Ram Dass book on Maharaji (Neem Karoli Baba)

Ram Dass FAQ: What is the best Ram Dass book about the Maharaji, aka, Neem Karoli Baba?

The best Ram Dass book about Maharaj-ji (Neem Karoli Baba)

I believe the best Ram Dass book about Maharaj-ji (Neem Karoli Baba) is the 1979 Ram Dass book Miracle of Love. It’s over 400 pages in length, with story after story about the “miracles” Maharaj-ji performed. Some of the stories are told by Ram Dass, but most of them are told by other people. Almost all of the stories are less than one page in length, so it’s easy to read a few stories every night, if you like.

If you’re interested in what the Maharaji was described as being able to do, along with his quotes about Maya/illusion/delusion, service, loving everyone, etc., this is a great book.

A second great book ...

Another great Ram Dass book about Neem Karoli Baba is Polishing The Mirror.

A great thing about this book is that I think it’s the best summary of all his work. It’s a relatively short book, and summarizes much of what you’ll read in his other books. I really like to underline and highlight words, and I found that I could highlight most of this book. :)

As you can see from the tabs I attached my book, the book covers love, karma, the ego, Bhakti yoga, service, Maya/illusion, The Witness, Hanuman, and much more:

Here’s a summary of the chapters of this 161-page book that are listed in the Table Of Contents (along with a few of my own notes):

• Polishing the Mirror
• Bhakti Yoga, the Path of Devotion (losing yourself in love)
• Karma Yoga, Living in the World (stories about service (seva) and karma, cultivating The Witness)
• Aging and Changing
• Conscious Living, Conscious Dying (fear, pain, and death (What dies?))
• From Suffering to Grace (a few stories about suffering)
• Content to Be
• Practicing, Practicing (tips on setting up a practice)

Also, Be Love Now

Be Love Now is another good book to start with, but in terms of being a “Ram Dass book on Maharaji,” I believe the two books above are the best.

The best thing about Be Love Now is that it’s part autobiography, part a discussion of the path of love, and part a discussion of the path of service. As you can see from the tabs I’ve added to my book, in this book he talks about “All Is One,” love, loving awareness, ego, roles, anger, yamas, yoga/union, The Witness, loving everyone, and much more:

Here’s a summary of the chapters in this 300-page book, with a few of my own comments:

• The Path of the Heart (unconditional love, Bhakti Yoga, the individual and universal souls, “I Am Loving Awareness”)
• Excess Baggage (the Witness, shakti, metta, and bhakti)
• To Become One (mantras, Hanuman, chanting/Kirtan, satsang, surrender)
• Darshan
• Guides (teachers, teachings, Muktananda, planes of consciousness, death, incarnations, All Is One, siddha, maya, Hanuman)
• Remover of Darkness (guru kripa, Kirtan, surrender, gurus, immersion, Maharaj-ji)
• The Way of Grace Siddhi Ma, Ram Dass’s stroke, faith, compassion, attachments, the Guru’s grace, karma vs grace, Muktananda, Dada, see God in everyone, love)
• A Family Man (information about Maharaj-ji’s past)
• One in My Heart (Darshan, compassion, souls, Siddhis, the body vs the soul, rebirth; followed by biographies and stories about Ramana Maharshi, Sri RamaKrishna Paramahamsa, Anandamayi Ma, Shird Sai Baba, Jnaneshwar, Bhagawan Nityananda, Deoria Baba, and other saints)

What about “Be Here Now”?

Of course Be Here Now is the best-selling spiritual book of all time, and it’s Ram Dass’s earliest writing about Maharaji, so there might be quotes and concepts in that book that are much more of his first impressions about Neem Karoli Baba.

But if you just want a straightforward collection of stories about Maharaji, his teaching, and the miracles he was said to perform, the two books I recommend above are his best, IMHO.