Baba Ram Dass, spiritual guru and LSD proponent, dies at 88
FILE - In this Oct. 21, 1998 file photo, Ram Dass, best known for the 1971 bestseller "Be Here Now," smiles during an interview at his San Anselmo, Calif., home. The 1960s counterculture spiritual leader and early LSD proponent died, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019 at his home in Maui, Hawaii. He was 88. (AP Photo/Susan Ragan, File)
HONOLULU (AP) — Baba Ram Dass, the 1960s counterculture spiritual leader who experimented with LSD and traveled to India to find enlightenment, returning to share it with Americans, has died. He was 88.
Dass’ foundation, Love Serve Remember, announced late Sunday that the author and spiritual leader died peacefully at his home earlier in the day. No cause of death was given.
He had suffered a severe stroke in 1997 that left him paralyzed on the right side and, for a time, unable to speak. More recently, he underwent hip surgery after he was injured in a fall in November 2008, according to his website.
“I had really thought about checking out, but your love and your prayers convinced me not to do it. ... It’s just beautiful,” he told followers in a videotaped message at the time from his hospital bed in Hawaii.
Over the years, Ram Dass — born Richard Alpert — associated with the likes of Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg. He wrote about his experiences with drugs, set up projects to help prisoners and those facing terminal illness and sought to enlighten others about the universal struggle with aging.
But he was best known for the 1971 book “Be Here Now,” written after his trip to India. The spiritual primer found its way into thousands of backpacks around the world.
More of his story at site
FILE - In this Oct. 21, 1998 file photo, Ram Dass, best known for the 1971 bestseller "Be Here Now," smiles during an interview at his San Anselmo, Calif., home. The 1960s counterculture spiritual leader and early LSD proponent died, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019 at his home in Maui, Hawaii. He was 88. (AP Photo/Susan Ragan, File)
HONOLULU (AP) — Baba Ram Dass, the 1960s counterculture spiritual leader who experimented with LSD and traveled to India to find enlightenment, returning to share it with Americans, has died. He was 88.
Dass’ foundation, Love Serve Remember, announced late Sunday that the author and spiritual leader died peacefully at his home earlier in the day. No cause of death was given.
He had suffered a severe stroke in 1997 that left him paralyzed on the right side and, for a time, unable to speak. More recently, he underwent hip surgery after he was injured in a fall in November 2008, according to his website.
“I had really thought about checking out, but your love and your prayers convinced me not to do it. ... It’s just beautiful,” he told followers in a videotaped message at the time from his hospital bed in Hawaii.
Over the years, Ram Dass — born Richard Alpert — associated with the likes of Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg. He wrote about his experiences with drugs, set up projects to help prisoners and those facing terminal illness and sought to enlighten others about the universal struggle with aging.
But he was best known for the 1971 book “Be Here Now,” written after his trip to India. The spiritual primer found its way into thousands of backpacks around the world.
More of his story at site
