“Be Here Now” was such a pivotal, radical concept~ and book~ in the 1960’s. How did the college professor, turned LSD experimenter and advocate, turned devotee of a Hindu guru, have such an outsized impact on bringing Eastern spiritual concepts to Westerners, particularly to the Boomer generation? When Ram Dass, nice Jewish boy turned Hindu-esque teacher, passed on the first night of Chanukah last night, my mind and heart went to his enormous influence decades before the current “mindfulness” vocabulary threaded through most all spiritual, healing, and therapeutic conversations of today.
I feel sheepish writing anything at all…so many wise and heartfelt words of love have, and will, be pouring out of the internet and in private conversations this week and beyond. Words from the thousands who knew him more intimately than I did, words from great journalists of how he influenced an entire generation, memories of his humor, of his compassion, of meeting him, of getting to ask him a question at his many talks, lucky ones of getting to know him…and I have none of those. Please, please go online and look for some of these touching and fierce and funny stories you will see about this pivotal figure, and share and listen to memories you and your loved ones may have (please share any below in comment section too! We’d love to hear).
However I do have a favorite memory of him to which I’ve often referred. My husband and I used to go see him every time he spoke locally and filled the large Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. In one of those talks, he told a story about a “little old lady” in the front row at a prior talk that he gave. This woman nodded with the most conspiratorial expressions and winks when he launched into his explanation of getting lost in the Divine, losing track of time, of feeling great fulfillment and Unity.
Ram Dass’s curitiosity got the best of him. What did this gal know about this state; how had she accessed it herself? So he put her on the spot and asked her.
“Knitting,” she said. “I feel that way when I knit.”
At the time, in the early ’80’s, it seemed such a delightful and ironic way to think about “old folks” and their habits. Now that I do some crafts, I understand how it’s about the inner flow state of creating! But all along I did get Ram Dass’s slyly and humorously made point: you can have access to the Divine anywhere, anyhow, no matter who you are or what you are doing.
Ram Dass, thank you for all that you have given.
Thanks Elizabeth!
Thank you Nick. I know you were a fan!
Sweet!
Thank you Carol. I really appreciate that you enjoyed this story!
I share your great love and respect for Ram Dass, Elizabeth! Thank you for honoring him and his life here.
I was fortunate enough to see him once in person; I’m definitely enriched by that, and by all of the hours that I’ve spent listening to his talks on CD.
David, I love this. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us all here.
I don’t remember when I first fell in love with Ram Dass but I think that it was probably the first time that I read “Be Here Now,” probably in the early ’70’s. I felt such an immediate connection with his words. It was that book that I reached for as I was thrashing around alone on my bed in the middle of the only bad LSD trip that I’ve had. I know with absolute certainty that that book kept me from totally going over the edge.
A year or so after that I drove from Berkeley to participate in a retreat with Ram Dass at the Lama Foundation in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains not far from Taos, New Mexico. I remember being in his presence was electrifying. Remember, I began by saying that I was in love with him, right? So, as any true groupie would do, I once trailed behind him as he walked from the Community Room to his private, off limits, hut one afternoon after his talk. Of course, after only a short while he sensed my presence. All of a sudden, he did an abrupt about face and started walking in my direction! Yikes! I quickly scampered off the trail , sat down, took a rock in my hand, and pretended to be fascinated by it, examining it with the utmost focus. Ram Dass gently smiled as he walked past me.
During a group discussion after one of his talks, Ram Dass counseled me at a very deep level on a family issue that had been causing me much distress for quite some time. He brought in the whole group by saying, “Do you hear that?” and the room became one big open heart sending love in my direction. I broke into tears.
During that retreat, I also had the amazing fortune to have a private interview with him. during which I saw his form as just a body of light. It was amazing to say the least.
And the story did not end in New Mexico. When I returned to work, I learned that the temp that they had hired to fill in for me was a good friend of Ram Dass, named Lillian North. I kid you not! Of course we became instantaneous friends! She was soon going to start typing the manuscript for Ram Dass’s new book, The Miracle of Love, and after checking with Ram Dass for his approval, Lillian asked me if I would like to help her type the manuscript. I think that I responded by jumping out of my chair in joy!
I’ve also been fortunate enough to have seen him in person a few times and of being hugged by him afterwards. He used to say that he wanted to spend the rest of his life just hugging people.
Another wonderful thing that I just remembered about Ram Dass was that he used to ask people to tell him their darkest secret that they were too ashamed to admit to. Imagine how healing that was!
Thank you so much, for your lovely tribute to our soul brother, Elizabeth! I, too, was at that talk at the Civic. I remember the story about the woman who knit very well. Such a dear story.
Oh Sandra, thank you for sharing all of these incredibly wonderful memories and stories! I love them all. And I love that you too saw him telling that story about the knitter at his appearance in Santa Cruz!
Many blessings, thank you so very much for this.