I'd certainly advocate a high level of skepticism.
Even in the article Ram Dass is saying that he gave LSD to the Harvard undergraduate at least in part because he found him attractive. It makes me wonder what else happened in that encounter, but it's certainly a large abuse of power to have a professor giving undergraduate kids LSD.
I also think any discussion about these sorts of western gurus must also include dialogues about race, class, and privilege. If he could afford a Cessna, a Mercedes, a sailboat, and multiple apartments, it certainly was not from just a professor's salary. It's a whole lot easier to take a bunch of drugs then go practice asana and pranayama in India with the sort of safety net it sounded like he had.
Even in the article Ram Dass is saying that he gave LSD to the Harvard undergraduate at least in part because he found him attractive. It makes me wonder what else happened in that encounter, but it's certainly a large abuse of power to have a professor giving undergraduate kids LSD.
I also think any discussion about these sorts of western gurus must also include dialogues about race, class, and privilege. If he could afford a Cessna, a Mercedes, a sailboat, and multiple apartments, it certainly was not from just a professor's salary. It's a whole lot easier to take a bunch of drugs then go practice asana and pranayama in India with the sort of safety net it sounded like he had.