“Their karma is their dharma,” he says. (He often speaks in pithy little nuggets of wisdom.) “We go from here, ego,” he says, tapping his head, “to here.” He pats his heart. “What I call the soul, the spiritual heart. That’s the path. Then you can view your life with a sense of detachment.” He closes his eyes and places his hand on his heart. “I am loving awareness,” he whispers.”

Ram Dass (formerly Professor Richard Alpert) is well known as America’s most famous guru, the author of “Be Here Now” first written in 1971, and in the last couple of decades, a leader in the death with dignity movement.

For many of us, as we age thoughts of illness, dependency and death may become more prevalent. It’s important to consider our deaths but not dwell on it. In The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying For myself, I want to approach

In this article from tricycle, Andréa R. Vaucher spends time in Maui with Ram Dass’ at his permanent home. Together they talk about keeping space with the dying, and how to change our own thinking to accept our own inevitable death.

Years ago, Ram Dass and Stephen Levine started a dying hotline. People on their deathbeds could call in and be supported through the process—“pillow talk,” Ram Dass calls it

Is there a middle way? Are we either holding our hands to our ears singing La La La when the subject of death arises, or does it maintain a shadowy presence in the back your thoughts. Do you feel that you must find some way to handle “the situation” before it’s here, to prepare?

Be here now ram dass