Be Here Now Paperback – 4 February 1993
by Ram Dass (Author)
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"We're talking about metamorphosis
We're talking about going from a caterpillar to a butterfly
We're talking about how to become a butterfly."
Be Here Now is a vehicle for sharing the true message, and a guide to self-determination.
Beloved guru Ram Dass tells the story of his spiritual awakening and gives you the tools to take control of your life in this "counterculture bible" (The New York Times) featuring powerful guidance on yoga, meditation, and finding your true self.
When Be Here Now was first published in 1971, it filled a deep spiritual emptiness, launched the ongoing mindfulness revolution, and established Ram Dass as perhaps the preeminent seeker of the twentieth century.
Just ten years earlier, he was known as Professor Richard Alpert. He held appointments in four departments at Harvard University. He published books, drove a Mercedes and regularly vacationed in the Caribbean. By most societal standards, he had achieved great success. . . . And yet he couldn't escape the feeling that something was missing.
Psilocybin and LSD changed that. During a period of experimentation, Alpert peeled away each layer of his identity, disassociating from himself as a professor, a social cosmopolite, and lastly, as a physical being. Fear turned into exaltation upon the realization that at his truest, he was just his inner-self- a luminous being that he could trust indefinitely and love infinitely.
And thus, a spiritual journey commenced. Alpert headed to India where his guru renamed him Baba Ram Dass-"servant of God." He was introduced to mindful breathing exercises, hatha yoga, and Eastern philosophy. If he found himself reminiscing or planning, he was reminded to"Be Here Now."He started upon the path of enlightenment, and has been journeying along it ever since.
Be Here Nowis a vehicle for sharing the true message, and a guide to self-determination.
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Print length
416 pages
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Product description
Book Description
"We're talking about metamorphosis
We're talking about going from a caterpillar to a butterfly
We're talking about how to become a butterfly."
Be Here Now is a vehicle for sharing the true message, and a guide to self-determination.
From the Back Cover
A Lama Foundation Book. Describes one man's transformation upon his acceptance of the principles of Yoga and gives a modern restatement of the importance of the spiritual side of man's nature. Illustrated.
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Product details
ASIN : 0517543052
Publisher : CROWN; 1st edition (4 February 1993)
Language : English
Paperback : 416 pages
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Ram Dass
Ram Dass, formerly Dr. Richard Alpert, became a multigenerational spiritual teacher and cultural icon spanning from the 1960s through his peaceful passing at his home on December 22, 2019. His zeitgeist shifting book Be Here Now sparked a watershed of Eastern spiritual traditions and practices to become accessible to a Western audience. After a life-altering stroke, Ram Dass spent the remainder of his life on Maui, continuing to write books, share teachings, and hold retreats. His many books include Walking Each Other Home, Polishing the Mirror, Be Love Now, Paths to God, Still Here, and The Only Dance There Is. Ram Dass devoted his life to service, founding the Love Serve Remember Foundation, the Hanuman Foundation, and co-founding the Seva Foundation, Lama Foundation, and the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram in Taos, New Mexico. For talks, podcasts, or more information, visit ramdass.org.
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Customer reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
Top reviews from Australia
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely amazing
Reviewed in Australia on 31 August 2020
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This is hands down a must read book! If you are consciously aware of your spiritual journey, this book will provide amazing insights! I'm blown away
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gabriel roccisano
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read
Reviewed in Australia on 17 December 2020
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I love this book. It is such a simple translation of eastern philosophies for the western mind.
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Maëlle Colassin
1.0 out of 5 stars Product damaged
Reviewed in Australia on 3 January 2022
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Disappointing to receive a damaged product
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Will Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, Great service and really quality
Reviewed in Australia on 29 April 2020
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took ages to get here due to circumstances, but was worth the wait, glad to have this book finally!
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Yogesh
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely one of the best books. Must read for anyone who has even ...
Reviewed in Australia on 16 May 2015
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Definitely one of the best books. Must read for anyone who has even a slightest inclination towards spirituality and yoga.
2 people found this helpful
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gabriel gakas
5.0 out of 5 stars Open EYES open heart
Reviewed in Australia on 21 July 2015
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Amazing human being Ram Sass give us the opportunity to see through his book his soul. We need to share this love
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susan cuthbert
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in Australia on 5 November 2015
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Random thinking at times made it a little hard to comprehend
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Ms. P. Khan
5.0 out of 5 stars For kool cats and hip kids
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 March 2017
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Written in 1971, this book must have been one of the first written to the new generation of 'cats' who were interested in Indian spirituality and yoga, but knew next to nothing about it. So as others have said, it's in three parts (the fourth is simply a list of recommended books). The first I found very interesting about the early journey of Ram Dass. It gives a real flavour of the time, when nothing was tired and people were open to new ideas and experiences. The second part is a kind of creative vision of text and drawing which at first will seem naive to modern eyes, and yet grows on you. There are some ideas that can seem so dry on the page, but with art really comes alive with feeling - ideas you will have read before if you're into the subject. Also, the creative spirit of the 60s is there, which is no small thing. The third part is a 'manual for being a conscious being' and again, if you've read round this subject in other books there won't be many surprises, but again, it harkens to a time when this thinking was absolutely new to the western ear. The information in the book still holds true today, despite being very earnest in the last part at points. However, the book is ultimately made with love - the love that sustained those early seekers, and continues to sustain those today looking for an idea of what a Guru is, how others made that journey, and what it might look like for you. A social history, a spiritual comic, a guide to enlightenment.
