In Memoriam - Baba Hari Dass

Baba Hari Dass
March 26, 1923 – Sept 25, 2018

Baba Hari Dass was a yoga master, a silent monk, and a commentator in the Indian scriptural tradition. Upon his arrival in the US in the early 1971, he and his teachings inspired the creation of several yoga centers and retreat programs in California and in Canada, including Dharma Sara Satsang Society on Salt Spring Island.

He was an author, playwright, martial arts teacher, sculptor, and builder of temples. He was classically trained in Ashtanga Yoga, the Raja Yoga of Patanjali, as well as Kriya Yoga, Ayurveda, Samkhya, Tantra Yoga, Vedanta, and Sanskrit. His extensive literary output includes scriptural commentaries to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, Samkhya Karika, and Vedanta, as well as collections of wisdom aphorisms about the meaning and purpose of life, essays, plays, short stories, children’s stories, kirtan mantras, and in-depth instructional yoga materials.

He was an early proponent of Ayurved in the West. He taught performing arts, choreography and costume making for an annual rendition of Indian classic Ramayana. He devoted himself to helping others, and in 1987 he opened Sri Ram Orphanage in Haridwar for homeless children in India. Although he did not speak, he was conversant in several languages in writing.

He influenced such figures as Tom Harpur, Stephen Levine, Jack Kornfield, Bhagavan Das, Ram Dass, Michael Tierra, and Dr. Vasant Lad.