Ep. 292 – Coming Home to Being Human

Ep. 292 – Coming Home to Being Human

Author: Ram Dass / Love Serve Remember December 3, 2025 Duration: 58:30

Speaking to a room full of Buddhists and psychotherapists, Ram Dass explores the impact that Eastern traditions have had on his life and his extraordinary adventure of coming home to being human. 

Ram Dass Here & Now 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.

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

This episode of Here and Now comes from the keynote address Ram Dass gave at the 2nd Annual Buddhism & Psychotherapy Conference in 1987, which was sponsored by the Karma Kagyu Institute. 

  • Ram Dass begins by outlining his connection with the Kagyu lineage of Buddhism, sharing stories of his time with Trungpa Rinpoche. He then gives a brief recap of his journey in life and how he was eventually drawn towards Eastern writings and teachings.
  • Ram Dass talks about embracing Buddhist practices and his spiral path of bouncing back and forth between being in retreat and being in the marketplace of life. He explores how his work with dying people helped him embrace the extraordinary adventure of coming home to being human.
  • Sharing a story about Kalu Rinpoche, another friend in the Kagyu line, Ram Dass discusses honoring compassion and the different levels at which we can do service in the world. He wraps things up by saying, “I cannot conceivably repay the debt that I feel to the Eastern traditions for having introduced me to myself.”

About Ram Dass:

Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him. Learn more at ramdass.org.

And I see that as an extraordinary adventure of coming home to being human. It’s interesting that more of the letters I’ve gotten in the past year have said to me, ‘Thank you for being human.’ Isn’t that bizarre? I mean, I’ve spent 25 years trying to be divine, and people write and thank me for being human. I mean, that just seems like a bizarre paradox to me.” – 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. 206 – Shifting Contexts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:29
In this dharma talk from the 1990s, Ram Dass speaks about shifting contexts to shift consciousness, cultivating the Witness to curb our reactivity and entering the state known as choiceless awareness.Today's podcast is s…
Ep. 204 – Components of Meditation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:22
In this recording from 1991, Ram Dass explores the components of meditation and how the thinking mind keeps trapping awareness, plus leads a guided meditation focused on the breath.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterH…
Ep. 203 – How We Live: Community, Inner Action, and Technology [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:34
Sending out good vibes on the radio waves once again, Ram Dass takes calls from a live radio audience and answers questions about how he keeps his head straight, the dharmic potential of virtual reality and telecommunica…
Ep. 202 – When Acid Meets Beer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:09
In this recording from 1994, Ram Dass joins Duncan Campell on the radio show “Connections” for a conversation about truth, cultural change, and what happens when acid meets beer. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHel…
Ep. 201 – Don’t Forget the Breath [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:09
In this talk from 1993, Ram Dass explores how spiritual practice helps us escape the prison of our egos, then leads a 20-minute practice with the breath as the primary object of meditation.“Any model of whether this is h…
Ep. 200 - The Heart Song [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:18
Ram Dass is back with another session of Talk Radio From the Heart to sing us the Heart Song, plus answer questions about abortion, attachment to a group identity, and the struggle of death.Today's podcast is sponsored b…
Ep. 199 – The Continuity of Consciousness [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:07
In this dharma talk from 1975, Ram Dass talks about how a taste of awakening makes it possible for us to tune into the continuity of consciousness that builds through our incarnations.Today's podcast is sponsored by Bett…
Ep. 198 – Love Transcends Death [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:59
Ram Dass is back with more Talk Radio From the Heart, answering questions about grief, how love transcends death, bringing spirituality into daily life, Right Livelihood, and more. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterH…
Ep. 197 – A Deep, Quiet, Dharmic Existence [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:11
In this mellow dharma talk from 1977, Ram Dass shares stories from a trip to Thailand to visit a couple of monasteries, providing an enchanting look at a deep, quiet, dharmic existence.Today's podcast is sponsored by Bet…