Further reading: Sri Ram Chandra, Complete Works
of Ram Chandra, Vol. 1 (Pacific Grove, Calif.: Sri Ram
Chandra Mission, 1989); ———, Down Memory Lane,
Vol. 1 (Shahjahanpur: Sri Ram Chandra Mission, 1993);
———, Truth Eternal (Shahjahanpur: Sri Ram Chandra
Mission, 1986).
Ram Das See SIKHISM.
Ramdas, Swami (1884–1963) devotee of Ram
and founder of Ananda Ashram
The child Vittal Rao was born in 1884 at Hosdrug,
in the South Indian state of Kerala, to a devout
couple, Sri Balakrishna Rao and Srimata Lalita Bai.
As a child, he exhibited an extraordinary luster
in his eyes and considerable wit. Largely unin-
terested in formal schooling, he completed high
school but did not pursue higher education. With
his marriage in 1908 he became a householder,
and he remained so until age 36. As a young hus-
band and father, he vacillated between periods of
employment as a spinning master in a cotton mill
and periods of unemployment and idleness.
In 1920, in response to a number of trials and
challenges in his worldly life, he began to inquire
into the meaning of life and to chant the name
of God, RAM. An intense spiritual transforma-
tion occurred: he realized the futility of worldly
pursuits and the higher need for everlasting peace
and happiness. He became convinced that God
alone can give eternal peace and happiness. He
decided on a life of self-surrender, as attachments
to family, friends, and business dropped away. At
that time, his father gave him the Ram MANTRA,
Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram, to recite, and
his detachment from worldly pursuits increased
as the mantra took a place in his life. He then
renounced the life of the world and became a
wandering mendicant, a SADHU. He began his life
of pilgrimage in December 1922, vowing to accept
everything that happened as proceeding from the
will of Ram alone. At Srirangam, he bathed in
the CAUVERY RIVER and offered up his old white
clothes to the river. He donned the ochre robes of
a SANNYASI and took the name Ramdas. He never
referred to himself in the first person again.
In 1922, he met the sage of Arunachala moun-
tain, RAMANA MAHARSHI, and spent 20 days near
Ramana in a cave there, chanting his mantra. He
emerged from the cave and saw a strange light
with a landscape completely changed: everything
was Ram.
In 1931, after his years of traveling in faith,
his devotees established Anandashram for him in
Kanhangad, Kerala, where he lived with Mother
KRISHNABAI, a realized saint of South India.
Together they worked to improve the living con-
ditions of the local people, founded a children’s
school, established a medical clinic, and formed
a cooperative for weavers. They toured India
together and conducted a world tour in 1954–55,
with the purpose of sharing a message of universal
love and service. Swami Ramdas died on August
2, 1963.
Ramdas wrote many books, all currently in
print.Further reading: Swami Ramdas, God-Experience (Bom-
bay: For Anandashram by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,
1963); ———, In Quest of God: The Saga of an Extraor-
dinary Pilgrimage/Swami Ramdas (San Diego, Calif.:
Blue Dove Press, 1994); Swami Satchidananda, The
Gospel of Swami Ramdas (Bombay: For Anandashram by
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1979).Ram Dass (1933– ) American psychologist and
teacher of Hinduism
Ram Dass was an important figure in the Ameri-
can counterculture of the 1970s. He drew wide
public attention to yoga and Hindu spirituality
and has continued his teachings since.
Richard Alpert was born in Boston, Massachu-
setts, on April 6, 1933, the son of a prominent
corporate attorney who also served as president
of the New York–New Haven Railroad and was aK 356 Ram Das