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Neem Karoli Baba

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Neem Karoli Baba
Personal life
Born
Lakshman Narayan Sharma

c. 1900[1]
Akbarpur village, North-Western Provinces, British India[2]
(present-day Firozabad district, Uttar Pradesh, India)
Died11 September 1973
Vrindavan, India
Religious life
ReligionHinduism
PhilosophyBhakti yoga
Religious career
Disciples

Neem Karoli Baba (Hindi: नीम करौली बाबा, romanized: nīm karaulī bābā)[3] or Neeb Karori Baba (Hindi: नीब करौरी बाबा, romanized: nīb karaurī bābā) (c. 1900 – 11 September 1973), also known to his followers as 'Maharaj-ji', was a Hindu guru and a devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman.[4]

Biography

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Early years

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Lakshman Narayan Sharma[5] was born around 1900 in the village Akbarpur in the Firozabad district district of Uttar Pradesh, India, to a wealthy Brahmin family.[1] After being married by his parents at the age of 11, he left home to become a wandering sadhu (religious hermit). He later returned home, at his father's request, to live a settled married life. He fathered two sons and a daughter.[6]

As Maharaj-ji

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Neem Karoli Baba, known at the time as Baba Lakshman Das (also spelled "Laxman Das"), left his home in 1958 and wandered through Northern India.[7] During his life two main ashrams were built, at Kainchi and at Vrindavan.[1] In time, over 100 temples were constructed in his name.[1]

The Kainchi Dham ashram, where he stayed in the last decade of his life, was built in 1964 with a Hanuman temple.[8][9][10]

Death

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Neem Karoli Baba Samadhi Mandir, Vrindavan

Neem Karoli Baba died at approximately 1:15 a.m. on 11 September 1973 in a hospital at Vrindavan, India,[11][12] after slipping into a diabetic coma. He had been returning by night train to Kainchi[13] near Nainital, from Agra where he had visited a heart specialist due to experiencing pains in his chest. He and his traveling companions had disembarked at Mathura railway station where he began convulsing and was taken to a hospital where he died.[14][15]

His last words, repeated several times, were "Jaya Jagadish Hare" ("Hail to the Lord of the Universe").[16]

His samadhi (shrine) was built in the complex of the Vrindavan ashram.

Foundations

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After returning to the United States, Ram Dass and Larry Brilliant founded the Seva Foundation, an international health organization based in Berkeley, California.[17]

In the late 2000s the 'Love Serve Remember Foundation' was established to promote the teachings of Neem Karoli Baba.[18]

In 2024 his follower Rahul Verma founded the NKB Divine Meditation Foundation, offering free guided meditation sessions based on the teachings of Neem Karoli Baba.[19][20]

Documentary

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The 2021 documentary Windfall of Grace interviewed Indian and American followers.[21]

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  • Neem Karoli Baba sculpture in Ram Dass library
    Neem Karoli Baba sculpture in Ram Dass library
  • Devotees of Neem Karoli Baba meditating at NKB Divine Meditation Centre, New Delhi
    Devotees of Neem Karoli Baba meditating at NKB Divine Meditation Centre, New Delhi

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Constance Jones; James D. Ryan (2006). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Infobase Publishing. p. 310. ISBN 978-0-8160-7564-5.
  2. ^ "Akbarpur Maharaj ji birthplace". Maharaj Love.
  3. ^ "सुर्खियों में आया बाबा नीब करौरी का आश्रम". Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi). 1 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  4. ^ Swami Chidananda. "Baba Neem Karoli: A Wonder Mystic of Northern India". Divine Life Society. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  5. ^ The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of New Age Religions. United States: Prometheus. 2004. p. 142.
  6. ^ "10 facts to know about Neem Karoli Baba". 1 October 2015.
  7. ^ Ram Dass (1995). Miracle of Love: Stories about Neem Karoli Baba. Hanuman Foundation. ISBN 1-887474-00-5.
  8. ^ "Devotees throng Kainchi Dham fair". The Times of India. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  9. ^ "10 facts to know about Neem Karoli Baba". India TV News. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  10. ^ "One 'Mark' who stayed two nights". The Telegraph. 30 September 2015. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  11. ^ "My mystical experience at Neem Karoli Baba's Kainchai Dham ashram!". www.speakingtree.in. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  12. ^ Aymard, Orianne (2014). When a Goddess Dies: Worshipping Ma Anandamayi after Her Death. Oxford University Press. p. 257. ISBN 9780199368617.
  13. ^ Jones, Constance; Ryan, James D. (2006). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. p. 310. ISBN 0816075646.
  14. ^ "The Divine Reality - Sri Baba Neeb Karori Ji Maharaj (Neem Karoli Baba) 9788190310505". dokumen.pub. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  15. ^ Geraghty, Anne (28 November 2014). Death, the Last God: A Modern Book of the Dead. John Hunt Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78279-708-1.
  16. ^ Ram Dass (1995). Miracle of Love: Stories about Neem Karoli Baba. Hanuman Foundation. ISBN 1-887474-00-5 [1]
  17. ^ Anthony Imbimbo (2009). Steve Jobs: The Brilliant Mind Behind Apple. Gareth Stevens. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4339-0060-0.
  18. ^ "Love Serve Remember Foundation - Ram Dass". Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  19. ^ "An ode to Neem Karoli Baba: Delhi gets a new meditation centre in Greater Kailash". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  20. ^ "NKB Divine Meditation Foundation". Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  21. ^ krishnadas.com, Krishna Das (24 October 2023). "Windfall of Grace". krishnadas.com. Retrieved 24 October 2023.

Bibliography

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  • Bhagavan Das (1997). It's Here Now (Are You?). Broadway. ISBN 0-7679-0009-X.
  • Hanuman Foundation (1980). Neem Karoli Baba. Hanuman Foundation.
  • Keshav Das, ed. (2011). Barefoot in the Heart: Remembering Neem Karoli Baba. Sensitive Skin Books. ISBN 978-0-9839271-2-9.
  • Krishna Das (2010). Chants of a Lifetime: Searching for a Heart of Gold. Hay House, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4019-2022-7.
  • Markus, Parvati (October 1996). Love Everyone: The Transcendent Wisdom of Neem Karoli Baba and His Devotees. Hanuman Foundation. ISBN 1-887474-02-1.
  • Pande, Ravi Prakash (2015). Divine Reality: Shri Baba Neem Karoli Baba. HarperOne. ISBN 978-0062342997.
  • Mukerjee, Dada (2001). By His Grace: A Devotee's Story. Hanuman Foundation. ISBN 0-9628878-7-0.
  • Mukerjee, Dada (2001). The Near and the Dear: Stories Neeb Karori Ji Maharaj. Shri Kainchi Hanuman Mandir Ashram.
  • Ram Dass (1971). Be Here Now. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-517-54305-2.
  • Ram Dass (1995). Miracle of Love: Stories about Neem Karoli Baba. Hanuman Foundation. ISBN 1887474005.
  • Ransom, Jai Ram (2014). It All Abides in Love: Maharaji Neem Karoli Baba. Taos Music and Art, Inc. ISBN 9780990718222.
  • Prasada, Jaya (2022). Sri Siddhi Ma The Story of Neem Karoli Baba's Spiritual Legacy. India Penguin. ISBN 9780143457831.
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