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50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gift of love, November 25, 2004
Mickey Lemle's documentary Ram Dass, Fierce Grace, describes the life of Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), author, 60s guru, spiritual teacher, cohort of Timothy Leary, and author of Be Here Now, one of the most influential books of the 1970s. The film begins in the present as Ram Dass deals with the effects of a massive stroke he suffered in February 1997 that left him physically incapacitated and with impaired memory and speech.
Interweaving current conversations, interviews with people in his life, and archival footage, Lemle then looks back at his childhood, the controversy surrounding his research with Timothy Leary in psychedelics at Harvard, his studies in India with Neem Karoli Baba who renamed him Baba Ram Dass (Servant of God), his work with the Seva Foundation in social action projects dedicated to relieving suffering in the world, and his impact as an author and guru to millions of followers. Several examples are shown of his compassion and his ability to feel the pain of others. In an opening sequence, his beautiful "Rachel's Letter"*comforts a family after their daughter was murdered. In the final sequence, Ram Dass listens to a young woman struggling to overcome her grief at her boyfriend's violent death. In a powerfully moving segment, she brings Ram Dass to tears when she tells him about a dream she had in which her boyfriend speaks to her from beyond with a reassuring message.
When Ram Dass received the "fierce grace" of being "stroked", he admits he did not have any unusual spiritual epiphany. He recalls, "Here I am, Mr. Spiritual, and in my own head I didn't orient toward the spirit. It showed me I have some work to do". He has written about the stroke in his latest book, "Still Here" in which he talks about slowing down, and finding out about the "everything" that is out there. For Ram Dass, aging has become a gift. "I was galumphing through life before the stroke", he says. "I'm at peace now more than I've ever been. The peace comes from settling in to the moment". Enhanced by the music of Krishna Das, the documentary is more than just a bio-pic or a meditation on the process of aging, it is an inspiring portrait of a man whose life can be summed up in one word -- service. Ram Dass has said, "What one person has to offer to another is their own being, nothing more, nothing less". In Ram Dass, Fierce Grace, Mr. Lemle has given us Ram Dass' being, nothing more, nothing less. That is a gift of love.
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89 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A hippie guru learns to live with the challenges of old age, October 2, 2003
This is a documentary about the legendary Harvard professor, Richard Albert, who experimented with LSD in the 60s, then went to India, changed his name to Ram Das, and came back to become a guru for the hippie generation. Now he's about 70, and, due to a stroke he suffered in 1997, is wheelchair bound. "I never expected old age to be like this," he says with difficulty, as his speech is slow now as he struggles to find the right words. The camera takes us right with him on his daily routine. Aides help him dress and drive him to his many therapy appointments and we are witness to his acupuncture as well as speech and physical therapy sessions.There's background of course, home movies of him as a child in the 1930s, one of three lively siblings whose father was the president of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. There's some footage of him with a fresh face and short cropped hair as a professor at Harvard as he and Timothy Leary saw the mind altering drugs of the time as a major breakthrough in human psychology. And then we see him with his guru in India, taking on the spiritually that was even more powerful than the drugs. He then returned home, bearded and dressed in what his father described as a "bedsheet", and held outdoor yogi sessions for his hundreds of his followers right on the golf course of his family's New Hampshire estate. His book, "Be Here Now" became a best seller and is still in print. But now he's an old man, struggling with his physical challenges. Much of the film focuses on him this way, and sometimes it's hard to watch as he's learning to live with his limitations. I was impatient with some of these scenes, in which he struggles to speak; I would have much preferred the film tto be about his history, rather than his present. However, I realize that the film is exactly what he intended it to be and it gives a powerful message. He's now a guru to the aging baby boomers and he's a living example of how to deal with old age with dignity. Aging is a natural part of life and we all have to learn to live with it. Ram Das is a fine example. He's recently written a book, takes on speaking engagements, and finds time to give individuals spiritual counseling. I give this film a high recommendation. There's a lot to learn from it. It might not be comfortable to watch, but it
certainly is worthwhile.
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Itself a Transmission, July 2, 2004
By A Customer
Never a Ram Dass fan, I saw this film at home and experienced a totally unexpected elevation of thought, mood and outlook. In my early 50's, I have surrendered many of my earlier life beliefs, preferring to live realistically and in concert with the community as it is. This film reached deeply into my core, brought deep tears and a profound softening, compassion for us all on the planetary journey. For anyone feeling distanced from spiritual energy, this is a must see, as it wakes up the best of what we as humans have to offer.
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