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2.0 out of 5 stars Good book but not on a Kindle
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 February 2020
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I owned a paperback copy of this many years ago. I loved it. I thought it would be ok in the "enhanced" kindle edition. I was mistaken. The main part of the book is made up of lovely line drawings; artwork with text. Sadly, all the images are very, very small and very nearly impossible to read. At first, I assumed the problem was in the Kindle because they don't handle images well. so I tried putting the book on a tablet. Images are still too small to read and can't be enlarged. So, basically. buy a hard copy. Don't waste your time or money on it as a kindle book
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Hellyda
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible book written in a very unusual way
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 May 2018
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I'm About to finish this book, it's so lovely and I reccomend to anyone curious about spirituality, and wanting to know what happens when you explore and follow that path.
From the perspective of someone that had no idea about this world and was a complete skeptical. Very easy to relate.
16 people found this helpful
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Vincrid
4.0 out of 5 stars Happy memories
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 June 2017
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This book was always totally mad, and it has no equal. I bought it again to bring back memories of a late hippy youth with the new agers. Certainly not a theological treatise but with a unique spirituality of its own that, if totally chaotic, is still fun to be with if you aren't too orthodox in the religion of your grown up years!
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D. Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars Just BE.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 August 2020
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A truly beautiful book: beautifully typographed with words and drawings combined to create a beautiful visual journey through Baba Ram Dass’ most loving and enlightening words. Truly, both a deep read, and an inspirational ‘dip-in’. 🙏🏻
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Be Here Now
by Ram Dass
4.30 · Rating details · 32,280 ratings · 1,155 reviews
Describes one man's transformation upon his acceptance of the principles of Yoga & gives a modern restatement of the importance of the spiritual side of human nature. Illustrated.
The book is divided into four sections:
Journey: The Transformation: Dr Richard Alpert, PhD into Baba Ram Dass
From Bindu to Ojas: The Core Book
Cookbook for a Sacred Life: A Manual for Conscious Being
Painted Cakes (Do Not Satisfy Hunger): Books (less)
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Published November 2nd 2010 by HarperOne (first published 1971)
Original TitleBe Here Now
ASINB005R9HK8O
Edition LanguageEnglish
CharactersRichard Alpert, Timothy Leary
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Does anyone know any site where I can buy this book? I've been looking for it for a loong time but I only can find online editions! Please, if you know, send me the link, thanks!
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Scout Collins Guy took drugs and wrote book after it - be in the moment
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Joshua
Jan 02, 2008Joshua rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
This book helped me a lot. It was one of many that my husband brought home from work and left around the house so someone would find it at just the right time. I'd flipped through it and thought it was just a collection of philosophical sayings in the form of trippy graphics (which it is, mostly.) I noticed a copy at Ashanti's house, which impressed me, but not enough to actually start reading it.
One night I was tripping for the last time with my best friend who was about to move to another state. I was sitting in my messy room thinking of all kinds of creative ideas and then getting frustrated because I'd already thought of those ideas, years ago, and hadn't really acted on them because I was too busy smoking pot and hiding from the world. My friend was reading "Be Here Now" and kept saying "This is amazing, you have to read this!" I noticed then it was written by Ram Dass, a name I vaguely remembered from my parents' recollections of the sixties and my explorations of City Lights book store as a teenager. My friend and I were having our minds re-blown by the Doors' "When the Music's Over." It was the first time I had heard it as someone who was older than Jim was when he died. I was fascinated by the sixties as a kid, and now I was realizing I had gotten to live out a lot of the same dreams and fallen into some of the same traps.
About a week later a therapist was trying to convince me that I could get from meditation and Yoga whatever it was I got from drugs. She mentioned something about Ram Dass. A strange coincidence, I thought.
I went home and read half the book in one night. It was about just what I'd hoped-- how you can BE HIGH instead of GETTING HIGH.
Ram Dass claims to have witnessed a lot of miracles, and seems awfully sure about a lot of things, and it can be hard to swallow at first if you spent your whole life in blind loyalty to your rational mind. But he makes the point quite eloquently that we choose to believe in the supremacy of the rational mind, just as anyone else chooses a belief system, and we suffer from its limitations. A lot of people teach this, but I needed to hear it from seventies spiritual icon Ram Dass, aka sixties psychedelic pioneer Dr. Richard Alpert and former neurotic hyper-intellectual over-achiever. Since then I've been taking every chance I can to learn about spiritual practice.
