Maharajji's Mahasamadhi

Less than a few weeks away is Maharajji’s 40th anniversary celebration for his Mahasamadhi.Mahasamadhi is a saint’s final samadhi (higher state of meditation, a non-dualistic state of consciousness) of enlightenment. It is the complete absorption of consciousness in the self at the time of death.  An established yogi or yogini who has attained enlightenment will pick the appropriate day and time to consciously leave their mortal body. (wikipedia)  Even though the saint is in fact leaving the physical body it shouldn’t be a sad time for their devotees.  Many great saints, or accomplished yogis, have said that when they leave their body they will be even more accessible to everyone.  Other saints have said that after death they will be more powerful because there won't be the restrictions of the physical body.

 "One cannot understand what he is. Physically he is not here, but he is listening to everything." (p. 401, Miracle of Love, Ram Dass)

We can see the truth of these words by the stories we hear from people who have been touched by Maharajji even after his death and whom have never met him in the physical form.

Our beloved Neem Karoli Baba decided to leave his physical body on September 11th, 1973 in the Ramakrishna Mission hospital in Vrindavan. Baba’s ashes are kept in a mahasamadhi room at his ashram in Vrindavan.  Some devotees find that sitting in this room fills them with love and takes them deeper into meditation.

"......... the Mothers at the ashram told me that Maharajji had said, "When a saint leaves his body, the temple becomes his body."  This year when I walked back into his room in Vrindavan, just as I crossed over the threshold, I felt as though everything I'd done in the last four years was irrelevant and meaningless.  It was the same experience as having one of Maharajji's glances- it would bring you to right here, right now." (p.401, Miracle of Love, Ram Dass)

Here is a short story of one thing Maharajji said about Mahasamadhi:

"Maharajji went to Shirdi Sai Baba  temple in Madras. He sat there quietly. A woman with a baby sat crying before a picture of Shirdi Sai Baba, who had left his body many years before. Maharajji said, "You know what she is doing?" She is asking him to cure her child, and he will do it because a guru never leaves his devotees. A guru is indestructible, immortal, and immune to old age and death."   (p. 391, Miracle of Love, Ram Dass)

Did Maharajji really leave his body in 1973 or was it an escape? Stay tuned for the story from "Miracle of Love"  by Ram Dass.