From my earliest days as a spiritual seeker the image of Neem Karoli Baba has been a fixture upon my heart. I was introduced to him through the same source most westerners have come upon him; through Ram Dass and his monumental work “Be Here Now.” This book popped upon the scene years before I was born and Maharj ji died years before I was born as well.
Perhaps he is gone. I never even met him. How then can I have such a connection with this kind little man? The most direct answer is that I dropped a few hits of Acid at the age of 20 and commenced to diving into “Be Here Now”. When I came to one of the pages with a picture of Maharaj ji something strange happened. I found myself gazing deeply into his eyes, I became entranced if you will.
I was surely quite deep into that Acid trip, at the time Acid was my only spiritual practice, but his eyes were like a deep abyss. It was as if I looked into his eyes and was irresistibly drawn into them. What I found was nothing, and everything. This was one of the several experiences that birthed my realization of nonduality. In Maharaj ji’s eyes I saw the end of myself and the ground of everything. I went through a thorough ego-loss yet there was no excruciating fear or anxiety which usually accompanies that experience. It was rather a liberating experience marked with only one emotion…love.
Many who knew Neem Karoli Baba speak of his great love and what the experience of his presence was like…love manifest. This was the first instant where I saw love in its pure form. Now, I knew love of course, the love of my mother, sensual love, etc. But this was a love that transcended relational categories. It was the wellspring of love. Love without an object. At its deepest point there was no me or even Maharaj ji…there was only love in its naked glory.
Ever since that psychedelic experience I’ve been deeply reverent of Maharaj ji. Is he my guru? I’m not sure if I would go that far, but he is the closest thing I have to one. He has, over the years, taught me how to look into the eyes of any being and see the truth of nonduality. This is one of the greatest blessing anyone could receive in my opinion. Though I often fall from grace Maharaj ji is always there to look into my heart with unbearable compassion.
This post is merely an attempt to shower love upon him who blew my erroneous paradigms about reality out of the water. Were it not for him I would still be heavily deceived by myself. I highly recommend “Be Here Now” if you’ve never read this spiritual classic. Ram Dass also recently released a followup to that first book titled “Be Love Now” which is a beautiful continuation of the first work.
You will also notice a picture of Maharaj ji on the title image at the top of the blog. There’s me standing by the large framed picture. I like to have him there to watch over me I guess. He’s always there smiling at me and reminding me of the truth even when I’m really caught up in worldy concerns.
Jai Sri Ram!
