousie township in Haiti.
Who is Richard Alpert?
Born Richard Alpert, the future spiritual teacher met experimental psychologist Timothy Leary while the two taught at Harvard University. They founded the Harvard Psilocybin Project and shared psychedelic drugs with volunteer graduate students to explore their mind-altering effects. Instagram.
Overview
Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author. His best-selling 1971 book Be Here Now, which has been described by multiple reviewers as "seminal", helped popularize Eastern spirituality and yogain the West. He authored or co-authored twelve more books on spirituality over the next four decades, including Grist for the Mill (1977), How Ca…
Early life
Ram Dass was born Richard Alpert in 1931. His parents were Gertrude (Levin) and George Alpert, a lawyer in Boston. He considered himself an atheist during his early life. Speaking at Berkeley Community Theater in 1973 he said, "My Jewish trip was primarily political Judaism, I mean I was never Bar Mitzvahed, confirmed, and so on." In a 2006 article in Tufts Magazine he was quoted by Sara Davidson, describing himself as "inured to religion. I didn't have one whiff of God until I took
Spiritual search and name change
In 1967, Alpert traveled to India where he met American spiritual seeker Bhagavan Das, and later met Neem Karoli Baba.
In 1967, Bhagavan Das guided Alpert throughout India, eventually introducing him to Neem Karoli Baba, whom Alpert called "Maharaj-ji", who became his guru at Kainchiashram. Neem Karoli Baba gave Alpert the name "Ram Dass", which means "servant of God", referring to the incarnation of …
Foundations and Living/Dying Project
During the 1970s, Ram Dass taught, wrote, and worked with foundations. He founded the Hanuman Foundation, a nonprofit educational and service organization that initiated the Prison-Ashram Project (now known as the Human Kindness Foundation), in 1974. The Hanuman Foundation strives to improve the spiritual well-being of society through education, media and community service programs. He co-founded the Seva Foundationby joining with health-care wor…
Later life
At 60 years of age, Ram Dass began exploring Judaism seriously for the first time. "My belief is that I wasn't born into Judaism by accident, and so I needed to find ways to honor that", he says. "From a Hindu perspective, you are born as what you need to deal with, and if you just try and push it away, whatever it is, it's got you."
Leary and Ram Dass, who had grown apart after Ram Dass denounced Leary in a 1974 news co…
Personal life
In the 1990s, Ram Dass discussed his bisexuality. He stated, "I've started to talk more about being bisexual, being involved with men as well as women," and added his opinion that who gay people are "isn't gay, and it's not not-gay, and it's not anything—it's just awareness."
At 78, Ram Dass learned that he had fathered a son as a 24-year-old at Stanford during a brief relationship with history major Karen Saum, and that he was now a grandfather. The fact came t…
Works
• Identification and Child Rearing (with R. Sears and L. Rau) (1962) Stanford University Press
• The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead (with Timothy Leary and Ralph Metzner) (1964) ISBN 0-8065-1652-6
• LSD (with Sidney Cohen) (1966) ISBN 0-453-00120-3
See also
• John C. Lilly