Spiritual Masters: Lama Surya Das on Neem Karoli Baba
Lama Surya Das is not your average Buddhist. Before becoming the Dharma heir to Tibetan master Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche, and studying with some of the most esteemed Buddhist figures of the 20th Century (like Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, and Uchiyama Roshi), Surya Das was a disciple of the popular Indian Guru Neem Karoli Baba, who gave him his Sanskrit name.
Neem Karoli Baba was a bhakti yogi, meaning that he considered service to others (seva) as the highest expression of devotion to God, and in thanks to his well-known disciples like Baba Ram Das, became one of the most popular Gurus in the East-West mixing pot of the 1960s. In the beautiful video below, Baba Ram Das (who is a dharma brother to Lama Surya Das), gives his account of Neem Karoli Baba.
For a recent video of Lama Surya Das in dialogue with EnlightenNext founder Andrew Cohen, click here.
And to hear Surya Das’s own account of Neem Karoli Baba, join him with Andrew Cohen, on March 25, for the “Awakening to Your Highest Self” online celebration.
Filed Under: Buddhism • Consciousness • EnlightenNext Editors’ Blog • Hinduism • Spirituality • meditation
I heard, second hand, a slightly different story of how Neem Karoli Baba responded after taking the LSD tabs;
He supposedly said, “So?”
Ha, ha!