Speaking through the decades, from the 1960s to the 2010s, Ram Dass shares his thoughts on Satsang, the community of seekers who come together in the pursuit of truth. 

This episode of Here and Now is a compilation of Ram Dass discussing community and Satsang across the decades. 

• We begin in 1969, with Ram Dass exploring the power of the spiritual community, Satsang, as a protective and nurturing presence for those on the path. He shares how Satsang serves as a reference group without a physical form. “The universe that is Satsang,” he says, “is an inner universe, not an outer universe.”
• We move on to 1975, with Ram Dass reflecting on how the cultural despair of the 60s led people to band together out of a sense of spiritual need or purpose. He reflects on how these “spiritual reference groups” exist over time and space in all directions. “One begins to recognize members of one’s group quite independent of geography and quite independent of time.” 
• The next stop is 1986, with Ram Dass noting a growing maturity in the spiritual seekers he gathers with on his lecture tours. He discusses the various paths that bring people together in community and how we reassure each other through our presence for one another. “By reflecting back and forth between our hearts,” he says, “we strengthen our connection.”
• We fast forward to 1994, with Ram Dass discussing how the spiritual community is a mutual space for growth. He cautions that unless we meet in the deeper place of our beings together, the acts we do with one another will involve violence and exacerbate suffering. “Our art form is to cultivate this space and recognize that we are meeting in it, and share the essence of space behind the form.” 
• Finally, we end in 2017, with a conversation between Ram Dass, Raghu Markus, and Rameshwar Das about how the deeply familial nature of Satsang is rooted in love and truth. They share stories about Ram Dass’ guru brother, KK Sah, and the early days of Satsang in the West.

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“It’s just us humans together in the shelter of each other. This is what Satsang, or Sangha, is. This is it. This is the community of beings who are acknowledging that dual intention: You work on yourself as an offering to others, you work on others as a way of working on yourself. Circle’s complete. And everything is part of that circle. All of it.” – Ram Dass

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In this interview from 1977, Ram Dass shares his views on psychedelics and how they can provide a free slate to experience the innocence of consciousness once again. 

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This episode of Here and Now is from an interview with Ram Dass conducted by New Dimensions Radio in 1977, shortly after Ram Dass participated in a conference called “LSD – A Generation Later.” 

• The interview begins with Ram Dass discussing the happenings at the conference and his interactions with other psychedelic luminaries, including Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, and Albert Hofmann. 
• Ram Dass explores the culture surrounding LSD in 1977, and how he has no desire to legislate how other people live their lives. He shares his guru’s instructions for using the “yogi medicine” and talks about whether or not it’s important to have a guide for psychedelic experiences.
• Finally, Ram Dass cautions that “getting high and seeing” is only one part of the process of change, and there are inner processes necessary to bring about change in life. He discusses the cultural evolution brought about by psychedelics and the shifts in consciousness he sees taking place. 

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“If you have a guide, you’re calm, and you really want to explore your inner being, I still see LSD as an incredible vehicle for overriding your habitual response patterns, your habits of thought, and giving you a free slate to experience your innocence of consciousness once again.” – Ram Dass

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Speaking across the decades, from the 1960s to the 2010s, Ram Dass shares his insights into responding to suffering, the meaning of service, and the confluence of social action and spiritual work.

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This episode of Here and Now is a compilation of Ram Dass talking about service and social action across the decades.

• We begin in 1969, during a time of significant cultural change. A time where the people of the United States found themselves in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, the anti-war protests, and the rise of Women’s Liberation. Ram Dass explores the concept of social responsibility and talks about why protesting should come from a place not of anger, but of love.
• Next, we move to 1983. The media landscape has transformed in the wake of the Iran hostage crisis, political paradigms shift as Ronald Reagan makes his way to power, and communities all over the world begin to feel the impact of the growing AIDS epidemic. Ram Dass talks about learning to trust one’s intuitive inner voice when it comes to responding to suffering, and how we can bring together social action and spiritual work.
• Two years later, it is 1985 and the world has rapidly evolved. The Soviet Union has become a global threat. The nightly news shows the Apartheid regime in South Africa violently cracking down on Civil Rights activists, while the Reagan administration stands by, focused instead on rolling back civil liberties at home in the United States. Ram Dass offers perspective on navigating these challenges with an open heart. He explores the difference between dharma and seva, and why service requires us to embrace paradox in our lives.
• It is 1993, technology is transforming the world and how we engage with it. Ram Dass explores how being too attached to the fruits of our actions can be detrimental to social action work, leading activists to burn out quickly.
• We end our journey across the decades in 2018, in the middle of the first Trump administration in America. Wars rage on, and civil liberty is at risk across the globe. How do we oppose this skillfully and with an open heart? Ram Dass talks about how karma yoga is the key to finding the right balance between working on yourself and taking action for the benefit of others. 

