Born Richard Alpert in 1931, Ram Dass is a famous American spiritual teacher, author and psychologist. He was associated with Timothy Leary at Harvard University and conducted research on the therapeutic effect of psychedelics.
In 1967, Alpert traveled to India and became a disciple of the Hindu Guru Neem Karoli Baba. It was him who gave Alpert the name Ram Dass, which means “Servant of Ram”. Check out the top Ram Dass quotes.
Ram Dass Quotes that will Leave you in Deep Thought
Ram Dass Quotes About Self Love
#1. “I would like my life to be a statement of love and compassion, and where it isn’t, that’s where my work lies.” – Ram Dass
#2. “Your problem is you are too busy holding on to your unworthiness.” – Ram Dass
#3. “Our whole spiritual transformation brings us to the point where we realize that in our own being. We are enough.” – Ram Dass
#4. “The ego is an exquisite instrument. Enjoy it, use it, just don’t get lost in it.” – Ram Dass
#5. “If you want to be surrounded by Souls, become identified with your Soul. It takes one to know one!” – Ram Dass
#6. “Love is the most transformative medicine for Love slowly transforms you into what psychedelics only get you to glimpse.” – Ram Dass
#7. “Emptiness is not really empty; emptiness is full of everything. The ‘everything’ just isn’t manifest.” – Ram Dass
#8. “Cosmic humor, especially about your own predicament, is an important part of your journey.” – Ram Dass
Ram Dass Quotes About Faith
#9. “The spiritual journey is not about acquiring something outside yourself. Rather, you are penetrating the layers and veils to return to the deepest truth of your own being.” – Ram Dass
#10. “Just because you are seeing divine light, experiencing waves of bliss, or conversing with Gods and Goddesses is no reason to not know your zip code.” – Ram Dass
#11. “Healing does not mean going back to the way things were before, but rather allowing what is now to move us closer to God.” – Ram Dass
#12. “When the heart is open, it’s easier for the mind to be turned toward God.” – Ram Dass
#13. “We often think that vulnerability is a kind of weakness, but there’s a kind of vulnerability that is actually strength and presence.” – Ram Dass
#14. “What the word God means is the mystery really. It’s the mystery that we face as humans the mystery of existence, of suffering and of death.” – Ram Dass
#15. “Most of us are so caught in righteousness, we’re afraid of truth.” – Ram Dass
#16. “The more conscious that a being becomes, the more he can use any occupation as a vehicle for spreading light.” – Ram Dass
Ram Dass Quotes About Wisdom
#17. “Suffering is part of our training program for becoming wise.” – Ram Das
#18. “The heart surrenders everything to the moment. The mind judges and holds back.” – Ram Dass
#19. “Each of us finds his unique vehicle for sharing with others his bit of wisdom.” – Ram Dass
#20. “Information is just bits of data. Knowledge is putting them together. Wisdom is transcending them.” – Ram Dass
#21. “Knowledge all by itself, without deep wisdom, ends up becoming despair.” – Ram Dass
Ram Dass Quotes About Connection
#22. “We are all affecting the world every moment, whether we mean to or not. Our actions and states of mind matter, because we are so deeply interconnected with one another.” – Ram Dass
#23. “Compassion refers to the arising in the heart of the desire to relieve the suffering of all beings.” – Ram Dass
#24. “In most of our human relationships, we spend much of our time reassuring one another that our costumes of identity are on straight.” – Ram Dass
#25. “Once you get to your soul, then every person you look at is a soul.” – Ram Dass
#26. “Treat everyone you meet like god in drag.” – Ram Dass
#27. “Learn to watch your drama unfold while at the same time knowing you are more than your drama.” – Ram Dass
#28. “You are loved just for being who you are, just for existing. You don’t have to do anything to earn it. Your shortcomings, your lack of self-esteem, physical perfection, or social and economic success, none of that matters. No one can take this love away from you, and it will always be here.” – Ram Dass
#29. “We’re here to awaken from the illusion of separateness.” – Ram Dass
#30. “In our relationships, how much can we allow them to become new, and how much do we cling to what they used to be yesterday?” – Ram Dass
#31. “Our interactions with one another reflect a dance between love and fear.” – Ram Dass
#32. “You may protest if you can love the person you are protesting against as much as you love yourself.” – Ram Dass
#33. “When your center is firm, when your faith is strong and unwavering, then it will not matter what company you keep.” – Ram Dass
#34. “A relationship starting out as one that awakens love can only remain a living vehicle for love to the extent that it is continually made new or reconsecrated.” – Ram Dass
#35. “The art of listening comes from a quiet mind and an open heart.” – Ram Dass
#36. “By acting compassionately, by helping to restore justice and to encourage peace, we are acknowledging that we are all part of one another.” – Ram Dass
Ram Dass Quotes on Success
#37. “The next message you need is always right where you are.” – Ram Dass
#38. “A feeling of aversion or attachment toward something is your clue that there’s work to be done.” – Ram Dass
#39. “Now is now. Are you going to be here or not?” – Ram Dass
#40. “The world is won by those who let it go.” – Ram Dass
#41. “I see my life as an unfolding set of opportunities to awaken.” – Ram Dass
#42. “Suffering is the sandpaper of our incarnation. It does its work of shaping us.” – Ram Dass
#43. “Everything in your life is there as a vehicle for your transformation. Use it!” – Ram Dass
#44. “Be patient. You’ll know when it’s time for you to wake up and move ahead.” – Ram Dass
#45. “It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.” – Ram Dass
#46. “Start from where you are, not where you wish you were. The work you’re doing becomes your path.” – Ram Dass
#47. “Everything changes once we identify with being the witness to the story, instead of the actor in it.” – Ram Dass
Other Ram Dass Quotes
#48. “It’s the physical plane, the astral plane, the causal plane – all the conceptual levels of form, all the way back to pure idea.” – Ram Dass
#49. “Don’t think about the future. Just be here now.” – Ram Dass
#50. “I must really be crazy, because craziness is where everybody agrees about something, except you!” – Ram Dass
#51. “You don’t need to go anywhere else to find what you are seeking.” – Ram Dass
#52. “Just relax and trust the process.” – Ram Dass
Conclusion
Ram Dass went on to establish Seva Foundation and the Hanuman Foundation. He traveled extensively to address people, hosting retreats and fundraisers for charity from the 70s to the 90s. In 1997, his stroke left him paralyzed. He perceived this as an act of grace, learning to speak again and continuing to author books.
Image source: Ram Dass photo by Darryl Bush
