Sixties Leader Ram Dass Honored

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

Sixties Leader Ram Dass Honored

 

RHINEBECK, NEW YORK, October 5, 2002: Ram Dass, recognized as a New Age figurehead, was honored in Upstate New York recently where a library at the Omega Institute, a New Age retreat, was named for him. Ram Dass, formerly known as Richard Alpert, a Harvard professor fired for his experiments with LSD, met his guru in the 1960's in the Himalayan foothills. His guru, Shri Neem Karoli, initiated him as Ram Dass, meaning servant of God. After spending two years with his guru, Ram Dass returned home to America to spread Hindu teachings on compassion, meditation and dharma. He became famous in 1971 with the release of a bestselling book called "Be Here Now." American counterculture was attracted to Ram Dass who explored higher consciousness by meditation and mind-altering drugs. During the next twenty years, Ram Dass became a leader in many New Age communities before finally settling in Northern California. He spearheaded various humanitarian projects such as the Prison Ashram Project and the Hospice Dying Project. In 1997, Ram Dass suffered a stroke, which left him partially paralyzed. As a result of the stroke, which Ram Dass termed a spiritual wake-up call from his ascended guru, he has written a new book called "Still Here," a "how-to on soul consciousness in the face of aging and ill health". Kathleen Murphy, who was present at the Omega event, says, "He's helped existence make sense for me. Beauty and love pour out of him and the people associated with him." In an interview Dass says, "Reincarnation applies to all people everywhere, whether they accept if or not. There are people who want to use the name guru for me. When I hear that, I feel they just haven't seen a real one."