Love Everyone: The Transcendent Wisdom of Neem Karoli Baba Told Through the Stories of the Westerners Whose Lives He Transformed

by Parvati Markus

Overview

A celebration of Neem Karoli Baba, one of the most influential spiritual leaders of our time, the divine guru who inspired and led a generation of seekers—including Ram Dass, Daniel Goleman, and Larry Brilliant—on life-changing journeys that have ultimately transformed our world.

In 1967, Baba Ram Dass—former American Harvard professor Richard Alpert—left India to share stories of his mysterious guru, Neem Karoli Baba, known as Maharajji. Introducing idealistic Western youth to the possibilities inherent in spiritual development, Ram Dass inspired a generation to turn on and tune in to a reality far different from the one they had known.

From the spring of 1970 until Maharajji died on September 11, 1973, several hundred Westerners had his darshan (in Hinduism, the beholding of a deity, revered person, or sacred object). Those who saw him formed the Maharajji satsang—fellow travelers on the path. Love Everyone tells the stories of those who heard the siren call of the East and followed it to the foothills of the Himalayas. The ways they were called to make the journey, their experiences along the way, and their meeting with Maharajji form the core of this multicultural adventure in shifting consciousness.

The contributors share their recollections of Maharajji and how his wisdom shaped their lives. All have attempted to follow Maharajji’s basic teaching, his seemingly simple directives: Love everyone, feed everyone, and remember God. All have found their own way to be of service in the world and, in so doing, have collectively touched the hearts and souls of countless others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062342997
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/10/2015
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	566,913
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 6.20(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

PARVATI MARKUS is a developmental editor and writer of spiritually oriented nonfiction books and memoirs. She has worked on books by various members of the satsang, from Ram Dass’s classic Be Here Now (before she went to India) to those since her time in India with Maharajji (1971–1972)—from Dada Mukerjee’s By His Grace and The Near and the Dear to Krishna Das’s recent Chants of a Lifetime. She is a former president of the board of the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram and Temple and a former development con-sultant for the Global Peace Initiative of Women Religious and Spiritual Leaders, held at the U.N. in Geneva, Switzerland. She lives in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Table of Contents

Foreword Ram Dass ix

Preface xi

Introduction xiii

Part 1 In the Beginning 1968-1969

1 The Call 3

2 On the Hippie Trail 25

Part 2 The First Wave 1970-March 1972

3 The Early Ones 41

4 May All Beings Be Happy 53

5 On the Bus 65

6 Christ and Hanuman Are One 83

7 Kausani: The Monsoon Retreat 99

8 Nainital High 111

9 Sporting with Krishna in Vrindavan 137

10 Where the Sacred Rivers Meet 163

Part 3 The Second Wave March 1972-September 1973

11 Comings and Goings 183

12 The Music of the Spheres 211

13 Following the Path 233

14 Over the Wall 253

15 The Summer of Delight 275

16 Dropping the Blanket 293

17 And in the End 313

Bios 329

In Memoriam 355

Notes 357

Glossary 359

Resources 365

Acknowledgments 367

Index 369

Credits 378

Editorial Reviews

09/14/2015
Inspired by American spiritual teacher Ram Dass and Be Here Now, his groundbreaking book, many young North Americans in the early 1970s found their way to the eccentric Indian guru Neem Karoli Baba. His primary instruction, Markus reports, was simply to “love everyone, feed everyone, and remember God.” Markus, herself a member of Baba’s satsang, or community of devotees, has woven many interviews into a narrative of a remarkable time. Amid picaresque tales of being on the loose in India, Markus details an array of seekers who bear witness to the profound influence of their adored guru’s “unconditional love.” Markus notes that while most of the satsang “didn’t get into ‘feeding’ everyone” while in India, a number (including Ram Dass, renowned epidemiologist Larry Brilliant, and psychology writer Daniel Goleman) later made significant social contributions. The recollections, full of vivid detail, are largely uncritical, and readers pining for some analysis—psychological, social, cultural, or gender-based—won’t find much here. These are, after all, “love stories,” providing an intriguing glimpse into the possibilities for spiritual change and reminding readers that 45 years ago, young people looking for something more helped spark significant cultural shifts. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Reading this book is like gazing at a precious Jewel. At first we see the beautiful surfaces, that shine and glitter, but gradually the inner radiance of the gem is revealed. Neem Karoli Baba is that Inner Radiance, the love that lives within us as who we truly are.

Krishna Das

My dear Dharma sister Parvati has opened the radiant heart of Maharajji, which embraces us all-the whole world-and generously shares its miraculous, heart-opening warmth, inclusive love and wisdom, for anyone who cares to see, hear, feel, inquire, unmask, awaken, and transform.

Lama Surya Das

It is the story of a generation (my own) that went to India to learn how to live, to actually be happy … It is the story of a time and a place that also symbolizes our own intrinsic human potential at any time, in any place.

Sharon Salzberg

Every word of this luminous collection carries the butterfly kiss of the saint it celebrates… It is a living testament to a love that transcends all form, and a clarion call to shift from the ego to the heart, where loving everyone is not only possible, but the only possibility.

Mirabai Starr

…I’ve learned that nothing truly great can be accomplished without loving each and every one. But the trick is that not only saints like Neem Karoli Baba can love everyone; we can, too, when our hearts are open. This book will open your heart.

Dr. Larry Brilliant

The grace-filled stories of Ram Dass and those who met his beloved Guru have inspired and opened the hearts of millions. Here you can join them on their beautiful journey and connect with the grace and love yourself.

Jack Kornfield

The stories feel as though they are being reexperienced at the moment of recall, decades later.... The concluding Satsang chapter provides ‘where are they now’ bios of the book’s seekers... For them, saving the world became a matter of serving it.

Spirituality and Health magazine

This little heart of mine cannot hold that much joy and love. It feels as if i’m living each one of the stories. I’m filled with gratitude beyond measure. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Durga Sanchez

[Markus] has documented both the passion and the credibility of what she has recorded and she’s done it in a manner that takes readers on the journey with those who are reliving it in narrative.

Anna Jedrziewski

[Markus] has documented both the passion and the credibility of what she has recorded and she’s done it in a manner that takes readers on the journey with those who are reliving it in narrative.” %COMM_CONTRIB%Anna Jedrziewski