You are about to embark on a guided imaginary journey of what it would have been like to visit a Neem Karoli Baba ashram and indeed to have received his darshan as well.
Please do not listen while driving or operating any equipment but instead enjoy it in a comfortable and relaxed restful position.
A soft bell will ring at the very end to let you know that it has concluded.
Find a comfortable position either sitting or lying down.
If you are sitting,
Wiggle around in your meditation cushion a bit until you find your center in a balanced position with your weight evenly distributed.
Lengthen your spine.
Let the top of your head be drawn upward while your hips are sinking downward.
Scan your body.
Look for any sign of tension.
As you exhale,
Release and let go of any tension.
Relax and expand your abdomen as you inhale.
Gently contract your abdomen as you exhale.
Focus your attention on the movement of your abdomen and the rising and falling of your diaphragm muscle.
Take three deep and slow breaths in this manner.
Let your eyes gently close.
Notice the air flowing through your nostrils.
Cool on the inhale,
Warm on the exhale.
Gradually lengthen your exhales until eventually they become twice as long as your inhales.
For example,
If you inhale for two seconds,
Exhale for four seconds.
If you inhale for three seconds,
Exhale for six seconds.
And of course,
If you inhale for four seconds,
Exhale for eight seconds and so on.
Whatever it is,
Let it be relaxed and effortless.
Each inhale is getting a little deeper.
Each exhale is getting a little longer.
And with each exhale,
You're relaxing more and more.
Feel the waves of relaxation flowing through you.
I am now going to recite a short invocation in Sanskrit.
It honors all the gurus.
It honors Nim Kurali Baba and it celebrates the guru that resides inside your heart.
Aakandamandala karam Vibdhyamyena chadacharam Tat parandarshi tamyena tasmai shree gurave namah.
Agyan timeerandasya jnanajena shalakaya chakshulan militamye na tasmai shree gurave namah.
Guru Brahma,
Guru Vishnu,
Guru Devo Maheshwara,
Guru Sakshat Parabrahma tasmai shree gurave namah.
Dhyanamulam Guru Murti,
Bhushamulam Guru Padam,
Mantramulam Guru Vakyam,
Mokshamulam Guru Kripa,
Mokshamulam Guru Kripa,
Mokshamulam Guru Kripa,
Hariyam,
Sadhguru Deva Bhagavan Ki Jai.
Join me here in the now where time and space do not matter and anything is possible.
Imagine along with me it is a warm bright sunny morning in northern India.
You are in a brilliant yellow and green rickshaw riding along on a busy street.
You are eager with anticipation to visit Nirmala Kroli Baba's ashram for the very first time.
As you look out to the side of the road you see the large archway with your Guru's name written on it in Devanagari,
The Hindi script.
You have arrived.
Your driver pulls over and you get out in front of the main entrance.
After collecting the yellow bananas and orange mangoes you brought with you,
Paying and saying goodbye to your driver,
You step out onto the busy and noisy street.
You immediately recognize the fragrances of various aromatic spices wafting from the assorted street vendors.
After dodging the wandering cow and watching out for some mischievous monkeys you cross over to the entrance of the ashram.
You reverently pranam before entering.
Shortly after passing through the main gates you find the proper place to take off and store your shoes.
Note the warm surface beneath your bare feet.
You observe that a small group of people is playing and singing the Maha Mantra.
One old sadhu is playing harmonium.
Someone else is keeping the rhythm on the drums and another is crisply clinking the cartals,
The brass cymbals.
Several devotees are sitting around them in a semi-circle chanting along in call and response.
You stop and sing the praises of Lord Krishna and Rama with them for a short time.
After a bit you get up and start wandering around in the ashram.
You notice the ashram pujari is preparing for morning arati.
You see all the mandirs,
The temples,
Holding the consecrated murtis of the favorite deities.
You go to the Hanuman temple first,
Fold your hands in front of your heart in Anjali mudra and pranam bow to the sun of the wind.
You quietly repeat the Hanuman mantra.
Om Sri Hanumatai Namaha.
Next you circumambulate,
Come back and pranam again.
