Honored Elders

Ram Dass

Born in 1931, the son of a lawyer father who was president of a railroad and helped found Brandeis University, Richard Alpert (aka Ram Dass) began his adult life earning a PhD in psychology from Stanford. He then taught at Stanford, the University of California and at Harvard. It was at Harvard that in the 1960s that Ram Dass’ explorations of human consciousness led him to research and experimentation with mind-altering chemicals — and dismissal from Harvard.

Traveling to India in 1967 to study yoga and meditation, he met his spiritual teacher and took the name Ram Dass, which means “Servant of God.” Since then he has continued to teach about the nature of consciousness and about service as a spiritual path.

In 1974, Ram Dass founded the Hanuman Foundation to promote consciousness and service, developing such programs as The Prison Ashram Project and. the Dying Project. The Ram Dass Tape Library Foundation now serves as the vehicle for his teachings and the distribution of his books and tapes.

Ram Dass is one of the most respected spiritual teachers of our era. His books include his famous Be Here Now (written in 1971) which is now in its 37th printing, Grist for the Mill (with Stephen Levine) and Compassion in Action: Setting Out on the Path of Service (with Mirabai Bush).

Ram Dass’ newest book published this month is Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing and Dying. Begun as an exploration of his own aging, the work was interrupted by his stroke in 1996 — a stroke which left him with partial paralysis and expressive aphasia. The after effects of the stoke have made it necessary to focus much of his attention on his physical recovery through an extensive program of rehabilitative therapies and on using the experience of his stroke to explore more deeply the spiritual dimensions of suffering and the nature of the aging process.

We are most pleased to welcome Ram Dass to our Council of Honored Elders.