How to speak about someone like Yogi Ramsuratkumar? I could say what one usually says about such a man: that He belongs to this small group of great Masters who are always present on the surface of this planet; that His benediction spreads profusely on all those who are allowed to cross His path; that His style is universal, open to all cultures, all social classes, all races and religions; that He speaks to all without any discrimination or compromise.

I could go into this kind of somewhat catch-all description generally designed to account for such a profound enigma - to say that He talks about himself as a "mad Beggar" or a 'dirty Sinner"; that He wears His rags with more nobility than a king ever wore his most sumptuous coats; that He is available any time of day and night, ready to serve and answer to the needs of the seekers and sincere disciples. He never claims His own radiance or the miraculous mood that surrounds Him but invariably says, "All this comes from my Father in Heaven and only from Him."

I could say many more things, praise Yogi Ramsuratkumar, make a long list of all the high things He did that have been reported by people who love Him; but it seems to me that it would still be beside the truth. In fact, language is unable to convey the nature of such a Being. Let's simply say that this mad Yogi is an unexplainable servant of God, a living manifestation of Grace.

And yet, let's not lull ourselves with an illusory security or with dreams of immediate magic or of cheap ecstasy. Let me warn you- one does not come in the proximity of Beings such as Yogi Ramsuratkumar without giving the' matter proper consideration. People like Him are deadly dangerous, they are a devouring fire, a true cataclysm for ego, this ego which is both soft and so quick to protect itself, this ego which is the plague of a humanity strongly anchored in sleep and in a dualistic perception of self. Yogi Ramsuratkumar does not let anyone joke with Him!

He hardly needs me to protect Him! At the same time, He really doesn't need to be overwhelmed by a crowd of spiritual tourists or dilettantes. So, reader, If you cherish your little, sedentary, God-denying life, watch out. I don't need to say anything else.

I met Him for the first time in 1976. He was one of the many sages, saints, and yogis that we visited at the time, a group of friends and I, during a long pilgrimage in India that was to be the first of a number of trips. I consciously became a disciple of Yogi Ramsuratkumar when we were meeting a second time In 1979. I realized since that His Divine Influence had guided me in this existence years before my first trip In India.

I only spent a relatively short amount of time in His physical presence, at least compared with some of His Indian disciples. But the degree of transformation that He brought into my life, the total attention that He gave me when I was with Him physically, as well as the subtle presence that is constantly permeating my consciousness and my life, a presence that I can only ascribe to His compassion, ail this convinced me of the truth of what I just wrote: He is a jewel, a great Master, but be warned one doesn't come close to Him with impunity.