Ram Dass Here And Now
Ram Dass Here And Now

Ep. 315 – Serving the Beloved

October 20, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

An old man in a blue blazer sits down to lunch with a Nepalese government minister. He feels a flicker of his old self—the one that would lock into a power struggle, a game of "me against them." But the flicker does not catch. Instead, he looks at the minister and feels an overwhelming sense of love. "I don't think some of these people are people I would choose to hang out with," he thinks, "but they are what's on the plate. And because they're on the plate, they are what has been given to me as a gift by God in order to allow me to come to God."

The Only Friend

This is Ram Dass, recorded in 1986 at the Omega Institute, and the central question of the talk is radical: what if every person you encounter is the Beloved in disguise, and your only real job is to see past what stands in your way? The talk hinges on a single, difficult teaching from Ram Dass’s guru, Maharaji, who told a young woman troubled by a fickle boyfriend, "Don't you realize your only friend is God?" For Ram Dass, this is not a pious rejection of human relationship. It is a practical reorientation of perception. He acknowledges that the word "God" makes many people wince, loaded as it is with childhood baggage and dualistic theology. He clarifies that he does not mean an anthropomorphic grandfather. Rather, he means "that vastness of myself that is below the surface... that deepest part of my being." God

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:04) **Opening with the Core Paradox** - Ram Dass introduces the idea of loving someone without liking them, framing every person as a gift from God for awakening.
  • 2 (02:33) **The Yoga of Service: Every Act is Service** - Ram Dass begins the talk, explaining that who you think you are and who you think the other person is shapes every relationship.
  • 3 (04:55) **Defining "God" for the Skeptical Listener** - Ram Dass addresses the discomfort many feel with the word "God," clarifying his non-anthropomorphic understanding.
  • 4 (10:09) **Why We Don't See God Everywhere** - Ram Dass explains that our desires and conditioning prevent us from seeing the spirit in everyone.
  • 5 (13:06) **The Emptiness of Ego-Gratification** - Ram Dass uses his own experience as a lecturer to illustrate the hollow nature of seeking validation.
  • 6 (15:44) **The Story of the Inheritance: How Hidden Expectations Trap Relationships** - Ram Dass shares a pivotal story about his guru telling him not to accept his father's inheritance.
  • 7 (18:36) **Seeing the Beloved vs. Seeing a "Case"** - Ram Dass contrasts Mother Teresa (seeing Christ in distressing disguises) with professionals who get lost in roles.

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Guests on this episode

Ram Dass

Show Notes

In this deep exploration of service, relationships, and roles, Ram Dass discusses how nothing brings more joy than serving the Beloved once we recognize that the Spirit is everywhere. 

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This episode of Here and Now is from a talk Ram Dass gave during a retreat at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, on June 20, 1986. 

  • Ram Dass talks about how every act between human beings has the capacity to help or liberate. He discusses Ramana Maharshi’s concept of “God, Guru, and Self” being the same thing, and how we can start to appreciate that God or the Spirit is everywhere.
  • Ram Dass shares an insight into his relationship with his father as an example of the subtle ways we can help each other. He talks about how our attachment to our roles and identity can hinder us from serving others, but we can play our roles without getting lost in them.
  • Ram Dass explores how every experience in life is an opportunity to awaken. He tells stories of connecting with people at the level of heart and soul as a way to play in our roles, rather than be trapped by them. When we get beyond our roles and recognize that God is everywhere, nothing brings us more joy than serving the Beloved.

“If you’ve seen the Beloved, there’s nothing that brings you more joy than serving the Beloved. Is the Beloved a mother and a child in Africa? Is it a blind man in Nepal? Is it a homeless person in New York City? Are they ‘them’ or is that the family? Is it family? Is it the lover? Is it the Beloved? Is it Christ in the distressing disguises? Is it Maharajji in drag? Which one is it? You pick it. Is it your higher self coming to ask you, ‘Can you love me here too?’” – Ram Dass

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