The One Beyond the Reach of Thought – Ma Devaki

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:

“Hail, Oh Yoga which is beyond the
reach of thought!”

Yogi Ramsuratkumar, ‘Yogi
Ramsuratkumar, Yogi Ramsuratkumar, Jaya Guru Raya!

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

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