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The Mind-Boggling Story of Dr. Larry Brilliant, Maharajii and Eradicating Smallpox

Another headscratching tale about the Indian saint, Maharajii.

David Gerken
Change Your Mind Change Your Life
7 min readApr 18, 2024

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Maharajii — Public Domain

A couple weeks ago I wrote an article (link here) about renowned doctor Larry Brilliant and the beautiful story of how he found Maharajii as his guru. Today we revisit Dr. Brilliant and Maharajii for a story that had a significant impact on world health.

Seriously? A long-bearded, long-haired, young hippie doctor and his old, barefoot, blanket-wearing guru played a hand in altering world health?

Yes. Here’s how.

Dr. Brilliant meets Maharajii

First, a summary of my article on how Brilliant came to be a devotee of Maharajii, also known as Neem Karoli Baba. After spending a week at Maharajii’s ashram in Kainchi, India, at the urging of his wife, Brilliant concluded that they were a bunch of crazy cultists and decided his marriage was over and that he had to leave.

The day before his departure he took a walk around a nearby lake and prayed to God, something he’d never done before, for a sign. Anything to help make sense of his painful situation. He got no sign.

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Change Your Mind Change Your Life
Change Your Mind Change Your Life

Published in Change Your Mind Change Your Life

Read short and uplifting articles here to help you shift your thought, so you can see real change in your life and health.

David Gerken
David Gerken

Written by David Gerken

Meditation and Mindfulness teacher. Dad of three precious kids. Former writer for THE WEST WING. Follow me at davidgerken.net.

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