William Alpert

Harvard professors Richard Alpert and Timothy Leary made countercultural history in 1963 when they were fired 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.

Once a symbol of '60s counterculture and psychedelic drug use, Ram Dass has since become a renowned speaker and author on the topics of aging, spirituality, and overcoming the mistakes of the past.

Spiritual guru Ram Dass attempts to recover from a stroke, which he dubs "fierce grace," in this documentary produced and directed his close friend.