Ram Dass

Ram Dass
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Name	Ram Dass
Birth name	Richard Alpert
Birth date	April 6, 1931
Birth place	Newton, Massachusetts, United States
Death date	December 22, 2019
Death place	Maui, Hawaii, United States
Alma mater	Tufts University, Stanford University, Harvard University
Occupation	Psychologist, spiritual teacher, author
Notable works	Be Here Now

Ram Dass was an American spiritual teacher, psychologist, and author who bridged Western psychology and Eastern spirituality. He was influential in the countercultural movements of the 1960s and 1970s, promoting meditation, psychedelic exploration, and devotional practice. His work influenced activists, musicians, scholars, and healthcare movements across North America and Europe.

Early life and education

Richard Alpert was born in Newton, Massachusetts, and grew up in a Jewish family connected to communities in Boston, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Brookline, Massachusetts. He attended Newton High School before enrolling at Tufts University for undergraduate studies and later pursuing graduate work at Stanford University. He earned a doctorate from Harvard University, where he studied under figures linked to B. F. Skinner-influenced behavioral psychology and encountered colleagues associated with Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. During this period he came into contact with academic networks that included researchers affiliated with Boston Psychopathic Hospital and clinicians from Massachusetts General Hospital.

Psychological career and transformation

Alpert became a faculty member at Brandeis University and later joined the faculty at Harvard University alongside Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert's collaborator, participating in experiments at institutions such as the Wellesley Hospital and laboratories linked to McLean Hospital. Their research on psychedelic substances intersected with studies in psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and pharmacology work connected to Sandoz Pharmaceuticals. The controversial exploration of psilocybin and LSD brought them into contact with policymakers in Washington, D.C. and regulatory bodies including the precursor agencies to the Food and Drug Administration. After travels to India, he met the Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba, which catalyzed a spiritual transformation that led him to adopt practices from Bhakti yoga and traditions associated with Vaishnavism. This shift reoriented his career from experimental psychology within academic settings to a role as a spiritual teacher interacting with communities in San Francisco, New York City, and Woodstock, New York.

Spiritual teachings and practices

His teachings synthesized elements from Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, and Western contemplative frameworks promoted by figures such as Thomas Merton and Aldous Huxley. He emphasized techniques like metta, mindfulness, kirtan as practiced in Rama Krishna Mission-influenced circles, and chanting of mantras associated with Hanuman devotion. He collaborated with teachers and institutions including Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Chögyam Trungpa, and centers influenced by the Kripalu Center. His approach influenced practitioners within the Transcendental Meditation movement as well as those aligned with Integral Yoga and the Esalen Institute, contributing to the diffusion of meditation across healthcare settings in California and academic settings at institutions like Columbia University and Yale University.

Writings and major works

His best-known book, Be Here Now, became a seminal text among readers of Rolling Stone-era counterculture and communities connected to Berkeley, California and the Haight-Ashbury. He authored additional works addressing spirituality and aging that engaged audiences affiliated with The New York Times readership, attendees of events at Carnegie Hall, and participants in conferences at United Nations-adjacent forums on consciousness. Collaborators and interview subjects included writers and thinkers such as Allen Ginsberg, Joseph Campbell, Daniel Goleman, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Deepak Chopra. His publications were distributed by publishers involved with Pantheon Books-era alternative nonfiction and reached libraries in systems like the Library of Congress and university presses at Princeton University.

Advocacy, social impact, and public appearances

He engaged in advocacy around hospice care and end-of-life support, participating in panels with organizations such as Hospice Foundation of America and influencing programs at institutions like UCLA and Harvard Medical School. He appeared on broadcast venues including The Tonight Show, public radio outlets like NPR, and festivals alongside performers connected to The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, and activists from Students for a Democratic Society. He co-founded or inspired nonprofit initiatives connected to service organizations operating in India and the United States, intersecting with networks like Seva Foundation and medical outreach efforts linked to Partners In Health. His public lectures drew audiences from cultural centers in Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, and London.

Later life, illness, and legacy

In later life he suffered a stroke that affected his mobility and speech, receiving care in settings associated with Maui and clinics connected to Massachusetts General Hospital and rehabilitation programs similar to those at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. He continued teaching from a wheelchair, collaborating with artists and scholars including Krishna Das, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and researchers at Brown University and Harvard University studying contemplative practices. His influence is preserved in archival collections at institutions akin to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in curricula at centers such as Naropa University and the California Institute of Integral Studies. He is remembered by communities spanning spiritual organizations, academic departments, and healthcare movements across North America, Europe, and South Asia.

Category:American spiritual teachers Category:Harvard University faculty Category:20th-century American writers Category:2019 deaths