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Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Ram Dass in February of 2008

Dr. Richard Alpert (born April 6, 1931), also known as Baba Ram Dass, is a contemporary spiritual teacher who wrote the 1971 bestseller Be Here Now. He is well-known for his association with Timothy Leary at Harvard University in the early 1960s, both having been dismissed from their professorships for experiments on the effects of psychedelic drugs on human subjects. He is also known for his travels to India and his association with the Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Dr. Richard Alpert Played by: Nestor Carbonell Appears in: Not in Portland, The Man from Tallahassee, One of Us, The Brig, The Man Behind the Curtain, Greatest Hits, Through the Looking Glass Origin of name: Spiritual Philosopher Ram Dass, né Richard Alpert Status: Alive Dr. Richard Alpert first appears in... Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, D.H.L., Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati; Brooklyn Chabad Ordination 1947. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar, known as the year of cyclohexanol. ... Be Here Now is the title of a book on spirituality published by Ram Dass in 1971. ... For the American baseball player, see Tim Leary (baseball player). ... Harvard redirects here. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969. ... A fractal pattern similar to the spiral patterns that may be seen as the result of some psychedelic drug experiences. ... Hinduism is a religious tradition[1] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... For other uses, see Guru (disambiguation). ... Neem Karoli Baba, born Lakshmi Narayan Sharma, is also known as Maharajji and Neeb Karori Baba. ...

Youth and college

Alpert was born to a prominent Jewish family in Newton, Massachusetts. His father, George Alpert, was one of the most influential lawyers in the Boston area and president of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, as well as one of the leading founders of Brandeis University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The youngest of three boys, Richard as a child was described as being engaging and loved by all—the family mascot. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University, his master's degree from Wesleyan University, and his doctorate (in psychology) from Stanford University. For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Nickname: Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts Coordinates: , Country State County Middlesex County Settled 1630 Incorporated 1688 Government  - Type Mayor-council city  - Mayor David B. Cohen (Dem) Area  - City  18. ... Boston redirects here. ... The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (AAR reporting mark NH) was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States. ... Brandeis University is a private university located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. ... Albert Einstein College of Medicine logo For the engineering company, see AECOM The Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) is a graduate school of Yeshiva University. ... A B.A. issued from the University of Tennessee. ... A degree is any of a wide range of status levels conferred by institutions of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study. ... Tufts University is a private research university in Medford/Somerville, Massachusetts, suburbs of Boston. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. ... Stanford redirects here. ...

Ram Dass lecturing at the Nambassa festival in New Zealand, 1981.

Image File history File linksMetadata Ram_Das_lecture_at_the_3_day_Nambassa_Music_&_Alternatives_festival,_New_Zealand_1981. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ram_Das_lecture_at_the_3_day_Nambassa_Music_&_Alternatives_festival,_New_Zealand_1981. ... Nambassa was a series of hippie-conceived festivals held between 1976 and 1981 on large farms around Waihi and Waikino in New Zealand. ...

Harvard professor

After returning from a visiting professorship at the University of California, Berkeley, Alpert accepted a permanent position at Harvard, where he worked with the Social Relations Department, the Psychology Department, the Graduate School of Education, and the Health Service, where he was a therapist. He was also awarded research contracts with Yale and Stanford. However, perhaps most notable was the work he was doing with his close friend and associate, Dr. Timothy Leary. Sather tower (the Campanile) looking out over the San Francisco Bay and Mount Tamalpais. ... YALE (Yet Another Learning Environment) is an environment for machine learning experiments and data mining. ...

Having only recently obtained his pilot's license, Alpert flew his private plane to Cuernavaca, Mexico, where Leary first introduced him to teonanácatl, the Magic Mushrooms of Mexico. By the time Alpert made it back to America, Leary had already consulted with Aldous Huxley, who was visiting at M.I.T. Through Huxley and a number of graduate students they were able to get in touch with Sandoz, who had produced a synthetic component of the magic mushrooms called psilocybin. Alpert and Leary brought a test batch back to Harvard, where they conducted the Harvard Psilocybin Project. The pair was later dismissed from the university in 1963, Leary for his overall conduct and Alpert for continuing to fraternize with, and give psilocybin to, undergraduates. By this time, however, Alpert had already become disillusioned with academia and even described himself as feeling caught in a meaningless game. Cuernavaca is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Psilocybe. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. ... MIT redirects here. ... Sandoz is the generics subsidiary of Novartis, one of the Big Pharma pharmaceutical companies. ... Psilocybin (also known as psilocybine) is a psychedelic alkaloid of the tryptamine family, found in psilocybin mushrooms. ... Begun by Dr. Timothy Leary and Dr. Richard Alpert, the Harvard Psilocybin Project was a series of loose experiments in psychology conducted by Leary and Alpert. ... For other uses, see 1963 (disambiguation). ... Academia is a collective term for the scientific and cultural community engaged in higher education and research, taken as a whole. ...

