Be Here Now

Beloved guru Ram Dass tells the story of his spiritual awakening and gives you the tools to take control of your life in this “counterculture bible” (The New York Times) featuring powerful guidance on yoga meditation and finding your true self.. When Be Here Now was first published in 1971 it filled a deep spiritual emptiness launched the ongoing mindfulness revolution and established Ram Dass as perhaps the preeminent seeker of the twentieth century.. Just ten years earlier he was known as Professor Richard Alpert. He held appointments in four departments at Harvard University. He published books drove a Mercedes and regularly vacationed in the Caribbean. By most societal standards he had achieved great success. . . . And yet he couldn’t escape the feeling that something was missing.  Psilocybin and LSD changed that. During a period of experimentation Alpert peeled away each layer of his identity disassociating from himself as a professor a social cosmopolite and lastly as a physical being. Fear turned into exaltation upon the realization that at his truest he was just his inner-self: a luminous being that he could trust indefinitely and love infinitely.. And thus a spiritual journey commenced. Alpert headed to India where his guru renamed him Baba Ram Dass—“servant of God.” He was introduced to mindful breathing exercises hatha yoga and Eastern philosophy. If he found himself reminiscing or planning he was reminded to “Be Here Now.” He started upon the path of enlightenment and has been journeying along it ever since.. Be Here Now is a vehicle for sharing the true message and a guide to self-determination.