Who it is for
For people drawn to devotion and service.
Life and places
- Kainchi Dham, his ashram in the Kumaon Hills of Uttarakhand, had its first temple inaugurated in June 1964. 2
- Kainchi Dham lies on the road from Nainital to Almora. 3
- At his ashram in Vrindavan, on the plains of Uttar Pradesh, the first temple was inaugurated in 1967. 11
- He died in the Ramakrishna Mission hospital in September 1973; his Mahasamadhi Mandir stands in the Vrindavan ashram. 11
Public context
- He became known in the West through Ram Dass, who met him in 1967 and wrote about him in Be Here Now (1971). 4, 7, 9, 10
- Stories of miracles, and Ram Dass' report that he took large doses of LSD without effect, come from devotees. 1, 8
- His temple at Kainchi Dham near Nainital draws large numbers of visitors. 2
Works
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Miracle of Love: Stories about Neem Karoli Baba
Book · 1979 · Dutton · About this teacher
Stories about Neem Karoli Baba told by Indian and Western devotees and compiled by Ram Dass: meetings with him, his care for people, his sayings and the miracles devotees ascribe to him.
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By His Grace: A Devotee's Story
Book · 1990 · Hanuman Foundation, Santa Fe, New Mexico · About this teacher
The memoir of Sudhir Mukerjee, called Dada, a professor of economics in Allahabad in whose home Neem Karoli Baba often stayed.
The short summaries are ours.
In their own words
Short passages in the words of Neem Karoli Baba, each with its source. Where the quoted text is not in the language of this page, a translation follows and says whose it is.
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Don’t think that I or you have done this. God plays the lila in his own way. No role of mine, none of yours. It was to happen!
Miracle of Love: Stories about Neem Karoli Baba · Story 'God Plays the Lila', excerpt from Miracle of Love on ramdass.org · ramdass.org Recorded: Words remembered by an Indian devotee, who is not named on the page, in a story about his marriage; compiled by Ram Dass in Miracle of Love. Neem Karoli Baba spoke mainly Hindi; the English is the book's rendering. -
I am always in communion with you.
Excerpt from a 1973 lecture by Ram Dass, published on ramdass.org · ramdass.org Recorded: Recorded by Ram Dass, who reports in a 1973 lecture what Neem Karoli Baba said to him when he returned to India. -
Your friends are not coming now. They must be warning you about the danger of coming under the influence of a baba and being close with him. They love you and therefore they warn you for your own good. Am I wrong?
By His Grace: A Devotee's Story · Excerpt 'When He is My Dada' from By His Grace, on ramdass.org · ramdass.org Recorded: Recalled by Sudhir Mukerjee ('Dada') in By His Grace; the language in which it was spoken is not stated.
Documented teaching relationships
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Personal teacher of Ram Dass
Ram Dass describes Neem Karoli Baba as his guru; the estate publishes his memories of the first trip to India in 1967.
Self-reported · ramdass.org , ramdass.org (2)
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Personal teacher of Krishna Das
The book publisher describes Krishna Das as a student of Neem Karoli Baba.
Self-reported · us.macmillan.com
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Personal encounter with Anandamayi Ma
The website of Anandamayi Ma's devotees quotes two accounts of Neem Karoli Baba coming to her: Hari Ram Joshi's memories of a visit to her ashram at Pataldevi near Almora in May 1944, and a story from Ram Dass's Miracle of Love in which he went to her ashram and the two of them handed out a meal to the devotees.
Biographical tradition · anandamayi.org
Teaching relationships are documented statements. They confer no trust and do not attest realisation.
Sources
- About Sri Neem Karoli Baba · Neem Karoli Baba Ashram and Hanuman Temple, Taos Devotees' ashram in New Mexico; devotional biography and stories accessed 10 Oct 2026
- Kainchi Dham · Neem Karoli Baba Ashram and Hanuman Temple, Taos Devotees' ashram in New Mexico; history of the Kainchi temple and a notice on visits accessed 10 Oct 2026
- Kainchi Dhaam · Kumaon Mandal Website Regional government website; short description of the place accessed 10 Oct 2026
- Miracle of Love eBook · Ram Dass (Love Serve Remember Foundation) Foundation of his disciple Ram Dass; book description with a statement by Ram Dass accessed 10 Oct 2026
- Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaji) Stories: Baba Knows Best · Ram Dass The foundation's page of devotees' stories, with excerpts from Miracle of Love and The Near and the Dear accessed 10 Oct 2026
- Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaji) Stories: Dada Mukerjee · Ram Dass The foundation's page with excerpts from Miracle of Love and from Dada Mukerjee's books accessed 10 Oct 2026
- Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaji) Stories: His Devotees · Ram Dass The foundation's page with excerpts from Miracle of Love, The Near and the Dear and Barefoot in the Heart accessed 10 Oct 2026
- Ram Dass Gives Maharaji the “Yogi Medicine” · Ram Dass Ram Dass' own account, published by his foundation accessed 10 Oct 2026
- The Origin of "Be Here Now" · Ram Dass Excerpt from a book by an Indian devotee (Ravi Prakash Pande), published by the foundation accessed 10 Oct 2026
- Baba Ram Dass and the Tale of the Acid-Gobbling Guru · Scientific American Blog column by the science journalist John Horgan, 24 December 2019; sceptical accessed 10 Oct 2026
- Vrindavan Ashram · Neem Karoli Baba Ashram and Hanuman Temple, Taos Devotees' ashram in New Mexico; history of his ashram in Vrindavan accessed 11 Oct 2026
Compiled by us from the sources listed. Last checked 13 Oct 2026.
This description is factual. It contains no recommendation, ranking or assurance. Statements about effects are those of the respective source.