Kainchi dham

Introduction

Kainchi Dham is a famous Hindu pilgrimage site(Ashram) in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, India. It is located about 19 kilometers from the Nainital and about 50 kilometres from Rudrapur. The temple complex is dedicated to Shri Neem Karoli Maharaj Baba and his sons, who are disciples of Shri Hanuman Ji. A temple has been built on this place by him which attracts thousands of pilgrims every year.


Neem Karoli baba

Neem Karoli Baba (Hindi: नीम करौली बाबा ) or Neeb Karori Baba (10 April 1894 – 11 September 1973) was a Hindu sadhu known for his presence in the Indian Himalayas and as a guru. of a number of Americans who travelled to India in the 1960s and 70s. He was an inspiration to many including the followers of the Hare Krishna movement, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and also to a number of current spiritual teachers including Ram Dass, Krishna Das, Laxmi Narayan Dutt Maharaj, Suddhananda Bharati, Anandamayi Ma, Ganga White.


Even Steve jobs the founder of Apple was a follower of Neem Karoli baba 

In 1974 Steve jobs visited India with his friend Dan kottke. They went Kainchi dham to meet Neem Karoli Baba but unfortunately Baba had met his demise in 1973. They stayed at Kainchi dham ashram for some time, after returning to states Steve jobs started getting many buisness ideas and later he founded Apple.

The fact that he got these buisness ideas after visiting Kainchi dham can be proved as he advised Mark juckerberg (founder of Facebook) to visit Kainchi dham.

Mark juckerberg said in a interview that when Facebook was struggling he went to his mentor Steve jobs for advice where Steve told him about Kainchi dham.

Neem Karoli Baba was a guru to many famous people. He was a guru to Ram Dass, who later became known as the author of Be Here Now; he also mentored Krishnamurti, who went on to become one of the most influential spiritual leaders in history.

Neem Karoli Baba died in 1954 at age 89 but continues to be revered by many spiritual seekers today.


Neem Karoli Baba is widely recognized as a great spiritual teacher, who dedicated his life to service to the poor and needy. He was an inspiration for many including Ram Dass who wrote about him in his book Be Here Now.


The original shrine of Shri Neeb Karori Maharaj Baba is at Neem Karoli near Laksar. But during the 1970s, he came to Kainchi and started construction of the majestic 'Darshan Hall', which is visited by over half a million pilgrims every year. An ashram also grew around his residence. At present it has two branches—one in Bhumiadhar near Nainital run by Shri Maharaj Ji (son & successor of Shri Neeb Karori Maharaj Baba) and another in Kainchi run by Shri Nirmal Das Ji (known as Nirmala Didi).


The original shrine of Shri Neeb Karori Maharaj Baba is at Neem Karoli near Laksar but during the 1970s he came to Kainchi and started construction of the majestic 'Darshan Hall', which is visited by over half a million pilgrims every year.[3] An ashram also grew around his residence as well as two branches—one run by Shri Maharaj Ji (son & successor) and another run by Shri Nirmal Das Ji (known as “Nirmala Didi”).

'Kainchi' means hairpin bends. The road leading to the ashram from Bhowali was built in the early 1960s and these hairpin bends gave the place its name. According to locals, the area was named since women used to visit this place for picking up forest products like neem leaves and wild nuts and had to pass through these sharp turns on the road.

Conclusion

Kainchi is a beautiful place with many cultures. The architecture of the temple complex is an example of this diversity. The Kainchi dham was built by Maharaj Nirmal Das Ji who later became famous for his teaching skills and has written several books on math and physics (including one about Vedic Mathematics). He also founded two schools in Uttarakhand at Neem Karoli near Laksar and Bhumiadhar near Nainital which are now over 100 years old.