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Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaj ji)

Maharaj ji · Neeb Karori Baba · Baba Neem Karoli Maharaj

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  • 1 Tirth
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Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaj ji)

बाबा नीम करोली महाराज की जै

About

Neem Karoli Baba, lovingly called 'Maharaj ji' by his devotees, was one of the most revered saints of the twentieth century. He was a great devotee of Hanuman ji, and many of his devotees see him as an ansh (part) of Hanuman ji. His name comes from Neeb Karori village in Farrukhabad district, Uttar Pradesh, where he spent long years in sadhana. Wrapped in a blanket and living simply, Maharaj ji welcomed rich and poor and people of every faith. His teaching was simple: love everyone, serve everyone, remember God and tell the truth. Kainchi Dham in Uttarakhand and his ashram in Vrindavan are his best-known places.

The story

Maharaj ji was born around 1900 into a Brahmin family in Akbarpur village of Firozabad district, Uttar Pradesh. His childhood name was Lakshmi Narayan Sharma. He was married at about eleven, but soon left home to become a sadhu and wandered across North India. Later, at his father's request, he returned for some years to family life; he had two sons and a daughter.

He lived and did sadhana for a long time at Neeb Karori village in Farrukhabad district, and the village's name became his own. Devotees love to tell a story from here: once, travelling without a ticket, he was put off a train. He sat down under a tree nearby, and it is said the train would not move until the officials apologised and seated him again. He asked them to build a station for the village and to treat sadhus with respect.

Maharaj ji had many Hanuman temples and ashrams built; more than a hundred temples are linked with his name. In 1962 he chose the spot at Kainchi near Nainital, and on 15 June 1964 Hanuman ji's murti was installed there. In the late 1960s seekers from abroad, such as Ram Dass, also came to him, and his stories spread around the world. He left his body in Vrindavan in September 1973, on Anant Chaturdashi. His samadhi is in the Vrindavan ashram, and his murti was installed at Kainchi Dham in 1976.

How they are shown

In photographs Maharaj ji is an elderly saint with a round, smiling face, wrapped in a checked woollen blanket. The blanket became his best-known sign; devotees link it with his simplicity and detachment. At his ashrams the Hanuman temple is the main shrine, a sign of his deep devotion to Hanuman ji.

How to worship

Offerings

Maharaj ji laid great stress on feeding people. So devotees offer simple food as bhog and share prasad with everyone at a bhandara.

How

Keep a picture of Maharaj ji with Hanuman ji in a clean place at home. Light a lamp and recite the Hanuman Chalisa; devotees say Maharaj ji held every line of the Chalisa to be a maha-mantra. Chant 'Ram Ram' or 'Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram'. Bring his teaching into daily life: love everyone, serve everyone, remember God and tell the truth. Feeding someone who is hungry is held to be the seva dearest to him.

Their festivals

  • Kainchi Dham Pratishtha Diwas (foundation day fair) Every year on 15 June
  • Mahasamadhi day (bhandara) Around 11 September every year (in 1973 that day was Anant Chaturdashi)
  • Hanuman Jayanti Chaitra Purnima
  • Guru Purnima Ashadh Purnima

Aarti, chalisa and katha

Temples and tirth

Sources