Dr. Richard Alpert, more affectionately known as Baba Ram Das, is one of Ken Kesey’s famed “Pranksters,” one of the pioneering groups of the hippie movement. To read more about them, check out The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (review forthcoming). But this book is split into three parts. The first is Alpert’s personal journey into the realm of enlightenment. He describes amazing, interesting, and at some points hilarious contact with beings who taught him either by tale or by trial. At one point, one of the monks he was studying with in India demanded that Alpert give him all of the LSD he had brought with him. In one fell swoop, the man swallowed ALL that Alpert had brought with him. And over the next few days, Alpert kept a close eye on the man, in order that he could help him should he overdose or freak out. But he never did. Furthermore, Alpert explains that it seemed as if NOTHING had happened to the man. He continued to practice his meditation and prayer, and Alpert continued to watch in disbelief.
The main part of the book comes next. This section is composed of about 70 pages of drawings and teachings by Ram Dass. Some of it gets VERY heady, but it is a very personal explanation that he is giving about his experiences on the quest for enlightenment. Some pages must have taken him hours to draw, as there are no formal text boxes or typewritten letter in the entire mini-book. It is profound, with a child-like wonder to it that draws you in and makes you realize that there truly is a path to happiness.
The last section is entitled “COOKBOOK FOR A SACRED LIFE”. In this part, Ram Das has created a textbook-like description of how to bring the perennial philosophy into the many aspects of your daily life. Detailed explanations of yoga postures and breathing exercises will help any true practitioner correctly place their mind in the right position as well as their body.
This is an amazing book. GET IT.
