The quieter you become, the more you can hear.
– Ram Dass
Ram Dass is a contemporary spiritual thinker and the author of the book, Be Here Now. Being a teacher is about practicing what you preach. Being a spiritual teacher, Ram Dass has been true to his teachings since his life mirrors majority of his quotes.
A Short Biography
Born as Richard Alpert, Dass was raised in a Jewish family, but he did not practice the religion and labeled himself as an atheist. Due to his family’s religious belief, he undergone several rites, although he clearly stated that God has not been present in his life during his younger years.
Nevertheless, Dass went into a spiritual search and met Neem Karoli Baba, his guru who named him “Ram Dass” meaning servant of God. Due to his Hindu influences, Dass started to concentrate in exploring Judaism. His reason in meeting his Jewish roots is that according to Hindu perspective, he is to deal with what he is born in and that it has grip on him regardless of how much he pushes its away.
Quotes he lived by
One of his famous quotes is “We’re all just walking each other home.” This quote can be applied to his life after he suffered from a stroke, which led him to having expressive aphasia. He stopped traveling due to his condition, but still reaches out to people through live web casts. According to him, this is his way of working on himself to help people. This can be regarded as one of his ways in walking people home through his teachings.
Perhaps his famous quote is “the quieter you become, the more you can hear.” This is the truth because people can only listen well once they stopped talking and settle down. His expressive aphasia caused him to lose the ability to produce written or spoken language, which gave him more opportunity to listen to his heart and mind. Another aspect of his life is now that he has aged, he fully understands that he is nearing the end of his life. Due to his silence, he has come into terms about the future and is ready to meet what is in store for him. In fact, he stated that the concept of death seems naïve for him.
Another quote from Dass is “a feeling of version or attachment toward something is your clue that there is work to be done.” Most of the time, having that unhealthy bond or aversion from a person, situation or even material things can make people feel limited or suppressing their ability to move forward. They are always running away or holding on to something, resulting to missing opportunities and severing relationships. By being able to let go of these, a person will feel free and will avoid too much worries about his or her life. Freeing oneself from such baggage will start a lighter and brighter journey, just like what Dass did in his life.
Overall, Ram Dass is quite an inspirational person, not only because of his teachings, but also by how he practiced them in his life. His depth when it comes to his spirituality is something that everyone can look up to.
