The One beyond the reach of thought Ma Devaki Extrait de l'Introduction du livre : BHAGAVAN YOGI RAMSURATKUMAR PAAMAALAI de Sri T.P.M Minakshisundaranar.

It is a great blessing grace that I have got this opportunity to go through this rare work as a part of my efforts to surrender myself at the holy feet of my Master who is an imperceptible personification of wisdom, that Supreme Reality incomprehensible even to those who perceive, a Divinity whish dispels the darkness of mind through a sparkling glance, a Godchild and a wonder called Yogi Ramsuratkumar. Sri T.P. Meenakshisundaranar is a very fortunate person. In how many levels and moods he understands, realizes and revels deep in involvement of the glory of the great Master! How could this miracle be possible? My mind admires with awe, who else other than a realized soul is capable of obtaining this!

Many a day and, night I have shed tears and wept profusely, wandering in search of a great preceptor, a self-realized soul. I have spent sleepless nights for about four years, undertaking continuous travels with a yearning heart in search of a Ramakrishna, a Ramana Maharshi, in whose perception, contact and service I could dissolve myself. Little did I realize at that time that the Ideal Man whom I was searching in Uttar Kashi, Gangotri and Brindavan was strolling very near as a Godchild in the premises of Arunachaleswara temple in Tiruvannamalai at a distance of just four hours journey from Salem. In October 1986, when l was preparing for the M. Phil examination in Madras Presidency College, a fellow student who had knowledge of astrology predicted : "You will get soon a great man as your preceptor. Your life will totally change thereafter. A very rare opportunity is awaiting you !" To me who wondered in disbelief, even when I heard about our Bhagavan, a distressful thought came and veiled my eyes : "How many great men have I seen and prostrated before. Still the mind is not in control. Love doesn't spring up within."

Yet, unable to control my yearning, I went to Ramanashram, along with two colleagues, during Christmas holidays. It was about 7-00 P.M. when we reached the Ashram. Due to power failure, the lights were off and it was all darkness. My heart broke when I could not see, in the dim light of the oil lamp, the picture of Sri Ramana which was placed in the meditation hall of the Ashram into which I entered. "Oh Sri Ramana! Is there darkness here too? Will I never see in my lifetime a god like you or Sri Ramakrishna? Will there be no light in My life?" I waited in distress and Io! In the next two minutes, the power came splashing light everywhere. I felt as though the merciful eyes of Sri Ramana were uttering something! Bliss surged in the heart.

I had the courage and good fortune of knocking at the doors of that house near the temple car, on the Sannidhi street, only in the evening of 27th December 1986, though I had reached Tiruvannamalai three days earlier, on 24th itself. (Later I came to know that December 27th was the sacred Sannyasa Day of Swami Ramdas, the Guru of Bhagavan). It was a pleasant sight never before seen by me when that Divine Person opened the doors and came and stood before me. My mind rolled and fell at His feet. Without knowing the reason, tears trickled down my eyes. It is impossible for ordinary people like me to describe so beautifully as Sri T.P.Meenakshisundaram has done in his "Sri Ramji Akaval" (Hail Sri Ramji), the Divine Resplendence which surpassed the unkempt hair and soiled garb of Bhagavan. That wonder called Yogi Ramsuratkumar took us inside the 'house and made us sit, There were some other devotees too. He came and sat before me and asked in a compassionate voice, "Do you want to say anything to this beggar?' The same eyes that I saw in the picture of Sri Ramana three days earlier! The same compassion and kindness! The same light! Controlling my tears, I said slowly - "I want to see God." "Oh! Devaki wants to see God!" He spoke aloud and, after a minute's silence, continued, 'Devaki will see God. She ls a pure soul. Devaki will see God!' My colleague told Him: "Swami, we do not know whether we are pure or not. Because these words come from your mouth, from this moment we have become pure." That's all! With a big hum, with face turned into red and eyes sparkling light, raising both His hands, He blessed us continuously for ten minutes.

All the three of us sat there spell bound, experiencing a vibration in the body and immersed in a Divine feeling. When He came out and saw us off, our mind became light and a divine peace reigned over lt. There was a sense of fulfilment that we had stumbled upon something which we were searching and searching through births.

The next day, in the early morning, when a lady, who had accompanied me to Tiruvannamalai, and I were waiting for a bus in front of Ramanashram, a person looking like a beggar came out of the Dakshinamurthy temple which was on the opposite side and rushed towards us. My friend, who got scared, moved a little away. When I stood motionless, the man, who rushed toward us, stood a little away from me, perambulated me and ran back into the temple. This amusing Incident seemed to be significant. However, for the next fifteen days, I was immersed in such an intense peace that I was not able to think about anything. A peace that was not affected by happiness, sorrow, disappointment, anger or anything else. Everything that happened around seemed to be scenes in a dream. Attending to the classes or engaging myself in the college work was more brisk than even those subtle theories in Physics, which required intense study for an hour, could be understood even by a cursory glance for 10 minutes! Tremendous change! The peace was so natural that even the change was not cognised!

Now and then the face of the Swami would appear before the mind's eye. A blissful sweetness will pervade. And then intense peace! The greatness of this experience could be realized only when this peace started waning and old habits started raisins again their heads. I was able to understand what had happened to me only when once again anger, weaknesses, pleasure, disappointment, inefficiency etc. started gripping me again. Mind felt such agony like that of a calf separated from the cow.

