The Other Sage at Thiruvannamalai

Dr N K Srinivasan

Thiruvannamalai,the city of Holy Beacon, also known as Arunachala,

in Tamil Nadu , India,is a sacred pilgrimage place and has been a

great spiritual tourist centre. Often called in short form "Tiru"

by westerners, hundreds of seekers visit or stay for long periods

mainly because of the holy ashram of Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi.It is

safe to say that it is the capital of Advaita path in modern

times---equivalent to Varanasi [Benaras]--the holy city of the

Hindus. Advaita attracts people of all faiths--not just the

Hindus.[ "Tiru" is about 210 kilometers from Chennai [Madras] and

about 180 kilometers from Bangalore.]

The large ancient volcanic hill of Arunachala is considered the

image of Lord Shiva, worshipped by the Hindus. [The path going

around the hill is the path of circumambulation of the

hill,especially on full-moon nights.This practice is called "Giri

valam".]

In recent decades, there has been an upsurge of interest in

pursuing Advaitic knowledge and practice among westerners. This

renewed interest has brought many to the ashram of Bhagwan

Ramana." Advaita" is based on Vedanta,one of the six systems of

philosophy of the Hindus, but not sectarian and does not entail

many dogmatic beliefs. You try and find the core of your 'inner

being' by searching for your soul ,called "Atma Vichara.".

The recent trend of increasing interest in Advaita is partly due

to two teachers who were favorites of the western crowd. [This has

been derisively called "advaita disease' or 'advaita rash' by some

writers!]The two teachers are: Nisargadatta Maharaj and H W L

Poonja , also known as Poojaji or Papaji.

Nisarga belonged to Navanatha sampradaya or tradition and he lived

in a small loft in a crowded market area of Mumbai.[Bombay]. He

was a beedi seller and lived simply and humbly. He spoke with

authority on advaita and in simple terms. He attracted lot of

westerners. Maurice Frydman, who was also associated with Ramana ,

translated some of his talks into a book " I Am That' which became

very famous and brought lot of devotees to Nisargadatta.

Nisargadatta attained samadhi [mortal exit or physical death] in

1981.

Poonjaji was an early devotee of Bhagwan Ramana and lived in

Lucknow, UP state, India. He was quite elderly when the western

seekers found him.This was around 1990. Note that at that time,

the self-styled guru and the notorious Osho or Rajneesh had passed

on in Pune, after his infamous commune collapsed at Oregon.. The

guru-seeking crowd of distraught westerners , who needed a 'free-

style' non-traditional teacher, found Papaji attractive to

continue their learning process. They flocked to Lucknow.Poonjaji

was a guru soaked in Hindu traditions and belonged to a family of

pious brahmins; his maternal uncle was Swami Ramtirth. Poonjaji

,however, played to the tunes of western seekers diluting the

advaita teachings for easy comprehension .Poonjaji passed on in

1997.

The effect of the rush to Nisargadatta and Poonjaji is the wave of

advaita seekers and satsang teachers found in the West..They would

flock to Arunachala or Tiru in large numbers.

[After Nisargadatta's samadhi, Ramesh Balsekar, a former banker

and translator for Nisargadatta, emerged as an advaita teacher of

some erudition and credibility.]

The Other Sage at Arunachala

While the life and teachings of Bhagwan Ramana is the main

attraction for the ashram in Tiru, I must add that Tiru is also

the home of two great sages of recent times: Seshadri Swamigal and

Yogi Ram-surat-kumar.

Seshadri Swamigal was a contemporary of Ramana and elder to

Ramana. In fact it was Seshadri Swamigal who identified the young

Ramana in deep meditation at the little crypt or underground

cellar -like cave in the temple of Arunachala.Seshadri Swamigal's

ashram is just about 100 feet from the Ramanasramam along the

same road.

