Early Life
Neem Karoli Baba, also written as Neeb Karori Baba, was born Lakshman Narayan Sharma around the beginning of the twentieth century in Akbarpur, in present-day Uttar Pradesh.
Much of his early life is preserved through family accounts, devotee recollections and spiritual biographies rather than a modern documentary record. Where published accounts differ on dates or details, this website acknowledges those differences rather than presenting uncertain information as established fact.
Maharaj-ji became one of the distinctive spiritual figures of twentieth-century North India. His life was associated particularly with devotion to God, Hanuman, service, simplicity and remembrance.
The Name Neem Karoli Baba
Published biographies and devotee accounts connect the name with a period of his life near the village remembered as Neeb Karori. English spellings vary, including Neem Karoli, Neeb Karori and Neeb Karauri. This website uses Neem Karoli Baba on first reference and Maharaj-ji thereafter.
Accounts differ on some details surrounding the origin of the name.
Life of Wandering and Service
Accounts preserved by devotees describe years of movement across North India, meetings with people from widely different backgrounds, and a life that resisted formal titles. Householders and visitors remembered attention to ordinary needs — food, illness, family responsibilities and service — alongside devotion.
Hanuman
Maharaj-ji’s life and the communities around him became closely associated with Hanuman, devotion and selfless service. Temples connected with him were established in several places. Devotees understand this relationship through the language and practices of bhakti; it is presented here as spiritual tradition rather than a claim requiring historical proof.
Kainchi Dham
Kainchi Dham is a temple and ashram in the Kumaon Hills of Uttarakhand. The first temple there was inaugurated in June 1964. Kainchi became one of the places most closely remembered in accounts of Maharaj-ji’s later life.
Practical information should be checked only with the official Shri Kainchi Hanuman Mandir Trust .
Vrindavan
Vrindavan is associated with an ashram, temple and Maharaj-ji’s samadhi. An ashram account records that he left his body at a hospital during the night of 10 September 1973 and that the cremation took place at the ashram on 11 September. Some summaries use 11 September as the date of death; the difference reflects how the overnight sequence is recorded.
Maharaj-ji and His Devotees
Recollections describe a community that included householders, villagers, officials, saints and visitors of different faiths and nationalities. These accounts emphasise Maharaj-ji’s attention to the particular person before him more than a single formal programme of instruction.
Western Seekers and Global Awareness
Richard Alpert met Maharaj-ji in India in 1967 and was given the name Ram Dass. Ram Dass’s later teaching and writing introduced many readers outside India to Maharaj-ji. The Love Serve Remember Foundation continues to preserve the Ram Dass archive and material connected with Maharaj-ji.
September 1973
Maharaj-ji’s final journey ended in Vrindavan in September 1973. The surviving ashram account distinguishes the night of 10 September from the cremation on 11 September. NKB Blessing does not force a false precision where published summaries use different conventions.
The Living Legacy
Ashrams, temples, books, recorded recollections, satsang and acts of service continue to carry Maharaj-ji’s memory. Their present-day activities belong to distinct organisations; NKB Blessing is independent of them and does not speak on their behalf.
Teachings Remembered by Devotees
The following are presented as teachings remembered and transmitted by devotees, not as claims that every circulating wording is a verbatim historical quotation.
- Love everyone.
- Serve everyone.
- Remember God.
- Tell the truth.
- Sub Ek — All is One.
- See the Divine in all.
Stories Remembered by Devotees
Many extraordinary experiences involving Maharaj-ji have been preserved in books, letters and oral recollections by devotees. These accounts form an important part of the living tradition surrounding him.
NKB Blessing presents such stories as they were remembered and recorded by devotees, without attempting to prove or disprove matters of personal faith.
Compassion in ordinary life
Dada Mukerjee’s recollections repeatedly describe Maharaj-ji responding to illness, hardship and family need. Source family: The Near and the Dear and excerpts preserved by Love Serve Remember.
A meeting that travelled outward
Ram Dass described his 1967 meeting with Maharaj-ji as changing the course of his life. Source family: Ram Dass writings and the Love Serve Remember archive.
Sources and Further Reading
The source record distinguishes organisational material, public records, published recollections, books and image rights.
Review Sources & Further Reading