In the early 1970s, American physician Dr. Larry Brilliant travelled to India and spent time at Neem Karoli Baba’s ashram at Kainchi Dham, seeking spiritual guidance during a period of personal uncertainty. Baba reportedly began calling him “Doctor America”. In an interview with Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, he said the spiritual guru later urged him to go to Delhi and work for the United Nations to help eradicate smallpox.Brilliant eventually joined the World Health Organization’s smallpox eradication programme in India. His journey to the ashram and his work against the disease became closely connected in his later recollections. For Brilliant, the journey was deeply connected to his encounter with Neem Karoli Baba, whom he credited with giving his life a new direction.
When he recalled his conversation with Neem Karoli Baba
Brilliant recalled that the spiritual teacher had called him “Dr. America”.
In an interview published by Tricycle: The Buddhist Review in 2023, Dr. Larry Brilliant spoke about his time with Neem Karoli Baba and the teacher’s instruction to help eradicate smallpox. He said, “One day in July 1973, Neem Karoli Baba told me to go to Delhi immediately to work for the United Nations and help eradicate smallpox.” Brilliant recalled that the spiritual teacher had called him “Dr. America”.In the interview, he also spoke about the money he had with him and in America. “He (Neem Karoli Baba) said to me, Dr. America, because that was the name he had given me, Dr. America, how much money do you have? And that, you know, there’s a whole other channel down which that goes. And I said, I have $500. He said, $500. You’re lying. How much money do you have back in America?”Brilliant then thought about the time he had worked as an emergency room doctor. “And I said, I have $500 in America too.” The conversation soon turned into a joke, as Brilliant remembered it. “And then he started to chant. You have to understand that everything was funny. Everything was a comedian. Everything was a joke. He turned every single moment into something funnier than you ever thought anything could ever be.”Brilliant recalled Baba chanting about the money he had in India and the money he had in America. “And he started to chant $500 here, $500 there. You are no doctor, which is exactly what my mother had said to me. You can’t make any money. You’re not a real doctor.”He recalled that Baba continued repeating the words, first in Hindi and then in English. “$500 here, $500 there. You are no doctor. U-N-O doctor.” It was then that the conversation took a turn Brilliant would remember for the rest of his life.“United Nations organization. Dr. America is going to become a United Nations doctor. And you’re going to work to help eradicate smallpox.” According to Brilliant’s recollection, Baba then spoke about the disease and its future. “Because this horrible disease is going to be lifted off of the back of humanity by God, who has a gift to humanity, will conquer this one form of suffering.”
From Kainchi Dham to the fight against smallpox
Brilliant’s account of his encounter with Neem Karoli Baba is closely connected to his later work in public health. He eventually joined the World Health Organization’s smallpox eradication programme in India. The WHO campaign became one of the most significant achievements in global public health.In 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated worldwide. It was the first human disease to be officially declared eradicated. For Brilliant, the memory of Kainchi Dham remained connected to his professional journey. In his recollections, Neem Karoli Baba’s words gave him a new direction and encouraged him to use his medical skills in the fight against smallpox.
