Psychedelic pioneer, Baba Ram Dass dies aged at 88

Baba Ram Dass, psychedelic research pioneer, best-selling author and New Age guru who extolled the virtues of mindfulness and grace, has died. He was 88.

Dass’ official Instagram confirmed his death Monday.

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Born Richard Alpert, the future spiritual teacher met experimental psychologist Timothy Leary while the two taught at Harvard University.

They founded the Harvard Psilocybin Project and shared psychedelic drugs with volunteer graduate students to explore their mind-altering effects.

The unorthodox pair were fired from Harvard in 1963 after faculty found out Alpert shared the drugs with undergraduates.

View this post on Instagram

With tender hearts we share that Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert) died peacefully at home in Maui on December 22, 2019 surrounded by loved ones. • He was a guide for thousands seeking to discover or reclaim their spiritual identity beyond or within institutional religion. • Memorial services will be announced shortly. In the meantime, if anyone would like to share their reflections on Ram Dass, please email remember@ramdass.org, or post with the hashtag #lovingramdass. • We are grateful for the heart to heart connection we have cultivated here and appreciate all the love that has poured out today. Thank you.

A post shared by Ram Dass (@babaramdass) on Dec 22, 2019 at 11:07pm PST

They became “counter-culture icons” in their dismissal, per the Ram Dass website, taking more drugs to learn how psychedelics expanded their consciousness.