Finding My Guru: The Grace of Neem Karoli Baba

Neem Karoli Baba—also known as Maharaji or simply Baba—first came into my life in the early 1990s. A friend handed me a copy of Be Here Now by Ram Dass, and when I opened the book, I saw a photograph of Maharaji. Something in that image stopped me in my tracks. I couldn’t look away. I didn’t understand why, but there was something magnetic about him.

I devoured everything by Ram Dass that I could find and slowly began to know Maharaji through his words. I didn’t realize at the time that Maharaji would become my Guru, too.

The Path of Bhakti Unfolds

Baba appeared again in my life when I randomly borrowed a Krishna Das CD from the “world music” section of the library. I had never even heard of Krishna Das, but when I got home, I recognized Maharaji in the photo on the CD jacket.

Krishna Das’s soulful chanting of sacred mantras was my first real exposure to kirtan and the power of mantra. Something stirred deeply in me, and I began seeking out his music and attending live kirtan whenever I could. Through his music and his storytelling, I learned more about Maharaji, and in my heart, a longing began to grow—a longing for a Guru, for the kind of loving relationship that Krishna Das and Ram Dass had with Maharaji.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had stepped onto the path of Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of Devotion.

Following the Thread

Years later, in 2009, I enrolled in a Jivamukti Yoga–inspired teacher training. One day, while studying the text Jivamukti Yoga by Sharon Gannon and David Life, I discovered a chapter on Bhakti Yoga. It spoke about Maharaji and about Krishna Das (who years earlier had begun his career leading kirtan in the West at the Jivamukti Yoga School in New York City on Monday nights.)

It was no coincidence that the method of yoga I had been drawn to was interwoven with the lineage of Bhakti and Maharaji.

By then, both Krishna Das and Ram Dass had become influential, steady teachers for me. I often spoke of them in my classes, and I mentioned Maharaji frequently—but always as “Ram Dass’s Guru” or “Krishna Das’s Guru.” Deep down, I was still waiting for a Guru of my own, still holding onto the idea that a Guru must be in a physical body.

The Moment of Recognition

Then came an opportunity to lead a yoga retreat in Taos, New Mexico—home to a beautiful Hanuman/Neem Karoli Baba temple. I intentionally planned our retreat to coincide with the July full moon, the auspicious holiday of Guru Purnima, a sacred time when devotees honor their Gurus.

During the temple’s celebration, the space was alive with chanting, flowers, and devotion. At the center of the temple was a large murti of Hanuman, and to his right, on a simple low table (a tucket), sat a large photograph of Maharaji.

When it was my turn to approach, I lay flat on the floor in a full pranam, arms outstretched toward him. In that instant, it was as if a switch flipped—a light bulb turned on.

“He’s my Guru. Of course He’s my Guru. He always has been.”

Tears poured from my eyes—Bhakti tears—as I felt a wave of relief, joy, safety, love, and a deep sense of homecoming. Baba’s grace filled me, wrapping me in unconditional love. Since that moment, my life has been filled with more grace, abundance, and miracles than I could ever have imagined—all through His presence and my willingness to receive it.

The Ever-Present Guru

One of the greatest lessons Maharaji has taught me is that the Guru is not limited to a physical form. Guru is a force, a living current of divine grace that surrounds us and resides within us.

I often visualize Guru’s grace as a golden river flowing above the crown chakra, always available, waiting for us to open the tap. It’s up to us to clean our vessels so that we can receive that love and become instruments of Divine will.

Even though Maharaji left his physical body in 1973, his presence is very much alive. His vibration continues to move through the world, touching the lives, hearts, and souls of those who come to know Him. Maharaji is what is known as a Sat Guru—a True Guru—one who has realized the Self, knows the Oneness of all beings, and lives beyond duality.

His teachings were simple and profound:

• Love everyone.

• Serve others.

• Remember God.

He encouraged his devotees to chant the names of God and to recite the Hanuman Chalisa. In the sweetness of these practices, we remember who we truly are: Love itself.

Grace in the Journey

This September, the Jivamukti Yoga Focus of the Month essay, A Lighthouse in the Dark by Martyna Dharmina Febre, beautifully explores the principle of the Guru. You can read it here.

I find that my relationship with Maharaji deepens the more that I let go and surrender, the more that I chant, and the more that I try to put into practice his instructions of loving everyone, serving others, and remembering God. My journey with Maharaji continues to unfold, moment by moment, mantra by mantra, in the quiet knowing that Guru’s grace is always present—patiently waiting for us to notice, to open, to receive. There’s a saying in India that I have found to be very true in my experience: “A moment with the Guru, and the river changes course.”

Ram Ram,

Sharada Devi