The Spiritual Teachings of Ram Dass
Everyone
has heard the one about the successful man or woman who has everything, drops
out of the rat race, goes to India, meets a guru, and finds God. That all started with Ram Dass.
Having first gained notoriety as a counter-culture icon, Ram Dass has evolved into an internationally renowned spiritual teacher and author of many books, including the best-selling classic Be Here Now.
His spiritual philosophy is difficult to neatly define, but draws heavily upon Hinduism, with strong references to Buddhism and Christianity. Having spent time with and learned from both Indian gurus and Benedictine monks, Ram Dass might best be thought of as a bridge connecting eastern and western thought, identifying common principles or universal truths in each of these great religious traditions. For the Christian, his teachings can bring a better understanding of how to lead a more Christ-centered life. Specifically, how to better follow the two great Commandments given by Jesus:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind
.... [and] Love your neighbor as yourself.
— Matthew 22:37-38
The essence of Ram Dass's spiritual philosophy is best summed up in his "Three Plane Awareness" model. The three planes are the ego, the soul, and God.
We've gotten lost in our Ego and have
forgotten
that our Soul's motive is to merge with the Beloved.
—Ram Dass
Ego
Most people define themselves in terms
of their egos - I am a father, a mother, a teenager, rich, poor, liberal,
conservative, young, old...the list goes on forever. Our culture reinforces this
level of awareness - "you are what you wear," "you are what you eat," "what kind
of car do you drive?" et cetera. Most of us also generally define others in
terms of their egos - they are nice, mean, attractive, ugly, smart, stupid,
funny, or unpleasant. The ego is competitive; it assesses itself by comparison
to other egos. We will tear down another's ego if it threatens our own or
doesn't "measure up" to our standards--"Sure, she is beautiful, but she is
really scatterbrained. I am smarter than she is." "He might be successful but I
bet he doesn't have any real friends."
Following Christ's teachings is very difficult when our awareness and
identity is completely tied up with our ego.
There is a larger frame to the
painting
than the one that bounds our life events.
—Ram
Dass
Soul
We are much more than our egos, thanks be to God.
We are also souls. If we identify with our souls, then we begin to see things as
God sees them. In the Gospels, Jesus taught us time and time again that God sees
us as souls. Souls are eternal, egos and all things that are important to egos
are not. If we see others as souls instead of only their egos, then following
Christ's great teaching to love others as you love yourself becomes much easier.
Compassion flows more readily when we realize that the person who injured our
ego is also a soul just like us. Our egos fight. Our souls are untouched. Even
if we are worlds apart in terms of our egos, we share the same divine spark of
the Creator in our souls. We are all children of God and beloved by Him. Just as
God loves us He commands us to love others as well.
God
God is the source of all that is. He is the Creator
and we are created in His image. The material world of the ego is finite, as are
the bodies where our egos are housed. God is infinite and eternal; our souls are
similarly eternal for they carry the divine spark. God is spirit, the soul is
spirit as well. Our souls yearn to merge with God, to be one with Him. Christ
said that He and the Father are one and that we should approach the Holy through
Him. We can become one with God through Christ. Ram Dass would say to think of
Christ as our guru.
Pure Awareness is who I was when I was
Nobody.
—Ram Dass
Awareness
As we increasingly identify with our
souls instead of our egos, we will be better able to live a Christ-centered
life. Christ, who as spirit lives in our hearts, brings us into union with God
through His presence. The key is to be aware of His presence. We cannot attain
this wonderful state of awareness by doing anything. We attain it by doing
nothing. We attain it by being still, by letting go of our egos, by surrendering
our life to God so that we might live more fully. When we finally let go, freed
of the prison of the ego, aware that we are souls, we are connected to God. When
our ego is silent, our soul is free to rest in the Holy Lord, the giver of life,
now and forever.
—Nick Lewis
Ram Dass audio tapes are available for purchase through the Ram Dass Library. To contact the library, call (415)499-8587 or visit the Ram Dass Library Web site.
The quotations above appear in One-Liners ©2002 by Ram Dass, published by Bell Tower, New York. Help support explorefaith.org. Purchase a copy of One-Liners by following this link to amazon.com.