Being Ram Dass

By: Rameshwar Das, Ram Dass

Narrated by: Rameshwar Das

Length: 18 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

Ram Dass tells here, for the first time, the full arc of his remarkable life.

Perhaps no other teacher has sparked the fires of as many spiritual seekers in the West as Ram Dass. If you've ever embraced the phrase “be here now”, practiced meditation or yoga, tried psychedelics, or supported anyone in a hospice, prison, or homeless center - then the story of Ram Dass is also part of your story.

From his birth in 1931 to his luminous later years, Ram Dass saw his life as just one incarnation of many. This memoir puts us in the passenger seat with the one-time Harvard psychologist and lifelong risk-taker Richard Alpert, who loved to take friends on wild rides on his Harley and test nearly every boundary - inner or outer - that came his way.

Here, Ram Dass shares his life’s odyssey in intimate detail: how he struggled with issues of self-identity and sexuality in his youth, pioneered psychedelic research, and opened the doorways to Eastern spiritual practices. In 1967 he trekked to India and met his guru, Neem Karoli Baba. He returned with a perspective on spirituality and psychology that changed millions.

Populated by a cast of luminaries ranging from Timothy Leary to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Allen Ginsberg to Sharon Salzberg, Aldous Huxley to Alan Watts - this intimate memoir chronicles the cultural and spiritual transformations Ram Dass experienced that resonate with us to this day, a journey from the mind to the heart, from the ego to the soul.

Before, after, and along these waypoints, listeners will encounter many other adventures and revelations - each ringing with the potential to awaken the universal, loving divine that links us to this beloved teacher and all of us to each other.

©2021 Ram Dass and Rameshwar Das (P)2021 Sounds True

Amazing memoir

When I heard Ram Dass had died I wasn’t surprised. I was sad but not emotional. By the end of this book I was holding back tears for the teacher we lost. Ram Dass poured everything he had left into this memoir. It was really entertaining, even though I’d heard many of these stories before in his talks. The book fills in many holes and gives a well rounded view of who he was at any given moment in time. It lays out how he became who he was in a comprehensive way. It is the definitive text on his life. Thank you Rameshwar Das.

This book will appeal to anyone.

I am an anti-drug Christian, but I loved this book for it's honesty. I grew up hearing the stories of the LSD movement. I think it's easy after reading this book to assume LSD has a purpose for some. But I think the truth of using drugs lies within what happened to the people around the author. The shattered lives that were part of the background. While the Author was so driven to make a change for people with psychological problems he didn't see the carnage. Unfortunately we have not made much strides in the field of mental illness. You won't be able to put this book down. The author is raw and real and he may have some really good points for the use of LSD. It's unfortunate he was such an addict himself.

Psychiatric Pharmacist

A+

I really liked getting a more inside look at Ram Dass' life, I thought I had heard most of it but there is a lot in here. Rameshwar's voice carries Ram Dass' old age well, helps me think Ram Dass is reading to me.

Being Real

The story reveals Ram Das naked transparency and open honesty. An integral tribute to a man of many seasons.

Immersed in Love

A beautiful memoir of Ram Dass’s life from his transition as Professor Richard Albert to spiritual teacher. I enjoyed the stories of my dear Satsang friends, and felt Maharaji’s spirit throughout the book.
Thank you Rameshwar Das for bringing the book to life with your beautiful reading.

Incredible humanity and love

I’ve followed Ram Dass for a few years and Ive heard some of these stories throughout his various books and talks, but nothing compares to the story telling in this book. I was moved to tears and laughed out loud on many occasions. What an incredible human and what a light he still is for us all.

Thank you Rameshwar for prompting Ram Dass to write this memoir and delivering it so beautifully.

And most of all: Thank you, Ram Dass. You inspire me still.

absolutely beautiful

one of the most beautiful books I've ever read . his friend narrating just adds to the beauty. I thought, at the beginning , 'oh gosh is this gonna be an acid book ' ... but it is so far from that. such an amazing soul

thank you for more to remember

RD had a big influence in my growing from head to heart. Thank you for convincing RD to share his greater detail of his life. The evolution of an individual such as RD. will inspire many for years and years. well done. Namaste

I love it!

Wonderful wonderful wonderful ❤️ it’s meditative and heart warming. I listen while I cleaned while o drove and it always felt so good!

must read.

read by a close friend of Ram Dass, who also helped him complete the book. It is the only narrator you would want other than the man himself. fantastic!

Amazing !!!

I didn't want it to finish...
Extraordinary life, so much to learn from his example
What a beautiful Soul!

A glimpse into the life of a spiritual rockstar.

This is an absolutely incredible book.

I am so grateful.

Thank you so much, Ram Dass and Rameshwar Das.

A must

Anyone with spiritual aspirations will find enrichment.

Love to Ram Dass and us all on the journey home.

Powerful and lovable man

A powerful, lovable man with a story of Love and Truth to exude. He finishes with which we have just got to accept things and even embrace suffering. Mental consciousness exists and he will be back in a different form. There is a hybrid of religions which can be confusing, but the most I get is from Buddhism, as we are all Buddhists. I would like to get hold off some powerful stuff as I have never seen visions. I experienced oneness though. May Buddha bless you all.

Excellent

Absolutely fantastic, especially the second half, so much to contemplate in his thoughts, experience and wisdom.

fascinating in listen

This is a very enjoyable listen.
from beginning to end a true journal of love

Stunning memoir

Really felt every word. What an inspirational life and completely ahead of the times, leading the way for us all.

Life Changing

Wasn't to sure about the narrators voice to begin with, however settled right in after a chapter and found it very soothing. An incredible story about an incredible man. Loved it, will listen again for sure.

Incredibly touching stories. Thank you

Loved it
Trully wounder book to listen and to be listened to more and more

Very enjoyable

A wonderful insight into this incredibly special human being. What a gift he was and indeed still is for us all. Beautifully narrated by Rameshwar Das.