Neem Karoli Baba
Neeb Karori Baba, born Lakshmi Narayan Sharma, also known by the affectionate nickname "Maharajji," was a Hindu guru and a devotee of Hanuman. He was born at Akbarpur, Firozabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Considered by many to be a saint, he transformed in 1973 in Vrindavan. He is best known in the west for being guru to a number of young westerners who were drawn to Indian spirituality in the 1960s and 1970s who were responsible for the proliferation of the mispronunciation of his name, hence Neem Karoli Baba. These disciples include the author Ram Dass and the musicians Bhagavan Das, Jai Uttal, Krishna Das, the smallpox eradicator Larry Brilliant, and many others. He practised a distinctive style of bhakti yoga, and preached service to others as a form of unconditional devotion to God.