Picture of author.

Ram Dass (1931–2019)

Author of Be Here Now

85+ Works 4,938 Members 66 Reviews 8 Favorited

About the Author

Baba Ram Dass was born Richard Albert in 1931 in the U.S. In 1967 he went to India and returned as a bushy-bearded, barefoot, white-robed guru, Ram Dass, who became a peripatetic lecturer on New Age possibilities and a popular author of more than a dozen inspirational books. His first title, Be show more Here Now (1971), was originally issued by the Lama Foundation as loose pages in a box, but its published version went on to sell more than two million copies. By the 1980s, Ram Dass had shaved off his beard but left a neatly trimmed mustache. He continued to turn out books and recordings. He started or helped start foundations to promote his charities, to help prisoners and to spread his message of spiritual equanimity. He made sure his books and tapes were reasonably priced. His other books include Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying (2000); Paths to God: Living the Bhagavad Gita (2004); Be Love Now: The Path of the Heart (2010) and Polishing the Mirror: How to Live from Your Spiritual Heart (2013), both with Rameshwar Das; Compassion in Action: Setting Out on the Path of Service (1991) and Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying (2018), both with Mirabai Bush. Baba Ram Dass passed away on December 22, 2019 at the age of 88. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Kathleen Murphy

Works by Ram Dass

Be Here Now (1971) — Author; Author; Author — 1,872 copies, 25 reviews
Journey of Awakening: A Meditator's Guidebook (1978) 447 copies, 4 reviews
The Only Dance There Is (1974) 334 copies, 4 reviews
Grist for the Mill (1976) 225 copies, 4 reviews
Paths to God: Living the Bhagavad Gita (2004) 177 copies, 4 reviews
Miracle of Love (1979) 110 copies, 2 reviews
Being Ram Dass (2021) 45 copies
LSD (1970) 20 copies, 1 review
Ram Dass Audio Collection (2000) 10 copies
Here We All Are (2005) 8 copies, 1 review
A Spiritual Journey (2005) 7 copies
Experiments in Truth (1998) 6 copies
From bindu to ojas 5 copies, 1 review
Doing Your Own Being (1973) 5 copies
Psychedelie : trilogie o halucinogenech (2000) 4 copies, 1 review
Changing Lenses (2018) 4 copies
PULIENDO EL ESPEJO (2020) 3 copies
Aquí Ahora: Recuerda (2020) 3 copies
The Path of Service (2004) 2 copies
Be Love Now 1 copy
Still Here 1 copy
Ram Dass fierce grace (2001) 1 copy
Dying into life (2013) 1 copy
From Bindu to Ojas (1970) 1 copy
Helping yourself [CD] (1987) 1 copy

Associated Works

Ramayana : King Rama's way (1976) — Foreword, some editions — 493 copies, 5 reviews
Dhammapada (1976) — Foreword, some editions — 358 copies, 4 reviews
The Wisdom of Listening (2003) — Contributor, some editions — 71 copies, 2 reviews

Tagged

aging (49) biography (34) Buddhism (165) compassion (35) consciousness (60) counterculture (18) death (25) death and dying (20) drugs (41) eastern religion (16) goodreads (19) guru (20) gurus (17) Hinduism (102) India (17) LSD (23) meditation (119) memoir (28) mindfulness (22) mysticism (23) Neem Karoli Baba (20) New Age (33) non-fiction (168) philosophy (157) psychedelics (30) psychology (101) Ram Dass (97) Ram Dass Book (16) read (30) religion (172) self-help (37) service (39) social action (19) spirit (23) spiritual (59) spiritual life (35) spirituality (359) to-read (228) yoga (67) zen (20)

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

A anecdotal biography of Neem Karoli Baba.
 
Flagged
Rasaily | 1 other review | Sep 8, 2024 |
This book is awesome if you read it as poetry. Fails multiple times though, if it's read as philosophy. I still love it.
 
Flagged
yellowdaniel | 24 other reviews | Jun 26, 2024 |
Outstanding insights into what it means to be of service. And why we do so.
 
Flagged
BethOwl | 1 other review | Jan 24, 2024 |
From Bindu to Ojas contains some very early Ram Dass recordings made in 1969. Ram Dass had recently returned from his first trip to India where he met his guru, Maharaji, when he began living in a cottage on his dad’s farm in New Hampshire. Ram Dass began sharing what he learned in India with people in the West.

This audiobook captures Ram Dass holding a very early version of a retreat on his dad’s farm. It was interesting to listen to him share teachings on numerous topics. I especially enjoyed his perspectives on identity. He provided explanations of the chakras. At the end, he concluded with insights on humility.

I have been a student of Ram Dass for the past few years and have listened to many of his books and podcasts that have spanned decades of his teachings. Since this recording took place in 1969, it was fascinating to observe him so early in his transformation. For instance, I could detect the arrogance he displayed prior to his trip to India. It’s not overt, just interesting to observe. This snapshot of Ram Dass in 1969 allowed me to see how much he had grown and evolved throughout his incarnation.

To be honest, this wasn’t my favorite Ram Dass book/audiobook. I have reviewed other Ram Dass books that you can find in the link below. I also wrote a blog post about my experience at a Ram Dass retreat I attended.

I have photos and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog
… (more)
 
Flagged
NatalieRiley | Oct 16, 2023 |

Lists

Awards

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Statistics

Works
85
Also by
15
Members
4,938
Popularity
#5,087
Rating
4.0
Reviews
66
ISBNs
155
Languages
10
Favorited
8

Charts & Graphs