Many westerners would do well to visit this ashram as well and

know about the great saint/sage. Seshadri Swamigal was a realized

soul and exhibited many supernatural powers or siddhis from the

early stages. He meditated in a cave little lower in location in

the holy hill when Ramana was staying in Virupaksha cave.There are

many thousands of devotees of this sage throughout India.He was

dyed-in-the wool advaitin and also a mystic.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar

My intention for writing this article is mainly to draw

attention of potential and regular visitors of Tiru to

the life and teachings of this sage. The life of this sage

[1918-2001] is thrilling; yet he is known very little

among western seekers.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar's well-developed ashram is just a

kilometer [half a mile] from Ramanasramam. It is located

at the end of a small lane which is perpendicular to the

Ramansaramam road,called Chengam Road. This lane is the

one in which the Ramanasramam Post Office is located and

therefore easy to locate. Walk along the lane and take a

right turn at the end.At few hundred feet you will see

this ashram.

{ I refer to Ramana Maharshi as 'Bhagwan' and Yogi

Ramsuratkumar as 'Yogiji' or 'Ram' in this article. Others

use different ways of addressing them.]

Yogi Ramsuratkumar or simply Yogiji was born in Balia

district in the north, in Uttar Pradesh state, almost 2000

kilometers from Tiru. He spoke only Hindi and English ;

his lack of knowledge of local Tamil language was a great

source of problem with locals and political calumny

against this saint!Later he picked up sufficient Tamil to

converse.

Here is a brief sketch of his life.

Yogiji was interested in spiritual matters from his

boyhood days.He was compassionate and sought the company

of monks or wandering sadhus , numerous in India. He

would feed them or direct them to alm-houses. His mother

was struck by his piety and encouraged him.

At the age of 12, he had a strange experience; he went to

draw water from the family well. A small bird was perched

opposite to him on the well wall.While pulling the rope

from the bottom of the well to lift water, young Ram

swished the rope and inadvertently hit the bird. The bird

fell dead. Ram was stricken with remorse and thought

seriously about life and death.This was a turning point in

his life.

At the age of 16, he went to the sacred city of Varanasi

or Benaras. When he entered the Viswanatha temple, he saw

the image; he was engulfed in a blaze of light ; he prayed

deeply for an hour.The Lord seemed to ignite a spiritual

flame in him...not to be queched for the rest of his life.

Later , he visited the famous Buddhist shrine at Sarnath

nearby, the place where Lord Buddha preached his first

sermon after enlightenment.He went into a trance.He later

went to Bodh Gaya too.

Meanwhile ,due to parental pressures, Ram studied in

school and later in a college getting his degree from

Allahabad University. This education widened his knowledge

,about world affairs and world history which always

interested him in later life too.But he was not interested

in mundane life or pursuing a career.The dispassion from

worldly life ,called vairagya, was running deep in him.But

he did some teaching work and even became a head-master of

a school for sometime.

He would lead a life of severe austerities, often taking

only fruits and vegetables like sadhus , that is , not any

cooked food.He would also fast on many days. This went on

for nearly 9 years.Soon he would leave the family for

good.

While Ram stayed in Varanasi, he was influenced by an

elderly sadhu [monk] who taught him many Vedantic

concepts. He directed Ram to go to South India to seek a

master. Ram went in search of a master in the southern

state of Tamil Nadu.

One day he heard the voice of Swami Vivekananda: " What

are you doing now? This is not your work.". He also read

the book "Light on yoga" by Sri Aurobindo.

His first stay was with Sri Aurobindo at Pondicherry or

Puducherry-60 miles from Chennai....a French colony ,at

that time where Sri Aurobindo was in asylum for his

anti-British activity in Kalkota or Calcutta.[Sri

Aurobindo was accused in a bombing case and later

acquitted.]Sri Aurobindo was a great mystic and a vedic

scholar.He was a Mahayogi, practising Raja Yoga. Ram had a

benign inspiration from him after meditation there.

His next stop was the ashram of Bhagwan Ramana , at the

slope of Arunchala or Tiru. He stayed there for a few

months.The silent gaze of Bhagwan on Ram created the soul

awakening for the spiritual journey in the path of

Advaita.

