Thursday 4 November 2021

TIMING IS ESSENTIAL

S. Parthasarathy in giving an account of Yogi Ramsuratkumar's life in his book, "Biography of Yogi Ramsuratkumar - The Godchild of Tiruvannamalai (Amarakaviyam), wrote, that when the Yogi accepted and surrendered to Swami Ramdas, Ramdas did not receive him well.
The Yogi has this to say about his guru, "Papa (Ramdas) did not allow this beggar to understand Him. The time was not ripe. This beggar had to wait till Papa Himself revealed His Divinity to this beggar, to make this beggar understand that Papa was his Father."

Systematically Swami Ramdas and Mataji Krishnabai made Ram Surat Kunwar behave like a mad man and made the world believe that he had become mad. They drove him out of the ashram forcibly so that he would remember them constantly. They used harsh language whenever he was before them among the crowd of the devotees. By doing so Swami Ramdas and Mataji Krishnabai removed his ego totally. But it took a very long time. In the process, the pain, the sufferings he experienced were acute. Ram Surat Kunwar again asked Swami Ramdas to allow him and his family to live in the ashram. 

He said, “Papa, I have come here with the great faith that you would allow me with my family to live here. I am not able to work anywhere since the initiation. If you drive me away, where shall I go and how can I live?” 

Papa vehemently answered, “Go and beg. You cannot live in the ashram. There are enough people in the ashram to work. Remember, under a big tree, another big tree cannot grow. Only thorny bushes and grass alone will grow.” 

Ram Surat Kunwar shocked on listening to the words of his Master exclaimed, “Papa, should I beg for my food? Am I a beggar, Papa?” 

Papa, without answering, went inside. From that day Ram Surat Kunwar called himself a beggar. His Guru, His Master, His God asked him to beg and so he became a “beggar”.

In later years Yogi Ramsuratkumar said “Nobody can love this beggar like my Father Swami Ramdas and nobody can torture this beggar like my Father Swami Ramdas. My Father killed this beggar because He loved this beggar. This beggar died at the holy lotus feet of my father Swami Ramdas in the year 1952. After that my Father alone exists and not this beggar. This name Yogi Ramsuratkumar is not this beggar’s name; it is the name of my Father. Father would always shower his grace on the people who remember this name."

In "Waves of Love", published by Yogi Ramsuratkumar Bhavan Mauritius, we read that,

It was the third chance to visit Ramdas. The two great Masters (Bhagavan Raman Maharishi and Sri Aurobindo) had passed away. This beggar thought to himself, “'Let me try again to visit Ramdas, for he is recognized as a great sage. So in 1952 this beggar did not go to Tiruvannamalai, nor did he go to Pondicherry, for the Masters were not there. But this time Swami Ramdas turned out to be an extremely different person. At the very first sight, Ramdas could tell a number of intimate things about the life and mission of this beggar which nobody but this beggar knew. It was then that this beggar first understood that the great master Ramdas was this beggar's Father. Swami has killed this beggar, but life has come. Millions and millions of salutations at the lotus feet of my Master, Swami Ramdas! He has initiated this beggar in Ram nam and has asked to chant it all the twenty four hours. This beggar began to do it and in the space of a week, this beggar has got this madness. The same madness still continues.” 
When writer the late Balakumaran out of pity hurried Yogi Ramsuratkumar to see a couple standing in a queue first as they held a newborn baby in the midday sun, the Yogi like Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar did not respond. Finally, after several attempts at getting the Yogi's attention, the Yogi asked him if he was perturbed by the situation. When Balakumaran replied that he was indeed disturbed, the Yogi asked him to invite them in. But that meeting did not go well and turned sour. Finally, the Yogi tells him that it was his place and space and he knew whom to see or allow and when to see them.

Similarly when I went over to Ongkarakudil eager to meet Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar after his followers at his affiliate of the Agathiyar Sanmarga Sangam in Dengkil spoke highly about their guru, I was dumbfounded when Swami remained silent as I asked that he bless me. After several attempts at asking him finally, he told me coming to Ongakarakudil itself was a blessing. I went back disappointed not able to comprehend his words. Was I outlawed there? Did I stray by mistake into their premises? Was I not fit enough? These questions riddled me. Finally, Agathiyar came in the Nadi a couple of years later telling me that I did not have the green light from the Siddhas to go over there then. He added, "Now you can go. You shall get his blessings." I guess there is a specific time to meet such Mahans and that we cannot simply intrude into their space. Later I read Ramadevar Siddhar had laid down some strict rules before anyone could see Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar.

Indeed. The time was not ripe. I too had to wait till Agathiyar himself revealed Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar's state of divinity to me in subsequent Nadi readings. I guess Agathiyar preferred that I hear it from him rather than his followers. But I never went back as I had held on to Supramania Swami. Tavayogi and Agathiyar.

It took me years later to realize that Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar was indeed humble and only expressed the power of the Siddhas in bestowing their grace to those who step into their abodes and places of worship. I figured that he was telling me "Who am I to bless you when the Siddhas are present there." He too was pointing me to the Siddhas rather than take on the responsibility that comes with the showering of blessings.

