Rating: 
Summary: Be Here Now, Part II, the other side of the story.
Review: I really enjoyed the book and have read it many times. Personally I have been to many of the places Das visited while in India and found his narrative excellent and accurate. Be Here Now influenced my thinking in the 70's although I was really dissapointed by the boring and repetitous stories that Ram Dass told in person in public. Reading Bhagavan Das side of the story answered many questions I had at the time. Personally I don't agree with creating karma in relationships and then abandoning them in the name of Kali Ma, a theme that was recurring with Bhagavan Das. I also question the veracity of some of the narratives in the book and if they were influenced by a distorted perception because of substance induced prisms. There are some allegations that are hard to swallow such as the holiness of the Ganges river water and that it carries no bateria forever. I will like to have that allegation laboratory tested because it puts up a red flag to the truthfulness of most of the contents of the book, if Bhagavan Das really believes this absurd tale.The episode with Neem Karoli Baba where he knew of Ram Dass mother's passing away because of spleen disease, which is the basic foundation story which leads to Ram Dass conversion as a follower of Neem Karoli Baba and Bhagavan Das subsequent notoriety because of the mention in Ram Das book, creates more doubt in my mind as to the real powers of their guru. This single episode of Omniessence can be explained by many means and puts doubt about the veracity and authenthicity of the lineage. I have been fortunate to meet a few realized masters in India and Nepal, North and South America, and have also met many frauds. I am also familiar with the tendency to exagerate in India and towards the agrandising and self serving undocumented story telling that pervades, a trait that is passed on with each generation. I still believe in the power of faith and that miracles do happen and hope that Bhagavan Das continues his spiritual quest and rises above the prisms and distortions of his dogmatic devotional path, and provides us with guidance to take us to a new form of "clean spirituality" for the 21 St century. Bypassing and leaving behind all these deity worshipping and absurd and outdated religious icons. The title for the book obviously is an intent to capitalize on the readers of Be Here Now and the short philosophical attempts at the end could be expanded in his next book. In summary I really enjoyed the book and reread many times, and wish Bhagavan Das will take the next step, with the all the risk that comes with it and does venture in new territory and uncharted waters and leaves his confortable present day role behind in life, and emits authentic, challenging and new insights on the spiritual path, that we can all use.
Rating: 
Summary: Jai Bhagavan Das!
Review: I remember picking up _It's Still Here (Are You?)_ and paging through it a few times before finally purchasing it. The book simply haunted me; I came back to it again and again. Finally, I bought it, read it, and read it to my wife. We both reacted in the same way: completely captivated by this man who was so balls-to-the-wall about everything that he did. If he did anything, he did it all the way. And he spoke with this uncommon honesty: no effort to look good or spare his reputation. His words and example shone with total sincerity.When Bhagavan Das' latest recording, _Now_ (produced by Beastie Boy, Mike D.), came out, I was totally hooked. I searched out an opportunity to be with him, and was delighted to find that he was to be only a two-hour drive from our home in a few weeks timevotio. It was. Bhagavan Das is the same in print, on disk, or in person: all-out devotion to the Divine Mother, yet completely down-to-earth in his practical advice. You scratch him anywhere and love shows through. Bhagavan Das' story and music comes from a deep well, hollowed out in his heart through incessant, ecstatic singing to the Divine Mother, his Idyll and Muse. She is everything and everyone, life and death, joy and suffering. She is immediately accessible in worship, the active cultivation of what Bhagavan Das calls one's "feeling tone." Singing with him offers one an opportunity to be swept up into Bhagavan Das' own bhava, an attitude of spontaneous, passionate identification with the Deity. When the energy of complete affectionate attention occupies the center of one's awareness, one's obsessive preoccupation with oneself relaxes, and there's just the feeling of intimate, yet infinite, openness. Like one long, uninterrupted "Yes!" shooting out in all directions from the still-point at the heart. Bhagavan Das is a genuinely radiant being. Read his stories, listen to his music, chant with him in person if you can. You'll then experience his depth and genuineness for yourself. And, very likely, you'll find your own spiritual practice enlivened as a result. This is the best of all possible outcomes in any encounter. "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!"
