Dada [Sudhir Mukerjee] is recognized as one of the devotees who has been closest to Maharajji. Their relationship has been so intimate for so long that we treasure Dada's stories about his "Baba" as especially precious. He is our elder brother in Maharajji's spiritual family. -from the introduction by Ram Dass

By His Grace: A Devotee's Story

Religion & Spirituality

Dada Mukerjee

Worship & Devotion

Hanuman Foundation

"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 Karoli 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 In 1967 I met Neem Karoli Baba, a meeting which changed the course of my life. In the depth of his compassion, wisdom, humor, power and love I found human possibility never before imagined...an extraordinary integration of spirit and form. I was with him only briefly for he left his body in 1973, still he entered my heart as living truth, and his presence continues to enrich and guide my life. -- Ram Dass

Miracle of Love

As Krishna Das points out in his introduction to The Near and the Dear, when you read these stories about Maharaj-ji and his devotees you step into a place and a time that is outside the boundaries of your own memories. You meet people whose lives were forever changed by a word or a look from the great Indian saint Neem Karoli Baba. In The Near and The Dear, Mukerjee tells his own story of time spent with Maharaj-ji, and relates stories about other sadhus and devotees who came to be with Neem Karoli Baba. For a little while you spend time in another culture unlike the United States but not unfamiliar, because to be on a spiritual path is a journey of opening the heart wherever you live. Mukerjee helps you discover how you have more in common with these people he describes than you are different from them. Along with the stories of devotees who came to see Maharaj-ji, you read about how the great saint gave to each what he needed for his spiritual journey. Mukerjee shows you the endlessly adaptable Guru working with his followers, not through coercion, intimidation, or fear, but with overwhelming compassion, understanding, and acceptance. You?ll find yourself marveling at what you can accomplish when you follow where your heart leads. ? Paperback, 294 pages. Published by the Hanuman Foundation, 3rd edition, 2000. Mukerjee continues to share his recollections of Neem Karoli Baba, begun in By His Grace, and expands to relate other devotees? stories. Contains a few photos of Neem Karoli Baba and his devotees seldom seen in the West.

The Near and the Dear

Mukerjee, Dada

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Books by Hanuman Foundation

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By His Grace: A Devotee's Story

Miracle of Love

The Near and the Dear