It all started in 2018 when I first read about Baba Neeb Karori (or Neem Karoli as pronounced by his foreign devotees) on Quora. Intrigued, I started reading more about him through all the stuff available on the internet. In addition, my curiosity regarding him grew more when I learned that Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg had visited his ashram (religious or spiritual retreat) in Kainchi, Nainital, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Hollywood star Julia Roberts chanced upon his photo while shooting in India and ended up converting to Hinduism.
Pic courtesy: Google
So while reading about Maharaj ji (as respectfully addressed by his followers), I got to know many surprising and miraculous incidents related to his life. Maharaj Ji, whose birth name was Lakshmi Narayan Sharma, was a devout follower of the Hindu deity Hanuman. In 1967, an American youth named Richard Alpert visited his ashram in Kainchi, and what happened after that is history. Young Richard became Ram Dass and devoted his entire life to the service of his guru and mankind. On December 22, 2019, Ram Dass left for his heavenly abode, but what he has established in his more than 50-year spiritual journey is absolutely overwhelming. Like Ram Dass, there are other devotees who are carrying forward Baba Neeb Karori’s legacy. Krishna Das, Bhagavan Das, Lama Surya Das, Rampriya Das, and Jai Uttal, to name a few, are spreading their guru’s teaching all over the world. Today, Baba Neeb Karori has followers across the globe. There are temples dedicated to Maharaj Ji in the United States and Germany.
Eventually, this curiosity of mine made me visit Maharaj Ji’s ashram in Kainchi in September 2019. For my stay, I chose a hotel that was approximately 200 metres away from the temple. Every morning and evening, I could easily hear aartis and the sound of bells from my hotel room.
So as soon as I got fresh, I straightaway left for the temple. Surrounded by hills, the perfectly built temple is a wonderful experience to visit. What really impressed me was the serenity pervading the entire temple premises. The sound of the stream flowing adjacent to the temple was an additional delight.
Once I entered the temple, I found many small temples devoted to various deities, including Bhagwan Rama and Hanuman. There is a temple dedicated to Maharaj Ji, with his statue perched on a marble platform. Opposite his temple is the room where Maharaj Ji used to sleep and would often meet his devotees. Visitors can get various books, photographs related to Maharaj Ji, and other items from the ashram library. Photography inside the temple is prohibited.
There is also a temple dedicated to Siddhi Maa and Jiwanti Maa, who were Maharaj Ji’s female followers.
Siddhi Maa
Pic courtesy: Google
One more attraction of the ashram is the wooden bed outside another room, which is always covered with a blanket and has flowers offered to it.
Like any other temple in India, morning and evening aarti are performed here. But what really caught my attention was seeing children (who undergo Vedic education and live in the ashram under the residential schooling system of Gurukul) leading the aarti. Watching them was a pleasant experience.
Pic courtesy: Google
So far, I have come across many miraculous stories related to Maharaj Ji in his various followers’ accounts. And they have only brought me closer to this holy saint, who considered all human beings equal despite their caste, creed, religion, or ethnicity. He never believed in preaching or delivering religious sermons. He simply used to say, “MAIN KOI MANTRA NAHI JANTA. MAIN SIRF RAM KO JANTA HUN” (I don’t know any mantra. All I know is Lord Rama.)
Tags: India, Kainchi, Maharaj Ji, Nainital, Neeb Karori Baba, Neem Karoli Baba, Shri Hanuman, Shri Ram, Uttarakhand