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“So it really requires, it seems to me, staying open from moment to moment when you’re doing social action. And if you’re too obsessed with the goal, you lose it. If you’re too obsessed with the goal, since in much action you don’t get what you want, you’ll burn out much sooner. And so, the injunction of the Bhagavad Gita, which says be not identified with being the actor, be not attached to the fruits of the action, and yet, the action happens.” – Ram Dass

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In this exploration of the fear of suffering as we get older, Ram Dass talks about approaching the mystery of aging and death in the same adventurous manner as his friend Timothy Leary.

For more on the relationship between Ram Dass and Timothy Leary, please check out Dying to Know, a book that details their epic friendship and Timothy’s process of dying.

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This talk from June 1996 is part of an aging study group Ram Dass conducted to help guide his book on aging, Still Here.

• Fear of future suffering is a major issue for all us, but especially when it comes to aging. Ram Dass explores how we tend to respond to that fear with massive denial, and how we can work on coming to terms with those fears through a shift in perspective.
• Ram Dass talks about how his work with people who are severely ill or in the process of dying has helped prepare him for his own death. He talks about the fear of losing one’s analytic, linear mind, which is so valued in this culture, and how we can open ourselves up to the value of non-linear thinking.
• Finally, Ram Dass details the time he spent with his old friend Timothy Leary as he approached his death. For Timothy, death was another glorious adventure. Ram Dass wonders if we shouldn’t all add a touch of the “Leary Method” as a way to approach the mystery of aging and dying.

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“What Timothy added was the fun of it, the adventure as you approach the mystery. When you’re approaching a mystery, what space do you want to be in in your head? Getting free of guilt? I mean, is that the one you want? Which one do you want? Which one opens to the possibilities? And Timothy was an adventurer, I mean, as I can tell you from being in the backwash for years. Timothy took me fighting and screaming into adventure. He opened up the whole image of dying into the possibility that it was a celebratory, adventurous, exciting part of life.” – Ram Dass

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In this special bonus episode, Ram Dass offers his viewpoint on how we can dance in the ocean of change as the structure of our culture shapeshifts before our very eyes.

This episode of Here and Now is from a talk Ram Dass gave at a bookstore in Sebastopol, CA, on April 15, 1992.

• How do you learn to live with change? Where do you stand? Ram Dass offers his viewpoint on our culture as he saw it in the early 1990s, talking about the rapid changes taking place in the ecological, economic, social, political, and spiritual realms. 
• Ram Dass explores the massive denial in the culture about what all these changes mean and how that denial leads to uncertainty and fear. He talks about his work with death and dying, and how we can work with the death of our culture in a similar manner.
• Finally, Ram Dass shares how we can begin to find some balance amidst the chaos of change. It is possible to feel equanimity and even joy in a world that is filled with suffering. He says, “So you and I are driven to work on ourselves to rest in the place in ourselves where we are not vulnerable to the winds of changing time and space. And then to dance in the ocean of change, and to be a great dancer.” 

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“Here we are dealing with perhaps the death of the whole structure, the way we know it. This is a massive death process. Now, this sounds like a gloomy lecture, except it isn’t. It all depends on whether you expect change always leads to bad things.” – Ram Dass

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In this classic Q&A session from the 1980s, Ram Dass talks about soul mates, marriage and open relationships, working with truth in relationships, and much more.

In this episode of Here and Now:

• Ram Dass begins with questions about soul mates and the difference between marriage and cohabitation. “I’m not sure,” he says, “I understand the term ‘soul mate’ other than people have work to do together, at times. Then, they may come together in many different forms.” 
• Ram Dass converses with an audience member about being on the spiritual path while having a partner who is not. Next comes a question about open relationships, which leads him to talk about the importance of working with truth in relationships.
• Finally, Ram Dass answers a question about the different challenges men and women face in awakening through relationships. He talks about a quality of androgyny that can manifest in spiritual identity.

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

Sponsors of this Episode:

Ram Dass Here & Now is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ramdass and get on your way to being your best self.

This show is also sponsored by Magic Mind, a matcha-based energy shot infused with nootropics and adaptogens designed to crush procrastination, brain fog, & fatigue. Get 45% off the Magic Mind bundle with our link: magicmind.com/ramdass

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“It is certainly possible to work with truth in a relationship, to get to the point where, more and more, you are safe in expressing what your impulses are and your truth of your moment. Truth is one of the vehicles for deepening spiritual awareness through another human being and if there is a license for that in any relationship – with guru, with friend, with lover, whatever it is – it is an absolutely optimum way of coming into a liquid spiritual relationship with another person.” – Ram Dass

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In this Q&A session from 1993, Ram Dass talks about his passions, the balance of separateness and unity, dealing with turmoil, the creative force of the universe, and more. 

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This episode of Here and Now is from a Q&A session at an event in Boise, Idaho in April 1993.

• Ram Dass begins with questions about dealing with people who might not like you, what his current passions in life are, and the art of staying in the present moment. 
• Ram Dass moves on to inquiries about hesitating when action feels needed, making the transition from somebody to nobody, and the limits of Carl Jung’s work with mythic archetypes. 
• Finally, Ram Dass answers questions about dealing with polarization and turmoil in the world, offers his personal feelings about organized religion, and explores the creative force of the universe. He ends with a brief guided meditation centered around awareness and compassion for those who are suffering.

