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The Unified Theory of Ram Dass

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Re: The Unified Theory of Ram Dass

#41

Post by Animats »

Oh, that guy. See this New York Times article from 1977.[1]

"Over the course of several years, Alpert claimed to have taken some 300 acid trips. Inevitably, the problem became one of facing the blandness of coming down.... Once, he says he and five others locked themselves in a building for three weeks and dropped 400 micrograms of LSD every four hours. Still; when the trip was over, it was over. Finished. Done. In “Be Here Now,” Ram Dass describes the pain: “It was as if you'd come into the kingdom of heaven and seen how it all is, and then you got cast out again.” Looking for a way to get up there and stay up there, maybe even without drugs ... Alpert split for India."

Today. tuned out, turned off, and dropped out of sight.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/04/archives/confessions-of-a...

Re: The Unified Theory of Ram Dass

#42

Post by brianberns »

toofy wrote: post #37
brianberns wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You really don't get it? He was using drugs to seduce his students from a position of power and influence over them. That wasn't cool even in 1967.

Fair point, I definitely should have been more charitable in my reading, I got stuck on this: > The most effective rape drug ever, turning adults into children who can be exploited I was looking to tease out some clarification, because the implication that these drugs turn adults into children and prime them for rape seems like a strange leap from my perspective. I’ll happily chalk it up to my lack of charitable read…

I think "turning adults into children" is just a reference to using drugs to reduce their inhibitions and/or ability to resist. Not much different from getting someone drunk.

Re: The Unified Theory of Ram Dass

#43

Post by trhway »

vijucat wrote: post #11

I've always been conflicted by these gurus, so let me play devil's advocate and present some things I found when I researched Ram Dass / Neem Karoli Baba a while ago: http://www.strippingthegurus.com/stgsamplechapters/dass.html Some interesting tales by Ram Dass about how Neem Karoli read his mind, ingested ginormous amounts of LSD without any effect, etc; here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb2BWvRN090 The specifi…

>In any case, a large number of these gurus turn out to be sexual predators, and it is absolutely crushing to those who follow them to discover this.

Sexual predator may be not that bad considering the alternatives like "Thank you for the Kool-Aid, reverend Jim"

Re: The Unified Theory of Ram Dass

#44

Post by neonate »

brianberns wrote: post #35
toofy wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other than this article, I’m pretty much unfamiliar with Ram Dass, so I’m curious what leads you to believe some form of rape took place. Is there something in Ramm Dass’ past that the article doesn’t cover? I feel like I must be missing something, surely it’s not the drug use alone that has led you to believe this, right?

You really don't get it? He was using drugs to seduce his students from a position of power and influence over them. That wasn't cool even in 1967.

What are you basing this on? I've been reading up on Alpert and had not heard anything like it. The student who got him fired at Harvard, by the way, was Andrew Weil, who later became famous as a holistic physician. I haven't heard any suggestion that Alpert raped or seduced Weil.

Listening to some of Ram Dass's talks from the 70s, I've been struck by how far ahead of his time he was in facing up to the power dynamics between gurus and disciples, and especially the sexual power dynamics between them. His statements on this from over 40 years ago sound pretty contemporary today. That's unusual, given how different a time that was. So unless you guys have specific evidence that Alpert raped people, I can't help but think you're picking on the wrong figure.

Re: The Unified Theory of Ram Dass

#45

Post by sn41 »

cuspycode wrote: post #14
FraaJad wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ram Dass (dāsa=devotee (of Lord Rama)). You might have known other people with similar last name (eg: Anil Dash). The most common pronunciation is "Das"

Why does anyone feel the need to take on a new name just because you change your religion? I never understood that. I have had epiphanies that dramatically changed my world-view, but I never thought "Now I must take a new name". I'm not criticizing those who do this, since people change their names all the time anyway, but I'm genuinely curious why this phenomenon is so common when people change their religion?

This is what I understand - in the Hindu tradition (perhaps it's similar in Buddhist and Catholic traditions) you are supposed to enter a new life when you become a Sannyasi (monk). One of the initial rituals in many schools is to perform funeral rites for your former self. Through this process, you renounce your family, relations, and what you think of as your "identity". Then the guru gives a new name to the monk. Afterwards, monks are prohibited from talking about their purvashrama (previous life).

Re: The Unified Theory of Ram Dass

#46

Post by dylan604 »

moretai wrote: post #25
gawin wrote: post #19

After a 2 year long burn-out his book ‘Be Here Now’ brought back balance, a peace of mind, and incredible love and joy in my life.

It's a placebo. The peace was always within you.

While that may be true, if it was the reading of this book that brought that peace of mind to him, why try to discredit his fondness of the book so dismissively? Everyone needs guidance from time to time, does it really matter where the guidance comes from?

Re: The Unified Theory of Ram Dass

#47

Post by FlyMoreRockets »

brianberns wrote: post #35
toofy wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other than this article, I’m pretty much unfamiliar with Ram Dass, so I’m curious what leads you to believe some form of rape took place. Is there something in Ramm Dass’ past that the article doesn’t cover? I feel like I must be missing something, surely it’s not the drug use alone that has led you to believe this, right?

You really don't get it? He was using drugs to seduce his students from a position of power and influence over them. That wasn't cool even in 1967.

Is there any actual data to support your claim?

Re: The Unified Theory of Ram Dass

#49

Post by madmax96 »

maxxxxx wrote: post #32
eludwig wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you, but I don't necessarily see a conflict between someone "teaching" me (what a guru basically is: a teacher, in a way) and other facets of their personality. I've had many teachers that were superb at imparting their lessons while living with the foibles and flaws of being real people. You take what you need from the teacher and move on. An example in popular culture: someone like Bill Cosby, who I am…

With self help, spiritual and health people I have decided only to listen to people who live their own teachings. I have seen famous yoga teachers talk about the benefits of yoga while popping large amounts of Ibuprofen daily because their practice injured them. Same for some gurus who outwardly are serene and friendly people but their ashram is a dictatorship that terrorizes and manipulates people. There is also a l…

“There is a false saying: “How can someone who can’t save himself save others?” Supposing I have the key to your chains, why should your lock and my lock be the same?”

- Nietzsche

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