Neem Karodi Baba

Neem Karodi Baba
Personal life
Born:	Lakshman Narayan Sharma Around 1900 Akbarpur, Firozabad District, Uttar Pradesh, India
Spouse:	Ram Beti Sharma
Children:	1 daughter, 2 sons
Passed away:	11 September 1973 Vrindavan, India
Religious life
Religion	Hinduism
Philosophy:	Bhakti Yog

Neem Karodi Baba (Hindi: नीम करोड़ी बाबा) or Neem Karoli Baba (Hindi: नीम करौली बाबा), Neeb Karori Baba or Maharaj-ji was one of the greatest saints of India. Born, Laksman Narayan Sharma about 1900 he was an elightened Hindu Spiritual Master, a Guru with a huge following of devotees in India and many parts of the world. He himself was a devotee of Bhagwan Hanuman and Bhagwan Ram.

Biography

Neem Karodi Baba was an enlightened master whose childhood name was Lakshman Narayan Sharma. He was born around 1900 CE in the village Akbarpur, in what is now the Firozabad District of Uttar Pradesh, India, into a wealthy Brahmin family. After being married by his parents at the age of eleven, he left home to become a wandering sadhu or hermit.

He was considered as an embodiment of God’s love and compassion. His life’s purpose was the spiritual upliftment of seekers. It was filled with service, worship of God, and guidance and support for those who came to him. As a supremely free being, he showed no attachment to material possessions, property, or any particular place.

For most of his life Baba lived as a wandering monk, moving from place to place like free-flowing water. He avoided staying in one location for long and sometimes remarked that leaving a place after a prolonged stay felt like being released from jail. He travelled unexpectedly and unannounced, often vanishing suddenly and leaving devotees guessing his whereabouts. He mostly walked or used carts, buses, and trains. Despite this, crowds thronged wherever he appeared and frequently followed him.

Stories shared by devotees testify to the range of spiritual powers at his command. He could read minds and perceive past and future events at will. He could instantly divine events happening thousands of miles away if he wanted. He could alter a devotee’s destiny by warning of impending dangers. He is said to have manifested food, money, and other objects when needed, stopped moving trains by pure will, and appeared in multiple places at once. Above all, he touched hearts, transformed lives, and turned people toward God.

Baba warned devotees not to discuss his miracles with others. He even threatened some with severe illness if they shared a miracle with people during Baba’s lifetime.

One significant miracle for which Baba got the name Neem Karodi is described on his Ashram’s website now:

‘This was many years ago, perhaps when Maharaj-ji was in his late twenties or early thirties. For several days, no one had given him any food and hunger drove him to board a train for the nearest city. When the conductor discovered Maharaj-ji seated in the first-class coach without a ticket, he pulled the emergency brake and the train ground to a halt. After some verbal debate, Maharaj-ji was unceremoniously put off the train. The train had stopped near the village of Neeb Karori where Maharaj-Ji had been living.

Maharaj-ji sat down under the shade of a tree while the conductor blew his whistle and the engineer opened the throttle. But the train didn’t move. For some time the train sat there while every attempt was made to get it to move. Another engine was called in to push it, but all to no avail. A local magistrate with one arm, who knew of Maharaj-ji, suggested to the officials that they coax that young sadhu back onto the train. Initially the officials were appalled by such superstition, but after many attempts to move the train failed, they decided to give it a try.

Many passengers and railway officials approached Maharaj-ji, carrying with them food and sweets as offerings to Him. They requested that He board the train. He agreed on two conditions: The railway officials must promise to have a station built for the village of Neeb Karori for at the time villagers had to walk many miles to the nearest station, and the railroad must henceforth treat sadhus with respect. The officials promised to do whatever was in their power, and Maharaj-ji finally re-boarded the train. Then they asked Maharaj-ji to start the train. He got very abusive and said, “What, is it up to me to start trains?” The engineer started the train, the train travelled a few yards, and then the engineer stopped it and said, “Unless the sadhu orders me, I will not go forward.” Maharaj-ji said, “Let him go.” And they proceeded. Then Maharaj-ji said that the officials kept their word, and soon afterward a train station was built at Neeb Karori and sadhus received more respect on trains.’

From about 1911 he wandered through northern India. He later returned home, at his father's request, to live a settled married life. The couple had two sons and a daughter.

Neem Karodi Baba primarily worshipped Bhagwan Hanuman and Ram, yet, like many enlightened masters, he also offered love and reverence to other forms of God.

He urged disciples to keep their minds fixed on God with love. He himself frequently used “Ram” as a mantra. He taught that serving the needy and feeding people were powerful paths to liberation. ‘Love everyone, serve everyone, remember God and speak the truth’ was a primary teaching.

