Rudolph Ballentine
Aug. 16, 1941 – Sept. 7, 2026
Rudolph Ballentine, a psychiatrist and pioneering voice in integrative medicine, died Sept. 7 at age 85.
A self-described “hayseed” from the South Carolina Piedmont, Ballentine spent his life exploring the connections among the body, mind and spirit while traveling the world, writing books and teaching generations of students.
Born Aug. 16, 1941, in Columbia, Ballentine — affectionately known as Rudyji — grew up in the nearby town of Ballentine. At 17, he entered Duke University on a scholarship before attending Duke Medical School in 1961.
He studied psychology at the Sorbonne in Paris and completed his psychiatry residency at LSU and Charity Hospital in New Orleans with psychoanalytic theorist Dr. John Stocks. During those years, he developed an interest in yoga, consciousness and Eastern and esoteric approaches to understanding illness.
While traveling in India during the 1970s, Ballentine met spiritual teacher Swami Rama and studied Ayurvedic medicine. The experience deepened his interest in Eastern traditions and their emphasis on a more complete and individualized approach to health.
Ballentine returned to the United States and became deeply involved with the Himalayan Institute, founded by Swami Rama in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. He eventually served as the institute’s president for 12 years. During those years, he and his then-wife, Pennell Whitney, raised four children.
Ballentine also became an early leader in the emerging integrative medicine movement. His book “Diet & Nutrition: A Holistic Approach,” published in 1978, explored nutrition and health from a holistic perspective. His 1999 book, “Radical Healing,” drew on four decades of clinical experience and examined multiple healing traditions through a whole-person framework.
In the late 1990s, tantra became an increasingly important part of Ballentine’s exploration of healing and wholeness. Drawing from Indian traditions, he developed workshops that explored the relationship between erotic and spiritual experience. In 2010, he published “Kali Rising,” continuing his exploration of the body as a pathway toward greater wholeness.
In 2006, Ballentine moved to Earthaven Ecovillage near Black Mountain, North Carolina. There, he became a community member, elder, gardener and spiritual teacher. He eventually took the name Swami Ravi Rudra Bharati and founded the Dancing Shiva Tantra Monastery and Healing Center.
Through the many chapters of his life, Ballentine remained curious and adventurous, with a distinctive sense of humor. He encouraged people to explore themselves more deeply and accept themselves more fully.
He believed that by paying attention to the mind, body, breath, relationships, community and the Earth, people could discover connections among things that might otherwise appear separate.
Ballentine is survived by his partner, Garrell Bevirt; his sister, Eugenia Sosnowski; his niece, Atossa Sosnowski; his grandnephew, Elam Sosnowski; his children, Beck (Su), Eusebius (Monique), Galen (Sarah) and Stephen (Meera); and his granddaughters, Ceceilia and Matilda Ballentine.
The family requests that memorial donations be made to Dancing Shiva Tantra Monastery and Healing Center at dancingshivatantra.com.
