From Steve Jobs to Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Brilliant of Google, many famous names of the tech world have been associated in some way or the other with Kainchi Dham and Neem Karauli Baba of Uttarakhand. Let us tell you about them.
On hearing the names of the world’s big tech companies like Apple, Google and Facebook, premium iPhones, internet, social media and modern technology come to mind. The special thing is that the lives of some very big people associated with these companies also have a connection with a small ashram in Uttarakhand. This ashram is Kainchi Dham of Uttarakhand and at its center is Neem Karauli Baba, who was considered by his devotees as Hanuman-Ansh and an ardent devotee of Lord Hanuman. Recently, the movie ‘Hanuman Ansh’ based on his life has also been released. The names of tech giants like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg have also been associated with his ashram.
American psychologist and Harvard University professor Richard Alpert came and met Neem Karauli Baba in the year 1967. After this meeting he turned his life towards spiritual practice and service. Neem Karauli Baba himself gave him the name Ramdas. After returning from India, Ramdas presented his experiences and spiritual journey before the people. His book ‘Be Here Now’, was published in the year 1971. It was his book that took the story of Neem Karauli Baba to Silicon Valley and the Western World.
Steve Jobs spent time in the ashram
Steve Jobs, co-founder of California-based tech company Apple, came to India in 1974. At that time he was young and searching for answers regarding the purpose of life and spirituality. He had reached India with the hope of meeting Neem Karauli Baba, but by the time he reached here, Baba had passed away. Despite this, the time spent in India was very important for Jobs. He spent about seven months in India and during this time he tried to understand spirituality and Indian philosophy closely.
This experience of Steve Jobs was later mentioned in many events related to his thinking and life. He himself admitted that his view regarding intuition changed a lot after this visit to India.
Mark Zuckerberg also came to Baba’s ashram
Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the popular social media company Facebook, has also visited this ashram. In the year 2008, Facebook was going through difficult times. At this time Zuckerberg took advice from Steve Jobs and Jobs asked him to go to India and visit Kainchi Dham. Mark obeyed him and reached Uttarakhand. Later, referring to this trip to India, he said that this experience helped him to rethink the purpose of Facebook and the mission of the company.
Baba also has connections with Google and eBay
Neem Karauli Baba also has a connection with Google. American doctor Larry Brilliant came to India influenced by Baba and spent time in Kainchi Dham. He later joined WHO’s smallpox eradication campaign and later became the founding executive director of Google.org. In this way, a unique confluence of Indian spirituality, global health and Silicon Valley technology is seen in his life.
The Economic Times report also mentions Google’s Larry Page and eBay’s Jeffrey Skoll being associated with Neem Karauli Baba. It has been clearly understood that some influential people of the tech world, at different stages of their lives, searched in India and spirituality for answers to questions which were not just related to money, business or technology.