The third stop was at the ashram of Swami Ramdas at

Kanhangad in Kerala. Swami Ramdas , affectionately called

Papa Ramdas was a Bakthiman--- a devotee of Rama and

Krishna...chanting Ram nam as mantram for realization. A

realized master ,he was simple, jovial and always

emphasizing devotion to God. Initially Ram was not

impressed by Papa Ramdass and left the Anandashram of

Papa. By roaming around he had spent nearly 4 years from

1946 to 1950. Now he went back to the north,somewhere in

the Himalayas.

In the year 1950, Bhagwan Ramana attained mahasamadhi; A

little later, Sri Aurobindo also attained Samadhi. Ram

came to know that these masters were not in physical form.

Should he visit again papa Ramdass? Something prompted

him. He reached Kerala again in 1952.. This time Papa

welcomed him. Papa told many intimate details of Ram's

life which only Ram knew. Ram was convinced that Papa was

his final guru.He requested Papa for initiation. Papa

now agreed and uttered the mantram of Ram Nam " Om Sri

Rama Jaya Rama Jai Jai Ram" three times in his ears

thereby giving him formal initiation. Papa asked him to

chant this mantram day and night continuously...Ram did

just that for seven days and seven nights. At the end, he

attained the beatitude of bliss or ananda with overflowing

love for all beings.Ram said later: " Papa Ramdas killed

this beggar in 1952. All that remains is Father alone.".

He was now a great yogi and saint.

Ram wanted to stay in the ashram.But Papa had other

directions for him.He should work in this world. For that,

he should wander around for some years.Papaji sent him out

of the ashram. For the next seven years, Ram wandered

across the length and breadth of this country, much like

Papa himself had done in his younger days.

{ I had the good fortune to meditate in all the three

ashrams many times:Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry, Sri

Ramansramam, Tiru and Anandashram, Kanhangad.]

The wandering sadhu days of Yogi Ram Surat Kumar are

exciting and poignant. With tattered clothes, with a

begging bowl of dried gourd and a hand fan, he wandered

around with bare feet. He traveled in trains without

ticket and would be arrested by police. He ate food given

as alms and was humiliated often. He slept in open

verandahs or porches of shops or temple corridors. This

,indeed, is the austere life style of many yogis or sadhus

in India since the days of vedic rishis, often not known

to western seekers who see the fashionable self-styled

gurus in luxury. Ram saw everyone with love and

compassion.Often he healed sick persons who were brought

to him. He gave spiritual counsel in cryptic language.

In 1959, he returned to Thiruvannamalai [Tiru] and would

remain there for the rest of his mortal life--till 2001.He

initially stayed under some trees---the banyan tree or the

punnai tree near the bus stand or the railway station. He

wandered the streets of Tiru, lost in his Father's work,

bringing 'spiritual cleansing' and blessings to people. He

was often misunderstood as a cranky beggar.. Local

politicians and thugs gave him endless troubles. Since he

was from the north of India and spoke Hindi, he was hated

by the politically motivated tamil enthusiasts and

politicians. Some thugs beat him up on several occasions.

Once he was thrown into a gutter and suffered injuries.

Some thugs and urchins pelted stones at him. They even

sprinkled broken glass in his path since he went barefoot.

Yogiji patiently endured all these persecutions and abuse.

He would be always smiling and would not leave Arunachala

or Tiru.!He was always in ecstasy doing his Father's work.

He called himself a mad-beggar.

One westerner with theosophy background, Truman Caylor

Wadlington became his disciple in 1959 and wrote the first

biography of Yogiji in English. [This book is available

on-line free of charge.]This book popularised yogiji among

westerners who started searching for him in Tiru. This was

a big change. After that ,Yogiji was constantly surrounded

by many devotees.

It was at this time, after nearly 17 years of street

wandering, that a small house near the temple in Sannadhi

Street was rented for his stay. Many could have his

darshan under a roof.! Still the hooligan's mischief

continued. Some pelted stones at his house. But gradually

the animosity for this beggar-saint abated.

A recent deovotee who brought his name to many westerners

was Lee Lozowick.[Lee Lozowick is no more at the itme of

this writing.He used to make annual visit to Tiru from USA

and meet Yogiji.]

