Ram Dass (Dr. Richard Alpert), an internationally respected author, lecturer and spiritual teacher whose work has been the subject of Mickey Lemle's film "Fierce Grace," will be in Honolulu tomorrow for "An Evening with Ram Dass and Krishna Das" at Diamond Head Theatre. Ram Dass,
spiritual teacher,
booked at DHTStar-Bulletin staff
The event begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance, available at Golden Phoenix, 1481 S. King St. No. 110, or $25 at the door. For more information, call 536-7431.
Ram Dass served on the psychology faculties at Stanford and the University of California, and from 1958 to 1963 taught and researched in the department of social relations and the graduate school of education at Harvard University. While at Harvard, Ram Dass's explorations of human consciousness led him -- in collaboration with Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzer, Aldous Huxley, Allan Ginsberg and others -- to pursue intensive research with psilocybin, LSD-25 and other psychedelic chemicals. Because of the controversial nature of this research, Ram Dass was dismissed from Harvard in 1963.
He continued his research under the auspices of a private foundation until 1967, when he traveled to India and met his guru, Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaj Ji), from whom he received his name, Ram Dass ("Servant of God").
He has pursued spiritual practices ranging from Hinduism, yoga and meditation in the Theravadin, Mahayanna and Zen Buddhist schools, to Karma yoga and Sufism. He is co-founder and a board member of the Seva Foundation, dedicated to relieving suffering in America and throughout the world.
Ram Dass's best-known book, "Be Here Now," was published in 1971 and sold more than 1 million copies. Subsequent works include "Still Here" and "Embracing Aging and Dying" which recounts his journey of recovery from a stroke in 1997, and "One-Liners: a Mini-manual for a Spiritual Life," published last year.
"Fierce Grace" was screened recently at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the Art House at Restaurant Row. Newsweek magazine named it one of the five best nonfiction films of 2002.
Krishna Das, who met Ram Dass in 1968, also traveled to India and spent time with Maharaj Ji. He was drawn to Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion.
Krishna Das has been chanting on a regular basis in yoga centers around the world, teaching with Ram Dass and singing for many saints and yogis in America and India.
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