The first time I tripped with that friend was years ago under the apple tree at Firefly. I heard a chickadee, which reminded me of many sunny mornings before, and I realized that we had everything we needed from the sun and the air, as beautiful beings in a beautiful world. Now I realize I am still there, and there is here, and here is now. (less)
flag228 likes · Like · 11 comments · see review
Krishna Chaitanya
Nov 26, 2020Krishna Chaitanya rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: 2020, spirituality, health, nonfiction, self-help, favorites, philosophy
This book is very deep and profound.
Emotions are like waves. Watch them disappear in the distance on the vast calm ocean.
I'm glad that I read this book at the lowest point in my life, it really pulled my up and helped me to get a perspective. Reading this book was a whole new experience, the visual explanations provided are deeply impactful and they got stuck in my head and I'd keep them in my head forever.
I've always wondered why I'm unable improve certain things in me, like, waking up early, be more compassionate to others, eat healthy, be gentle to my spouse under stressful times. I'm constantly striving to achieve these things, reading books but still not able to make much progress, this leading me to get upset and confused, unable to understand why I'm failing despite my efforts. Finally I found the answer.
You've got to go at the rate you can go.
You wake up at the rate you wake up.
You're finished with your desires at the rate you finish with your desires.
The disequilibrium comes into harmony at the rate it comes into harmony.
This book is so irresistible that I wanted to complete it in a single stint, but the wisdom this book offers is so vast, so I convinced myself that I complete this book at my own pace and will revisit it from time to time to be in pure bliss. (less)
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Alena Guggemos
Jul 16, 2008Alena Guggemos rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
I first read this book at 20 years old when I was just barely beginning to realize that my beliefs might be different from those of my parents. So, alas, my review of this book is purely personal in nature. However, I believe this is how Ram Dass would expect his book to be reviewed.
Reading "Be Here Now" could only be likened to having the top of my heart ripped out of my chest and shown to me. I felt as though it contained all the beliefs, fears, and questions that I had kept secret for so long out of fear that I was the only person who could possibly view the world in such a way.
It is true that the format of the writing is non-traditional and can be difficult to read at times. I think, though, that this was intentional. This book is not intented to be an easy read. It is the reflection of one man's spiritual journey and we as the reader are supposed to witness this journey through his meditations. The ideal way to read it would be to read a page, put down the book and then contemplate/journal/etc. the writing before picking the book back up again.
In the decade that has past since I first read "Be Here Now" I have purchased and given this book several times over, each time intending to keep the copy for myself only to meet someone who so clearly needs it more than I. I suspect that this book doesn't want to be held on to - it would much rather be let go. I feel that it is a book to be shared, a book that wants to travel, just as it's author did, to all the dark places only so it can discover how to let in the light. (less)
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Heidi The Reader
Jan 10, 2016Heidi The Reader rated it liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: the-numinous-book-club, self-help, know-thyself, non-fiction
A classic exploration of spirituality and consciousness by the former Harvard professor turned drug-fueled, then clean, spiritual seeker, Ram Dass.
What a strange book.
The first part is Ram Dass' life story.
He has trouble relating exactly how his guru changed his life. He also has trouble expressing his life changing spiritual insights.
This could perhaps be because of all the LSD he experimented with, but no judgement here.
I think Dass could have added another couple hundred pages to the first part and still probably not fully described his experience.
The next section of the book is block text printed on, what seems to be, brown paper bags. Monty Python-esque photos are drawn in, and sometimes behind, the text.
It reads like a stream-of-consciousness, path to enlightenment, how-to lecture.
Some of it is worthwhile, but I can't sugarcoat it: It's pretty far out there.
My description doesn't really do it justice. Perhaps Be Here Now is one of those books that needs to be "experienced" rather than read.
The last section was a "cook book" on how to live an enlightened lifestyle.
If you have a question about how an enlightened person lives, it's probably included in there.
Dass elucidates how he believes you should eat, sleep, breathe, interact with others, think, meditate, raise a family, form a commune and so on.
I didn't like it because it felt too brain-washy, cult-ish.
Dass attempts to put the reader's mind at ease to all of the strictures. He mentions that one needn't be concerned about family or social responsibilities because, once you reach the ultimate level, you'll realize that none of those things are real anyway.
Looking back on my review, it seems as if I don't like Ram Dass, but I do.
I rather enjoyed his Polishing the Mirror: How to Live from Your Spiritual Heart and a documentary that I saw about him once called Fierce Grace.
I too have had life experiences that have led me to the belief that human kind is here to "be high" and not just to "get high."
I don't buy into the idea that life has to be lived a certain way to get certain results.
And, perhaps because I haven't personally had the experience yet, I don't get the whole guru relationship thing. I know it's my western background speaking, but there you have it.
Recommended for spiritual seekers, but don't forget to trust your own inner guidance. (less)
flag68 likes · Like · 6 comments · see review
Fredstrong
Nov 13, 2007Fredstrong rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: all-time-favorites
Ram Dass takes the wisdom of the East, and wraps it in a package a Westerner can open. This book had a profound effect on me at a time when I was at a spiritual crossroads... well, maybe the beginning of my spiritual road is more accurate.
