Lessons from “Be Here Now” by Ram Dass

Do you constantly have thoughts of different realities running through your head? Do you take sunset walks, recall anecdotes from the past, and imagine future reunions over dinner? “Be Here Now” is Ram Dass’s book calling on his fellow humans to stop rummaging through garbage bins from the past or making assumptions and fantasies about a future that has yet to be written.

The most compelling part of “Be Here Now” is the incredible parable of the successful and renowned Harvard professor Richard Alpert. This story tells how he became the spiritual master known as “Ram Dass.” His words beautifully describe his journey, but there is something profound in them that can change our identity and our relationship to the world we have always known.

Richard Alpert’s Transformation into Ram Dass

Richard Alpert had a Harvard professorship. Wasn’t this a sign that he was happy and content with his life? He was overwhelmed by a great sense of fear. For him, life was empty, purposeless, and meaningless. This emptiness was expressed in the phrase he used with his colleague Timothy Leary to describe the futile pursuit of “doping.” Through drugs, he sometimes saw a mysterious and pulsating world that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Alpert’s life took a radical turn on a trip to India in 1967. There, he met the guru who changed his life forever, Nim Karoli Baba (Maharaj). Maharaj seemed to read Alpert’s innermost being without saying a word, knowing everything exactly. He was his mentor in a new reality and, more importantly, in a new life without drugs. Alpert became Ram Dass, the name Maharaj gave him. “The servant of God,” as Maharaj called him, he learned meditation, yoga, and the art of having an open mind.

The Core Lesson of Being Here and Now

1. All we have is the present moment.

Another “gurus” that Ram Dass likes to share is that humanity has lost sight of the “now” almost entirely, as we constantly shift between the past and the future. We only experience the “now” in the here and now, in this very moment. For example, think of your favorite food. Imagine yourself eating it while you are distracted by scrolling through your phone. Did you enjoy it? Or maybe you were driving home and suddenly realized you forgot to drive.

The “now and here” can bring brighter colors, tastier food, more attractive women, and a better life. All the simple exercises Ram Dass recommends can help you much more than they seem. Paying attention to the sensations in your feet and, of course, breathing better can help.

2. You are not your thoughts.

Ram Dass said:

“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” The inner world is a whirlwind of unsupervised monologue and criticism. The narrative of who we are is so overwhelming that we believe we are our thoughts.

As Ram Dass says, we are not what we think, but we know what we believe. It’s like sitting in the sky, looking at the clouds. This shift in perception frees us from overthinking.

There has to be some anger. At the very least, it is a significant part of our identity. But we can also think of anger as inherently fleeting. So instead of saying, “I am angry,” we can say, “Anger is flowing inside me.” This shift frees us from the bondage of emotion, giving us space to let it flow.

3. The ego is both a tool and a trap.

The ego has its strengths and weaknesses. Even in the most painful experiences, the ego offers profound insight into who we are. As Ram Dass says, we assume who we are. We share an identity with all of these things—our jobs, our objects, our relationships, our bodies—but this is only a superficial and temporary sense of self. 

He tells the horrifying story of his expensive watch being stolen in India. He now realizes how obsessed his mind was with the watch and how it had already destroyed his inner peace. By establishing a more flexible relationship with ourselves, we can open the door to greater space, greater peace, and greater freedom.

Ram Dass doesn’t propose the death of the ego (this is impossible). Instead, he suggests we loosely attach it to ourselves as a framework, not a prison.

4. We all share a connection.

“Connection is a central theme that runs through his teachings, and it connects us all.” For Ram Dass, all knowledge ultimately comes from the belief that “we are all one.” Not in the secular sense, not in the meaning of the phrase that many of us are Biden supporters, but in the enlightened sublimation of Hinduism and Buddhism. So, at the core of reality, everyone is an expression of that one consciousness. The idea that we are all individuals is a valuable tool for social interaction, but it is not entirely accurate.

The master also employs the metaphor of ocean waves. Each wave is unique, with its characteristics, and follows its path. But one wave, all the other waves, and everything else is just a confluence of water that we share with all the different waves. But even if we don’t seem to be, we are also an expression of that one common truth… So, this realization breeds compassion. If you see another person as someone like you, there is no reason not to be kind.

5. Complaints about Attachment

As one of Ram Dass’s quotes playfully reminds us, human beings do not suffer because of reality as it is but rather because of the story you tell about that reality. Unfulfilled expectations are painful in some way.

