text: Ram Dass , ( born Richard Alpert on April 6 , 1931 ) , is an American contemporary spiritual teacher , and author of the seminal 1971 book Be Here Now .
simplified: Dr. Richard Alpert ( born April 6 , 1931 ) , also known as Baba Ram Dass , is a spiritual teacher . He is the writer of Be Here Now , the bestseller book of 1971 .