I was an atheist until about 21. Then I had my gnosis, or series of events that brought me into a direct experience with something larger than me. Call it what you want, the divine plan, the ground of being, the true self, insanity, a hallucination... all of these are probably equally accurate. Be Here Now, came into my life shortly thereafter, and it was as if I discovered the Rosetta Stone for my experiences. Be Here Now is part of my fundamental understanding of the self and world. It is a brilliant and beautiful work, which I highly recommend to all seekers. Ultimately, I found my path in the Western, rather than Eastern traditions, but truth, is truth, is truth, and I've found that the West leans heavily on the East, as does my paradigm. Thank you Ram Dass, Namaste
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flag41 likes · Like · 1 comment · see review
Abraham
Aug 03, 2009Abraham rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: my-top-5
I love this book. You can dismiss it if you want as ex-hippie/druggie New Age blather, but the fact is, this book has some serious wisdom. So get over the stigma and read this book for what it has to say, not the movement you think it represents.
The central message of this book resonates powerfully with me. How many of us spend inordinate amounts of time in the past or the future? How much of our day is spent wishing we were somewhere else, doing something else? How many of us live with the assumption or hope that one day in the future, everything will be hunky dory, even if we're not satisfied now?
Don't read this book if you can't handle in-your-face challenges to your entire way of life and mode of thinking. I try to read this book at least once a year and every time I do, it forces me to change my brain (this is a very good thing!)
Besides its message, I like how it challenges the notion of what an adult book is. Just open it up and you'll see what I mean.
"MADMEN'S THEATER: PRICE OF ADMISSION: YOUR MIND!" (less)
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Aric
Jun 24, 2012Aric added it · review of another edition
Shelves: religion
I'm not comfortable rating this. From somewhere behind that all-too-familiar burnt-out hippie lingo shines moments of verisimilitude, and as much as I'd like to curl a rational upper lip and scoff, a deeply irrational part of me would be disappointed if I did so. I'll say this: it is at times compelling, and at others tedious. But as far as how many "stars" I can give it? That would be missing the point altogether. (less)
flag25 likes · Like · comment · see review
Richard Sutton
Jun 16, 2013Richard Sutton rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
A Roadmap to Where You Are.
in 1970, I was trying to figure out who I was. I'd left college, manned the barricades for a while, then built a cabin on a commune. Filled with anxiety about my place in the scary world of the day, I just didn't know what I should do, until a very kind yogi mentioned I should read this book. I read it. I spent weeks thinking about it, and it changed my life. Be Here Now is the erstwhile story of Drs. Timothy Leary and Richard Alperrt's struggle to take meaning from their research into psychotropic drugs and disciplines. In easy to absorb words and concepts, it illustrates one of the most significant truths about our lives. Time is a construct. Now is all there is. Learning to adopt the principles of Dr. Alpert, who took the name Baba Ram Dass and became a perpetual seeker felt so comfortable, despite my Protestant upbringing, that I experienced frissons of release and joy throughout my time with the book. It released me from many of my stresses, released me from the past and from my anxiety over the future, and freed me to make the leap to travel to New York, where I unexpectedly found my true soulmate, my life and my home. If the Hindu overtones make you wonder if this might apply to you, forget about it and buy this book anyway. For anyone who needs to figure out where they are headed, or why, it will teach you lessons you'll never forget and make your journey more graceful. (less)
flag23 likes · Like · 1 comment · see review
Erik Graff
Mar 23, 2008Erik Graff rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Recommends it for: everyone
Recommended to Erik by: peers
Shelves: biography
With drugs, particularly pharmaceuticals, being so regularly abused in our culture, it is a salutary exercise to reconsider the sixties, when some psychoactive drugs, used considerately and independently of profit-driven corporations, turned millions towards the serious study of psychology, philosophy and religion. Richard Alpert and Timothy Leary were two prominent examples of this existential turn.
Of the two erstwhile Harvard academics, Alpert's is the happier story, Alpert the wiser man. This book, however, is Alpert at the turning point, Alpert telling the story of how L.S.D. turned him into the religious teacher, Baba Ram Dass.
The story is quite fun to read, even hilarious. The whole book, and what Alpert ended up with, is a joy.
I myself read this book in a study carrel on the second floor of the Grinnell College library. (less)
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rafaella
Feb 08, 2021rafaella rated it it was amazing
“To him who has had the experience no explanation is necessary, to him who has not, none is possible.”
What I gathered from this book is that all this is, is a predetermined drama — a wheel of birth and death (all our lifetimes) and through stillness, being present in the now, not hurrying or thinking about what’s next, you can reach detachment and start living in the Way. Other than not investing in yourself as a separate entity, the Tao is also about feeling compassionate love towards all other beings, a “us-ness” of brotherhood.
Furthermore, by releasing yourself from the bonds of karma you can return to the source. By seeing the inaction that is in action and the action that is in inaction you retain the calmness of your higher self. This book helped me forgive and view karma with new eyes. It helped me open up my heart chakra and feel compassionate love towards everyone. Overall, I’m very glad I picked it up. It shifted my perspective and was a catalyst for taking steps in letting go of some attachments.
