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The birth of an eternal slave
Yogini
Andal, the saint poet of Tamil Nadu, in her ecstatic
outpourings in praise of her beloved Krishna, says taht the
severe austerities practised by her has only one prayer as
the goal ! to serve the Lord in this and repeated janmas, to
be the slave of the Lord in every age and birth. The spirit
of Andal survives today and we have many wonderful men and
women who seek to serve the Lord with single minded
devotion.
It was December 1986, Ramanashram at Tiruvannamalai was
plunged in darkness owing to a local powercut. A young woman
stood in front of Bhagavan Sri Ramana’s statue with tears
streaming diomn her face. The pain was not due to any
bereavement or personal difficulty but expressed the soul’s
need for spiritual upliftment. “Bhagavan, I am wandering for
so many years in search of a Guru; can you not show me a
person like you or Bhagavan Ramakrishna to guide me to God
?”
Symbolically the lights came on, in an instant and the
young woman stood transfixed before Ramana Bhagavan; with
the faint stirrings of hope in her heart.
The young woman was Devaki, an M. Phil in Physics and a
senior lecturer in a college. Born of middleclass Brahmin
parents and seventh in a large family of nine, the girl was
brillant in her studies and excelled in whatsoever activity
she undertook. She was devoted to Lord Krishna from
childhood. Collegiate education endowed her with the
trapppings of modernity. The worldly life of her family
members and her peers had only a marginal influence on her.
Though distracted now and then, she rarely swerved from her
path of spiritual seeking. The Ramakrishna Matt very often
proved her refuge, for meditation and further learning of
the life of a Sadhak. Her wide readings of the lives of
saints and her conversations with sadhaks established her in
the life of a sadhak and all her spare time from her
collegiate activity found her pursuing things spiritual. But
her Sadhana required a direction, a focal point, as it were,
because she knew taht the numerous swamijis she had met till
then could not supply her with the required guidance.
Nevertheless, she trudged on; her restless eyes always
looking for the Godman, the Mahatma, the Guru, who would
finally put her on the right path and lead her to the
effulgent presence of the creator. Her sharp intellect would
not accept anything less, though her devotion to God and
humility made her respecy every sadhak, every sannyasi,
every person who struggled on the spiritual path.
Little did Devaki realise that her prayers before Ramana
Maharishi were being answered instantly. Within the next few
days she was going to experience the most momentous event of
her life, the darshan of Bhagavan Yogi Ramsuratkumar, the
realised soul, the Godchil of Tiruvannamalai, who also must
have been wainting for the correct disciple, much as
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa did, awaiting his dynamic disciples
who were to transform India and spread abroad India’s
message over the gobe in the next century.
Devaki entered the holy precincts of Sannadhi street at
Tiruvannamalai into the magnetic presence of the Yogi, and
her search ended. Tears streamed down her face in an
emotional upheaval, which washed away the pain and
sufferings of the years of search. “Whant does Devaki want
from this beggar ?” Devaki’s answer was simplicity itself :
“I want you to show me God.”
The great saint roared with laughter; he must have
immensely loved the elegance and simplicity, the directness
with which this young woman approached so vast a
subject.
Then began a period of severe trial and austerity when
Devaki took every conceivable opportunity to be near this
embodiement of God, whose very presence, every glance, every
word and gesture radiated a spiritual energy which she was
greedy to imbibe. Serving Him became her one goal in life,
when some understanding of the Yogi’s ways and work ever so
slowly was revealed to her. No other thoughts crossed her
head. She could not even take part in a conversation unless
it was about the Yogi. With reluctance bordering on aversion
she continued her job of teaching physics when her body,
spirit and mind ached to be near the Master, serve Him, to
understand His message, to preserve it for posterity. With
missionary zeal she sang His praises to everyone who would
listen and to many who would not, who merely laughted
derisively at her divine madness.
Yes, it was and is a divine madness that drives Devaki to
serbe hand and foot, this self procaimed beggar. She
nurtures His precious body with the jealous love of a mother
for her child, attends to His correspondence with the zeal
of a perfect secretary, watches every moment and movement
with care vordering on anxiety to see that the precious
energies of this Godman are not frittered away in fruitless
anger at the pathetically ignorant public which flock to
Him, supplicants for miracles.
Such is the total devotion of Devaki that Bhagavan Sri
Yogi Ramsuratkumar has finally decided to lead her into the
path of total merger with the self, for which again intense
spiritual training is imparted to her. We are living in
momentous times when we are privileged to witness this great
process of Realisation. To watch the path trod by
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Ramana Maharishi, Parama Guru Papa
Ramdas of Kanhangad, Pujya Sri Mataji Krishna Bai, Yogi
Ramsuratkumar and the countless Yogis, Mahatmas and Gurus
who have made this resplendant land of ours into a spiritual
powerhouse for the entire world. It is my earnest prayer
that atleast some of us will be inspired to emulate Devaki
in her single minded devotion, unswerving attachement to the
eternal and the enormous sacrifice of things worldly to
attain the goal of merger with God. May Yogi Ramsuratkumar
grace us with strength and energy to pursue this noble end,
the only worthwhile goal of humanity.
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