In reading about the Yogi's mission I guess I can see a relationship here that Agathiyar mentioned. Parthasarathy quotes the Yogi on his mission, 
"My Father has sent this beggar for a specific work. This beggar needs a few people to do his Father’s work. This beggar is doing that work. See the door. The door is always closed. This beggar would see only those people whom my Father sends. This beggar is not meant for the masses. Let the people go to others. This beggar does not need a crowd. This beggar needs only a few people who can do my Father’s work. All other saints have done great works but this beggar did not do anything. Some saints built temples and ashrams, some others did great works and gave philosophies, some others preached the way to Father and the way of life, but this beggar leaves behind him only his Name.
The Masters have their own way of doing the Father’s work. The real work is, uniting, merging the chosen beings with my Father. That’s all. We were together, we are together and we will be together. We cannot exist without each other. When Lord Siva comes, He comes along with His Ganas. When a Guru comes, he comes along with his dearest disciples. When the Guru departs, the disciples also would go after finishing my Father’s work. We are all together eternally.”
Lord Murugan speaking about surrender, repeatedly asked all those present if they had surrendered. He said he could only give what he had come to give if he knew for sure that we had surrendered. We did not understand the urgency of the matter on hand. But we have come to know the impact and extent that surrender has in paving the way for the divine to work in us. We only came to understand the depth of the word after reading the Yogi's biography. We understood that there can be no other person that we can equate with the word surrender other than Yogi Ramsuratkumar. S. Parthasarathy speaks of the Yogi's surrender.
Well, such was his surrender to his Father's seemingly unsympathetic will that he would only say, “All Fathers blessings. Father knows what to do, when and how. This beggar cannot question Father like you people do! Whenever my Father wants this beggar to talk, this beggar talks, whenever my Father wants this beggar to keep silence, this beggar keeps silence, whenever my Father wants this beggar to laugh, this beggar laughs, whenever my Father wants this beggar to weep, this beggar weeps. Wherever my Father keeps this beggar, whatever my Father does with this beggar, this beggar would just submit to his Father’s will. This beggar knows Father cannot commit any mistake. Whatever He does, He does for the good of the whole cosmos. So, nothing is wrong in this world, nothing is sin in this world. Every thing happens, happens by the will of my Father. So, nothing is wrong in this world. Everything is perfectly alright. Whatever happens happens by the will of my Father. So nothing is wrong. Every thing is perfectly all right. My Father cannot commit any mistake. So, nothing is wrong."

In "Waves of Love", we read, "Father makes this beggar suffer for some cosmic balance." But he added, "This beggar can do much better work without this body", allaying fears of the devotee as he lays on his deathbed.

On our sufferings, the Yogi who has seen much more has this to say. 

“My Father wants you to go through this stage. It happens even in the lives of the saints. Do not bother. My Father is always with you. Whatever happens happens by the will of my Father. So nothing is wrong. Everything is perfectly alright. See God in everybody and in everything. My Father alone exists. You have not committed any mistake. Whatever happens, happens by the will of my Father. So nothing is wrong in this world. Everything is perfectly all right. My Father alone is the doer and my Father cannot commit any mistake. So everything is perfectly all right. Whatever happened happened by the will of my Father. Whatever happens happens by the will of my Father. Whatever will happen, will happen by the will of my Father. Everything happened, happened by the will of my Father. So, nothing is wrong in this world. Everything that happened is perfectly alright, because my Father cannot commit any mistake. Everything is my Father. My Father alone exists in everything and in everywhere. People who see my Father in all the things are always near and dear to my Father and you people are near and dear to my Father. Whatever happens happens by the will of my Father. So, nothing is wrong in this world. Everything is perfectly alright. My Father cannot commit any mistake. So, accept whatever comes as a blessing from my Father. You know what Kunti Devi demanded from Lord Krishna? “Krishna give me sufferings in all my births so that I could remember you all the time.” See, the sufferings are blessings, grace in disguise. So, accept whatever comes whether it’s joy or sufferings. It’s all from my Father. Remembering my Father alone matters, all other things are irrelevant.”
When Agathiyar exposed my past karma and had me perform some remedies locally and had me travel to India for the rest, he came again in the Nadi after 3 years. He told me that though I had sinned I had not committed any mistake, for I needed those experiences too. He told me it was all his doing too. That was truly comforting.

In "Waves of Love", we read,
His constant advice was to remain satisfied with whatever situation one found oneself in, realizing that it was part of the Divine will. “In truth,” he used to say, “there is only one will at work and that is Father’s will. It is therefore perfect, good for the individual, humanity and the cosmos.” 

Ramalinga Adigal too came by and told me to bear the inconveniences that I am facing in my neighborhood. These will make you wiser he said. Meanwhile, Lord Shiva agreed that there was a need to move house now. I guess they are working on it. Timing is essential.

When Agathiyar told us he was the Prapanjam and that the Prapanjam was in him, Yogi too mentions the same.
“I can only say that, whatever exists is one life. Unity: nothing is separate, nothing is isolated. This beggar is related to the Sun, to the Moon, to the Infinite Cosmos. This beggar is not limited to this body. All of those who are present here are not separated or isolated. They are part of me. You see this Champak Tree, you see this Amla Tree, and they are all part of my Life. They are not separate. They are not isolated. I am in all these parts with all these leaves. I am the Total. I am the Whole, Absolute, Indivisible, Eternal, Limitless Life, Infinite Life. We are all one together, united, perfect unity in Father. That’s all. That’s all I can say. We are that Atma. We all are that Atma. You are that pure Atma. You cannot be ruined. My Father says you are eternally holy and pure. You are always under the protection of my Father. You need not worry about the past. You are always pure and holy.”