Today – April 6th – is a special birthday: Ram Dass’. He embodied a life of selfless service, compassion, and generosity, setting a precedent for Seva and millions of others around the world: Lead life, first and foremost, through love.

In the 1950s, Ram Dass, then still known as Dr. Richard Alpert, was a prominent Harvard psychologist and author researching human consciousness. His cosmic spiritual shift began in 1967, while on a trip to India. There, he met his guru Neem Karoli Baba, who gave him the name Ram Dass – meaning “servant of God” in Hindi.

Upon receiving guidance from his guru, Ram Dass co-founded Seva in 1978 with a singular goal to reduce human suffering. “When I got involved with Seva, it was like putting on an outfit that multiplied my capacity to be involved with the relief of suffering a thousandfold, because this group has such extraordinary diversity of skills, and talents, and preoccupations if you will,” he shared.

With Ram Dass’ vision, support, and guidance over the last four decades, 46+ million people have received Seva-supported eye care services. Although he is no longer with us, his legacy, spirit, and unconditional love lives on in each and every one of these individuals, and the millions more who will go on to receive the gift of sight.

Today, in the memory of Ram Dass, bring joy and spread unconditional love to your friends, family, and the world. If you’d like to support Ram Dass’ vision of a world free of avoidable blindness, please click on the link below.