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The Goldchild |
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The Goldchild |
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Yogi Ramsuratkumar, The Godchild
Arunachala ! You root out the ego of those who think of you in the heart - "This is how Sri Ramana Maharishi sings in praise of the holy hill Arunachala, around which is situated the bustling little town of Tiruvannamalai. It is in this small place, famous worldwide for the annual Kartigai Deepam festival, that lives a great saint of our times. Showering love and grace on one and all, a rare spiritual gem safely hidden away in the guise of a "mad beggar", he is like a child in this world, the garden of his supreme father. The worthiest heir to the great spiritual legacy of Sri Ramana Maharishi, Sri Aurobindo and Swami Ramdas, the world knows him as Yogi Ramsuratkumar, the Godchild of Tiruvannamalai".
Very little is known about his early years, except that he
was born in a small village near Varanasi, the eternal city of
Lord Vishvanatha; had a decent education and had worked as a teacher.
The all consuming spiritual fire deep within, took him to Sri
Aurobindo at Pondicherry and from there to the silent presence
of Sri Ramana Maharishi at Tiruvannamalai. The Divine led him
to Swami Ramdas at Anandashram in Kerala, who initiated him with
the Rama mantra.
The supreme advaitic experience of non-duality dawned, and along
with it came a divine madness, which to this day attracts millions
from all corners of the globe. This experience cannot be described
in words for "Those who have known it do not speak, and those
who speak of it have not known it". We can only get a glimpse
of this. When sitting in his presence, we are fortunate enough
to listen to these rare words - "This beggar does not
exist. He died a long time back, in 1952 at the feet of his master
Swami Ramdas ... Father alone exists. Nothing else, nobody else
- past, present, future : here, there, everywhere; Anywhere! Father
alone, all in Father, Father in all. Nothing is separate, nothing
isolated. One without a second, indivisible, total, whole, absolute
... Father alone."
Shock is a weapon used by yogis and mystics to awaken the sleeping
spirituality of aspirants. Coming in the presence of a saint,
the rational, discursive and doubting mind is bound to have a
rude shock. It is only when faith, unshakable firm faith dawns,
that the magnetic attraction of their being is felt. This is very
much so in the case of Yogi Ramsuratkumar. There are no spirituals
discussions, no lectures or talks, no elaborate rituals. It is
mostly silence, interrupted only by a tender and loving enquiry
about your well being and sometimes peals of laughter, roaring
laughter. A rare grace can be noticed in every word, every action
and every glance. And the power of that piercing glance! It can
only be described in the words of Sri Ramana Maharishi - "When
two pairs of eyes, the teacher's who can teach through silence,
and his worthy pupils meet, spoken words are a mere waste. That
look bestows the light destroying and surviving all things else."
Seemingly surrounded by activity all the while, there is an elusive
aloofness which sets him apart. Listening patiently to all your
woes and problems, enquiring about various details, he showers
the blessings of his Father day in and day out on everyone. The
rich and the poor, the powerful and the laymen; the educated and
the illiterate, the sophisticated and the rustic are all equal
recipients of his spiritual grace. Calling himself a "dirty
beggar", "mad beggar" or a " dirty sinner"
,he has been radiating a rare spiritual light guiding millions
on the godward path. From 1959, when he came to Tiruvannamalai
for good, to this day, he has rarely stepped out of this place.
Accepting all initial abuse, slander and ill-treatment as well
as the present adulations and adorations in the same spirit, he
remains the same old "mad beggar", mad with divine love,
mad in divine ecstasy, the Godchild playing merrily with his Divine
Father. Sitting in the very presence of this Godchild, the ceaseless
running of the mind stops, words stop and you get a glimpse of
this divine madness. The seer, the seen and the sight all become
one.