Imagine being stuck in a traffic jam. You are frustrated not because you are waiting. What you suffer is not where the traffic jam comes from but what you think about the traffic jam. In the example Ram Dass gives, you have to respect your preferences, but at the same time, realize that you are not your preferences.

Ram Dass said that when he waited for hours to spend even a moment with his guru, he was angry and resentful of having to wait. When he met his guru, Maharaj, he smiled at him and said, “Ram Dass, you have been waiting your whole life. Do you feel that you can wait a little longer?” That’s when he realized how free he could be in his busy schedule, how relaxed life could be.

6. Love as the Greatest Truth

This book has nothing to do with love or the romantic meaning of “be here now.” It is a universal love that says that just as humans have blood, hair, kidneys, livers, and elbows, so do other humans. Life is infinite and comes from the recognition of our everyday existence. Ram Dass knew that the most incredible truth is to follow the heart.

In one of his stories, Ram Dass recounts a tale of a woman grieving for her lost child. She was heartbroken and sad. But instead of recounting old stories or philosophizing, he willingly breathed with her and experienced her pain. This connection is like an indescribable healing.

As Ram Dass says, “the heart surrounded by the barriers of its nature” is not the loving human heart. Whenever we choose compassion over judgment and connection over separation, we move thoroughly into our nature.

7. Spiritual Practice Helps Us Become More Mindful and Aware

Both awareness and the body need time to grow. Ram Dass suggests practical means for cultivating awareness, including meditation, breathing techniques, mantras, and service to others.

He likens meditation to cleaning a window. At first, when you want to dust, you may accidentally wipe the dust away, and the situation may get worse. But if you look closely, you will see that the window is clean and receiving light.

Ram Dass says that this is not about becoming a perfect human being. We are back here in the present. If your mind wanders a thousand times during meditation, you will know more each time.

8. If You Want to Be Enlightened, Help Others

All of Ram Dass’s teachings are special, but his teaching on service to others is the most special. Beautiful things happen when we act selflessly to help others. Our identities, which are so different from one another, begin to blur reflexively.

He tells the story of a man complaining to Maharaj about a seeker who was harassing him. “Don’t you see Christ serving Christ?” His guru replied. That answer changed everything. We are all divine, even the bad people in our lives.

In his later years, he co-founded the Seva Foundation, which helps prevent easily avoidable blindness in developing countries. Helping others has been his primary concern for most of his life. Indeed, he knew that the most important aspect of spiritual growth is helping others, not something separate from life or for personal gain outside the walls of the temple.

9. Our True Home Is Within

Many people believe that they can find salvation, form meaningful relationships, achieve their goals, accumulate wealth, and even feel secure in their relationships. Ram Dass’s teachings suggest that the only peace a human being can find is within their mind.

He tells his story. His Western family and friends would say he was more crazy after returning from India. His mind was clearer than ever. He had discovered something fundamental that could not be destroyed by social judgment.

That home within is always there, regardless of external conditions. Do you remember how Ram Dass, who suffered a severe stroke in 1997, refined his writing? His physical disability was a great burden to him and those around him, but his very existence also showed to some extent that even epileptics can survive if they work hard mentally.

10. The Journey Never Ends

Ram Dass speaks candidly and joyfully about his ongoing quest for enlightenment. He says that, despite all the significant changes, things didn’t turn out the way he expected. He was still stuck in his old programming. The good news is that he was able to accept that behavior with greater compassion.

He compares spiritual growth to a journey climbing a mountain. At one point, you think you’ve reached the top, but then another plateau and a new peak appear. This journey does not represent a place or opportunity for liberation.

Conclusion

“Be Here Now” is a book worth reading. It is a radical invitation to a different life. Ram Dass doesn’t expect you to quit your job and move to a monastery. Instead, it teaches you how to integrate mindfulness into your everyday life, such as while washing dishes, talking to a friend, or driving a car stuck in traffic.

Focus your attention on a single thing. Feel the difference between this approach and autopilot. Try a five-minute meditation to test the idea.

Approaching every experience with mindfulness, regardless of its quality, transforms it into a valuable learning experience. As Ram Dass says, everything becomes “grist for the mill.” In other words (surprisingly), moments of mindfulness increase our awareness as we experience them. This experience is the essence of “Being Here.” What we understand is that this moment is our only moment, and everything we need for our awareness is here, in this moment.