A brief physical description of Yogi Ramsurat Kumar may be

given here. He rarely bathed in the early years.He used to

wash his face---that is all. He had a loose turban or head

gear made of colorful cloth; later he preferred green

color turban. He had the begging bowl and a hand

fan. Because of his large fan, he was called "Visiri

samiar' by local tamil people---'visiri' means fan in

Tamil. He never cooked food in the Sannadhi street house

also. In this and other respects, he resembled Shirdi Sai

Baba very much. [It can be noted that Shirdi Baba attained

Samadhi in the year 1918 in the month of October while

Yogiji was born on Dec 1st, the same year!] He smoked

cigarettes almost continuously. Shirdi Baba used to smoke

with clay pipes and chilum or hookah. Why he smoked?

Yogiji himself explained: "After Swami Ramdas gave this

madness (for God), this beggar could not bear to be around

people, because their vibrations were gross; smoking

helped.".He kept gooseberry in his mouth as anti-dote for

the effects of smoke.

In all these years, Yogiji had close contact with two

great sages who lived nearby: Swami Gnananada Giri at

Tapovanam near Thirukoilur and Sankaracharya

Chanrdrasekaha Saraswati of Kanchi mutt.

In 1993, Yogiji relunctantly agreed for an ashram to be

built.The present ashram site was found.The foundation

stone was laid in 1994.Yogiji himself took keen interest

in the construction of the ashram for the sake of devotees

in the years to come.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar attained samadhi on 20th Feb 2001,after

brief illness of cancer.

Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga

The current wave of Advaita is due to wide popularity of

Jnana yoga, the path of knowledge which appeals to the

intellect. The path of devotion with rituals for personal

god is an equally valid method for Self-realization. Many

Ramana followers or who profess 'lineage' with Ramana, are

not well acquainted with this Bhakti or devotional path.

Ramana himself said that if 'self -enquiry or Atma

Vichara is difficult for you, submit or surrender to God"

. Surrendering to a personal god [with attributes] is the

traditional Bhakti yoga , as found in almost all

religions. Some consider Bhakti to be a slow, pedestrain

approach. This is far from true. If the fruit is ripe, it

would fall with a gentle breeze. So if one is attuned to

Bhakti and already in an advanced stage, the final

beatitude can be sudden too.In the final analysis, Bhakti

and Jnana are one and the same---two sides of the same

coin.Great saints followed Bhakti ,mainly for its

emotional appeal and for teaching others.The path of Jnana

is not for all.

I am elaborating on this because sages and saints like

Yogi Ramsuratkumar followed Bhakti Yoga though anchored in

the jnana of Supreme Reality which is nameless and

formless and without attributes. His guru, Papa Swami

Ramdas was also steeped in Bhakti marga, though fully

realizing the formless Brahman.The simple means of

attaining realization through chanting mantram or nama

japa or chanting of the Lord's name, is a well established

method in Hinduism and in other religions.These saints

always maintained that this is the most suited method for

modern persons with very little time and energy for jnana

methods of contemplation or self-enquiry.

Hindu saints and sages have always maintained a balance

between jnana methods and devotional practices, though

they may suggest one or the other to a specific disciple.

It is this blend which is a genius of Hindu thought and

process, though dry philosophers had tended to emphasize

pure knowledge and scriptural learning as the means for

realization.Whether the devotional methods are stepping

stones or final means---only individual experiences can

tell.

In this light , it is indeed wise and appropriate for

seekers to dip into devotional path, while striving in

'pure advaita'.The two are not only compatible , but blend

well like pepper and salt.It is in this context one should

visit Yogi Ramsuratkumar's ashram in Tiru as much as one

should delve into Advaitic efforts.

References

Apart from the book by Truman Caylor Wadlington's book,

the most recent book by Devaki Ma " Yogi Ramsuratkumar"

has been consulted. This is a fascinating book. Many books

by western authors have also appeared in the last 10

years,that is after the samadhi of Yogiji.A few books by

Indian devotees are also available.

The Ashram in Tiru is publishing several books in English

and in Indian languages.

There is a Yogi Ramsuratkumar Bhavan in Mauritius which

can be contacted.