Today science after intricate research admits that, for example, "Science knows nothing about the real nature of the constituents of the atom. It knows only the radiations that come out of it, but never the source itself "

The return then is to the source of life, to the Truth. Nowhere on the way can we, born of the spirit of India, stop if we are to people our land once more with the wisest and most compassionate men.

That such a perfect synthesis can be effected of wisdom and love, such as distinguishes the Divine from the ignorance of the mortal, is attested by the living presence of Yogi Ramsuratkumar (b. 1918) at Thiruvannamalai. The ministry of this child of God is deep, mysterious, all embracing and can never be adequately understood or translated into words.

In Yogi Ramsuratkumar one finds the brilliant harmony of paradoxes that is the fruit of all spiritual endeavour. Disguising himself in the role of a Beggar, he spends his whole time giving, not receiving. His treasures are those that are the eternal possessions of all men of God. The very life-style of the Yogi is the illustration of the highest truth that the Self alone is real. The apparent disregard for externalities is not a dry and forced asceticism, but the inevitable consequence in one for whom the body, the mind and indeed all its complex associates together only form a tenement, graciously worn, so that the world which understands only in terms of form and name can turn to it. In fact, to a careless eye, the Yogi could perhaps pass unnoticed blending into the anonymity of the Indian ordinariness. However, there is nothing ordinary about the Yogi. The First thing that one would notice about him is his kingly bearing that is balanced at once with the gentleness that Sri Sathya Sai would describe as "the divine ache of compassion." The Yogi is regal and spreads a determined air of authority about him that silences even the most rebellious of moods.

Dwelling in his physical body at the heart of the Muktikshetra of Tiruvannamalai, Yogi Ramsuratkumar swims freely in the unlimited expanse of Consciousness. He is the great column of Light rising high from the innermost depth of this sacred pilgrim centre which in itself is a symbol of the Tejas of the Divine. His guidance is given in a modest silence which Sri Ramana Maharshi would liken to a mother feeding a child that is fast asleep. His words spoken sweetly and simply, however, descend forcefully on the listener, with the inward joy and power they spring from. Even a passing glance at him ensures one a higher step in the inward journey. None goes away empty handed for the Yogi's love is not bound by the dictates of reason. It is the spontaneous expression of the endless ocean of the Love of God that he manifests. The infinite domain of the Eternal Truth is the rightful inheritance of the Yogi, and he is surely the master of the destiny of life itself. Nothing lies beyond the reach of his administering care.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar is verily the Kesi glorified in the Rig veda (Mandala 10, Sukta 136). The word Kesi refers variously to the smoky halo of Agni or the circle around the Sun or the very movement by which Vayu impels himself. Yogi Ramsuratkumar's extraordinary life illustrates the truth about the Kesi who is a master of the mortals and Gods, of earth and heaven- in a perfect and complete way.

The Veda speaks thus of the Kesi: "He who is born as man and becomes a kesi can ever bear Agni. He bears Bhumi and Akasa (He holds the earth and heaven). He holds the waters. He dwells in the (Fifth element of) air. He floats in air, He lives by air. It is He who is the subtle horse of speed - the Prana Sakthi- that impels the air. The Kesi who is in the form of Jyoti enables the whole world to see the Oneness of things. That is to say, he imparts the highest wisdom of Advaita.

The Kesi wears a garment yellow in colour as if covered by dust. He watches over the whole world and moves about freely in the anthra-unsupported, in the regions of the within and without.

He is a friend in his compassionate and loving acts towards men and gods and does good to all. Never impelled by self-interest he moves by the will of God.

The Kesi pervades all space-above and below - from the bottom of the sea to the highest above. He moves about freely between the gandharvas and apsaras and plays with the beasts of the forest.

He is the master of all learned savants, the most loving of all loving. He is one whose Bliss can be experienced incessantly with great joy. His life is to make others happy."

The Kesi himself says.-"You who are men, may see me as I am in the body of man. But I am not the body made of food. I live by the force of the root of breath which is Prana. I am ecstatic in the wisdom that is beyond the range of man's intellect."

This being the truth about Yogi Ramsuratkumar it is impossible to understand him. One can only love him and yearn to be loved by him.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar reiterates the declaration of Swami Vivekananda, Sri Ramalinga Swami, Sri Aurobindo and Sri Sathya Sai, that India will usher in the future age of Light. He teaches all those who seek shelter at his feet to become better workers, better devotees but more than that better and great men. Yogi Ramsuratkumar's work, in so far as it can be seen from the standpoint of the average human intelligence, is the alchemy he effects in the personality of men. The Sathya Yuga that Sri Sathya Sai Baba promises to herald, the future age of Supermen assured by Sri Aurobindo and the Vedantie colony dreamt of by Swami Rama Tirth, is the Ram Rajya that Yogi Ramsuratkumar works to establish.

