Neem Karoli Baba: A Guide to Fearless Living

Neem Karoli Baba (c. 1900 – 11 September 1973), also known as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru and a devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman. He is known outside India for being the spiritual master of a number of Americans who traveled to India in the 1960s and 70s, the most well-known being the spiritual teachers Ram Dass and Bhagavan Das, and the musicians Krishna Das and Jai Uttal. His ashrams are in Kainchi, Vrindavan, Rishikesh, Shimla, Neem Karoli village near Khimasepur in Farrukhabad, Bhumiadhar, Hanumangarhi, and Delhi in India and in Taos, New Mexico, United States.

Neem Karoli Baba’s teachings were simple yet profound. He taught that the essence of all religions is love. He said that love is the strongest medicine and that God is love. He urged his followers to love everyone, serve everyone, feed everyone, remember God, and chant the name of Hanuman. He also taught that devotion is the easiest path to God-realization.

Neem Karoli Baba’s life and teachings can help us overcome our fears and challenges in the modern world. In this article/blog, we will explore how Neem Karoli Baba overcame his own fears and challenges, how he taught his disciples to overcome their fears and challenges, and how we can apply his teachings to our own lives. By following his example and guidance, we can learn to live fearlessly and joyfully in the present moment.

How Neem Karoli Baba Overcame His Own Fears and Challenges

Neem Karoli Baba was born as Lakshmi Narayan Sharma in a Brahmin family in Akbarpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. He was married at an early age to a woman named Rukmini Devi. He had three sons and two daughters with her. However, he felt a strong urge to renounce worldly life and become a sadhu (a wandering ascetic). He left his family without informing them and traveled across India in search of spiritual enlightenment.

He faced many fears and challenges during his journey. He had to endure hunger, thirst, cold, heat, disease, poverty, loneliness, and danger. He had to overcome his attachment to his family, his ego, his desires, and his doubts. He had to deal with hostile people, wild animals, and supernatural forces. He had to learn from various saints, sages, yogis, and gurus. He had to perform various austerities, rituals, meditations, and practices.

One of the most famous incidents in his life was when he was thrown off a train by a ticket collector at Neeb Karori station (now renamed as Neem Karori station) in Uttar Pradesh. He was traveling without a ticket as he had no money. He landed on a pile of stones and injured his leg badly. He lay there for hours until he was found by a local villager who took him to his home and nursed him back to health. The villager also built a small hut for him near the station where he stayed for some time. This is how he got the name Neem Karoli Baba (the baba from Neeb Karori).

Neem Karoli Baba overcame his fears and challenges by surrendering himself completely to God’s will. He trusted that God would take care of him in every situation. He accepted everything that happened to him by God’s grace. He saw God in everyone and everything. He lived in the present moment without worrying about the past or the future. He radiated love, peace, joy, and compassion to all beings.

Kainchi Dham: A Spiritual Oasis In The Himalayas

How Neem Karoli Baba Taught His Disciples to Overcome Their Fears and Challenges

Neem Karoli Baba had thousands of disciples from all walks of life, religions, castes, cultures, countries, and backgrounds. He did not discriminate against anyone. He welcomed everyone with open arms. He did not ask anyone to follow any specific doctrine or dogma. He did not impose any rules or regulations on anyone. He did not claim any authority or superiority over anyone. He treated everyone as his own children.

He taught his disciples to overcome their fears and challenges by giving them personal guidance according to their needs and capacities. He often used unconventional methods such as miracles, jokes, stories, paradoxes, tests, tricks, scoldings, blessings, hugs, kisses, slaps, and silence to teach them.

He taught them to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. He taught them to love their neighbours as themselves. He taught them to serve humanity as a form of worship. He taught them to remember God’s name at all times. He taught them to be devoted to their chosen deity or guru. He taught them to be humble, honest, generous, forgiving, and grateful.

Some of his most famous disciples who overcame their fears and challenges by following his teachings are:

• Ram Dass (born as Richard Alpert): He was a Harvard professor who experimented with psychedelic drugs in the 1960s. He met Neem Karoli Baba in 1967 and became his devotee. He changed his name to Ram Dass (meaning servant of God) and wrote the influential book Be Here Now, which introduced many Westerners to Eastern spirituality. He later suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed and aphasic. He continued to teach and inspire millions of people through his books, lectures, podcasts, and retreats until his death in 2019.
• Krishna Das (born Jeffrey Kagel): He was a rock musician who was depressed and suicidal in the 1970s. He met Neem Karoli Baba in 1970 and became his devotee. He changed his name to Krishna Das (meaning servant of Krishna) and learned to sing kirtan (devotional chanting) from him. He returned to America and started to share kirtan with Western audiences. He became one of the most popular kirtan singers in the world and has released several albums and performed at various festivals and events.
• Larry Brilliant: He was a doctor who was involved in the hippie movement in the 1960s. He met Neem Karoli Baba in 1971 and became his devotee. He followed his guru’s advice to join the World Health Organization and help eradicate smallpox in India. He later became the director of Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, and the president of the Skoll Foundation, which supports social entrepreneurs. He has also been involved in various humanitarian and environmental causes.
• Steve Jobs: He was a visionary entrepreneur who co-founded Apple Inc. in the 1970s. He was influenced by Neem Karoli Baba’s teachings through Ram Dass’s book Be Here Now, which he read as a teenager. He traveled to India in 1974 in search of Neem Karoli Baba but found out that he had passed away a year earlier. He visited his ashram in Kainchi and felt a connection with him. He credited Neem Karoli Baba for inspiring him to create innovative products that changed the world.

How We Can Apply Neem Karoli Baba’s Teachings to Our Own Lives

We can apply Neem Karoli Baba’s teachings to our own lives by following his simple yet profound instructions:

• Love everyone: We can overcome our fear of others by seeing them as manifestations of God. We can overcome our anger, hatred, jealousy, and resentment by cultivating love, kindness, empathy, and compassion for all beings. We can overcome our loneliness and isolation by building meaningful relationships with others based on mutual respect, trust, and care.
• Serve everyone: We can overcome our fear of lack by sharing our resources with others who are in need. We can overcome our greed, selfishness, attachment, and possessiveness by giving generously without expecting anything in return. We can overcome our boredom and dissatisfaction by finding purpose and fulfilment in serving humanity as a form of worship.
• Feed everyone: We can overcome our fear of hunger by ensuring that no one goes hungry in this world. We can overcome our gluttony, indulgence, addiction, and craving by eating moderately and healthily. We can overcome our ignorance and delusion by nourishing our body, mind, and soul with wholesome food, knowledge, and wisdom.
• Remember God: We can overcome our fear of death by remembering that we are eternal souls who are part of God. We can overcome our anxiety, worry, stress, and depression by trusting that God is always with us and taking care of us. We can overcome our distraction, confusion, doubt, and forgetfulness by keeping God’s name in our hearts and minds at all times.
• Chant the name of Hanuman: We can overcome our fear of obstacles by invoking the power of Hanuman, the monkey god who is the embodiment of devotion, courage, strength, and intelligence. We can overcome our weakness, laziness, fear, and inertia by following Hanuman’s example of serving God with utmost dedication, enthusiasm, fearlessness, and wisdom. We can overcome our separation from God by chanting Hanuman’s name, which is synonymous with God’s name.

By applying these teachings to our own lives, we can experience the benefits and outcomes of living fearlessly and joyfully in the present moment. Some of these benefits and outcomes are:

• Peace: We can experience inner peace that surpasses all understanding. We can be calm, serene, and tranquil in any situation. We can be free from agitation, frustration, and anger.
• Joy: We can experience inner joy that is independent of external circumstances. We can be happy, content, and satisfied in any condition. We can be free from sorrow, grief, and despair.
• Love: We can experience inner love that is unconditional and universal. We can be loving, caring, and compassionate to all beings. We can be free from hatred, fear, and enmity.
• Wisdom: We can experience inner wisdom that is intuitive and transcendent. We can be wise, insightful, and discerning in any matter. We can be free from ignorance, delusion, and confusion.
• Freedom: We can experience inner freedom that is boundless. We can be free, independent, and autonomous in any choice. We can be free from attachment, dependency, and bondage.

Conclusion

Neem Karoli Baba was a great Hindu guru who taught us how to overcome our fears and challenges in the modern world by following his simple yet profound teachings of love, service, and devotion. He overcame his fears and challenges by surrendering himself completely to God’s will. He taught his disciples to overcome their fears and challenges by giving them personal guidance according to their needs and capacities. He inspired millions of people across the world to follow his example and guidance.

We can apply his teachings to our own lives by loving everyone, serving everyone, feeding everyone, remembering God, and chanting the name of Hanuman. By doing so, we can experience the benefits and outcomes of living fearlessly and joyfully in the present moment. We can experience peace, joy, love, wisdom, and freedom.

If you want to learn more about Neem Karoli Baba and his teachings, you can visit his official website, read his biography, watch his documentary, listen to his kirtan, or visit his ashram. You can also read the books and listen to the podcasts of his famous disciples such as Ram Dass, Krishna Das, Larry Brilliant, and Steve Jobs.

Thank you for reading this article/blog. I hope you found it helpful and informative. May Neem Karoli Baba bless you with his love and grace. Jai Sri Ram! Jai Hanuman! Jai Maharaj-ji! 🙏