Becoming Nobody

1 hr 22 mins

TV-PG Featuring: Ram Dass James Catto

Becoming Nobody: could shedding every role you've ever played reveal who you truly are? Ram Dass shows the way.

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Becoming Nobody asks a question Ram Dass spent a lifetime answering: what remains when you strip away every identity, role, and disguise? In this documentary, the former Harvard psychologist and spiritual teacher sits down with director Jamie Catto for a candid, wide-ranging conversation woven through with archival footage that traces his extraordinary life.

Ram Dass's journey spans his origins as a scion of a prominent Boston Jewish family, his years as a rock-star Harvard psychologist alongside Timothy Leary, his transformative travels to India, and his emergence as one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the twentieth century. The film also captures his resilience after a debilitating stroke and his enduring commitment to compassionate service — revealing a man who lived his teachings rather than merely preached them.

What Ram Dass Reveals in This Film

How the roles and disguises we accumulate become a prison of self-identity, and how ego dissolution opens the door to authentic freedom
The bridge Ram Dass built between Eastern and Western philosophies, drawing on Hindu teachings, psychedelic experience, and devotional practice
How his own "somebody-ness" — Harvard prestige, cultural celebrity, family legacy — had to be released before genuine self-inquiry could begin

Directed by Jamie Catto and produced by Raghu Markus, the film is both a comprehensive portrait and a practical invitation to examine your own attachments. Start watching and let Ram Dass's humor, honesty, and hard-won wisdom guide you inward.

Featuring: Ram Dass, James Catto

Audio Languages: English, Spanish, French, German

Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Ram Dass documentary Becoming Nobody about?

The film follows Ram Dass — born Richard Alpert — from his Harvard psychology career through his psychedelic research with Timothy Leary, his spiritual awakening in India, and his later years as a stroke survivor and teacher. Director Jamie Catto conducts an intimate on-camera conversation interwoven with archival footage, exploring how Ram Dass shed successive identities to arrive at a state of ego dissolution and authentic freedom.

Who directed Becoming Nobody and when was it released?

Becoming Nobody was directed by Jamie Catto and produced by Raghu Markus. It was released on September 6, 2019, and features Ram Dass (Dr. Richard Alpert) in conversation with Catto as its central format.

Where can I watch Becoming Nobody?

Becoming Nobody is available to stream on Gaia. The film is part of Gaia's documentary library focused on Ram Dass's spiritual teachings and the broader tradition of Eastern and Western philosophical inquiry.

What are Ram Dass's core spiritual teachings in the film?

Ram Dass emphasizes that the identities we build — professional, familial, cultural — function as a kind of prison. Through self-inquiry and the practice of "becoming nobody," he teaches that releasing attachment to those roles reveals a deeper, more radiant sense of self. His approach draws on Hindu devotional practice, his relationship with his guru Neem Karoli Baba, and decades of lived experience.

Is Becoming Nobody suitable for viewers new to Ram Dass?

The film works well as an entry point because it covers the full arc of Ram Dass's life and thought, from his academic career to his later spiritual work. Viewers already familiar with Be Here Now or his other teachings will find the archival footage and Catto's probing conversation add meaningful depth to what they already know.