Rating:
Summary: The Proof of the Pudding is in the Eating
Review: I remember picking up _It's Still Here (Are You?)_ and paging through it a few times before finally purchasing it. The book simply haunted me; I came back to it again and again. Finally, I bought it, read it, and read it to my wife. We both reacted in the same way: completely captivated by this man who was so balls-to-the-wall about everything that he did. If he did anything, he did it all the way. And he spoke with this uncommon honesty: no effort to look good or spare his reputation. His words and example shone with total sincerity. When Bhagavan Das' latest recording, _Now_ (produced by Beastie Boy, Mike D.), came out, I was totally hooked. I searched out an opportunity to be with him, and was delighted to find that he was to be only a two-hour drive from our home in a few weeks timevotio. It was. Bhagavan Das is the same in print, on disk, or in person: all-out devotion to the Divine Mother, yet completely down-to-earth in his practical advice. You scratch him anywhere and love shows through. Bhagavan Das' story and music comes from a deep well, hollowed out in his heart through incessant, ecstatic singing to the Divine Mother, his Idyll and Muse. She is everything and everyone, life and death, joy and suffering. She is immediately accessible in worship, the active cultivation of what Bhagavan Das calls one's "feeling tone." Singing with him offers one an opportunity to be swept up into Bhagavan Das' own bhava, an attitude of spontaneous, passionate identification with the Deity. When the energy of complete affectionate attention occupies the center of one's awareness, one's obsessive preoccupation with oneself relaxes, and there's just the feeling of intimate, yet infinite, openness. Like one long, uninterrupted "Yes!" shooting out in all directions from the still-point at the heart. Bhagavan Das is a genuinely radiant being. Read his stories, listen to his music, chant with him in person if you can. You'll then experience his depth and genuineness for yourself. And, very likely, you'll find your own spiritual practice enlivened as a result. This is the best of all possible outcomes in any encounter. "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!"
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting story of an ongoing spiritual search
Review: I was very interested in reading this book especially after
reading "Be Here Now" by Ram Dass. I had wondered after reading that book what became of Bhagavan Das. First I will say that Bhagavan Das deserves credit for his honest account of his journey. He certainly paints a picture of himself that I personally did not find too admirable and I give him credit for his honesty. This book has tremendous energy and is very hard to put down. The different experiences he has are described vividly and with focus and emotion. You feel like you are living each sentence with him as he goes through his ever changing situations. Bhagavan Das is constantly caught in a battle between the spirit and the flesh. He's almost analogous to a manic depressive who experiences extreme highs and lows, except in his
case he goes between extreme devotion and extreme narcissism. I did get very disturbed by his self indulgent behavior, not just in his narcissistic drug, sex and spiritual phases but in the way he abandoned his wives and children so that he could indulge in his spiritual quest. This seemed to be a major cop-out to me. He seemed to run away from his responsibilities in the name of spirituality. Also from a spiritual standpoint he seemed too obsessed with finding spiritual experiences of "bliss" which seemed also a form of escapism. True spirituality (in my opinion and experience)has very little to do with "states" of bliss but rather are found with finding the beauty in life itself in the present moment. All the "spiritual fireworks" he speaks of seem to be no more than a lot of spiritual masturbation. One thing in particular I found particularly disturbing is that after his first wife Bhavani dies from an overdose he doesn't let the reader know what happens to his daughter Soma. He says that his new wife doesn't want to take her in but he doesn't seem to say anything about what he does to take care of her. Not that I need to know his personal business, but he tells you all this stuff and then never explains what happens to this poor child. Rather, he goes off on some Peyote trip and gets into his own selfish headtrip. Anyway, in spite of my personal disgust about much of his behavior, I do think this book is very worthwhile to read. I think he lays it all out there for the reader to make his own decisions about things. While I certainly wouldn't take any spiritual advice from Bhagavan Das because he still seems to be anywhere but "here now", I truly wish him well.
