Ep. 255 – Touched By Grace

Ep. 255 – Touched By Grace

Author: Ram Dass / Love Serve Remember July 9, 2024 Duration: 49:28

Ram Dass explores the paradox of suffering a spiritual person lives with, the perfection of it all, better living through chemistry, how we’re touched by grace, and the path of service and love.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ramdass and get on your way to being your best self.

Today’s podcast is also sponsored by Magic Mind, a matcha-based energy shot infused with nootropics and adaptogens designed to crush procrastination, brain fog, & fatigue. Use the code RAMDASS at checkout to get up to 50% off your subscription: Magic Mind

This episode of Here and Now continues the talk from Here and Now Ep. 254—The Up-Level. It was recorded at a meeting of the San Francisco Christian Community in 1978.

  • Ram Dass begins by explaining the paradox a spiritual person lives with when it comes to suffering and the perfection of all things. He touches on karma and righteousness.
  • Ram Dass talks about how he came into spirituality through his experimentation with psychedelics and better living through chemistry. He explores the power of the mystical experience, motivations for service in the face of suffering, and the limits we place on ourselves by defining who we are. 
  • Ram Dass touches on our attachment to our methods, and how we’re all touched by grace. We can fight it all we want, but we can’t fall out of grace. He tells the story of how he began to give up his anger and ends the talk with an exploration of love. For Ram Dass, his path was simply one of service and of love.

“We have been touched. We have been touched by grace. That’s what we’re doing here. That’s why we’re in this room rather than at movies or out getting more and more sensual gratification at a punk rock concert or whatever. The reason we are here is because we’ve touched something. That is the grace, that is the thing. It has happened.” – Ram Dass

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


The voice of Ram Dass carries a unique and enduring warmth, a blend of profound spiritual insight and grounded, often humorous, humanity. Ram Dass Here And Now is a curated archive of this wisdom, drawing from a rich tapestry of lectures recorded over four decades. Each episode is a focused journey into themes of consciousness, love, service, and the intricate paths of awakening, all filtered through Ram Dass's distinctive heart-centered perspective. The podcast is presented by the Love Serve Remember Foundation, with longtime friend and director Raghu Markus providing contextual introductions that connect these timeless talks to our contemporary moment. Listeners will find themselves immersed in conversations that weave together Eastern philosophy, particularly from the Hindu and Bhakti traditions, with practical Western psychology, exploring how spiritual principles manifest in everyday life, relationships, and societal challenges. It’s less a formal lecture and more an intimate, meandering dialogue with a wise elder, offering reflections that feel both ancient and immediately relevant. This isn't about dogma, but about the shared, often messy, human experience of seeking meaning and connection. To spend time with this podcast is to encounter a gentle guide, one who points persistently toward the present moment, toward compassion, and toward the recognition of our shared essence.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 307

Ram Dass Here And Now
Podcast Episodes
Ep. 241 – A Place of No Place [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:20
In this radio interview from 1977, Ram Dass explores the power of psychedelics and the importance of a guru, plus he leads a guided meditation that connects us to a place of no place.Want to be part of the discussion abo…
Ep. 240 – How to Bring the Past Into the Present [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:09
Ram Dass explores the art of how to bring the past into the present as we age, leads a powerful exercise centered around the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and talks about working with grief.Want to be part of the discussi…
Ep. 239 – The Moment Is All There Is [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:27
In this recording from 1995, Ram Dass explores the nature of time, especially as it relates to aging, and shares how his guru helped him see that being in the present moment is all there is.Today's podcast is sponsored b…
Ep. 238 – Spiritual Work Equals Social Action [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:22
Speaking to us from 1983, a time of widespread fear about nuclear war, Ram Dass explores how spiritual work equals social action, and yet, we can’t just wait until we are free to take action.Want to be part of the discus…
Ep. 237 – God, Sex, and Dope [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:05
In this wild Q&A session from 1976 that is teeming with frenetic energy from the audience, Ram Dass really just wants to talk about three things: God, sex, and dope.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to re…
Ep. 236 – The Relationship Between Karma and Grace [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:41
In this Q&A session, Ram Dass answers questions about how to love without emotional attachment, the relationship between karma and grace, and how he defines responsibility.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Clic…
Ep. 235 – The Process of Awakening [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:58
In this recording from 1976, Ram Dass explores the process of awakening and becoming enlightened. Featuring a musical interlude from Krishna Das and an introduction from Raghu Markus.This episode is a continuation of the…
Ep. 234 – The Awakening of the Soul [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:17
In this potent talk from 1976, Ram Dass explores the channels of perception of individual differences and how every experience in life is grist for the mill of the awakening of the soul.Two cultural icons. Two unique per…
Ep. 233 – The Optimum Time for Spiritual Growth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:19
In this radio interview from 1985, Ram Dass touches on identity, the purpose of meditation on the path to enlightenment, working with death as a path to spiritual growth, and much more.Today's podcast is sponsored by Bet…
Ep. 232 – The Dance of Forms [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:45
In this radio interview from 1985, Ram Dass discusses the journey of awakening, how reincarnation is within the dance of forms, dysfunctional societal myths, and much more.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Clic…