Ram Dass, Five Years Later

Portrait of Ram Dass by my brother Jeremy Hoffeld

It’s been five years since Ram Dass left his body, but it still feels like yesterday. I remember the pain of getting the news shortly before Christmas, in a text message from a buddy in the Krishna Das band, and the hole it left in my heart. Later that day, friends gathered to chant and hold each other in a space of love and mutual support to get through it. It wasn’t easy. But we had RD’s guiding love and presence to help us through. And his wise words echoed through us. At that time, his famous phrase, “We’re all just walking each other home,” was especially poignant for me, ringing for days in my inner ears.

Where is that home that he was talking about? I know I’m far from there yet. Some days I even question my ability to get there at all. And I question my capacity for walking others there or being walked! When I’m shut down, and find myself living inside my own thought-world, sticking my head in the sand to avoid facing the suffering in others and on the earth at large, I’m not available for a walk.

What would Ram Dass say?

As far as I can tell, RD spent his life opening his own Heart. By the time he reached his golden years, although bound to his wheelchair from the stroke, the guy was really ready to walk others home, and be walked too. All the work he did on himself, through his sadhana and service to others, by opening himself to his guru Maharaji, brought him from a place of tight narrowness to one of complete openness. Maharaji told him to “love everyone and tell the truth.” When I first met him in person in 2016, RD told me with a smile that for almost 50 years he’d “been working with that.”

Those two commandments could have been engraved on two tablets for us when Ram Dass came down from the holy mountain of India. Each would have plenty of space on there and we could think clearly about each one, without getting lost in the complexity of having ten to work on. Who can remember them all anyhow? Those two commandments say it all.

Ram Dass did us the great service of broadcasting those messages to us. That was a huge part of his gift to the world. It’s really interesting just to settle down into those two phrases (or any of the teachings he shared) and think about their implications for our own lives, meditating on the words, contemplating the ways they might inform our own personal journey. Asking not what they mean for everyone, but what exactly do they mean for me? Where have I begun living them, and where am I not even close? At the turn of the year now, it’s a good time to reflect with a little intensity on such questions.

For me, I know I have plenty of room for growth in both areas. A long, long way to walk! I can see my own nasty tendencies on full display every single day. It seems strange to me that I’m still more invested in my own self-interest than in being open and available for helping others. I guess that’s a testament to the staying power of bad habits. The good news is that I still feel Ram Dass’ presence with me to help me walk forward, and I know he’s there for anyone else who wants to feel him and be walked home too.

He’s there, patiently holding our hands, despite our own resistance to growth, or to even opening ourselves a little bit to being held and helped.

What would Ram Dass want for us at this trying time in history? What would he say to help us all through? I wish he were here to give us guidance and perspective, or even just be present with us to make us feel better and laugh a little bit. He was so good at that. But even though he’s not here to speak, I believe we can look back at all he said and wrote and have a good guess at what he might come out with. Like his presence, his words have a timeless quality that makes them as relevant now as when he said them, even as far back as in Be Here Now in 1971.

As 2024 draws to a close and we’re cozily awaiting Kris Kringle to arrive, an interesting meditation might be to just sit quietly and imagine Ram Dass with you, maybe coming down the chimney and beating Santa to the punch. If you imagine hard enough, I know he’ll be there with you for real. Once you’ve tuned into his presence and feel him with you, holding your hand and smiling, feel into what he has to say. What’s his message for you right now, at this time on the planet and in your life? What gifts does he bring?

You might hear some words, or maybe just a gentle sense of something. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s just enough, just right for you right now.

Thanks for reading. I’m gonna go sit and try this meditation for myself now. Let me know how it goes for you in the comments below, and we can compare notes.

Happy and Healthy 2025 to you, and may Ram Dass always be present for you, walking you home and helping you to walk others too.

In Love,

Noah

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