Bhagavan Das (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...

: भगवान दास) (born Kermit Michael Riggs) is an American

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

who lived for six years in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

, and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. He is a

bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

kirtan Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance art ...

singer, spiritual teacher and writer.

History

In 1963 at the age of 18, Kermit Riggs left California and journeyed solo through Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East, eventually arriving in India. During the six years he spent as a wandering

ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

and

, he writes that he received numerous initiations and teachings from various saints and sages. In 1965, Bhagavan Das met his guru, the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

holy man

Neem Karoli Baba Neem Karoli Baba () or Neeb Karori Baba () ( – 11 September 1973), known to his followers as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru and a devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman. He is known outside India for being the spiritual master of a number of Amer ...

. He became a devotee of Neem Karoli Baba. In 1967, Bhagavan Das guided spiritual teacher

Ram Dass Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been ...

(known then as Richard Alpert) throughout India and introduced him to Neem Karoli Baba. Bhagavan Das appeared in Ram Dass' 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which described Bhagavan Das' role in Ram Dass' spiritual journeys in India. Bhagavan Das is the author of the 1997 autobiography, ''It's Here Now (Are You?)''. In 2002, he released his seventh full album, called ''Now'', that was produced and arranged by

Mike D Michael Louis Diamond (born November 20, 1965), better known as Mike D, is an American rapper, musician, and music producer. He is best known as a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. Early life Diamond was born in New York City ...

of the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar, programming) ...

, an East-meets-West musical pairing.

Personal life

In 1972 in California Bhagavan Das married his girlfriend, Bhavani, who was expecting their child; subsequently their daughter, Soma, was born in New York. In 1974 in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

, while still married to Bhavani, he met Usha. Bhagavan Das and Usha had a son, Mikyo, and a daughter, Lalita. Bhagavan Das' marriage to Bhavani ended with her death in 1983. He and Usha separated . Bhagavan Das was married to Sharada Devi for 12 years. In early 2019, Bhagavan Das and his current wife Amulya Maa began singing and teaching together. On October 1, 2020, they were married.

Works

Autobiography

Radio plays

*''

The Fourth Tower of Inverness ''The Fourth Tower of Inverness'' is a 1972 radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialo ...

'', 1972, Bhagavan Das's singing is the voice of the Bodhisattva Jukebox. *'' Moon Over Morocco'', 1974, Bhagavan Das's singing is used in Sunny Skies' dream sequence.

Selected discography

*''AH'', 1972 *''Now'' (produced by

of the

), 2002 *''Holy Ghost Sessions'' (with Richard Sales), 2004 *''Golden Voice'', 2007 *''Love Songs to the Dark Lord'', 2009 *''The Howler at Dawn'', 2009 *''Mother Light'', 2014

Selected video appearances (self)

*''What is Yoga?'' (with David Life, Sharon Ganon, and

Willem Dafoe Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for four Academy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, t ...

), 1998 *'' Ram Dass, Fierce Grace'', 2001 *'' Crazy Sexy Cancer, 2007 *''Spiritual Revolution'', 2008 *''One Giant Leap 2: What About Me?'', 2008 *''

Kumaré ''Kūmāré'' is a 2011 documentary film directed by and starring American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi, who posed for a time as an Indian guru in Phoenix, Arizona, to satirize the American New Age movement. Synopsis Vikram Gandhi, the child of obser ...

'', 2011

References

Notes

Citations

Works cited

* * * * *

External links

* * * *
Bhagavan Das & Amulya Maa's channel
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhagavan Das 1945 births Living people American Hindus Bigamists Converts to Hinduism Hindu yogis Kirtan performers Ram Dass