When Love Has No Borders

Maharaj-ji did not travel to the West with a passport or a speaking tour. Instead, his presence crossed continents through stories, photos, and the transformed lives of those who sat at his feet. One of the most important bridges was Ram Dass, the former Harvard professor Richard Alpert, whose journey from psychedelics to devotion opened a doorway for thousands of seekers.

When Ram Dass published Be Here Now in 1971, it landed like a seed in the Western heart. The book was more than philosophy; it was a love letter from the foothills of India. Through its pages, Maharaj-ji’s simple, direct teachings reached readers who had never heard of Neem Karoli Baba, never visited India, and yet felt instantly recognized and embraced. Many describe reading it as a kind of darshan — a first glimpse of the guru’s gaze through ink and paper.

From college dorm rooms to meditation centers, Be Here Now became a quiet revolution. Maharaj-ji’s insistence on love, service, and remembering God gave form to a new kind of spiritual life in the West: fully engaged in ordinary responsibilities, yet rooted in the heart of devotion. Over time, that devotion took shape in communities, temples, and ashrams — and one of its most precious expressions came to rest in Taos.

The Taos Ashram — A Piece of India in New Mexico

The Neem Karoli Baba Ashram in Taos sits in the quiet beauty of the high desert, cradled by wide skies and distant mountains. The air is clear and often cool, and the light has a particular softness at sunrise and sunset that makes the bells and chanting feel somehow even more luminous. Though far from the villages of Uttarakhand, many who visit say that stepping onto the grounds feels like stepping into a small corner of India, gently translated into the language of the Southwest.

At the heart of the ashram is the Hanuman temple, inspired by the great Hanuman statue at Maharaj-ji’s ashram in Kainchi. Devotees come to bow before Hanuman-ji, to offer flowers and sweets, and to whisper their prayers into the ears of the servant of Ram. The temple is simple and radiant, filled with pictures of Maharaj-ji and the saints and teachers connected to this lineage. Oil lamps flicker, incense rises, and somewhere, quietly, someone is repeating the Name.

The ashram itself reflects Maharaj-ji’s own preference for simplicity. There are modest rooms for residents and retreatants, small gardens tended by loving hands, and communal spaces where people gather to chant, meditate, or share prasad. Nothing is ornamental for its own sake; instead, everything feels purposeful, held together by the underlying current of seva — service offered as love.

Perhaps most moving of all is the community that has grown around the Taos Ashram: long-time devotees who met Maharaj-ji in India, younger seekers who first encountered him through a podcast or a book, and local neighbors who simply feel drawn to the peace of the place. Together they weave a living tapestry of devotion, a reminder that Maharaj-ji’s family truly spans generations and cultures.

Programs and Satsang

The core of life at the Taos Ashram is satsang — being together in the company of truth, and in the shared remembrance of Maharaj-ji. On many days, the ashram rhythm is marked by a simple, sacred pattern: morning aarti, periods of quiet, shared work, and evening gatherings of chanting and prayer.

Retreats at Taos offer time to step out of the busyness of daily life and deepen into practice. Participants might spend the day in guided meditation, listening to talks on Maharaj-ji’s teachings and Ram Dass’s journey, walking quietly under the open sky, or chanting Ram together late into the evening. These retreats are not performances; they are humble, heart-centered spaces where tears and laughter both have room to flow.

Ram Nam chanting is central to the ashram’s life. Whether in the temple or a simple gathering hall, the repeated Name of Ram becomes a river carrying everyone present into the same current of devotion. Harmoniums, tablas, and voices blend into a single offering. Some sing loudly, some whisper, some sit in silence and simply let the sound wash over them — all are held in Hanuman-ji’s embrace.

Teaching programs, readings, and community gatherings often explore the intersection of Maharaj-ji’s teachings with the challenges of modern life: how to serve in a suffering world, how to keep the heart open through loss, how to remember God in the middle of emails, traffic, and deadlines. The ashram becomes a kind of living classroom of love, where the lesson is always the same, but endlessly deepening: Love everyone, serve everyone, remember God.

The Ram Dass Legacy

Ram Dass’s presence is woven throughout the story of the Taos Ashram. His devotion to Maharaj-ji, his honesty about his own human struggles, and his commitment to “loving awareness” helped shape the culture of the community that grew up around the ashram. For many who visit, listening to his talks, reading his books, or seeing his photo resting before Maharaj-ji creates a sense of gratitude for the bridge he helped build.

The Love Serve Remember Foundation, born from Ram Dass’s work and continuing in his name, has been a major support in sustaining and sharing this lineage in the West. Through teachings, retreats, podcasts, online courses, and archival recordings, the foundation helps carry Maharaj-ji’s and Ram Dass’s message into homes all over the world, including those who may never physically visit Taos or India.

When Ram Dass left his body in 2019 in Maui, many hearts around the world felt both the pain of loss and the strange sweetness of his final teaching: that love is stronger than death, and that we are held in a vast web of loving awareness. At Taos, his legacy is not a distant memory but a living presence — in the way devotees greet each other, in how service is done quietly and joyfully, and in the constant turning of the heart toward Maharaj-ji.

To remember Ram Dass at Taos is also to remember that the guru’s grace is not limited by time or place. Just as Maharaj-ji’s love reached him, a wandering seeker in the 1960s, so that same love now reaches each of us, wherever we are, inviting us deeper into the mystery of loving awareness.

How to Visit

The Neem Karoli Baba Ashram and Hanuman Temple is located in Taos, New Mexico, a small and beautiful town known for its art, culture, and expansive desert landscapes. Visitors often combine a pilgrimage to the ashram with time in the surrounding natural beauty, letting the silence of the desert and the stillness of the temple support one another.

The ashram welcomes sincere seekers of all backgrounds, traditions, and levels of experience. You do not need to “belong” to anything to feel at home here. Some come for a single aarti or an afternoon of quiet sitting before Hanuman-ji. Others attend weekend or weeklong programs, or stay for longer retreats when available.

Before planning a visit, it is wise to check the ashram’s official website for current hours, visiting guidelines, and the latest programs calendar. The site shares information about retreats, special events, service opportunities, and ways to support the ashram from afar. Those who cannot attend in person can often join virtually through streamed programs or recorded teachings, allowing Maharaj-ji’s presence in Taos to reach hearts across the world.

Whether you arrive as a long-time devotee of Maharaj-ji or as someone simply curious about the temple at the edge of town, you are welcome. The ashram is, in many ways, a continuation of the courtyard where Maharaj-ji sat: people come with their joys and sorrows, their questions and confusions, and leave having tasted, if only for a moment, the unshakeable warmth of unconditional love.

In the end, the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram in Taos is not only a destination on a map, but a mirror held up to the heart. It reflects back the truth that Maharaj-ji taught through his very being: that love is the real home, that service is the real practice, and that God can be remembered in every breath, in every landscape, in every culture. As we bow inwardly before Hanuman-ji and Maharaj-ji, whether in Taos, India, or our own living rooms, we join a vast, invisible satsang stretching around the globe.

May this remembrance draw us closer to the heart of Maharaj-ji, soften our judgments, widen our compassion, and inspire us to live the teachings of love and service wherever we find ourselves. Jai Siyaram 🙏