Premika Bhavanam (Siddhi day of Yogiramsuratkumar, Tiruvannamalai)
20th February, 2001. (Monday)
8.30 p.m. to 10.00 p.m.

Sri Swamigal has been rendering ‘Upanyãsam’ (discourses), in Tamizh. This is being brought to you here.

There may appear to be variations in the ‘tense’ of the language. This is due to the fact that great effort has been taken to maintain the original style of the ‘Upanyãsam’. Therefore, we request you to keep this in mind while reading the translated ‘words’ of Sri Swamigal.

Sri Swamigal,

" Paramãtma swaroopa is omnipresent. It IS everywhere. It is formless and is in every being, everything. It pervades living and non-living beings. Everything possesses this 'Consciousness'. The variation is only in the degree of 'Consciousness'. Even the wall is filled with 'Consciousness', though very little. This is the reason that the wall moved when Saint Jnãneswar tapped it! The buffalo moves due to 'Consciousness' that pervades its being. Each and everything acts as per the degree of 'Consciousness' pervading it. Man has much more of it ('Consciousness'). There is nothing or none that is not pervaded by 'Consciousness'.

To be born a human is rare indeed. In Viveka Choodamani, Bhagavat Pãdã (Ãdi Sankara) says that to be born as a man if very rare indeed. To remain ignorant of our blessing is not surprising. It is because of this ignorance that we fail to appreciate the blessing that we have been graced with. To be born as a man is rare and to be born with normal faculties is rarer indeed. We have been blessed with these! Yet we have not realized the purpose of this birth, viz. attainment of God/to realize one's Self.

Innumerable Jnãnis have been born on this land of ours to lead us towards this goal. Jnãnis have existed in this country of ours since time immemorial. The lineage of Jnãnis has never dried up but has been kept alive till date. Sri Rãmakrishna Paramahamsa, Ramana Maharshi, Seshãdri Swamigal, Maha Periyava, have all come in this Jnãni Parampara (lineage). So has Yogiramsuratkumar.

The experiences of all the Mahatmãs are one and the same. The difference lies only in the paths shown by them. Ramana Maharshi advocated the path of Self-enquiry from the beginning to the end. He never once deviated from this. Sri Rãmakrishna Paramahamsa showed the path of Bhakti. People have seen blood oozing from the pores of his skin. He was ever steeped in Bhakti Bhãva. Ãndavan Pitchhai was a great Jnãni, too. She was so great that she did not disclose her real status even to her own children! They learnt about her only after she had left her mortal coil!

Yogiramsuratkumar is one such Jnãni. Affectionately called by the people of Tamizh Nadu as 'Visiri Sãmiyãr' (Swamiji with a hand fan) He was born in North India but moved down to Tiruvannamalai in the South. It is not unusual for Mahãtmãs born in one part of the country to move to another part. Sri Raghavendra Swamigal was born in Bhuvanagiri in Tamizh Nadu but his 'Jîva Samãdhi' is to be found in Mantrãlaya in Andhra Pradesh. Hãthiram Bãbã was a Rajasthani but he spent his days in Tirupathi in the South. Mahãtamãs born in the South move up to the North while there are those born in the North who move down to the South. Yogiramsuratkumar wandered the length and breadth of the country before settling down at Tiruvannamalai. He was to be found sitting amidst beggars. He always called himself a 'beggar' and blessed everyone with the words, "My Father blesses you!"

Mahãtmãs remember even the smallest of gestures with gratitude. While they never hold anything against the abusers what to say of those who show affection to them? Yogi never forgot the kind gesture of Sri Devasenapathi who hosted Him for six months in his house at Tiruvallur. The first cottage of Yogi's ashram was named after Sri Devasenapathi! This is but only one example of the innumerable kind gestures of Yogi.

Just as a wounded bird changed the life of Sage Valmiki the life of Yogiramsuratkumar, too, transformed totally on seeing a wounded bird! He was a householder who gave up everything and spent number of days on the banks of the Holy Ganges in Kasi in the company of many Sadhus. He later met Ramana Maharishi, Sri Aurobindo before reaching His own Guru Papa Ramdas. The Rãma Nãma that Yogi received from His Guru possessed Him. Day and night Yogi chanted the Rãma Nãma and everything around Him vibrated with the Rãma Nãma! The house of Sri Devasenapathi of Tiruvallur where He stayed for about six months reverberated with Rãma Nãma! The host could feel the vibration of the Rama Nãma emanating from the trees, plants and shrubs in the backyard where Yogi used to sit and chant the Rãma Nãma! Yogi never took credit for any grace bestowed, instead said that it was 'Rãma Nãma' that worked wonders! When anyone spoke of miracles the Yogi would retort, "What miracle? Life itself is a miracle! If we were to look back at our life we would realize that every single moment in our life has been a miracle. The whole cosmos is a miracle. Can there be any other miracle?(!)" "

NOTE: Any discrepancy/lapse in the translated version of the Upanyasam is the sole responsibility of the person/s who translated the work from Tamizh into English.