Conversations and everyday interactions were his primary means of imparting teachings; formal discourses were rare. Gatherings with devotees were often full of mirth and laughter. His words mixed guidance, reassurance, rebuke, warnings, praise, and abundant love—frequently punctuated by the abrupt command “jao” (“go”). He expressed his love freely toward devotees and received it back in abundance. A devotee describes Baba as follows:

‘ There can be no biography of him. Facts are few, stories many. He seems to have been known by different names in many parts of India, appearing and disappearing through the years. His western devotees of recent years knew him as ‘Neem Karodi Baba,’ but mostly as ‘Maharajii’–a nickname so commonplace in India that one can often hear a tea vendor addressed thus. Just as he said, he was ‘Nobody.’ He gave no discourses; the briefest, simplest stories were his teachings. Usually, he sat or lay on a wooden bench wrapped in a plaid blanket while a few devotees sat around him. Visitors came and went; they were given food, a few words, a nod, a slap on the head or back, and they were sent away. There was gossip and laughter for he loved to joke. Orders for running the ashram were given, usually in a piercing yell across the compound. Sometimes he sat in silence, absorbed in another world to which we could not follow, but bliss and peace poured down on us. Who he was, was no more than the experience of him, the nectar of his presence, the totality of his absence–enveloping us now like his plaid blanket.’ - Anjani

He typically wore a plaid blanket around his shoulders and sat on his hardboard bed (takht). His handsome features and strong build only heightened his charismatic presence.

During his life two main ashrams were built, at Kainchi and at Vrindavan. The Kainchi Dham, where he stayed in the last decade of his life, was built in 1964 with a Hanuman ji temple. In time, over a hundred temples were constructed in his name.

Neem Karodi Baba passed away at about 1:15 a.m. on September 11, 1973 in a hospital at Vrindavan, India. His last words, repeated several times, were "Jaya Jagadish Hare" ("Hail to the Lord of the Universe"). His samadhi (shrine) was built in the complex of the Vrindavan ashram.

Key Teachings

When you have God, you dont need anything.

Sab ek. (All is one)

I am everyone's Guru.

Forgive everyone.

Truth is supreme.

Love is the strongest medicine.

Anger, lust, greed and attachments are the road to hell.

Anger, lust, greed and attachments are the road to hell.

Serve as Hanuman served Ram.

Respect women.

Speak the truth.

God is in you.

Serve God and God will serve you.

Legacy

After returning to the United States, Ram Dass and Larry Brilliant founded the Seva Foundation, an international health organization based in Berkeley, California. In the late 2000s Ram Das and a community of his friends set up the 'Love Serve Remember Foundation' to promote the teachings of Neem Karodi Baba.

In 2024 his follower Rahul Verma founded the NKB Divine Meditation Foundation, offering free guided meditation sessions based on the teachings of Neem Karodi Baba.

Each year on June 15, to commemorate the foundation day of the Ashram at Kainchi Dham in 1964, a large mela (fair) known as Kainchi Dham Mela, is organised there, in which thousands of devotees and pilgrims take part.

Some of Neem Karoli Baba’s better-known disciples and devotees include the Harvard professor and author Ram Dass and the acclaimed kirtan musician Krishna Das. According to accounts in the book Miracle of Love, former President of India V.V. Giri met Baba privately before resigning as Vice-President and contesting the 1969 presidential election, which he subsequently won. There are also stories of contacts involving people around Jawaharlal Nehru notably during the 1962 India–China war and Indira Gandhi. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs travelled to Kainchi Dham in 1974 hoping to meet Baba, though he had already left his body the previous year; the visit nevertheless left a lasting impression on Jobs. Other prominent visitors to Baba's ashrams include former Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, Meta Founder Mark Zuckerberg, Actresses Julia Roberts and Anuksha Sharma.

Popular Culture

Films and documentaries

After returning to the United States, Ram Dass and Larry Brilliant founded the Seva Foundation, an international health organization based in Berkeley, California. In the late 2000s Ram Das and a community of his friends set up the 'Love Serve Remember Foundation' to promote the teachings of Neem Karodi Baba.

Windfall of Grace is a documentary film directed by Japna Tulsi about Neem Karodi Baba and his devotees. The film explores Baba's life and legacy through accounts by devotees, kirtan and visits to places associated with him.

Moved by Grace is a documentary about devotees of Neem Karodi Baba and their experiences following their association with him. The film was released on 1 December 2022, the anniversary of Baba's birth.

One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das is a 2012 documentary film about Krishna Das. It follows his journey to India in search of Neem Karodi Baba and his subsequent spiritual relationship with Baba.

American Yogi is a documentary film directed by Steven Newmark and based on the life of Neem Karodi Baba. The film follows Newmark's journey and his efforts to present Indian spirituality to Western audiences.

Brilliant Disguise: The Samadhi of K.C. Tewari is a 2022 documentary directed by David Silver about K.C. Tewari, a devotee of Neem Karodi Baba. The film follows Tewari's life and his association with Baba and Western spiritual seekers who travelled to India.

Shree Baba Neeb Karori Maharaj is a 2026 Hindi-language biographical drama directed by Sharad Singh Thakur, with Subodh Bhave portraying Neem Karodi Baba. The film was released on 29 May 2026.

Hanuman Ansh is a 2026 Hindi-language film written and directed by Vishal Chaturvedi. The film is based on real-life incidents associated with Neem Karodi Baba and stars Shobhinaw Satyaa as Baba. It was released in theatres on 7 August 2026. By the end of the month it had grossed nearly ₹32 crores on a modest production cost of about ₹2 crores, making it the highest grossing Indian film of 2026 in terms of return on investment.

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