Ram Ram and a warm welcome to another episode of Neem Karoli Baba's miracles of love and compassion. It's been a while since we connected but we are back again with many more interesting stories about our beloved Neem Karoli Baba, also known as Maharaj Ji among his followers. Can salt ever be sweet? Isn't the composition of salt and sugar totally different from each other? Well turns out everytime a poor devotee offered Neem Karoli Baba Indian flatbread or Roti with noon or salt, which in India is known to be a poor man's dish, he would exclaim in joy and delight saying how sweet the salty combination tasted and how it was way better than the sweetest nectar ever.Why did Maharaj ji do such a strange thing? Long story short, because Maharaj Ji always rose above the material taste of the food offered to him and cherished the simplicity, affection, devotion and faith of his devotees who offered him the simple food to him. On the other hand, if an opulent follower would try to impress Maharaj Ji by offering a plate full of 56 different types of delicacies, known as Chappan bhog in India, which is generally offered to God's and saintly people, he would simply reject it. That's because that the offering was made out of show off, arrogance and a desire to be recognised by him. He was well aware of the fact that opulent offerings lacked simplicity and the nectar of love. Here are some stories that elucidate how much Maharaj Ji cherished simplicity. When Maharaj Ji first went to the hill station of Kainchidham in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in India, a place where his famous ashram and temple is situated now, he visited the home of a devotee called Purnanand Tiwari. Upon reaching Purnanand Tiwari's home, he shouted out loud in hindi, 'Maai noon roti lao'Which meant, oh mother of the home bring me some salt and bread please.When that was offered to him, he would be praised the simple mean to no end, describing how sweet, delicious and divine it was. Likewise once he was traveling with a devotee known as Jeevan Baba. Jeevan Baba was driving his cycle rickshaw and Maharaj Ji was sitting on it. They both had a fulfiling meal before they began their journey. However, Maharaj Ji suddenly asked Jeevan Baba to stop at a poor, old woman's hut which was nearby. He called out to the old woman and demanded he be fed noon roti or salt with bread. The old woman embarassed of her poverty and with tears in her eyes offered noon roti to Maharaj ji. She was ashamed because that's all she could afford to offer and at first thought Maharaj Ji was mocking her poverty. But Maharaj ji ate it all up with the glee and delight of a little child. He then embraced the old woman and said in Hindi, Aah ha ha Anand aa gaya mai, which when means oh wow mother, I loved and enjoyed every bit of it. The old woman's tears of embarassment changed into tears of joy. How lucky she was to have fed Maharaj ji in her own home and with her own hands. Many would have given millions to have that experience. In my humble opinion the old woman was richer than the richest of all mortal beings just because she received rhe infinite wealth of Maharaj Ji's love and affection in her own home. Similarly once when Maharaj Ji visited Mukunda or Prakash Chandra Joshi's home in Allahabad, he demanded for baasi roti or stale bread...that is roti that was made in the morning. Maharaj ji knew beforehand that Mukunda's home only had stale bread that day. Hundreds of devotees had earlier wanted to feed him the choicest of Indian delicacies but he had declined. He went straight to Mukunda's home to enjoy his fill of baasi roti or stale bread. Needless to say Mukunda was the happiest man on earth that day. There's another amazing story where the wealthy owner of a mill requested Maharaj Ji to have lunch at his home. Maharaj Ji agreed and visited his place. When the mill owner asked Maharaj Ji what he desired for lunch, Maharaj ji said simply a bowl of daal or lentils and roti or bread. But the wealthy man ridiculed Maharaj Ji's choice and behaved arrogantly. He asked his servants to make the most delicious dishes and sweets for lunch. Maharaj ji calmly said well then, let the dogs enjoy the meal. And no sooner had all the delicacies been prepared, some stray dogs ventured into the wealthy man's kitchen through an open door and started eating the food there. The arrogance of the wealthy mill owner was shattered then and there. Another rich man from Nainital offered Maharaj ji food in silver plates and golden bowls with dishes made from expensive dry fruits and ingredients. Maharaj ji instantly knew that it wasn't a plate of love rather a plate of show off that was desperately seeking a sign of recognition or approval from him. So e took everything that was in that silver plate and poured it into another simple plate and mixed it all up in front of the wealthy man, as if indicating that all the food offered ...