It is a fascinating but not uncommon an event re- corded in the annals of spiritual history, that Divine Masters often bear a name that is indicative of their especial ministry. Perhaps some may brush aside such interpretations as pure poetic fancy. But the metaphysics of mysticism (as for example, referred to earlier in connection with Surat SabdaYoga) explains the mysterious ways through which the sound and meaning of names influence their orbit of existence. Vivekananda who fancied this particular name after some experimentation with others emerged as the grandest teacher of Vedantic discrimination. The mystic from East Bengal who was always seen to be in a state of divine bliss was spontaneously called Anandamayi by one of her devotees. Sri Sathya Sai who identifies himself completely with the Etemal Truth and Bliss declares that his name Sathya bears the mystery about him. So too, watching the gigantic, righteous and merciful reshaping of the earth life that Yogi Ramsuratkumar has dedicated himself to, it is clear that he is truly the anointed son or kumara of the eternal Rama who is the Truth. Born of the spirit or 'Surat' of the One Atma Rama who is eternal and exists as Pure Spirit, he is the Yogi, the symbolic link yoking earth to heaven.

It is to our national glory that we trace our descent from the risis of Aryavarta who wandered with no stone to lay their head upon and did not know where their next meal would come from. The forests they entered were within themselves and the beasts, their own thoughts and emotions, which they sought to face and attain mastery over. Always given to the remembrance of God and deeply lost in the contemplation of the Infinite, they looked upon the body, as the effective vehicle that would enable them to cross over the turbulent sea of the unreal and reach the shore of the Spirit.
The needs of such men are few and casting off self-dignity and ego they sought to live on the love of the masses. To them food is fuel for the body and the place to rest or a rag to wear a sheer necessity to preserve the tabernacle of the Spirit.

Begging has always been an important religious exercise recommended by many spiritual orders. The Fransciscan Order which was founded on this noble idea, the grand tradition of the Sufis who were often mendicants and the ancient Orders in India, where such beggary was the right and privilege of only those who had the courage to bid the world to get behind them are appropriate illustrations of those yearning for the vision of the truth and begging for it with the most dare-devil askesis. These men sanctify the face of earth wandering among men whose fold they retum to, to bless and guide. In their piteous pleas, they win the eternal treasures and teach us that begging for Truth is the only way to join the ranks of the gods. Appealing to the highest power for the most precious gift that it can give, is the message of the beautiful episode in the Ramayana where the great Beggar Vishwamitra asks for Rama of King Dasaratha who was himself the master of ten senses. It was also enjoined by our law makers as Manu and Yagnavalkya that it was the house-holder's discipline to cultivate the quality of charity and support the God-thirsty with their kind and ready understanding. Renunciation of the world and consequent beggary had never been considered a crime in our land. Perhaps today, crippled as we are by our faults and blinded by the afflictions of the mind's eye, it can only be by beggary in humility that we can once more learn to see, to walk and regain the health of our soul.

As Shankara celebrated in his 'Jivanmuktananda Lahiri 'one can see in the presence of this great master, the many and willing roles which the free-born of the Spirit assume for their own joy and for the good of the world. Though a blazing form of dispassion, Yogi Ramsuratkumar often betrays the deep and spontaneous love with which he willingly binds himself to all creation. His love for India is fiery like that of Swami Dayananda, His concern for sympathetic and workable remedies as honest as that of Swami Vivekananda, his vast appreciation of the bounties of India as rich as that of Tagore, his representation of the great Truth as complete as that of Ramana and his care even for the least of men as genuine as that of Sri Sathya Sai.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar's love of men often expresses itself as love for India. He would visualise India as a vast nectarine hive in which each member would play the part without motive of personal gain. The exemplary and systematic harmony of the colony-life of the bees, knit together for mutual prosperity and collective strength, is one of the many simple illustrations, that he often draws from life, to impress lofty truth upon the mind of the listener. The unity with which the bees defend their kin is an example of immediate relevance to our land. Indians entering the ageless gardens of inner paradise and drawing deep on the nectar of the blooms of illumination must in course of time forge a new India.

A rapid glance at the history of India in the past hundred and fifty years or so, brings to light many divine leaders of men. Many have not revealed them- selves to the blundering and reasoned understanding of men. The genius of these great men that India has borne has shown the infinite variations of the excellence of the spirit. Mystics and yogis such as Trilinga Swami (1607-1881) and Chhote Paramahamsa.