by Robert Wilkinson
Today we celebrate the birthday of the great spiritual Being known as Ram Dass (Born Richard Alpert, April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019). I knew him personally and loved his gentle wit. He was a real mench.
As a Harvard professor Dr. Richard Alpert and Timothy Leary were at the forefront of the psychedelic movement as a route to higher consciousness. While not illegal, it was still “controversial” and so Harvard got rid of both of them. After a short period, he wound up in India at the feet of his Guru Neem Karoli Baba.
After a period of spiritual instruction, Ram Dass (meaning “servant of God”) came back to the US and wrote Be Here Now, a 1971 best-selling spiritual manual for conscious being and an account of his spiritual journey with techniques to achieve higher awareness. He taught all over the world, created numerous “spiritual experiments” (like the Prison-Ashram Project which teaches prisoners to meditate) and charitable works in India and the US via his Seva Foundation and Hanuman Foundations.
I raised a lot of money for his Seva Foundation healthcare projects in India back in the late 80s and early 90s. He was/is one of the best of the best, a gentle man with a gentle yet profound sense of humor. I spoke with him several times, and he was down to earth, humorous, gentle, and profound. If you want to know more about this remarkable man, please check out the Ram Dass wikipedia entry. You can also find out more about the man with links to his podcasts of his wisdom via Openculture: The Wisdom of Ram Dass is now online.
Finally, here’s the Be Here Now Network where you can immerse yourself in his humor and gentle wit and wisdom via talks from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Be Here Now Network
You caught the Mystery Train for Mahasamadhi at the 2019 Festival of Lights. What a way to go! Aum Namah Shivaya, Brother Aries.
© Copyright 2021 Robert Wilkinson
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