Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert) was an American spiritual teacher, academic and clinical psychologist, and author of many books, including the seminal 1971 book Be Here Now. He was known for his personal and professional associations with Timothy Leary at Harvard University in the early 1960s, for his travels to India and his relationship with Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba, and for founding the charitable organizations Seva Foundation and Hanuman Foundation. He continued to teach, via his website; produced a podcast, with support from 1440 Multiversity; and pursued mobile app development through the Be Here Now network and the Love, Serve, Remember Foundation.

Ram Dass Spiritual Leader

Born 6 April 1931 Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Died 22 December 2019 Maui, Hawaii, USA (undisclosed)

Birth name Richard Alpert

Mini Bio In 1963, Richard Alpert ended one life and launched a new one: Ousted from Harvard University's faculty with co-merrymaker Timothy Leary for giving hallucinogenic drugs to students, he became a point man for the psychedelic movement of the '60s. Many drug-fueled highs later, Alpert's second, and most lasting, transformation occurred. He went on sojourn in India and in 1968 returned as Ram Dass, a name that became synonymous with another of that era's social and psychological explosions. As Ram Dass, Alpert spread the word that turning inward was far more powerful than just turning on. A nimble communicator who was articulate, funny and self-effacing, he became a central figure in the movement to make Eastern mysticism understandable to Western minds. He described his metamorphoses in "Be Here Now" (1971), a counterculture classic still in print almost four decades and millions of copies later.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Was a Harvard professor who worked with Timothy Leary exploring the psychological effects of LSD and other psychedelic substances. Later traveled to India, where he met the guru Neem Karoli Baba, who gave him the name "Ram Dass." Ram Dass means "Servant of God" in Hindi.

Learned at age 78 that he had fathered a son, Peter Reichard, while attending Stanford University 53 years earlier. Peter was the product of a brief affair Ram Dass had with a fellow grad student named Karen Saum.

In 1997, suffered a semi-paralyzing stroke that left him wheelchair bound.

Son of Gertrude (Levin) and George Alpert, a lawyer. His parents were both from Russian Jewish families.

Co-founded The Seva Foundation. The fees from his writing and lecturing helped finance the organization.