Some teachings are so complex that they fill thick books with difficult words and rules requiring years to grasp. But others are so simple and beautiful that a child can repeat them in one breath, yet so profound that a lifetime feels insufficient to truly live them. The words of Neem Karoli Baba belong firmly to the latter category.
Who Was Neem Karoli Baba?
Neem Karoli Baba, affectionately called Maharaj-ji by his followers, was a Hindu saint and devotee of Lord Hanuman. He passed away in 1973, but thousands of devotees still flock to his ashram at Kainchi Dham, nestled in the hills of Uttarakhand near Nainital. He wrote no heavy books and delivered no grand lectures. Instead, he sat wrapped in a blanket, shared fruit, laughed easily, and spoke quiet words that traveled far, reaching seekers, writers, and even some of the biggest names in technology.
The Core Teaching
His famous quote encapsulates his philosophy: "Love everyone, serve everyone, remember God, and tell the truth."
Understanding the Meaning
Maharaj-ji's disciple Ram Dass, a Harvard teacher and psychedelic researcher, once asked how a person becomes enlightened. The answer was this same line. Each part points to a different way of being in the world.
- Love everyone: Baba did not say love the good people or those who love you back. He said everyone. Love, in his teaching, is not a feeling you wait for but a choice you keep making.
- Serve everyone: For him, love that stays inside is incomplete. It must become action. His ashrams were known for feeding anyone who arrived. Two of his disciples later founded the Seva Foundation in California, which works to prevent and treat blindness worldwide.
- Remember God: While doing all this, he urged remembering God's name not just in temples but while working, eating, and walking.
- Tell the truth: Honesty, for Maharaj-ji, was not just about not lying. It meant your words and your life pointing in the same direction.
Why His Teaching Still Matters Today
In our busy lives, we often scroll past strangers without seeing them, treat service as something we pay for, and mold the truth to fit the moment. Maharaj-ji's four instructions are the opposite of all this. Interestingly, those who carried his message forward were not only monks. Apple's Steve Jobs traveled to India to find him, though Baba had already passed. Mark Zuckerberg later visited Kainchi Dham on Jobs's suggestion during a difficult period in his own life. Even now, the busiest, most modern lives seem to circle back to this simple wisdom.
