Be Here Now

Be Here Now is a melded masterpiece of autobiography, illustrated transcendental journey, precise how-to-guide for a specific kind of spiritual awakening and list of book recommendations. Released in 1977, it was heralded as a ‘Counter-Cultural Bible’ - one of the first books designed for Westerners to explain how to become a yogi. It would be easy to write it off as seventies hippies nonsense, but I think this is the kind of book that falls into your lap at exactly the right time - and you’ll get as much out of it as you need.

The first section reads like a memoir, detailing the transformation of the author Dr. Richard Alpert, Ph.D., into Baba Ram Dass. He looks back on his life as a professor, his unavoidable relationship with capitalism and his research with psychedelics. Deeper questions of spirituality remained unanswered however, motivating travel to India in search of a different path. This section ends with the author’s first interactions with several yogis; who went on to become his spiritual guides.

The second section is the biggest, and by far my favourite. It is a richly illustrated presentation of Ram Dass’s spiritual journey on brown paper of a different weight and texture to the first part of the book. In scrawly black handwriting, he references all kinds of religious texts - from Christianity to Buddhism; it’s comical in some parts and self-referential in others. The drawings capture something of the nature of hallucinations by their style and scale; but largely the pictures serve to visually explain (and simultaneously entrance) some of the more metaphysical ideas. I read this section in a single sitting, on a rooftop at sunset in Spain - and it was magical.

I can do nothing for you but work on myself…you can do nothing for me but work on yourself!

The third section of the book was a lot slower to get through, this is the ‘Cookbook for a Sacred Life: A Manual for Conscious Being’. Broken down into very clear sections such as Meditation, Sleeping, Guru and Teacher, Dance, The Rational Mind, Family Sadhana and Mantra - this part of the book is likely more useful as a guide to dip in and out of, referring back to it when needed. It has exercises and potent quotes in each section, but is pretty dry to get through if you’re reading it cover to cover. It’s also a fairly rigorous (and at times, exclusive and privileged) method, which personally gave me a lot of food for thought.

I think the message is that you don’t need to go to anywhere else to find what you are seeking.

The final section is absolutely golden for all curious souls and bibliophiles. It’s split into 3 sections: Books to hang out with, Books to visit with now & then, and Books it’s useful to have met. What a GREAT idea - all books should have these sections. I’m still digesting many of the messages and tools of this book as part of wider learning, as opposed to using it as a step-by-step manual - but you could certainly take either approach. I know that one foray into this work of art could never be enough, and whether I return to it in depth or turn to it for inspiration (magic 8-ball style) I’m yet to discover, but I can highly recommend it for anyone interested in spirituality, Ram Dass, Yogi practices and thought provoking illustrations and style.

Cosmic humor, especially about your own predicament, is an important part of your journey.

CW: Drug-use,