Wednesday Night at the Movies - "Fierce Grace"

When Harvard expelled faculty members Drs. Richard Alpert and Timothy Leary (psychology professors) in 1963 for LSD experimentation, Albert, the son of a wealthy Boston lawyer, traveled to India where he met his spiritual teacher, Maharaji Neem Karoli Baba, who renamed him Ram Dass, which means "servant of God." Since returning to the United States, he has continued over the decades to share what he learned on his spiritual journey, to teach and inspire even now in his 70s as he deals with the effects of a massive stroke in 1997 which left him with impaired memory and speech and wheelchair bound.

Last Wednesday night, November 8th, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Downtown Richmond, Nancy Milner, MSW (founder of the Women's Resource Center at U of R), hosted a free viewing of the 90 minute DVD "FIERCE GRACE," a documentary on the life of Ram Dass and his spiritual journey from the 1960s counterculture to the present "as he transforms an unexpected illness into a call for grace."

Ram Dass is known for his bestseller Be Here Now which is still in print and was one of the most influential books of the 1970s.

The film weaves archival footage from the '60s with intimate glimpses of Ram Dass today as he continues to remake his life since "being stroked" in 1997. The documentary includes home movies of him as a child in the 1930s. He was one of three boys, whose Jewish father was the president of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. There is footage of him as a young Harvard psychology professor and then in India with his Indian guru. He returned home bearded and dressed in what his father called a "bed sheet." He held outdoor yogi sessions for hundreds of his followers right on the golf course of his family's Hampshire estate. He spent much of his money in social action projects with the Seva Foundation dedicated to reducing world suffering. In an opening sequence, his compassion and ability to feel the pain of others is demonstrated in "Rachel's letter," which he wrote to parents after their daughter had been murdered. In a final episode, he listens as a young woman grieves at her boyfriend's violent death and weeps when she tells him about a dream she had in which her boyfriend comforts her with a message of hope for her future.

The camera takes us with Ram Dass on his daily routine as he learns to live with his physical limitations. We see him being helped to dress and chauffeured to his physical therapy sessions. His speech is slow as he struggles to find the right words. He speaks about living on two planes of consciousness simultaneously as both a human and divine being. He has written about the stroke in his latest book, STILL HERE, in which he writes about learning to slow down and to find inner peace that comes from settling into the moment. "I'm at peace now more than I have ever been," he says, and has chosen to use the stroke--an unexpected and uninvited challenge--as a tool for spiritual transformation within himself as well as a means to help others face their own issues of aging, death and dying--especially the aging baby boomers, demonstrating how to navigate old age with dignity.

NEWSWEEK named FIERCE GRACE as one of the top five non-fiction films of 2002. It is a profoundly moving meditation on spirituality, consciousness, and the unexpected gifts of aging. Ram Dass still takes on speaking engagements and finds time to give spiritual counseling to individuals.

--compiled from various reviews of the film, FIERCE GRACE

I remember when Ram Dass came to Richmond, Virginia many years ago--I believe it was in the 1980s--and spoke to a packed house in a local theatre on Broad Street . I had just begun studying yoga in 1984 and had heard of Ram Dass and went to hear him speak. The entire theatre seemed to vibrate with his loving energy. I became aware that I was in the presence of a great spiritual teacher. I remember feeling so joyful just being in his presence and grateful to have been notified of his visit to Richmond. I don't remember what he said but I do remember how I felt being there--completely at peace and welcome and totally a part of the positive energy. Somehow I felt I belonged there just as much as anyone else and that his words were directed personally to each one of us. It was a great experience I have rarely had in my life. I treasure the memory and now look forward to seeing the DVD again which I have ordered and hope to show at my church next year.