“Now, as I look back, I realize that many of the experiences that made little sense to me at the time they occurred were prerequisites for what was to come later.”
It was eye-opening to the experiences of spiritual people the author came accros along his journey, particularly Maharaji, his guru. It covers the areas in practicing sadhana including exercises and powerful quotes. In essence, this review is a collection of my favourite sayings, as I want to come back to them.
“where they would look at another person and see the way in which the other person was similar, rather than different from themselves... You’d see differences more as clothing, rather than as core stuff.”
“Emotions are like waves. Watch them disappear in the distance on the vast calm ocean.”
“Unless you start again. Become that trusting open surrendered being, the energy can’t come in”
“The very moment you will wake up, is totally determined. How long you will sleep, is totally determined. What you will hear of what I say, is totally determined... To the ego, it looks like it’s miracles and accidents. No miracles. No accidents.”
“It is from this place in our heart cave — where we are now we watch the entire drama that is our lives — we watch the illusion with unbearable compassion”
“William James said: Our normal waking consciousness is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the filmiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different. We may go through life without suspecting their existence; but apply the requisite stimulus, and at a touch they are there in all their completeness, definite types of mentality which probably somewhere have their field of application and adaptation. No account of the universe in its totality can be final which leaves these other forms of consciousness quite disregarded. How to regard them is the question — for they are so discontinuous with ordinary consciousness. Yet they may determine attitudes though they cannot furnish formulas, and open a region though they fail to give a map. At any rate, they forbid a premature closing of our accounts with reality.”
“When you can center and see your whole life as a story in which chapters are unfolding then: the moment-to-moment ego involvement ‘Am I getting enough at this moment?’ ceases to be a dominant theme and: you start to live in the Tao (The Way).”
“If I’m not attached to this particular time-space locus then I can free my awareness from my body and I can become one with it all. I can merge with the divine mother.”
“You see that to do anything with attachment. With desire, with anger, greed, lust, fear is only creating more karma, which is keeping you in the game, on the wheel of birth and death.”
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
“To become free of attachment means to break the link identifying you with your desires. The desires continue; they are part of the dance of nature. But a renunciate no longer thinks that he is his desires.”
“Another thing that people must sacrifice is their suffering. No one who has not sacrificed his suffering can work. Nothing can be attained without suffering but at the same time one must begin by sacrificing suffering.”
“Does this mean that other thoughts stop? No. Thoughts continue as a natural process in nature, but you run them through on automatic (base brain)—the same way most people drive an automobile, that is, without attending to each movement of the accelerator or steering wheel. We function under the fallacy (cogito ergo sum) that we are our thoughts and therefore must attend to them in order for them to be realised.”
“None of these things made me feel at all cast down. It was as though they happened to someone else, and I merely watched them.”
“It follows that when you have succeeded in fully breaking the identification with your body, senses, and thoughts, then you merge into pure consciousness—Universal Consciousness. What you thought was “your” consciousness turns out to be only a part of a Consciousness caught in the illusion of separateness. A person who has severed all attachments and has thus become one with Consciousness is said to be in SAT CHIT ANANDA: total existence, total knowledge, total bliss.”
“For example, if you never got on well with one of your parents and you have left that parent behind on your journey in such a way that the thought of that parent arouses anger or frustration or self-pity or any emotion... you are still attached. You are still stuck. And you must get that relationship straight before you can finish your work... Well, it means re-perceiving that parent, or whoever it may be, with total compassion... seeing him as a being of the spirit, just like you, who happens to be your parent... and who happens to have this or that characteristic, and who happens to be at a certain stage of his evolutionary journey.”
“What makes a man unworthy of the Temple is the cowardice which prompts him to avoid the experience of shame, for this avoidance breeds oblivion... The cause of such helplessness lies in ignorance of your errors; awareness thereof, on the contrary, attracts you to the power of your God.”
“Buddha says: As long as you think there is a ‘do-er’ you are still caught in the wheel of birth and death. He meant that you do what you do, but you do not identify with the doing of it. All ‘doing’ is happening as part of the dance of nature... and though your body and mind speed about their business, you remain in your calm center... here ‘where we all are’.”
“The more you talk about it, the more you think about it, the further from it you go. Stop talking, stop thinking, and there is nothing you will not understand. Return to the root and you will find the meaning. Pursue the light, and you lose its source. Look inward and in a flash you will conquer the apparent and the void. All come from mistaken views. There is no need to seek truth, only stop having views.” (less)
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Maureen
Jun 17, 2008Maureen rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Recommends it for: cool people
Recommended to Maureen by: Maher Baba
Shelves: psychology, religion, new-age
There is something about a square book (the shape, not the content, man), printed on paper that is almost as thick as construction paper, with the wackiest insides EVER. And, yes, while we are treated to an overview of Ram Dass' life, and given a primer for becoming practicing Hindus, it is the part in the middle with the mind-melding/melting pen and ink drawings accompanied by words on a page like, "You're standing on a bridge watching yourself go by," that make this book such a trip. Literally. I think it was printed on the same kind of paper blotter acid is "printed" on. Yeah, that makes sense. Now is NOW are you going to BE HERE or not? IT'S ALL AS SIMPLE AS THAT!
