Ram Dass: From Harvard Professor to Be Here Now
Written and reviewed by The Kriya Yogi · Updated 25 September 2026
Ram Dass was born Richard Alpert in Boston in 1931. He was a psychology professor at Harvard who, with Timothy Leary, experimented with psychedelics and was dismissed in 1963. In 1967 he travelled to India and met Neem Karoli Baba, who gave him the name Ram Dass — "servant of God." His 1971 book Be Here Now became one of the defining spiritual books of the era, and he taught for the rest of his life, including more than twenty years after a major stroke.
The short answers
- Born 6 April 1931 in Boston; died 22 December 2019 in Maui, Hawaii.
- His guru was Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaj-ji), whom he met in 1967.
- Be Here Now (1971) sold millions of copies and is still in print.
- A stroke in 1997 left him with aphasia; he taught about ageing and suffering in Still Here (2000) and the film Fierce Grace (2001).
- Co-founded the Seva Foundation and the Hanuman Foundation; the Love Serve Remember Foundation carries his work.
Harvard and the psychedelic years
Alpert was a rising academic when he and Timothy Leary began studying psilocybin at Harvard. Controversy over their methods led to both men leaving the university in 1963. By his own account, the experiences showed him something real but temporary: he kept "coming down."
India and Maharaj-ji
In 1967 he travelled to India and met Bhagavan Das, a young American sadhu, who took him to Neem Karoli Baba. Maharaj-ji, he said, knew about his mother's recent death without being told. The shock broke something open. He stayed, studied with Hari Dass Baba, and returned as Ram Dass.
Be Here Now
Published in 1971, Be Here Now is part memoir, part hand-drawn devotional scrapbook, part practical manual. Its title became a slogan. It introduced many Americans to mantra, pranayama, bhakti and the idea of a guru. Among the practices it names, the heart of it is simple: stay present, serve, and love.
Stroke and "fierce grace"
In 1997 a stroke left him partly paralysed and struggling to speak. He described it, with his guru's language, as "fierce grace" — a hard teaching he did not choose. His later books, including Still Here, speak to ageing, illness and dying with a directness his earlier work lacked. He spent his final years on Maui, teaching through online retreats and slow, spacious talks.
What practitioners take from him
- Love as practice — "We're all just walking each other home."
- Service — he co-founded the Seva Foundation, which works on preventable blindness.
- Honesty about the spiritual ego — he was frank about his own pride and confusion.
- Presence with suffering — especially relevant for carers and anyone facing illness.
Learning from his teaching
Practise presence in small moments
Wash one cup, walk one block, drink one glass of water with complete attention.
Take up a simple mantra
Ram Dass used 'Ram' and the Hanuman Chalisa. Repeat quietly with a mala for a few minutes daily.
Serve
Choose one ongoing act of service; he considered it the most reliable spiritual practice.
Be honest about your spiritual ego
Notice when practice becomes performance, and laugh at it, as he did.
Cautions worth reading
- Ram Dass spoke openly about psychedelics. They are illegal in many places and carry real psychological and medical risks; nothing here encourages their use.
- If you are facing serious illness, grief or depression, his teachings can accompany, not replace, proper medical and psychological care.
History and devotion
Ram Dass's life is extensively documented through his books, recorded talks, films and interviews. His accounts of Maharaj-ji's powers are personal testimony. His psychedelic-era claims should be read in the context of 1960s research practices, which were later heavily criticised.
Questions people ask
+ Who was Ram Dass's guru?
+ What is Be Here Now about?
+ What was Ram Dass's real name?
+ What is Ram Dass's most famous quote?
Sources
- Ram Dass, *Be Here Now* (Lama Foundation, 1971).
- Ram Dass, *Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying* (Riverhead, 2000).
- Ram Dass & Rameshwar Das, *Being Ram Dass* (Sounds True, 2021) — his full memoir.
- *Ram Dass, Fierce Grace* (dir. Mickey Lemle, 2001).
Dates and places are drawn from published biographies; stories of miracles are reported as the tradition tells them. Nothing here is medical advice.