Hey hey and namaste! What a true blessing to be here, writing for our beloved Baba’s Feed Project Satsang again. At the time of this writing, I just completed a three-day silent meditation retreat at one of my favorite places to wander: Just Love Forest. JLF is located in NW Georgia and is stewarded by a Neem Karoli Baba devotee. For three days, spiritual seekers from varying practices and lineages gathered together with the shared intent of diving deeper into Self. What a BEAUTIFUL experience it was! Sitting in silent silence, calming the mind, is such a majestic process of self-love.
As a sadhu, a wandering Hindu “holy man” or monk, I often find myself in some far out capacity of an advisor, a coach or a confidant. This, though, is the life I chose: rather, it is the life my Guru chose for me. It is a very welcomed aspect of my sadhana, however, to take times of quiet introspection: am I living by the Yamas and the Niyamas? As a sadhu, the first three Yamas are the foundation of my wandering truth. These are: 1. Satyam 2. Ahimsa 3. Brahmacharya. In simpler and more universal terms, these mean I: 1. Shouldn’t lie (Tell the Truth), 2. I should cause harm (Love everyone), and I should practice self-restraint- offering myself freely and willingly to others (Serve Everyone). When I can accomplish this, through His Grace/sadhana/surrender, I can continually remember God. Hmm, do those four pillars of spiritual truth seem familiar? (Love, Serve, tell the truth & Remember). Often times, periods of reflective contemplation are needed to ensure that my actual path, my Earthly work, aligns with these principles He graced us with. As we can see, the main principles of Sadhu life are EXACTLY the principles our Gurudev gave us: after all, He was a wandering Sadhu Himself while in the body.
When we can stop projecting what we think it “ought” to be, we can see what is IS. And, what it IS, is Love. It is all the Big Love. Past our fears, deeper than our egoistic conditioning, it IS unalterable Love. Love simply IS.
If you are reading this, this means you have already found Neem Karoli Baba: or, to state more correctly, He has already found YOU! Isn’t that truly spectacular? He has Loved you, before you were you! Remarkable, my friends. Truly remarkable.
As always, thank you from the depths of my being. Your continued support of this satsang, and Baba’s Feed Project’s mission to carry out our Gurudev’s task of Feeding and Serving, is both valued and sincerely appreciated. Without you, our family, our seva in the form of Baba’s Feed Project would not exist. Though I may pen these words with my own hand, these words are OURS- together, collectively as a Satsang.
In closing, I would like to include a quote from my tenth-grade Environmental Sciences teacher, Mr. Leiser: “No matter how nice it feels to be important, it is ALWAYS more important to be nice.”
Jai Gurudev
Om Namo Narayan
Jai Shree Sita Rama
Ganga Das Baba is a wandering Sadhu of the Ramanandi tradition of renunciants; Nirvani Ankara, Aydhoya Dham. He travels the country, giving dharma talks, spiritual insight and kirtan, while spreading the message of his Guru and Baba’s Feed Project. Please contact us for more information about Ganga Das Baba’s schedule for spreading the Dharma.