As a psychedelic souvenir, or ticket to the future, this book still rocks. (less)
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Michael
Dec 08, 2013Michael rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: meditation-etc, members-only, comic-pedagogic
One might say, written by a hippie for a hippie. But hippie or not one will not find the true value of this book without being on a certain stage of a certain journey. The distinction that makes them the same is perhaps that the hippie will mindlessly accept and the anti-hippie will mindlessly dismiss. While those who have partaken of that little drop of poison known as acid, likely know an experience more profound than any combination of books can provide them, and will see the value in heeding the story of an unassuming Harvard professor who became disillusioned of the so-called real world and swan-dived into Eastern mysticism. Ram Dass is wise in his own way of channeling some of that Eastern wisdom into palatable delineations for the Westerner in this sort of how-to book complete with photos, drawings, hippie vernacular, etc. Loses a star for being a bit too certain of certain things. (less)
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Darren2dream
Jul 25, 2008Darren2dream rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
It wouldn't be fair to open this book holding on to any preconceived notions about some "hippie counterculture", you might miss the message. You must be able to accept that a book can be square in shape and that the story can be delivered as art and not only straight lines of text. And to push you just a bit further, you must be comfortable reading most of the book "sideways", not like a "regular" book.. Some of those very things are what I love about Be Here Now, to read it you must truly Be Here Now.
I've had this book for longer than almost every other book on my shelf and I still open it up and grow from the experience. (less)
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Christopher Klarmann
Aug 17, 2012Christopher Klarmann rated it did not like it · review of another edition
This book is the worst of everything wrong with the "new age" movement and its adherents. Coming from an author who claims that LSD crippled him, a physical impossibility, you know that there is going to have to be a total suspension of disbelief to even approach this book. Even with that, this isn't a book. This is a collection of platitudes and mindless drivel that appeals only to the mindless and the stoned. Do not for one second look for an original idea in this piece of trash that is merely a recycled amalgamation of religious and philosophical ideas. I cannot impress enough upon you how this book will only appeal to someone with a serious impediment to adult thought. (less)
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Kurt Bruder
Sep 09, 2010Kurt Bruder rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
I bought this book in 1972 (at age 11) to read in secret, then return to the bookstore some days later, for fear of discovery by my fundamentalist Christian father. I was seduced by the woodblock print on grocery-bag colored paper middle section. It left an indelible impression on me--one that would germinate 30 years later in my face-to-face encounter with Bhagavan Das, a much younger version of whom I first encountered in its pages.
No other book has done more to support the healthy cross-pollenation of East and West. It is the classic text of this genre. (less)
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Drkow
Apr 15, 2020Drkow rated it did not like it
I am an indian-american who has done extensive reading on ancient indian philosophy, spirituality, and mysticism. I admire the works of many spiritual gurus and authors of all spiritual traditions, both indian and non-indian.
A friend of mine gifted me this book. I know Ram Dass has a big following in the west, especially among the baby boomer generation. I see him as espousing the "free sex with reckless abandon" mentality. Unfortunately, I feel he misrepresents and defiles many indian teachings tremendously, especially teachings regarding sexual issues.
Sure, hinduism treats sex as a normal part of life instead of making it taboo, but for hindus, sex represents the longing for union with the divine. Initially, we search for it outside of ourselves, in a partner. This is meant to evolve into finding this fulfillment through union with the divinity within ourselves, so that we are whole as a person and have more to offer any relationships we have in life. To treat "free sex" as the end point is spiritual immaturity. I'm not saying one must be a 'prude' but there's so much more to life than just sex.
I sincerely feel that teachers like Ram Dass can be dangerous. Tinsel glitters brighter than gold so be wary of the low-hanging fruit. The ideal guru is one who encourages honest introspection & meditation. Instead of answering everything for you, the ideal guru has you turn inward to search for answers from the well of divine inspiration that dwells within each one of us.
One more point: "Kama Sutra" merely means "Principle of Lust" so you can say it's a book but to say it is hinduism is like saying a 'Masters and Johnsons' book is Christianity.
Please forgive me if I have offended anyone. These are my thoughts but the decision belongs to you. (less)
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D.S. West
Jan 17, 2013D.S. West rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
What a doozy of a book! I found it totally by accident. I had no idea it was by Alpert, or rather Baba Ram Dass, colleague of one Timothy Leary whose book Change Your Brain I'd just read months earlier.
This is a one-of-a-kind "trip." No, strip back those quotations marks, they dull the effect. This book IS a textual trip. I've never seen another like it. Ram Dass writes a tasty and linear account of his transition from successful doctor Richard Alpert to spiritual explorer Ram Dass. The middle section takes you out of your head--everything changes. The book turns, the text spins, but the ideas stay together in a way that, in my case at least, really did seem to dig under the rational part of me and yank up the good stuff; the Atman; the everlasting onion bulb.