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting story of an ongoing spiritual search
Review: I was very interested in reading this book especially after
reading "Be Here Now" by Ram Dass. I had wondered after reading that book what became of Bhagavan Das. First I will say that Bhagavan Das deserves credit for his honest account of his journey. He certainly paints a picture of himself that I personally did not find too admirable and I give him credit for his honesty. This book has tremendous energy and is very hard to put down. The different experiences he has are described vividly and with focus and emotion. You feel like you are living each sentence with him as he goes through his ever changing situations. Bhagavan Das is constantly caught in a battle between the spirit and the flesh. He's almost analogous to a manic depressive who experiences extreme highs and lows, except in his
case he goes between extreme devotion and extreme narcissism. I did get very disturbed by his self indulgent behavior, not just in his narcissistic drug, sex and spiritual phases but in the way he abandoned his wives and children so that he could indulge in his spiritual quest. This seemed to be a major cop-out to me. He seemed to run away from his responsibilities in the name of spirituality. Also from a spiritual standpoint he seemed too obsessed with finding spiritual experiences of "bliss" which seemed also a form of escapism. True spirituality (in my opinion and experience)has very little to do with "states" of bliss but rather are found with finding the beauty in life itself in the present moment. All the "spiritual fireworks" he speaks of seem to be no more than a lot of spiritual masturbation. One thing in particular I found particularly disturbing is that after his first wife Bhavani dies from an overdose he doesn't let the reader know what happens to his daughter Soma. He says that his new wife doesn't want to take her in but he doesn't seem to say anything about what he does to take care of her. Not that I need to know his personal business, but he tells you all this stuff and then never explains what happens to this poor child. Rather, he goes off on some Peyote trip and gets into his own selfish headtrip. Anyway, in spite of my personal disgust about much of his behavior, I do think this book is very worthwhile to read. I think he lays it all out there for the reader to make his own decisions about things. While I certainly wouldn't take any spiritual advice from Bhagavan Das because he still seems to be anywhere but "here now", I truly wish him well.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a spiritual hoot, a most interesting journey
Review: If you are a spiritual seeker, this book is not to be missed. Bhagvan is willing to try any discipline authentically. A real page turner!
Rating: 
Summary: One man's story; a world searching for It's Soul
Review: Look at us through the lens of Bhagavan Das and his spiritual journey. He comes along initiating much of the West into, new to us, Spiritual and Metaphysical systems. No stone goes unturned in his mad rush to get higher, to be "more" here now, as if that is possible. And he would have us believe this to be the case. We begin with the angst, the restlessness. With him we leave suburbia behind, only to find it coloring our journey every step of the way. We become lost again and again in forms, in rituals, in escapism, fleeing our own shallowness. Our ideals drive us through the sixties, we become hedonists with Bhagavan in the seventies, power-mongering materialists in the eighties, and Prodigal Children Here and Now in the waning of the nineties. I half imagine our real families await our return, do they not Bhagavan? Children and women left behind, for the sake of my soul, my journey, my enlightenment, my latest fad. So, the irony becomes one where we imagine we can leave behind what is given to us, for us to care for and nurture, so we can "finally get it". Your a long way from Home Bhagavan. May we all learn from your tale of seeking, that is in fact, Our Tale as a Whole, as well. Bhagavan Das, is Freedom found by running away from It Here Now?
Rating:
Summary: A fun read, valuable history, but not really a 'guide'.
Review: Lots of 60's spiritual history comes alive here. Good, bad and weird. It reads easily, as if it was dictated orally in a 'rap' mode, and then carefully edited and assembled by someone else. The most interesting anecdote for me, was the account of the cremation ground practitioner. This is truly a valuable first-hand account, at least for the record of religious anthropology. Some flaky spiritual 'teachings' get mixed in too, of course, which arent necessarily worth believing, such as: "The point I'm getting to is that it takes one hundred thousand prostrations to get one good one."
Rating:
Summary: A fun read, valuable history, but not really a 'guide'.
Review: Lots of 60's spiritual history comes alive here. Good, bad and weird. It reads easily, as if it was dictated orally in a 'rap' mode, and then carefully edited and assembled by someone else. The most interesting anecdote for me, was the account of the cremation ground practitioner. This is truly a valuable first-hand account, at least for the record of religious anthropology. Some flaky spiritual 'teachings' get mixed in too, of course, which arent necessarily worth believing, such as: "The point I'm getting to is that it takes one hundred thousand prostrations to get one good one."
Rating:
Summary: Gump das careens around the 60's-90's spiritual circus.
Review: Nice guy, I can relate to the madness, fun reading but rough living it I would think. When you view the origional intelligence as a "oneness" that isn't self aware with it's fingers stirring the pot, it is easy to then think you should follow all those that give the advice that YOU are the it. I tried that but found that the best advice about being here now is to give a nod in the direction of this reccomendation--- love the origional intelligence, that is self aware and is NOT you. Love yourself, and love others. Something kids do easily. Don't focus on god so much, have fun shoveling snow like ram dass did for a few minutes and then just feel your breath and love it all. I do hope you make some big money on this effort. Why not!
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