RIP Ram Dass

[Drunk Monk]

I read his book so long ago that I don't remember a thing about it beyond its mandala-esque cover.  I wish I could say something more about how much impact he had on my life, but I don't think he really had any impact in the long run.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I thought he was already dead.

[Drunk Monk]

Baba Ram Dass, psychedelic pioneer and New Age guru, is dead at 88
By Scottie Andrew, CNN

Updated 9:38 PM ET, Mon December 23, 2019

(CNN)Baba Ram Dass, psychedelic research pioneer, best-selling author and New Age guru who extolled the virtues of mindfulness and grace, has died. He was 88.
Dass' official Instagram confirmed his death Monday.
Born Richard Alpert, the future spiritual teacher met experimental psychologist Timothy Leary while the two taught at Harvard University. They founded the Harvard Psilocybin Project and shared psychedelic drugs with volunteer graduate students to explore their mind-altering effects.

The unorthodox pair were fired from Harvard in 1963 after faculty found out Alpert shared the drugs with undergraduates. They became "counter-culture icons" in their dismissal, per the Ram Dass website, taking more drugs to learn how psychedelics expanded their consciousness.



But he didn't become Ram Dass until a fateful trip to India in 1967. There he met Neem Karoli Baba, his guru, who gave Alpert the name Baba (or "father") Ram Dass, which means "servant of God," per Dass's website.
The spiritual enlightenment he experienced there prompted him in 1971 to write "Be Here Now," a best-seller his website describes as a "Western articulation of Eastern philosophy." The book became a New Age treatise on mindfulness and positivity.
He never feared death
A severe stroke in 1997 left Dass unable to speak or move part of his body. He relearned to speak and continued to teach online and host retreats from Maui, Hawaii.
"The stroke itself was not grace, but my reaction to the stroke was grace," he told the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine. "I was positive from it, I was fascinated by it. And it was changing my philosophy on life."
In September, Dass told the New York Times Magazine he'd accepted his death.
"Soul doesn't have a fear of dying," he said. "Ego has very pronounced fear of dying. The ego, this incarnation, is life and dying. The soul is infinite."
He died at home in Maui, surrounded by loved ones, according to his Instagram. The post didn't list a cause of death.
Ram Dass' fans mourn his death
Supporters mourned his death on Twitter.
"'Be Here Now' shifted my world when I was young, as it did for millions of others," Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson tweeted. "Praise & thanks to a huge & radiant soul. May he be forever blessed."

Buddhist teacher Joan Halifax shared images of Dass, whom she called her close friend, during their final visit.
"The last time I saw him, sensing it might be so," she wrote. "Loving awareness...our Ram Dass."

[Drunk Monk]

A side note - one of the xmas gifts I got for Stacy was a Ram Dass calendar.  She had one last year and requested another this year.  I totally forgot that it was a Ram Dass calendar until she opened it yesterday.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Awkward or just one of those things?

[Drunk Monk]

timely

kinda trippy

[Drunk Monk]

So for Stacy's birthday, we went to the Rio for a special showing of Becoming Nothing.  It was a benefit for the Hanuman temple he founded in Taos.  It was also a bad call for a birthday celebration.  The show opened with a bell and gong performance.  That went on way too long.  I mean, I love bells and gongs but there's not much range really and after a few minutes, that's exhausted.  They kept playing the same YouTube vid on the screen - The Last Kirtan - which documented some images of Ram Dass over the years, and then his cremation.  Great, I brought Stacy to a funeral for her birthday. Stacy's cloying new yoga friend came - she's a tad off, but lives on our street and fell asleep quickly. One of my old friends came too - she's a former manager of MQ6 (she was at Legbone's celebration of life) - retired now from a career with the water dept, so she paints, makes sand circles, and practices vipassana.  She's alos a neighbor, down on Ocean View.  Anyway, after the bells and several repetitions of the YouTube vid (it's like 20 mins long and repeated like 3-4 times) some Taos reps babbled on about RD and the temple, and that was only slightly amusing.  Finally they showed the doc, which was good because it was basically a montage of RC talks and he was a great speaker.  But Stacy bailed.  Stacy's friend bailed too.  There was a kirtan after but I bailed (my mq6 friend said that was the best part).  Another birthday fail on my part. 

We're doing a do-over of Stacy's birthday next Saturday.

[Greg]

Keep doing it until you get it right.

[Drunk Monk]

Right?

As RD might say 

“Your problem is you are too busy holding on to your unworthiness.”

[Greg]

FYI

Brie Larson And Filmmaker Elijah Allan-Blitz Developing Limited Series Based On The Life Of Spiritual Teacher Ram Dass


[/url][url=https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Brie%20Larson%20And%20Filmmaker%20Elijah%20Allan-Blitz%20Developing%20Limited%20Series%20Based%20On%20The%20Life%20Of%20Spiritual%20Teacher%20Ram%20Dass&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yahoo.com%2Fentertainment%2Fbrie-larson-filmmaker-elijah-allan-153023527.html%3Fsoc_src%3Dsocial-sh%26soc_trk%3Dtw%26tsrc%3Dtwtr&via=Yahoo]
Justin Kroll
Mon, August 16, 2021, 8:30 AM



[b]EXCLUSIVE: [/b]After landing the life rights to Being Ram Dass, Elijah Allan-Blitz, Brie Larsonand Brian Grazer are producing a limited series based on the late American spiritual teacher, psychologist, and author, Ram Dass. His “Love, Serve, Remember” Foundation leaders Raghu Markus and Rameshwar Das will both take on executive producer roles.
“Elijah Allan-Blitz and his family have been front and center of my relationship with my ‘Bio-Dad’”, Peter Reichard (Ram Dass’ son) explained. “I was thrilled when Elijah told me about the television series being planned about RD’s life. To have Elijah, Brie Larson and the Oscar winning film producer Brian Grazer spearheading this project is an incredible acknowledgement of the life, times and impact Ram Dass had on our world.”
Dass (then Richard Alpert) was a Harvard professor whose own self-image was shattered after his first mushroom trip. This experience propelled him to lead a study with his colleague Timothy Leary – funded by Harvard – to observe the effects of magic mushrooms on graduate students. Their research burst out of the laboratory, got them both fired and ushered in a new era: The Psychedelic 60’s.
“The topics of personal growth, spirituality and psychedelics have always been hugely important to me,” Larson
He later traveled to India, where he was transformed by the man who would become his guru, Maharaji. After changing his name to Ram Dass, he returned to America, bringing the wisdom of Maharaji through yoga, meditation, and the book that would become a global phenomenon, “Be Here Now.” After many adventures and helping reshape society multiple times over with incredible characters from John Lennon to Steve Jobs, Ram Dass’ ultimate test came in the form of a stroke that tested his will, his teachings, and ultimately his faith.
“The last time I saw RD we talked about bringing his story to a larger audience and that’s when he gave me his blessing to create this show. ” Most recently, the producorial pair won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Interactive Program for their work on “The Messy Truth: The VR Experience,” Allan-Blitz added.
Dass’ life rights are held by the Love Serve Remember Foundation.WME Legends works in association with Raghu Markus, Executive Director of Ram Dass’ Love Serve Remember Foundation.
Larson is represented by WME, Authentic Management and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Allan-Blitz is represented byHertz Lichtenstein & Young LLP.