If you're at all interested in exploration of self, this is probably a necessity. I'm so glad I found it by accident, and so disappointed I have to return it. I imagine I'll buy it someday. It's better than any Bible, IMHO. (less)
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Brett C
Feb 06, 2016Brett C rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: cultural
This is a really cool book. It starts out with a short biography on the writer, then goes into various pictures/templates/designs (or whatever you want to call them). these pictures are very thought provoking and I look at them regularly to help me spark creativity and just to keep me centered in this chaotic world. The pictures are based on Hinduism-Buddhism-Christianity-drugs-sex and psychological principles.
The book lastly goes into various exercises your should do daily and other helpful tidbits to make your life more pleasurable. This book hits on the premonition to live in the Here & Now. I enjoyed this book and look at it regularly. (less)
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Adam
Sep 05, 2015Adam rated it liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: 1970-present, prose, myth-religion
The truth is that while the introductory biographical stuff is interesting, and the extensive and somewhat dull guidance at the end is probably useful to people who are less inclined to eye-rolling at some of the content, the real meat of the thing, what people still come to this book for, the fancy-design-groovy-as-hell heart of the book, which I assume is the original pamphlet, is actually worth checking out.
Man, it's fun to flip through. And stare at. And it contains some real wisdom that no amount of eye-rolly irony can simply dismiss. I am not inclined to agree with everything here, or even most of what is here, but the thing is just way too interesting a document to just ignore. This is from before alternative religious thought in the West became all pastel and insane; it's when Western self-proclaimed saddhus used to just give it to you straight, all the shit about having to die to this world to be reborn into enlightenment, when they'd talk about death and the darkness and light of the universe without sugarcoating it.
If you haven't read this, and for some reason are interested in reading what the first man in the 20th century to get fired from a tenure-track position at Harvard for feeding psilocybin mushrooms to undergrads then devote to a guru in India has to offer as an introduction to a particularly psychologically-driven version of Eastern religious thought, married with some Perennialist tendencies and even stuff about how Christ is plenty groovy and the Bible's a real trip, too (man), but all in the context of a very 60s outlook, then you should probably read this.
All that said, you could probably dismiss a lot of this with just a line or two from Blake. (less)
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Clifford
Jan 30, 2008Clifford rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
This book is was perhaps the beginning of my interest in the eastern/mystical thought where I began to take meditation and Buddhist thought as less an academic study and more of an integration to my action and my belief. This book, like some others I shall review, possess not only the opinions, thought and methodology of one man, but takes the tradition of many religions and 'revealed truths' and quotes them here. I think it is perhaps necessary to the western mind to see that the perceived contradictions and esoteric leanings of 'eastern' thought can be understood by the connectedness and similarities to other ideas and words from other religions and philosophies and thinkers. This book, like many of the books of eastern thought of its kind, can be taken in small sips. For me, this is my preferred mode of mental ingestion. Such truths, deep and profound as the essence of the human experience itself, must be held on the tongue for a while to taste its fullness. The middle of the book, with drawings by Ram Das, are full of imagination and humor. Sometimes the humor makes me want to cry from happiness, and some makes me giggle like a kid. Any book that can balance profoundity and humor has achieved a rare and beautiful harmony. (less)
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Don
Aug 19, 2013Don rated it it was ok · review of another edition
I decided to read this book after seeing that Steve Jobs had cited it as a profound book that transformed him and many of friends. Within a few pages, I realized that it was definitely not for me. The book dives deep into spirituality, but was too extreme for my tastes. It is entertaining and thought provoking in parts, but far too often I would read statements that were off-putting, like "one is capable of living on light alone" and "you should be able to remember your zip code even as you drift in intergalactic ecstasy".
This book may resonate more with people who are deep on the spiritual path. Maybe one day I'll come back to it. For now though, I was better off not reading it.
(less)
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Linda (Miss Greedybooks)
Jul 06, 2012Linda (Miss Greedybooks) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: inspiring, spiritual-religion
$7.77 edition
Always a great read! Certainly brings back memories of when I first found and read it.
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Charity Finnestad
May 26, 2013Charity Finnestad rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
When you are ready to expand your mind, pick this up...
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Brian Erland
Jul 11, 2009Brian Erland rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Goodbye Dr. Richard Alpert, Harvard Psychology professor. Hello Baba Ram Dass, Hindu spiritual seeker and devotee of the great monkey-God Hanuman!
'Be Here Now' was a phenomenon born out of the sixties counter culture movement and became "the book" that turned the spiritual consciousness of the Christian West eastwards, thus altering the metaphysical landscape forever. Not only were the ideas within this 416 page softcover book made of recycled materials a shock to the religious nervous system of the American mainstream, but the very format was a mystery all its own. Part autobiography, part Occidental psychology, part hippie philosophy, part Indian mysticism, part comic book, one was left to wonder if the text was meant to be read in the conventional manner, or somehow absorbed by simply chanting the contents out loud.
