"Being Ram Dass" BOOK REVIEW : A Spiritual Roller Coaster

While my regular spiritual practice is grounded in meditation and The Work of Byron Katie (“the Work”), I love to make my own "spiritual salad," drawing inspiration from whichever teacher speaks to me in a given season.

I often find myself circumambulating Adyashanti in one season, Byron Katie in another, or diving into Indian Advaita philosophy with Swami Sarvapriyananda. Then, there's Michael Singer and, ofcourse, Baba Ram Dass.

I've been a Ram Dass fan for a few years. Though he's no longer in his body, I can still sense his loving presence through his recorded teachings, beautifully presented by organizations like the Seva Foundation, Be Here Now Network, and Being Ram Dass.

He’s incredibly witty, knowledgeable, and funny, with an endearing, self-deprecating style that gives his audience permission to be okay with their own humanity.

“Being Ram dass” is a candid biography of his life, starting with his early experiments with psychedelics, his rise and fall as a coveted Harvard psychologist, and the miraculous, surreal way he found his Guru, Maharajji (Neem Karoli Baba), in India.

I honestly thought the story would end there. You know the script: spiritual seeker sheds worldly identities, meets his Guru, and becomes instantly enlightened.

But no. What a roller coaster he rode after that. The book details his austere spiritual practices but also shines a light on his all-too-human distractions and falls. I found myself exclaiming, “Oh no, Ram Dass, don’t do that!” or “Not again!” whenever he went down the rabbit hole of another psychedelic experience or a relationship that pulled him from the path that he was shown so clearly.

I was in awe of his stupendous vitality for service. I couldn't fathom how one person could have that much drive to start and see through so many successful initiatives: psychedelic research, hospice care, prison reform, conscious dying and aging, service to the blind, and so much more.

I resonated a lot with his constant inner work—his use of this human form as a crucible to transcend that very form. I cried for him when he had his stroke, and I even chided him for leaving his loyal partner Peter behind. I melted at his softening after the stroke and the "joining of hearts" he spoke of more and more as he aged.

Overall, I felt I’d been on a spiritual, funny, emotional, and totally human ride with my friend, Ram Dass.

Towards the end, I felt... mildly cheated. I wanted him to reach the pinnacle, to be bathed in enlightenment and merge with God. I felt his impatience as my own—that's the human predicament, isn't it? And most definitely mine.

This left me conflicted: how could he describe an experience he hadn't (by my estimation) permanently achieved? My error, I see now, was in assuming what that experience "should" look like. I was judging Ram Dass as "lesser" than other "realized masters" because his enlightenment wasn't permanent—a distinction true masters never seem to make about themselves or others.

Ah, the trappings of ignorance! It's just more for me to work through. 🙂 And I can find stressful thoughts I can do “the Work” on, that sound like “Ram Dass was not really enlightened” or “I should not be following the teachings of someone who is not fully realized”. I am intrigued as to what I will discover when I do that!

If you too relate with the “spiritual roller coaster” - glad to meet you at aumcoming, dear co-traveller. Like Ram Dass says - “We’re all just walking each other home”. 

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