Richard Alpert

Place: Boston

Born: 1931

Death: 2019

Biography:

Ram Das, also known as Richard Alpert, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and writer. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1931 and died in Maui, Hawaii in 2019. He was best known for his 1971 book 'Be Here Now' and his research on the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs at Harvard University in the early 1960s. In 1967, he traveled to India and became a disciple of Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba, who gave him the name Ram Dass, meaning 'Servant of Ram'. He co-founded the charitable organizations Seva Foundation and Hanuman Foundation and was a popular spiritual teacher and writer until his stroke in 1997. He continued to teach and write books until his death in 2019.