Books, 1964); Baba Ram Dass, Be Here Now (New York:
Crown, 1973); ———, Grist for the Mill (Santa Cruz,
Calif.: Unity Press, 1977); ———, Still Here: Embrac-
ing Aging, Changing and Dying (New York: Riverhead
Books, 2000); Baba Ram Dass with Paul Gorman, How
Can I Help?: Stories and Reflections on Service (New
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985).
Harappa See INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION.
Hargobind See SIKHISM.
Hari Dass, Baba (1923– ) teacher of
Ashtanga Yoga
For over 50 years, Baba Hari Dass has been teach-
ing ASHTANGA YOGA and instituting organizations
for social service in the United States, Canada,
and India, while maintaining vows of monastic
silence.
Born in 1923 near Almora, India, in the foot-
hills of the Himalayas, Baba Hari Dass left home
at age eight to join a sect of renunciants in the
jungles of the lower Himalayas. In 1942, he took
initiation as a monk in the VAIRAGI Vaishnavite
order. After years of MEDITATION, he decided in
1952 to become a MUNI SADHU, a monk who prac-
tices continual silence. The observance of silence
is aimed at gradually quieting the mind and elimi-
nating unwanted thoughts. He writes on a small
chalkboard to communicate his teachings. Despite
this vow, he has been able to implement his plans
for the extension of his version of religion and
spirituality, while developing ASHRAMS and teach-
ing YOGA.
In addition to teaching classical Ashtanga
Yoga (the Yoga of the Eight Limbs, originally
codified by PATANJALI), Baba Hari Dass is an
author, builder, philosopher, sculptor, and pro-
ponent of AYURVEDA (the ancient Indian system
of health and healing.) In 1971, he traveled to
North America, and he has continued to work
in India, Canada, and the United States. He and
his teachings have inspired the Mount Madonna
Center near Santa Cruz, California; the Dhar-
masara Satsang Society/Salt Spring Center near
Vancouver; the Ashtanga Yoga Fellowship in
Toronto; and the Sri Ram Ashram in Haridwar,
India, all organizations dedicated to yoga educa-
tion, retreats, service projects, and publishing.
The California-based Hanuman Fellowship was
formed in 1974.
In 1987, he founded (and continues to fund) a
unique orphanage near HARIDVAR, Uttar Pradesh,
that provides a family life for its residents,Baba Hari Dass, silent monk, teacher of Ashtanga
Yoga, author, and founder of several retreat centers and
social-service organizations (© Hanuman Fellowship)Hari Dass, Baba 179 J