The mystical story behind Baba's name

Hello And Namaste, A warm welcome to Neem Karoli Baba's miracles of love and compassion. Until now you heard how young Lakshman Das's parents married him off at the tender age of 11. But Lakshman Das had other plans and he left home right after the marriage.. He wandered with mystics and saints throughout India and strengthened his own spiritual practice or sadhana as they say it in Sanskrit. His journey from being Lakshman Das to Neem Karoli Baba is full of awe and heartwarming episodes of care and compassion. But before we get into that, let us try to figure out with our limited understanding how Himalayan mystics and yogis tinker with the fabric of space and time, whenever they want, wherever they want and howsoever they want. Its like kids playing with clay and turning it into different shapes or sizes. Many Indian sadhus and mystics are known to exhibit the spiritual ability to play with events and manifest circumstances at will. This mysterious playful nature of mystics that gives rise to new conditions and situations with a sense of higher and deeper purpose is known as Leela in Sanskrit. Even the universe has its own leelas. From time to time it does some fine-tuning to the dance of life. To the mundane world and the untrained eye, the playful leelas of great masters like Neem karoli Baba seem to defy reality and often sound as myths emerging out of local folklore. But in fact, these leelas or events are just an extension of their own spiritual grace and often a direction for those who need it the most. Let's talk about a leela of Neem Karoli Baba that gave him the name with which we know him today. It is believed that Baba once boarded the first-class compartment of a train without any ticket. The British ticket examiner was furious at discovering a sadhu in the expensive first-class coach. He shouted at him and pulled the emergency brake of the train straight away. After belittling him even more, he threw Baba out of the train near a small village in Central India called Nib Karori. Nib karori as in N.I.B,nib and K.A.R.O.R.I as karori. In Hindi, nib means foundation and Karori means strong. So the village name literally meant a place where one builds a strong foundation. Many believe it was Baba's playful Leela or a premeditated manifestation of events to have chosen Nib Karori as the place of being thrown out because that very place became Baba's first known sanctuary or ashram. Perhaps, Baba wanted everybody to remember that spiritual growth is impossible without a strong foundation of love and acceptance and the village name served as a reminder. After being thrown out of the train, Baba sat under a banyan tree which was just a few metres away. He stuck his pair of tongs into the ground and patiently waited. One must know here that many mystics and sadhus in India carry a pair of tongs with them all the time. It is known as Chimta in Hindi. The tongs or the chimta serves a dual purpose. On one hand it works as a simple musical instrument to play along while singing. And on the othe, it acts like a pair of pincers for picking up hot coal or wood while performing a fire ceremony. Anyway, back to the scene of action. While Baba was waiting under the banyan tree, the guard blew his whistle for the train to leave. The driver of the train started the throttle of the engine. But despite repeated attempts, the train wouldn't budge. Another engine was called in to pull the train away. But even that didn't work. All along Baba was sitting calmly under the tree. Then a local magistrate suggested to the British officials that they should apologize to the sadhu who was thrown out and request him to board the train again. The officials dismissed the suggestion straight away as superstition. However, after waiting for hours and many frustrating attempts they reluctantly agreed to approach him. A few passengers even carried some food and sweets as offerings for him. They requested him humbly to board the train. Baba agreed to consider their request on two conditions. One, the railway officials will build a railway station for the villagers of Neeb Karori. And two, they will treat sadhus with more respect and politeness in future. He wanted them to know that everybody is equal and deserves love and kindness. The British officials promptly promised to do their best. Baba then boarded the train. The impatient officials pleaded him to please start the train again. At this Baba replied, What do you think? Since when is it up to a sadhu to start trains? But the engineer of the train pleaded with Baba and sought his blessings. The ever compassionate baba then smiled and said, Go proceed on your journey. Within seconds, the train started rolling again. Baba stayed back where he was thrown out. He made Nib Karori village his home and meditated there for many years. He even made a hanuman temple there. There are numerous documented accounts with recorded evidence of his miracles or leela in Nib Karori village. As ...