Ram Dass: Fierce Grace

Starring:Ram Dass, Rosemary Woodruff Leary, Bhagavan Das, Timothy Leary, Hugh Romney, Abby Reyes, William Alpert, Larry Brilliant, Mark Matousek
Director: Mickey Lemle
Studio: Zeitgeist Films
Product Type: DVD

Description

Harvard professors Richard Alpert and Timothy Leary made countercultural history in 1963 when they were fired from that institution for conducting controversial psychedelic drug research. In the purple haze aftermath, Alpert journeyed to India and found his guru Maharaj ji, who renamed him Ram Dass ("Servant of God"). Best known for his 1971 bestseller BE HERE NOW, which was a spiritual touchstone of the era, Ram Dass became an inspiration to people across the globe. Filmmaker Mickey Lemle--who has known his subject for more than twenty-five years--intersperses vivid archival footage from hippiedom's glory days with intimate glimpses of Ram Dass today, as he continues to remake his life since being--in his words--"stroked" in 1997. Named by NEWSWEEK as one of the Top Five Non-Fiction Films of 2002, RAM DASS FIERCE GRACE is an engrossing, poignant meditation on spirituality, consciousness, healing and the unexpected grace of aging.

Customer Reviews:

BRILLIANT!.......2007-04-12

This is one of the most moving and meaningful documentaries I have ever seen. Mickey Lemle has done a magnificent job of blending all of the significent aspects of Ram Dass' life together into a beautiful tapestry that is at once touching, profound, insightful, hilarious, and heartbreaking. Ram Dass' characteristic willingness to be totally vulnerable, open, and honest, to explore the spiritual challenges inherent in the after-effects of his life-changing stroke, and to continue to share his own magical blend of extraordinarily wise, compassionate spiritual truths is refreshing, delightful, and heart-warming. BRAVO! Thank you for creating this precious gem!

Ram Dass Fierce Grace.......2007-04-10

Very inspirational with highs and lows. Great for any person who has had a stroke. I totally enjoyed it. Recommended

A Place of Grace.......2007-01-23

I don't know if it was just me or what, but when I was fifteen, I thought I was somehow going to be the one that magically escaped "old age". But then I got to be in my twenties and I still clung to a shred of hope that maybe I could still escape it. After my thirties I knew I was going to be no different than all the others that preceeded me, age was inevitable, but getting old was entirely up to me.

In this exceptional movie, Ram Dass shows us that even though the body may betray us, the Spirit that is within is always willing to make all things new. He is a "true" Spiritual teacher. He lives what he talks about. I was always kind of suspect of those "teachers" who claimed to be so exalted and beyond this world. What makes a "true" spiritual teacher is someone who shows us the we are in the world, but we are not of it...that our limitations are not here to thwart us, but are given to us so that we may get the opportunity to prove that our soul/our spirit is infinitely stronger than any situation we may be going through.

I have to admit, I've done my fair share of pouting the last few years. My body has had its share of trials and tribulations to overcome and after seeing Fierce Grace, I was actually embarrassed about my physical complaining. Ram Dass has faced his physical limitations with an even greater willingness to "serve God". He truly is the embodiment of Love, Compassion, and Service.

We can all learn from this beautiful movie. Do we curse the things that we are given or do we realize that even the so called difficulties that are in our lives are blessings? We really don't know what is for our Highest Good, but there is something that does and it is that something greater that we need to continually surrender to moment by moment by precious moment.

Every moment of our lives has gotten us to right here and right now and where we will eventually end up will be determined by what we predominantly used our time for. Did we use our time helping others or by seeing what we could get from others? Did we use our time for celebrating or for mourning our losses? Did we realize the amount of grace that is available in each and every moment or did we argue that life isn't fair? We may not be able to escape age, but we can use it to our greatest advantage.

This movie is a blessing. You will feel blessed just by watching it.

Peace to all...

Stroke of genius.......2007-01-22

This documentary-biography is presentations by Ram Dass helping us cope with aging and bringing us his experience with a stroke.

The presentations not well focused; however it is much better than many of the sound bite presentations produced now days. There is no way to come from ground zero and bring you to today's view in the few minutes of this presentation. In many ways this viewing this can be quite emotional.

This also helps fill in his life from childhood as Richard Albert and the many people he came across that changed his views through out life. We also get introduced to his books as "Be Here Now" and "Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying".

The DVD I viewed has many scenes tat did not make it into the original film. Do not over look the extras.

Outstanding.......2007-01-19

This DVD transports the viewer to a sacred space where the events in life make sense from a higher perspective. Ram Das still has the great gift to move people to their higher purpose in life. This is a DVD which I will watch whenever I need to be reminded of this higher perspective. Not only does this include a biography of Ram Das' life including his present struggles with aging after his stroke, but it also includes three incredible people who share about their tragedies and how they use their experiences to attain a higher perspective.

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