Ram Dass: Fierce Grace
by Mickey Lemle
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bhagavan Das, Larry Brilliant, Ram Dass, Timothy Leary, William AlpertDirector: Mickey Lemle
Brand: Zeitgeist Films
Cinematographer: Bobby Squires
Producer: Bobby Squires
Cinematographer: Buddy Squires
Producer: Buddy Squires
Editor: Mickey Lemle
Producer: Mickey Lemle
Editor: Aaron Vega
Editor: Jacob Craycroft
Producer: Jessica Brackman
Producer: Linda K. Moroney
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Unknown; English (Original Language), Unknown
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 93 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-04-15
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Zeitgeist Films
Movie Reviews of Ram Dass: Fierce Grace
Movie Review: What it basically comes down to is "service" to humanity!
Summary: 5 Stars
My first introduction to Ram Dass (aka Dr. Richard Albert) came in December of 1984. I was managing a bookstore in my hometown in North Carolina, and an elderly lady came in one night just before closing. My mother had died of cancer several months before, and I was in a state of severed depression about my life and where I was headed. The lady walked around the store for a number of minutes, and then came up to the counter and laid a cassette tape down it. Now, I didn't know who this lady was. I'd never seen her before, nor did I ever see her again. She said that she wanted me to have the tape and that it would help to ease my emotional pain and suffering. I didn't know how she knew about that and felt somewhat embarrassed by her comment. I didn't want the tape and attempted to give it back to her. That was when she mentioned my mother and said that I was being watched over by her. I didn't know what to say. The lady left the store. Against my better, I listened to the tape that night. It was a lecture by someone that I'd never heard of. The man's name was Ram Dass, and he was speaking to a group of people about living and suffering, and how all of this is nothing more than another method for learning about ourselves as spiritual beings. There was a truth to his words that touched something deep within me. I could hear the honesty in his voice as he talked about his own life and the struggles that he had to work through. I have no doubt that the tape saved my life that winter. Afterwards, I began to search for more tapes by this unusual gentleman and discovered a wealth of information in both tape and book form.
Twenty-two years later, Ram Dass is once again in my life in the form of a documentary by Mickey Lemle called Ram Dass: Fierce Grace. The documentary was done in 2001 and deals with the major stroke that Ram Dass had in 1997, as well as flashbacks to his early years as a child, a Harvard professor, a spiritual seeker in India, a guru to the baby boomers of the sixties, and as the best selling author of Be Here Now. Ram Dass has always said that his message was simply his own personal journey through life. That was what he had to share with others who sought a clearer understanding about life and why we're here. During the documentary, we get to see Ram Dass and how the stroke has changed his own life with numerous sessions of therapy, learning to talk again and to be able to find the right words to express his thoughts, and still being here to help other people on their own special journey of inner discovery. We also get to see the early years of Ram Dass, especially with his spiritual guru, Neem Karoli Baba, and with his father after he returns home from India. It was enlightening to see his father, who was very upper class, deal with his son returning from a third-world country, dressed in a white robe and having a long beard, with hundreds of people flocking to their home in New Hampshire to listen to this "servant of God" speak about his own journey toward understanding. Some how, on a deeper level, his father knew that he was doing something that would help others. As the DVD ends, Ram Dass talks about his new journey, which deals with aging and strokes and still being here and a new way to find true grace in his actions.
Though I'd seen pictures of Ram Dass over the years and had listened to countless cassette tapes, I'd never seen him in person. This DVD is probably as close as I'll ever get to him. It was certainly an eye-opening experience, and it made me realize that there was vital information here that I needed to know because I'm now 56 and dealing with the aging process and my own unique journey. It was also fun to finally see Wavy Gravy. I've heard so much about him over the years and his acute sense of humor. And yes, he did make me laugh. I do wish, however, that the documentary had been longer. There's an extra twenty minutes of scenes in the Special Features, but it was still too short. I could've easily sat through another ninety minutes, listening to Ram Dass talk about perception and reality and how each person has chosen a particular path to follow with its own challenges and mellow drama and methods for achieving self-realization. There were a number of scenes in the documentary that will have you crying. The biggest one deals with the parents of Rachel, a young teen who was raped and murdered. Ram Dass wrote them a letter with regards to their tragedy, and it helped them to over-come their rage and helplessness at what had happened to their daughter. When the mother of Rachel reads the letter, it definitely brings you to tears. Another scene has Ram Dass listening to a young woman as she talks about the murder of her boyfriend and how she's trying to understand why this has happened. What she has to say brings Ram Dass to sudden tears as her words touch his heart. Needless to say, Ram Dass: Fierce Grace has an important message to deliver to those who are ready to hear it. As Ram Dass says, when you're ready, all it takes is a simple word or action to open the door to your awareness. Then, you're able to walk through it with better clarity as to why we're here and the many different roles that we play throughout our life. This is powerful stuff, but if you're not ready, it'll be meaningless to you. Namaste, Ram Dass!
Summary of Ram Dass: Fierce Grace
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