Meenakshi Jirik joins Anasuya Weil and Hanuman Goleman for a discussion of her transformational encounters with Neem Karoli Baba, reflecting on the boundless love reflected through him.
This time on Be There Now, Meenakshi and Anasuya explore:
- Meenakshi’s journey through the Middle East to India
- An instant feeling of coming home in the presence of Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaj-ji)
- Meenakshi’s experience merging with the consorts
- The last words Maharaj-ji said to Meenakshi: “I have taken care of everything”
- How Maharaj-ji was able to manage any needs presented in front of him
- Fierce love through honesty and directness
- Noticing that we are always okay no matter what
- Maharaj-ji’s teachings on oneness
“The feeling was just one, whole, unconditional peace, love, joy, harmony, and coming home to oneself.” –Meenakshi Jirik on Maharaj-ji
About Meenakshi Jirik:
Meenakshi was born Constance Virginia Heidrich and was raised in Cincinnati, OH and Wilmette, IL. She traveled overland to India and landed in Delhi at the beginning of September when it was extremely hot. She asked another Westerner where to go that was cooler and many places in the hills were suggested. She chose Kainchi knowing nothing about Neem Karoli Baba. The day after she met Maharaj-ji, he sent her to the kitchen to clean the dry goods, a task that would take a lifetime. Her time with him was spent in the kitchen and she has since spent her life feeding people. She has lived in Taos for 35 years and was instrumental in the creation of the Taos Hanuman Temple. She has a family of 5 children and 5 grandchildren.Meenakshi says she is just another person on the planet doing the best she can.
About Anasuya Weil:
Anasuya Weil traveled overland solo at the age of 19 and was with Maharaj-ji for 9 months in 1971, whom she met just after her first Buddhist meditation retreat. Since then, she has returned to India and Nepal several times continuing her Buddhist practice with Maharaj-ji’s blessing. She has studied with many wonderful teachers, but considers Neem Karoli Baba her Root Guru. Anasuya spent the last half century raising her children, both biological and chosen, as well as her numerous grandchildren. After starting and running the Tibetan Resettlement Project in New Mexico for 3 years, she returned to the East Coast where she finished her graduate degree and later went on to become Menpa (Doctor of Tibetan Medicine). As there is renewed interest in who Maharaj-ji was and what he said, this podcast can serve as a place for people to access as many direct accounts as possible. Many of Maharaj-ji’s original Western devotees are getting old and dying. Anasuya is just one of many Maharaj-ji’s devotees and hopes this podcast will collect, document, and make available these precious stories in order to share Maharaj-ji’s blessings.
About Hanuman Goleman:
Hanuman Goleman is Anasuya’s son. He was born into kirtan and Neem Karoli Baba devotees. Fascinated with the importance of stories, Hanuman began his career recording audio for cultural preservation. He draws on his background in audio and story collecting to assist in the production of this podcast. Over the years, Vipassana meditation practice has been an important guide for Hanuman’s development. He sat his first mindfulness retreat at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts in 1989. In 2004, he co-developed and participated in The Wisdom Preservation Project, recording interviews with Buddhist masters in Myanmar. A graduate of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, Hanuman received his M.A. in Media Arts from Emerson College. He works, records, and lives in Western Massachusetts with his wife and two young kids.