The two soon relocated and continued their experiments unsupervised from a private mansion in Millbrook, New York, owned by Billy Hitchcock, an heir to the Mellon fortune. Famous poets, musicians and intellectuals of the time, such as Allen Ginsberg, Maynard Ferguson, the Grateful Dead, Marshall McLuhan and Ken Kesey, came from across the country to be part of what was going on there. Although they remained life-long friends, the two eventually began to part ways spiritually and philosophically as Leary continued to spread his mantra of "turn on, tune in, drop out", while Alpert increasingly found his purpose in the Hindu ethic of serving others. Millbrook is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. ... Irwin Allen Ginsberg (IPA: ) (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet. ... Walter Maynard Ferguson (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpet player and bandleader. ... This article is about the band. ... “McLuhan” redirects here. ... Kenneth Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American author, best known for his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, and as a counter-cultural figure who, some consider, was a link between the beat generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. ... In Tibet, many Buddhists carve mantras into rocks as a form of devotion. ... Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out (Original Movie Soundtrack) Turn on, tune in, drop out is a counterculture phrase coined by Timothy Leary in the 1960s. ...

From Dr. Richard Alpert to Baba Ram Dass

Ram Dass, 5 July 2003

In 1967 Alpert travelled to India, where he met the American spiritual seeker Bhagavan Das. As he guided him barefoot from temple to temple, Bhagavan Das began teaching Alpert basic mantras and asanas, as well as how to work with beads. After a few months Bhagavan Das led Alpert to his guru, Neem Karoli Baba, or as he is better known in the West, Maharaj-ji. Maharaj-ji soon became Alpert's guru and gave him the name "Ram Dass", which means "servant of God". Under the guidance of Maharaj-ji, Ram Dass was instructed to receive teaching from Hari Dass Baba, who taught in silence using only a chalkboard. While in India, Ram Dass also correspondended with Meher Baba; however, he remained primarily focused on the teaching of Hari Dass Baba. Among other things, Hari Dass Baba trained Ram Dass in raja yoga and ahimsa. It was these life-changing experiences in India that inspired Ram Dass to write the contemporary spiritual classic, Be Here Now, in which he teaches the harmony of all people and religions. Sri Bhagavan Das Bhagavan Das (भगवान दास) (born Kermit Michael Riggs in Laguna Beach, California on May 17, 1945) and also known by the name Anagorika Dharma Sara within the Buddhist community, is a Western Yogi who lived for six years in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. ... In Tibet, many Buddhists carve mantras into rocks as a form of devotion. ... A drawing of a girl in lotus pose Students taking a yoga class A woman in the Lotus position A yoga instructor performing an asana Asana is a Sanskrit word that literally means a seat but in the practise of yoga refers to a pose or posture. ... Japa, or Japam, is a spiritual discipline in which a devotee repeats a mantra or the name of the God. ... Neem Karoli Baba, born Lakshmi Narayan Sharma, is also known as Maharajji and Neeb Karori Baba. ... Rama ( in IAST, in Devanāgarī) or Ramachandra is a legendary or historical king of ancient India. ... Baba Hari Dass Baba Hari Dass (1923) born near Almora, India, is a silent monk who was classically trained in traditional Ashtanga Yoga. ... Meher Baba (Persian: مهر بابا Devanāgarī: महर बाबा ), (February 25, 1894, Merwan Sheriar Irani – January 31, 1969), was an Indian spiritual teacher who said he was the Avatar. ... Raja Yoga (lit. ... Ahimsa (Devanagari: ; IAST ) is a Sanskrit term meaning non-violence (literally: the avoidance of violence - himsa). ... Be Here Now is the title of a book on spirituality published by Ram Dass in 1971. ...