Join renowned meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg for a free live conversation and interactive Q&A exploring the power of real connection—with ourselves, each other, and the world around us. Throughout the discussion, Sharon, Jackie Dobrinska, and Raghu Markus will weave in the wisdom of Ram Dass, reflecting on how intimacy can be a profound path to awakening. Join this free live call on April 7th: Click Here To Learn More

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“There is a process where, when you get out of the way, the whole creative force of the universe keeps expressing itself through the way you walk, talk, dance, paint, write, whatever your thing is.” – Ram Dass

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In this talk from 1970, Ram Dass explores the transformation from ignorance to wisdom, going up and coming down, living in the spirit, and different techniques of centering.

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This episode of Here and Now is the second half of a talk Ram Dass gave at the Arlington Street Church in Boston on March 24, 1970. Don’t miss part one of this talk: Tuning Up & Tuning In. In this episode:

• Ram Dass explores the transformation from ignorance to wisdom. “The really fierce problem that most of us are realizing at this moment,” he says, “is how to alter our ways of thinking about who we are and how it all is, to be in tune with something inside that already knows.”
• Ram Dass talks about the roller coaster of going up and coming down. But that’s all ultimately a game. The real work is to center ourselves so we can be at the vibrational rate where we are living in the spirit.
• Ram Dass shares different techniques of centering oneself, including vipasana meditation, pranayama breathing, and bhakti yoga. “As far as I can see,” he says, “every form of yoga is based on one-pointedness of mind. Take bhakti yoga, singing a love song to Ram. It only works when you can make your mind so one-pointed on Ram that you and Ram become one.”

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“Living in the spirit is a vibrational rate. It’s a take of it all. It’s a vibrational take. In order for it to work, you’ve got to get your head so centered. You’ve just got to calm down and center. And it’s really fierce to do it in the marketplace. And sometimes it’s cool to go off and do it in cycles. So at those times you sort of go off by yourself to cool out and center.” – Ram Dass

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In this unique talk from 1970, Ram Dass explores the confluence of dualism and nondualism, how the One and the many exist simultaneously, and why all of life is about tuning up.

This episode of Here and Now is the first half of a talk Ram Dass gave at the Arlington Street Church in Boston on March 24, 1970. In this talk:

• Ram Dass begins by talking about why all of life is about tuning up. “We’re tuning out of dualism into nondualism,” he says. “Tuning into being here and now.”
• Guided by wisdom from the likes of John the Baptist and Lao Tzu, Ram Dass digs deeper into his exploration of how dualism and nondualism come together. The One and the many can exist simultaneously.
• Ram Dass talks about Shiva’s dance, the mind-trip of holiness, and taking a night off from his Sadhana to go bowling. He ends with a classic story about not being able to keep his consciousness at the right level during a Q&A session.

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

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This show is also sponsored by Magic Mind, a matcha-based energy shot infused with nootropics and adaptogens designed to crush procrastination, brain fog, & fatigue. Get 45% off the Magic Mind bundle with our link: magicmind.com/ramdassjan

“The tuning up is complicated, you see, because we’re not tuning out, we’re tuning up. We’re changing our vibrational rate.” – Ram Dass

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Ram Dass shares stories of social action and explores how we can plug into our sense of intuitive rightness so that our every act is in the way of things and in tune with the universe.

This episode of Here and Now is from a dharma talk given at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, on March 9, 1983. 

• Ram Dass begins by talking about some of the anti-nuclear protests going on and how he feels tired of being “should upon.” He shares a story about how he wound up marching for peace across the Golden Gate Bridge.
• For Ram Dass, taking part in social action must come from a sense of intuitive rightness within ourselves, not from models of who we think we are and what we think we should be doing. We must listen our way into the harmony of things and resonate intuitively with the deepest parts of our beings.
• Ram Dass talks about quieting the screaming trumpets of the judging mind in order to hear what our next act should be. He shares the story of a protest he attended in New York where everyone simply felt privileged to be present in the moment. “You and I are environments for each other,” he says. “We’re the soil in which the flowers around us grow.”

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

Sponsors of this Episode:

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Reunion is offering $250 off any stay to the Love, Serve, Remember community. Simply use the code “BeHere250” when booking. Disconnect from the world so you can reconnect with yourself at Reunion.  Hotel | www.reunionhotelandwellness.com Retreats | www.reunionexperience.org

This show is also sponsored by Magic Mind, a matcha-based energy shot infused with nootropics and adaptogens designed to crush procrastination, brain fog, & fatigue. Get 45% off the Magic Mind bundle with our link: magicmind.com/ramdassjan

“It was in the way of things. It had an intuitive sense of rightness. It was the meditative space of listening. Of hearing, not even listening. Of being so in tune with the universe that you can sense how your every act, your walking meditation, is interwoven with every other form. And the quality of the way in which you walk is your participation in the totality.” – Ram Dass

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