Neem Karoli Baba

Introduction

Neem Karoli Baba, also known as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru and devotee of Hanuman. He is widely known for being the spiritual master of several Americans who travelled to India in the 1960s and 1970s, including the spiritual teachers Ram Dass and Bhagavan Das, and musicians Krishna Das and Jai Uttal. He has ashrams located in various parts of India and also in Taos, New Mexico.Early Life of Lakshman Narayan SharmaLakshman Narayan Sharma was born around the year 1900 in Akbarpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, to a wealthy Brahmin family.

At the age of 11, he was married by his parents but later left home to become a wandering sadhu. After being asked to return home by his father, he lived a settled married life and had two sons and a daughter.

Transformation into Neem Karoli BabaNeem Karoli Baba, then known as Baba Lakshman Das, left his home in 1958. According to Ram Dass, Baba Lakshman Das boarded a train without a ticket and was forced off at the village of Neem Karoli, Farrukhabad district, Uttar Pradesh.

After the train failed to start several times, the conductor allowed Baba back on the train on the condition that the railway company build a station at the village of Neem Karoli and treat sadhus better. The train then started, and a station was later built at the village. Baba lived there for some time and was named after the village.

Wandering Years and Establishment of Ashrams

Neem Karoli Baba then wandered extensively throughout northern India and was known by different names including Lakshman Das, Handi Wallah Baba, Tikonia Walla Baba, Tallaiya Baba and Chamatkari Baba. He performed tapasya and sadhana at Vavania Morbi in Gujarat and in Vrindavan, he was addressed as Chamatkari Baba. Over the years, two main ashrams were built, at Kainchi and at Vrindavan, and more than 100 temples were constructed in his name.

The Kainchi Dham AshramThe Kainchi Dham ashram, where Neem Karoli Baba lived in the last decade of his life, was built in 1964 with a Hanuman temple. It started as a platform built for two local sadhus to perform yagnas and has become a pilgrimage site for locals and spiritual seekers worldwide. Each year, the Kainchi Dham Bhandara is held on June 15th to commemorate the inauguration of the temple and typically attracts over 100,000 devotees.

Death and Legacy

Neem Karoli Baba passed away on September 11, 1973, in a hospital at Vrindavan after slipping into a diabetic coma. He had been returning from Agra, where he visited a heart specialist, when he began convulsing at Mathura railway station. He was taken to a hospital in Vrindavan where he died. His legacy continues to live on through his teachings and the numerous ashrams and temples built in his name.