Back in the West to spread the message

After his return to the United States in 1969, Alpert founded several organizations dedicated to expanding spiritual awareness and promoting spiritual growth, including Hanuman Foundation. Since then he has embraced a wide variety of spiritual traditions and practices, including guru kripa (grace of the guru); bhakti yoga focused on the Hindu spiritual deva Hanuman; meditation in various schools of Buddhism including Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, and Zen; karma yoga; and Sufi and Jewish studies. In February 1997, he suffered a stroke which left him with expressive aphasia, however, he understands his stroke as an act of grace and continues to travel giving lectures, as his health permits. When asked if he could sum up his life's message Ram Dass replied, "I help people as a way to work on myself, and I work on myself to help people... To me, that's what the emerging game is all about." Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... Bhakti yoga is the Hindu term for the spiritual practice of fostering of loving devotion to God, called bhakti. ... For other uses, see Deva (disambiguation). ... This article is about a divine entity in Hinduism. ... For other senses of this word, see Meditation (disambiguation). ... A statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha in Tawang Gompa, India. ... Theravada (Pāli: theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda; literally, the Way of the Elders) is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand). ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Kuan Yin from Mt. ... Tibetan Buddhism is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet, the Himalayan region (including northern Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Ladakh), Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia (Russia), and northeastern China (Manchuria: Heilongjiang, Jilin). ... For other uses, see Zen (disambiguation). ... Karma yoga (Sanskrit: कर्म योग), (also known as Buddhi Yoga) or the discipline of action is based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Sanskrit scripture of Hinduism. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... For other uses, see Stroke (disambiguation). ... Expressive aphasia, known as Brocas aphasia in clinical neuropsychology and agrammatic aphasia in cognitive neuropsychology, is an aphasia caused by damage to Brocas area in the brain. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      In Christianity...

For a long time, Ram Dass has acknowledged his bisexuality [1]. In the 1990s, he became more forthcoming [2] while avoiding labels and pointing out that who we are "isn't gay, and it's not not-gay, and it's not anything—it's just awareness." [3]

Works

Books

• 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
• Be Here Now (1971) ISBN 0-517-54305-2
• Doing Your Own Being (1973)
• The Only Dance There Is (1974) ISBN 0-385-08413-7
• Grist for the Mill (with Steven Levine) (1977) ISBN 0-89087-499-9
• Journey of Awakening: A Meditator's Guidebook (1978) ISBN 0-553-28572-6
• Miracle of Love: Stories about Neem Karoli Baba (1979) ISBN 0-525-47611-3
• How Can I Help? Stories and Reflections on Service (with Paul Gorman) (1985) ISBN 0-394-72947-1
• Compassion in Action: Setting Out on the Path of Service (with Mirabai Bush) (1991) ISBN 0-517-57635-X
• Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing and Dying (2000) ISBN 1-57322-871-0
• Paths to God: Living The Bhagavad Gita (2004) ISBN 1-4000-5403-6

The Stanford University Press is a publishing house, a division of Stanford University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. ... The Bardo Thodol, sometimes called the Tibetan Book of the Dead, is a funerary text that describes the experiences of the soul after death during the interval known as bardo between death and rebirth. ... For the American baseball player, see Tim Leary (baseball player). ... Dr. Ralph Metzner Ph. ... Be Here Now is the title of a book on spirituality published by Ram Dass in 1971. ... Neem Karoli Baba, born Lakshmi Narayan Sharma, is also known as Maharajji and Neeb Karori Baba. ... Bhagavad Gīta भगवद्गीता, composed ca the fifth - second centuries BC, is part of the epic poem Mahabharata, located in the Bhisma-Parva chapters 23–40. ...

Films

• Ram Dass, Fierce Grace (a 2001 biographical documentary about Ram Dass by Lemle Productions)

External links

• Official Ram Dass Website
• Ram Dass Tapes Library
• The Living/Dying Project (an outgrowth of the Hanuman foundation, which was created by Ram Dass)
• Ram Dass co-founded the Seva Foundation
• Review of Ram Dass, Fierce Grace on Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
• An interview with Ram Dass in which he gives clear answers to a vast array of spiritual questions
• Talking with Ram Dass about being gay, being soul friends, and just being ... Ram Dass
• The Spiritual Teachings of Ram Dass from explorefaith.org
• Biography of Ram Dass on Erowid
• Harvard Crimson article about the Harvard Psilocybin Project
• The Psychedelic Library
• DVDs, Videos, Audios of Ram Dass @ SOUND PHOTOSYNTHESIS Recordings of Ram Dass with Timothy Leary, Laura Huxley, Terence McKenna and Ralph Metzner
• An interview describing some of the mystical effects of LSD after debates at Foothill College.