From and for God: Collected Poetry and Writings on the Spiritual Path

by Sitaram Dass

From and for God is an intimate and contemplative collection of writings on the spiritual path. Through poetry and prose, Sitaram Dass honors his teacher, Ram Dass, and shares his heart's journey on the path of Love. The author donates 100% of his profits to Hanuman Maui, a 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to preserve Ram Dass’s legacy on Maui and foster community through the teachings of love, service and devotion. Half of those proceeds are specifically designated for the Sacred Community Project, a program under the direct fiscal sponsorship of Hanuman Maui. SCP works to lower the barriers of access to contemplative and devotional practices through affordable, free, and donation-based offerings and prison outreach. "In these luminous pages, Sitaram Dass embodies the teachings of his beloved mentor, Ram Dass. The warmth of devotion melts any meaningful distinction between cultivating loving awareness of the perfection of all that is and a wholehearted YES to alleviating suffering in the world, between art and activism, poetry and spiritual practice, between self as separate and Self as one with the One." -Mirabai Starr, author of Wild Mercy and Caravan of No Despair "Sitaram Dass is a writer in the tradition of the great mystic Kabir, Rumi, Hafiz, and the original Mirabai, and his use of language is infused with that divine spark. His poems awaken joy, which often is in short supply. His essays explore how the teachings of Ram Dass and Neem Karoli Baba relate to materialism, gender and race, and the delicate balance required in holding suffering, compassion, karma and grace in one life. I loved reading this as he says Ram Dass taught him, Sitaram Dass shows us an example of what is possible when we fully honor our human hearts." -Mirabai Bush, founding director of Contemplative Mind in Society and author of Walking Each Other Home "There is sweet wisdom here and deep devotion, and Ram Dass's love perfume that infuses SitaRam's words and heart, offered here to you." -Jack Kornfield, founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center and bestselling author of A Path with Heart "In the many hours, days and weeks I shared with Sitaram Dass at Ram Dass's home on Maui, I was always deeply touched by his kindness, his sweetness, his intelligence, and his devotion. He is a relatively "young" man who embodies the wisdom, depth, and clear perception of a very old soul. His dedication to caring for Ram Dass was deeply touching. And it was abundantly clear how very much Ram Dass loved him . . . and enjoyed his Presence. This lovely collection of poems and writings emerged from Sitaram Dass's joyful, radiant Heart. They offer the reader a delicious taste of the unfolding of the Light on one Beautiful Soul's journey hOMe." -Ramananda John E. Welshons, author of One Soul, One Love, One Heart and When Prayers Aren't Answered "In this beautiful book, Sitaram Dass sings his boundless love of serving Ram Dass and his guru, Maharaji, in sacred poetry and consecrated prose. You'll fall in love along with Sitaram-and for those of us blessed to spend time in the divine household on Maui, it all rings true. I'm inspired and touched by Sitaram's generous, courageous revealing of his heart's journey to God. I can feel the love and joy that suffuses it all. May you bathe in Sitaram's wisdom and compassion as you savor the learning he offers to our world." -Trudy Goodman, founder of InsightLA

128 pages, Paperback

Published March 20, 2021

Reviews

[Brooke, · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two poems stand out for me, 'Addiction' and 'Don't worry'. Considering I'm not a poetry fan, this is a miracle. The remaining essays, however, don't resonate. I'm not sure what I expected to discover but the only essay that felt honest was Dass' reaction to learning Ram Dass had left his body. The other essays felt as though they were trying to be "something". I wonder if this is cultural or because I'm a woman, whatever the answer, it isn't in this collection.
.
As I write this review, as I attempt to write with kindness, the recurring though I have is that one must know their own mind. One should never stop investigating and asking questions because as George Harrison wrote, "if you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."
.
I will listen to the words of Ram Dass in podcasts and video but I begin to see the need to distance myself from those continuing his legacy. History has shown that words will be taken and used to the advantage of the one speaking them.
.
Thanks to @netgalley for providing a free copy of this book.

[Seher]

I don't know what I thought I was going to be getting when I requested this book, but not this. While the poetry was actually pretty good, the essays seemed devoid of any sincerity and just seemed like the self-help stuff white people would write about. I feel like Sitaram can write decent poetry though, and perhaps more of that, with fewer essays would have been a better thing to do.

Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC!

[Carlee Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can be pretty picky when it comes to poetry, and this wasn't my favorite collection. I think it had a lot of potential, but it was not a book that stuck with me from 2021. I appreciated that some of the poems are very short, because it must be very challenging to write a full poem that is only a few short lines. Overall, this wasn't a bad collection of poetry but it also could have been improved. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!