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 style' non-traditional distraught westerners , who needed a 'freeteacher, 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 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. the

Yogi Ramsuratkumar My intention for writing attention of potential this article is mainly to draw

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 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. Yogiji.A few books by