A burning feeling drove me again and again to Yogeeswara. For seven years I was running towards Him and again for His darshan. Realizing that it is an unquenchable thirst, on the 15th of July last year, I once for all gave up my job and obtained the good fortune of being ever in His presence and service. I stand enchanted in a corner, in front of that ocean of mercy whom Sri T.P. Meenakshisundaram calls "The Siva who descended from the Heavens to save the Earth." All the tests, sufferings and pleasant experiences in the last few years were the leelas of Bhagavan to make me perfect.

When I resigned my job at last with His permission and reached Tiruvannamalai, it was Il O' clock in the night. Along with the tiresomeness of journey there was also an anxiety in the mind : 'Oh Yogi Ramsuratkumar! For You I have come giving up everything and everyone. Will You not accept and welcome this one?' The moment I got down from the bus and stood in front of Ramanashram I heard sacred music to the accompaniment of musical instruments. I turned with surprise and found a big crowd moving from the same Dakshinamurthy temple, holding lamps in their hands and chanting sacred hymns. A Professor known to me emerged from the crowd, came towards me and said, 'Amma, Namaskar! Welcome to you! We are happy to see you. It is the auspicious hour marking the beginning of the month. We have, just completed pooja in the Dakshinamurthy temple and are on our way to perambutate the Sacred Hill.' She took leave of me. What an immense compassion is that of the Swami! Who can He be other than the All-pervasive. Ultimate Reality!

The next morning when I went for the darshan of the Swami, He called me who was sitting somewhere behind the audience, made me sit by His side and asked me with a laughter of an Innocent child. "When you stepped down on this soil yesterday night, what happened?" Happiness surged in my heart when he burst into waves of laughter. Mind melted in "His compassion to His children comparable to the love of, a cow to its calf."

It requires a special knack to probe, understand and appreciate the unique characteristics of the great Tapasvi.
In the college, whenever I used to address the new extrants to the physics class, as a teacher, I used to tell them: 'From the macrocosm to the microcosm, everything in the universe is controlled by a subtle order and rythm and - even if a very thin deviation in the order takes place, the world will get destroyed - When I found for the first time this meticulous adherence to an order in every action of Yogiswara, I was dumbfounded.

I have been keenly observing how He deals with and solves the various problems and worries of devotees who come and sit at His feet everyday and seek His counsel. Many come for relief from diseases. The Yogiraj, who always takes gooseberry as panacea and health tonic, gives anything as medicine and removes illness of devotees by His compassion. This Lord of Medicine not only administers sugar candy or banana fruit as medicine, but once He even made a devotee, who does not like buttermilk, to drink buttermilk daily and get relieved of his illness. Sometimes He makes one smell odourless flowers and get cured of illness.

I have many times observed Bhagavan prostrating to devotees who do so at His feet. Once a group of devotees of the Paramacharya of Kanchi called on Bhagavan and He first felt prostate at their feet. Bhagavan is a Bhakta of Paramacharya. I was able to realize that only Bhagavan could be a perfect Bhakta.

Whenever devotees came from Aurobindo Ashram or Anandashram, Bhagavan would tell them, "You have come here to give darshan to and bless this beggar.' He thus proved Himself to be the embodiment of humility, the spiritual tradition of this Holy Land. I have seen Him prostrating even to those who fail to do so to Him. Once He held with both His hands the feet of a person with a bloated ego. After the person left, a devotee asked Bhagavan why He did so. Bhagavan replied: 'This beggar could help him only by touching his body and heart somehow. That gentleman would not prostrate before this beggar, but it is not difficult for this beggar to fall at his feet. Somehow, in his interest, this beggar had to do so."

Another unique characteristic of Bhagavan is to make devotees of other great Mahatmas to sing the praise of their respective gurus. When the devotees of Sri Ramana come to Him, He will make them sing songs on Bhagavan Ramana, discuss about Ramana and make them read several times articles on or passages from Ramana. When the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna come, He will make them speak of the Trinity - Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada and Swami Vivekananda - and hear with devotion their narrations. When a devotee of Pagal Harnath comes, Bhagavan will speak about Harnath. Once a devotee of J. Krishnamoorthy asked Bhagavan to give him a photo of Bhagavan. Bhagavan simply told the devotee to follow the path of J.K. steadfastly. I have enjoyed seeing Him dance in ecstasy, singing 'Om Sri Ram jai Ram jai Jai Ram', along with devotees of Anandashram. To 'the devotees of Sri Satya Sai Baba, He would ask for Sai Bhajans and make them read the Guru-poornima lecture of Sri Satya Sai Baba and hail it as the "Voice of God".

I have never heard Him denigrate anybody at any time, for He could never find any fault with anybody. When someone tries to harm Him in Ignorance, He will say. "That is Father's Will! Whatever happens is for good only, for my Father is blemishless and whatever He Wills is blemishless." Thus, He will teach the devotees around Him, through His own conduct, the greatest lesson of 'Saranagati' - the spirit of total surrender to God.
The Tamil scholar, T.P. Meenakshisundararn, hails this great personification of renunciation as Lord Kartikeya, Lord Narayana who protected Gajendra, as the Incarnations which showered grace on Panchali and Ahalya, as Arunachaleswara, Chidambara Nataraja and the All-pervasive Omkara, and sings in awe and wonder:

Extracted from ' The Introduction' to BHAGAVAN YOGI RAMSURATKUMAR PAAMAALAI by Sri T.P.M Meenakshuisundaram.