You can feel Hanuman's grace radiating throughout your heart.
After that,
You find yourself in front of the murti of the Divine Mother.
You respectfully pranam and circumambulate her as well.
As you quietly chant her mantra,
You can feel her nurturing compassion deep inside.
Om Dum Durgaai Namaha Soon the aarti begins.
Everyone gathers around the temple priest,
The puzari,
As he goes from temple to temple and chants the appropriate prayers and bangs on the loud bells in front of each mandir in turn.
Of course,
Everyone joins in singing the Hanuman Chalisa when they reach his mandir.
Om Dum Durgaai Namaha Charya Daggarti Swami Swami Daggarti Swami Bhakti Daggarti Swami Daggarti Daggarti Daggarti Swami Daggarti Swami Bhakti Daggarti Swami After aarti concludes,
You notice Siddhima and Jivantima coming towards you.
After they have your attention,
They exclaim,
Come quick!
Come quick!
Maharaji is arriving!
They take you by the arm and direct you over to his tukkit,
His wooden cot.
You take a seat amongst a small group that is suddenly gathering in excitement.
After a short while,
The Ma's escort Neem Karoli Baba out to address the devotees.
He takes his place reclining on the tukkit.
You immediately place the fruit that you brought with you at the end of the tukkit.
Several others are doing the same.
Maharaji begins tossing pieces of fruit into those gathered as prasad.
After a few moments,
He hurls an apple your way,
And you catch it deftly.
You eagerly receive all the blessings of the Guru with that piece of fruit.
As you take a bite and savor the juicy sweetness,
You are feeling profoundly connected to your Guru at the deepest level.
Many people are maneuvering up to obtain some grace from touching his feet.
Eventually you can make your way up to him and receive that blessing as well.
You feel the tingle of sacred life force energy into your hands and begin flowing through your entire body.
Some of those who are gathered there are asking for specific blessings such as for the marriage of their child or in hopes of a baby or a promotion in their job.
You may have a secret question to ask as well.
Is there anything that would help you progress on your spiritual path?
Allow the issue to be present in your mind for a few moments.
Permit yourself to be open to hearing the answer from your inner Guru.
You may be able to listen to the answer to the question in your mind right away before you even have a chance to ask it.
Or it may come to you intuitively later on.
Remember Maharaji knows everything.
The exterior Guru and the interior Guru are the same.
As Maharaji would say,
SABEK!
It's all one.
After some time basking in the glow of the divine light that Maharaji emanates,
He suddenly yells,
Jao!
Go take Prasad!
You look over and you see that the Ma's,
Sri Siddhi Ma and Javanthi Ma,
And others,
Have brought out lots of Puris and spiced potatoes.
The divine offering's aroma is even more robust than it was earlier when you were out on the street.
All the devotees gather around and are served delicious food on banana leaf plates.
Several devotees take turns sharing stories about their time in the ashram and some of the interesting events that took place around Maharaji.
Everybody is enjoying the satsang,
The spiritual community with others.
After finishing your prasad,
You rise to visit all the deities once again.
You take your time bowing before each one and calling in the unique qualities that each divine being has to offer.
As you strolled to the now empty tucket,
You spend a few moments in silence as you pranam with gratitude for this unique opportunity you have had to enjoy the darshan of Ninkuruli Baba,
Maharaji.
As you put your shoes back on,
Observe the now setting sun and feel a slight coolness in the air begin to manifest.
As you exit the ashram through the main gate,
You see that your driver is there in his colorful rickshaw for you to bring you back.
Wiggle your toes and wiggle your fingers as you gradually return.
When you are ready,
Allow your eyes to gently open as you bring your attention back to your immediate surroundings.
Om Lokaha Samastah Sukhino Bhavanthu Lokaha Samastah Sukhino Bhavanthu Lokaha Samastah Sukhino Bhavanthu Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om Shri Gurubya Namaha Adiyam Om Tat Sat May the blessings of Lord Shiva and Mother Durga,
Radha and Krishna,
Sita and Ram be upon us all.
Jai Jai Jai Sita Ram Jai Gurudev
