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 Welcome to the website of the Ram Dass Tape Library Foundation. The RDTLF
serves as the primary resource for information about Ram Dass, the noted
Western spiritual teacher whose best-known book, Be Here Now, was the doorway
into the spiritual journey for a generation of seekers. This website can
connect you to the rich legacy of Ram Dass' recorded teachings, to current
news about Ram Dass' activities, and to information about Ram Dass' lecture
and retreat schedules. There is also information about Ram Dass' guru, Neem
Karoli Baba (or "Maharajji"), and about the Hindu lineage of which
he is a part.
Although Ram Dass' books have had a powerful influence on the culture, he
is first and foremost a teacher in the oral tradition, a storyteller, and the
recordings of his lectures are the truest expressions we have of what he has
to teach us. The Tape Library is the caretaker for over a thousand different
tapes of Ram Dass' lectures, workshops and retreats, dating back to an LSD
conference in 1966, when he was still known by his birth-name of Richard
Alpert.
Copies of any of these tapes can be ordered from the Tape Library.
Providing access to the heritage of Ram Dass' teachings is the greatest
service we can offer the satsang, and the sale of tapes is the RDTLF's
principal source of income. In fact, that is the Tape Library's most familiar
face – as the source of those recordings.
But while the distribution of the tapes is important, the RDTLF is first and
foremost an archive for the rich legacy of Ram Dass' recorded teachings, and
so our first responsibility is to preserve these recordings. We are engaged in
an ongoing Archiving Project to preserve the legacy of the recordings; chrome
tapes have given way to DATs, which are fast becoming
obsolete and being replaced by CDs, and as technologies have improved we have
attempted to transfer the recordings to more and more stable media, using to
the best currently-available technology. We are also starting the process of
creating an index of the contents of the tapes, in order to make the material
more useful and accessible.
Our third objective is to continue the process of capturing on tape Ram
Dass' ongoing teachings. Whenever possible, staff from the Ram Dass Tape
Library attends and records Ram Dass' programs. The recordings presently in
the Tape Library's archives represent the loving service of many people over
the years, and the Tape Library continues to add to that legacy.
We invite those of you who have been touched by Ram Dass' teachings to
help pass along that gift to others by assisting with the work of the RDTLF.
Your support for the work of the Tape Library helps to ensure the
preservation of Ram Dass' teachings, and their continued and expanded
availability. You can help by becoming a member of the RDTLF, or by
volunteering your time to help the Foundation. In whatever form it is
offered, your help will be deeply appreciated. |
