Remember, Be Here Now
by Ram Dass
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Book Reviews of Remember, Be Here Now
Book Review: BE HERE NOW led me to discover SEVA!
Summary: 5 Stars
I absolutely love RAM DASS & Be Here Now! If you also find him to be a spiritual leader, are impressed by this book, and want to follow his path, check out his organization SEVA! By supporting SEVA you can turn your compassion into action! [...].
Ram Dass founded Seva along with public health hero Dr. Larry Brilliant (also a follower of Neem Karoli Baba). The international health organization has done amazing work. They are perhaps best known for their work in preventable blindness, having restored sight to nearly 3 million blind people in places like Tibet, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, and throughout Africa. They also have a beautiful Native American Community Health program in the U.S.
Be Here Now taught me many important lessons about compassion and generosity. SEVA's alternative giving catalog called GIFTS OF SERVICE are a perfect way to put your compassion into action! Bookmark the page and think of it next time you want to give a gift! [...].
I give them for birthdays, anniversaries, wedding gifts, memorial gifts, for the holidays, and anytime I just want to show someone I care.
Thank you RAM DASS for all you have done for the world!
Love,
Sunshine
Book Review: Painted cakes do not satisfy hunger, yet...
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the sayings in Be Here Now is "painted cakes do not satisfy hunger" (preceding the bibliography I believe), meaning that books themselves are not the Way. However, during my formative spiritual transformation all those many years ago this book helped to set me upon the Way, and it's a book that I still visit with from time to time, to be reminded of all the many possibilities and well worn paths toward becoming a more conscious human being.
I've often wondered how this book would hold up over time, but am reminded that when this book was first presented to me I thought it completely weird, only to fully embrace what it held some months later ("Dislodging a green nut from a shell is almost impossible, but let it dry and the lightest tap will do." - Ramakrishna, quoted in BHN, pertaining to readiness). "May those who have Eyes, See; and those who have Ears, Hear", and if so, I believe this book has the requisite grace to still inspire people who thirst for more, and to "seek and ye shall find."
For me, it's no exaggeration to say that BHN has been my bible, and I can only hope that today's audience can overlook some of the dated contexts to discover the underlying truths, because the truth will indeed set you free.
Book Review: The gift of the Eternal Present.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've only read a few of the previous reviews of this book, and already I've noticed how some have said it changed their lives. Add my name to this list. I had my first encounter with the cosmic on an LSD trip in February of 1978, was terrified at first, and later (with the help of a fellow traveller who'd "been there before"), relaxed into it and felt joy at the realization that we are, indeed, dual beings. Another fellow traveller then mentioned the books of Ram Dass; I searched out my first copy of BE HERE NOW, and the rest is history.
As one wiser than me has stated, "Those who know don't speak...and those who speak, don't know." Words do indeed seem to fail me in expressing the importance and timelessness of this book; it put me on a path that I remain on to this day, and along with Neale Donald Walsch's CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD trilogy, I have found the way to knowing who and what God IS, and ISN'T. Whether you're a past or present user of psychedelics is immaterial...if the answers you seek through organized religion have evaded you, as they have millions of other seekers, then I recommend these writings with all my heart and soul. I wish you well on your journey. Namasté and Om Shanti.....Doug
Book Review: The Sea of Existence
Summary: 5 Stars
Trying to describe the concepts expressed in this amazing book is akin to the proverbial five blind men each touching and then trying to describe an elephant. The concepts herein are hinduistic in nature but certainly linked to any and all "spiritual" expressions. The key to spiritual enlightenment is surrender - the surrender of desire, the surrender of ego attachments, the surrender of self - letting go of material attachments and becoming attuned with the "quiet voice" within all of us. The highlight of this book, without a doubt, is the amazing middle section which, through alternately hilarious and sublimely profound psychedelic illustrations and writings, describes the wretched state of being trapped in a materialistic and ego-centered world and, even more amazingly, guides those seeking enlightenment on the path to "moksha" - the state where one's ego - even the material world - are released. Words are useless when it comes to this undescribable place - referred to as the 'Sea of Existence'. The bizarre illustrations may be off-putting at first but I've never before or since read anything quite like "Be Here Now".Book Review: Not for everyone
Summary: 5 Stars
The experience of being human will be different for everyone. Not everyone can be expected to like the material within. In my younger days I absolutely loved the message and was very in to focusing my attention on this and similar works for personal development. I no longer use it as a point of focus, but only because I have changed personally. Maybe it will have importance that will bring it back in to focus later.
This book is highly illustrated. The pictures inside help form the ideas that are being communicated. They are very much in a style that would remind most of late-1960s hippie art; however, when you give the pictures some consideration you can also see that they are basically just natural recurring forms and symbols that have been in long use.
I still enjoy the winding prose contained in the pages. It is fun to pick up on occasion and just pick a page to read. At this point in my life I like it purely for its ability to give me a smile and a chuckle; although, I am certain there are still modern readers who would be able to get a more spiritual trip out of it if that is what they are looking for.