Ram Dass

Co-founder, Seva Foundation

"On Faith" panelist Ram Dass is an internationally recognized scholar of Eastern religions. Formerly known as Richard Alpert, he was a psychology professor at Harvard University in the early '60s when he began exploring with professional colleague Timothy Leary how to expand human consciousness through mind-altering substances. Their research was described in the 1964 book, The Psychedelic Experience. In 1967, Alpert traveled to India , where he met the man who was to become his guru, Neem Karoli Baba, affectionately known as Maharajji. He gave Alpert the name Ram Dass, which means "Servant of God." At that point, Ram Dass' intense dharmiclife began, and he became a pivotal influence among Western spiritual seekers, particularly after the publication of his seminal work, the 1971 international best-seller Be Here Now, which explains Eastern philosophy and advocates living joyously in the present. Ram Dass has pursued a panoramic array of ancient spiritual methods and traditions, including bhakti or devotional yoga that is focused on the Hindu deity Hanuman; Buddhist meditation in the Theravadin, Mahayana Tibetan and Zen Buddhist schools, as well as Sufi and Jewish mysticism. Perhaps most significant is his practice of karma yoga or spiritual service. His other books include Paths to God: Living the Bhagavad Gita (2005); How Can I Help? Stories and Reflections on Service (1985) and Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying (2001). Upholding the boddhisatva ideal for others through compassionate sharing of true knowledge and vision, Ram Dass is co-founder and advisory board member of the Seva Foundation, an international service organization. Seva, which means "spiritual service" in Sanskrit, supports programs designed to wipe out curable blindness in India and Nepal, restore the agricultural life of impoverished villagers in Guatemala, assist in primary health care for American Indians, and bring attention to the issues of homelessness and environmental degradation in the United States and other nations. Ram Dass also created the Hanuman Foundation, which developed the Prison Ashram Project to help prison inmates grow spiritually during incarceration, and the Dying Project, a spiritual support structure for those facing death. Ram Dass lives on Maui where he continues to teach about the nature of consciousness to a new generation of seekers. Close.