One of the funniest stories I can convey about being with Baba was a group of devotees started spontaneously doing a Sufi circle dance in the middle of the courtyard at the temple in Kainchi.

They were whirling and screaming out Sufi stuff about God knows what, spinning back and forth in a circle. Probably there was some Allah talk.

Maharajji came out of his office and started screaming at them to stop immediately. Needless to say that was the beginning and end of Sufi dancing at the temple.

The people who organized it, (they shall remain nameless) faded into the background, then everything was as right as rain.

I never did any spiritual disciplines when I was with Baba. I was too blown away to do anything at all. But one day I did fast, very quietly and without making a big whoop about it. I was simply absent from meals and stayed in the White House during the meal hours.

That afternoon I was hanging out near his office, knowing that he was inside, hoping for a little recognition. I saw a hand reach out the door and wave me inside. I had never been alone with Baba and I was shitting bricks.

I was sitting by the tucket when an Indian devotee read a newspaper (monotone voice) in Hindi to Maharaj.

Arrogantly, I must admit: I got bored, annoyed, and thought to myself why is this boring man reading this mundane stuff to M aharajji....

The next thing I knew, my kundalini was rising--what a rush--and my heart was filling with overwhelming Love, but before the energy reached my crown chakra,

Maharajji placed his hand on my head and it all stopped.

Who was He ?

Baba Neem Karauli a Saint and popularly known as Maharaj. He belonged to the state of Uttar Pradesh (Akbarpur) in India. He lead a simple life, wearing only a dhoti and a blanket and sometimes in all seasons. His devotees are spread all over India and also in many parts of the world including America.

Why is He called Saint ?

Baba was a saint as He had a dual personality. The divine and the human, one who had freed himself from worldly attachments and things [that] are mundane. He did not have any worldly possessions of physical nature except the spiritual power and this sustained Him throughout His life for spreading the message of human service of the highest order. He used to say "Love All, Feed All, Serve All."

Sabki Sewa Atmn Gyan. Service beings leads to self realization, therefore it can be said that Baba Neem Karauli was an exceptional human being. When a person can in His contact he/she would become His disciple by the sheer force of His Grace.

One warm February afternoon in 1973, I met Neem Karoli Baba-ji at the Sankata Mochana Hanuman Mandir on Parikrama Road in Vrindaban. Early the next morning Maharaj-ji left for His ashram at Kainchi Dham in Nainital Jila, Kumoan.

A few months before meeting Baba, I had received funds from the USA. When I left the Brajbasi plains for Kumoan to follow Baba, I passed through New Delhi where I cashed $100 into rupees, which left me with $300 in American Express traveler's checks. The exchange rate was Rs/7.38 rupees to the dollar. In my bag I had some rupees and fifteen traveler’s checks in twenty-dollar denomination. The checks had come in a blue plastic AmEx envelope, which I kept in an inside pocket of my shoulder bag.