ram dass
1931 — 2019
American spiritual teacher born Richard Alpert. Former Harvard psychology professor who became a pioneering figure in bringing Eastern spirituality to the West.
We are not our bodies, our thoughts, or our roles—we are the awareness behind them. The spiritual journey is about waking up from the dream of separation and recognizing our true nature as loving awareness. Be here now.
key ideas
Be Here Now
The present moment is the only place life happens. Past and future are constructs of mind. Presence is the practice.
Loving Awareness
Our true nature is not the thinking mind but the loving awareness in which all experience arises.
The Guru Within
While outer teachers may point the way, the true guru is within. All beings have Buddha nature.
Suffering as Grace
Difficulties are opportunities for awakening. Everything that happens is grist for the mill of spiritual growth.
major works
- 1971
Be Here Now
A counterculture classic that introduced Eastern spirituality to a generation. Part memoir, part manual.
- 1978
Grist for the Mill
On using life's challenges as fuel for spiritual awakening.
- 2000
Still Here
Reflections on aging and the stroke that transformed his later years.
From Harvard to India
Alpert was fired from Harvard for research with psychedelics. He traveled to India, met his guru Neem Karoli Baba, became Ram Dass, and returned to teach a psychedelic-free path to awakening.
Key Quote
“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” — Ram Dass