Read it and change your lifeApril 27, 2006 5 out of 9 found this review helpful
The message in Ram Dass's first book on returning from India is profoundly simple but enormously difficult to live by-"Be here now." Where are you? Here. What time is it? Now. This book has seen over 35 reprints with more than one million copies sold. Reading it can change your life.
Ram Dass, formerly Richard Alpert, was a professor dismissed from Harvard in 1963, along with colleague Timothy Leary, because of his experiments with mind-altering drugs such as LSD. In 1967 he traveled to India, found his guru (Neem Karoli Baba), then returned to North America to share his experience of enlightenment. In 1974, Ram Dass created the Hanuman Foundation, which developed the Prison Ashram Project, designed to help prison inmates grow spiritually during their incarceration, and the Dying Project, conceived as a spiritual support structure for conscious dying. He is a co-founder and advisory board member of the Seva Foundation, an international service organization, and he also works with the Social Venture Network, an organization of businesses seeking to bring social consciousness to business practices.
Why be anywhere else?March 19, 2006 8 out of 10 found this review helpful
"Be Here Now" captures more truth per page with less dogma and greater clarity than many foundation religious texts. There are elements of the era within which Ram Dass wrote the book, and given his path, significant discussion regard chemically altered consciousness that may be less resonant with today's readers. I first read the book after returning from participation in the Southeast Asian conflict in 1971. In the intervening years, I have revisited the book on multiple occasions with extended family members (Christian, Buddist, Hindu), my children, and most recently this year when my eldest grandchild turned 16, and with my new fiancee. The book speaks to readers on multiple levels, and resonates clearly, but differently with the passage of time. "Be Here Now (Be Now Here)" is a truly wonderful book, able to spark introspection and enlightenment in readers, and Ram Dass' enlightened gift to us all.
BlissMarch 9, 2006 4 out of 7 found this review helpful
This remarkable book with it's seventies psychodelic art and irreverent reverance is a loving reminder to stay in the moment and laugh whenever possible. It is also an interesting and important work of seventies pop culture.
epiphanyMarch 4, 2006 1 out of 9 found this review helpful
The last word of the last line opens a too brief glimpse of life. Amazing revelation of the possibilities of creative writing.
60's flashbackMarch 1, 2006 It's hard to imagine the impact this book had when it first came out - the format, the design and typography, and of course, the message. Be Here Now has aged a bit - feeling somewhat like watching a Laugh-in rerun. A real 60's rush. Sometimes naive, sometimes right on. But then again, the message was and is and will be right on - especially for those trying to find meaning in life, trying to find their center. Ancient wisdom wrapped in 60's dreams.
Be grounded. Be Here Now. Let Ram Dass show you the way.
