Product Description

Ram Dass has always been a master of the one-liner. Here is the nitty-gritty by the author of Be Here Now—more than 200 penetrating observations and pithy spiritual instructions on such topics as How It All Is, Love and Devotion, Suffering, Aging, Planes of Consciousness, Death and Dying, Service and Compassion, Psychedelics, Social Awareness, and Liberation.

“This book is a kind of spiritual brandy, a distillation of the lectures I’ve given over the course of the past decade or so. These quotes are the little “aha!” moments, the cameos that have been served up out of our collective consciousness from time to time that seem to summarize something about our human journey. I think of this book as something you might have next to the coffeepot to pick up in the morning, or as something you might tuck into your backpack to pull out during your bus ride to work, in order to reframe the way you look at your day.” —Ram Dass

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #353773 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-03
• Released on: 2002-09-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Dass, a spiritual leader from the '60s and '70s and author of the psychedelic Be Here Now as well as the recent, wryly titled Still Here (Dass suffered a stroke several years ago), offers "a kind of spiritual brandy, a distillation of the lectures I've given...the little 'aha' moments...that have been served up out of our collective consciousness from time to time that seem to summarize something about our human journey." Divided into thematic segments (including How It All Is, Love and Devotion, Spiritual Practice, Suffering, Aging, The Guru and Psychedelics), the book contains more than 200 of Dass's pearls of wisdom: "Meditation is watching the itch instead of scratching it"; "Humor is the ability to see one reality from the perspective of another"; and "Don't take yourself so personally"; plus insights into his own character: one "one liner" reads, "I use medical maijuana for the pain and spasticity associated with my stroke. While simple, Dass's aphorisms aren't superficial. There is real wisdom here, and depth, summarizing a lifetime of spiritual seeking. This volume will make a great gift book for anyone who hankers for the truth. First serial to Tricycle.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap
Ram Dass has always been a master of the one-liner. Here is the nitty-gritty by the author of Be Here Now—more than 200 penetrating observations and pithy spiritual instructions on such topics as How It All Is, Love and Devotion, Suffering, Aging, Planes of Consciousness, Death and Dying, Service and Compassion, Psychedelics, Social Awareness, and Liberation.

"This book is a kind of spiritual brandy, a distillation of the lectures I've given over the course of the past decade or so. These quotes are the little "aha!" moments, the cameos that have been served up out of our collective consciousness from time to time that seem to summarize something about our human journey. I think of this book as something you might have next to the coffeepot to pick up in the morning, or as something you might tuck into your backpack to pull out during your bus ride to work, in order to reframe the way you look at your day." —Ram Dass

About the Author
RAM DASS is one of America’s most beloved spiritual figures. After meeting his guru in India and receiving training in practices of meditation, devotion, and hatha yoga, he translated those teachings for Western audiences through his lectures, workshops, and books. Following his guru’s instructions to “love and serve people,” Ram Dass has dedicated his life to working and teaching about consciousness transformation, conscious dying, and conscious social action. He presently makes his home in California.

Customer Reviews

RAM DASS ONE LINERS
Nothing can compare to the real LIVE Ram DAss but this is a hint of him.

Disappointing
Reading "Be Here Now" was a life-changing experience for me 25 or 30 years ago, and a few years back, when a friend was going through a rough spot, I found a lot of good advice in "How Can I Help?" So when I was looking for a book of short meditations to read in odd moments of the day, I selected "One Liners."

When I opened the book, what I found was a treatise or sermon, spread out, sentence by sentence, on thick glossy pages. With a few notable exceptions, most of the sentences really don't stand alone as words of wisdom, but are part of a line of thought that Ram Dass is developing in each section of the book. The one-line-to-a-page presentation breaks up the development of the thesis.

The glossy pages suggest that this book is intended to be purchased as a gift. I guess even gurus need to pay the rent, and I shouldn't begrudge Ram Dass this touch of commercialism.

I believe that most of what Ram Dass says in this book is true, but I couldn't disagree more with him on the subject of psychedelics. In "Be Here Now" he talks about a guru who didn't bat an eye when given a large dose of LSD. It seems to me that guru was onto something that Ram Dass just didn't get. A reaction to a drug is a physiological phenomenon, not a religious experience.

So--as usual, I'll keep the best and discard the rest. I guess I'll get over my attachment to my illusions about Ram Dass.

A taste Of Baba Ram...
For those of us that have grown up with the 'rent a mouth' of spiritual journeys it is a sweet walk through his lectures in brief. For someone new to his fine soul, it is a good collection of commen sense & thoughts to ponder.