Truly a piece of 20th century American spiritual history that should be experienced by all. PARADIGM SHIFT ANYONE? (less)
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Dena
Mar 18, 2009Dena rated it it was ok · review of another edition
I really appreciate the concept of living in the now. I truely believe that if we can find happiness now, our life will not be filled with regret. I did feel like the book was very disjointed, and that the message would have probablly have been better portrayed if the author had not done quite so much LSD on the path to spiritual enlightenment, but nonethelass, the message is a good one. The illustrations are beautiful in a very trippy way. Overall, I am glad to have read the book.
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Cristian
Apr 02, 2014Cristian rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: esoterics, mind
Harvard University professor turns yogi after taking multiple doses of LSD and mushrooms. This book, supposedly, determined Steve Jobs go to Asia. The first part of the book tells us about his journey. The second part is full of hand-written aphorisms and sketches. The final part presents a step-by-step guide to enlightenment.
The book raises multiple questions: 1) the issue of drugs and psychedelics, 2) professors are not always skeptical and purely rational 3) one can radically change his life, and there is a method to it.
At the beginning of his trip to India Ram Dass (then still Richard Alpert) gave LSD to different people and asked for their opinion. “It’s good, but not as good as meditation”, was an answer received. Both LSD and meditation seem to show glimpses of higher reality, but one path is faster and has more adverse effects. When you take shortcuts you get issues, as you carry the luggage of the lower reality where it does not belong. On the other hand, if you follow the proper but longer way, based on meditation and living a correct life, you could get there clean. Ouspensky and Gurdjieff (that are mentioned rather often in this book) seem to confirm that in the 'In Search for the Miraculous'; some esoteric schools used drugs to show their students the final destination, but then students had to walk the way.
In terms of academia, many books that I recently encountered are written by “crazy” professors taking drugs like the author of this book, Timothy Leary, the Nobel Prize laureate Kary Mullis, or John Lilly. LSD seems to have changed their mind. They stand in sharp contrast to the world of academia as I know it, which is rather conservative, even if most of my professors claim to be liberal. The only unusual article that I saw until now was by former Northwestern University professor Howard Becker on ‘Becoming a Marihuana User’. That one gets into details of how to smoke. Otherwise, nothing eccentric, until now. Who knows, maybe the answer was that these authors were active in the 60’s, while now there are different times, and professors present themselves in a different light?
In terms of the ‘cook-book’ for a life change, Ram Dass provides multiple quotes from holly and less holly books of different traditions, suggesting that all say the same thing. The concrete prescriptions, however, gear towards Bhakti yoga. Regardless of that, it is a good read to get a glimpse into how a path can look like.
(less)
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Joseph Dunn
Jul 30, 2011Joseph Dunn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: eastern-philosophy-spirituality
This is THE book that turned on an entire generation to eastern philosophy. Ram Das, originally named Richard Alphert, taught with Timothy Leary at Harvard in the 1950's. Together they experimented with psychedelics such as LSD and conducted clinical studies with students. As the LSD controversy swelled, both Alphert and Leary were fired from their positions. At this point, Alphert left for India in search of someone who could teach him to attain these about these higher states of awareness without the use of drugs. He found his guru, Maharaji, who renamed him Ram Das---"Servant of God."
The first section of Be Here Now describes Ram Das' experience with psychedelics, his journey through India, and his powerful relationship with his Guru. He has so many fantastic stories, and it is especially moving to read about Maharaji. The second section of the book is unlike anything I've ever seen. It is a series of psychedelic drawings which combine words and images to point towards the mystical experience. It's really beyond words, and these drawings can be turned to again and again and always show you something new. The third section contains a small vegetarian cook book which reinforces the idea of the body's connection to the mind and the spirit.
Ram Das is one of my biggest heros. The joy and love that he expresses through his words is both inspiring and contageous. Those who have experimented with psychedelics will most likely feel an affinity with his writing. You can just sense it from him. And those who are strictly interested in spirituality will recognize Truth working in his life. (less)
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Ryn
Oct 18, 2012Ryn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: spiritual-nourishment
I am not finished yet but I wanted to go ahead and write this review because I already know that this here is a great book. The answers are all in there man and there are pictures too. It is really a work of art, this book. Be here now contains so much wisdom sweetened and condensed so as to help it reach right down into your soul. Will having had experience with psychedelics help you to understand this book? Perhaps, but I swear there is so much Truth in it that you wouldn't even need to be able to read in order to get something from it. Go ahead and read it, even if you don't like it, it is a modern spiritual classic and you can enjoy it just for your cultural education. (less)
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Priyanka
Oct 20, 2020Priyanka rated it it was ok
All that glitters is not gold. This is such a beautiful book in terms of print, paper and artwork. Beyond that it offers very little spiritual information. It does shed light on the experience of someone who has experimented and used psychedelics as a medium to achieve 'spirituality'. For most part it sounded like ramblings of someone who is not entirely here and assumed he has touched something divine. (less)
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Sitanshu Kumar
Mar 10, 2020Sitanshu Kumar rated it it was amazing
Shelves: spirituality, favorites
I came to know that people like me are called hippies. Going spiritual. You can't finish this book because it meant to be read bit by bit for a lifetime. I am speechless after receiving this manifestation. Truly Life-changing for me. (less)
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