Ram Dass ‘Psychedelic Pioneer’ Dead In Maui At Double-Infinity

MAUI, HI. (THECOUNT) — Ram Dass, the spiritual teacher and psychologist, who famously worked with Dr. Timothy Leary at Harvard on LSD research, died on Sunday in Maui, Hawaii. He was 88.

Born Richard Alpert, Dass was a devotee of Eastern religion and for his spiritual teachings that drew from a variety of traditions including Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism, and Jewish mystical studies.

He first gained notoriety as a psychedelic pioneer, having worked in the Harvard University psychology department with Leary in the early 1960s, where the two researched the potentially therapeutic and mind-altering effects of LSD and psilocybin.

Dass was the author of over a dozen books, including the classic Be Here Now, published in 1971, reports LionsRoar.

A cause of death was not provided.

Geo quick facts: Hawaii is a state of the United States of America. It is the only state located in the Pacific Ocean and the only state composed entirely of islands. The state encompasses nearly the entire Hawaiian archipelago, 137 islands spread over 1,500 miles – Wikipedia.