Why Ram Dass Matters More than Ever

Having died only a few days before the close of 2019, it’s an open question whether or not Richard Alpert — better known as Ram Dass — will make it onto major publications’ rankings of “This Year’s Notable Deaths.” But while the spiritual teacher and erstwhile Harvard professor may have written his best-known work — Be Here Now — back in 1971, he deserves a place on such a list today, perhaps now more than ever. For while Be…