Early life of Vittal Rao
Vittal Rao (later Swami Papa Ramdas) was born on Hanumat Jayanti (the
birthday of Lord Hanuman) on April 10th 1884 as the sixth son of the
Brahmin couple Sri Balakrishna Rao and Lalitha Bai, at Hosdurg, Kerala.
He had 9 brothers and three sisters. His parents led a simple life, full
of devotion to God and dedication to austerities.
At the age of twenty five, he married Rukma Bai who after time gave
birth to a female child named Ramabai. Vittal Rao worked as a Spinning
Master in several mills but was disturbed by seeing the exploitation of
workmen by higher management and got disillusioned with his job.
Young Vittal Rao
Because of his compassionate nature and lack of shrewdness, he failed to
be a successful businessman and soon accumulated debts. His
difficulties helped develop in him a longing for an escape from a
worldly life. For this reason, he wore khaddar; simplified eating to
merely an intake of bananas and boiled potatoes once daily and slept on
the floor upon a mat. He reduced his sleep and spent the night in
contemplation of Lord Ram.
Vittal Rao continued in this way until he was thirty-six. During that
time he experienced many tribulations from a worldly point of view, but
in his case they caused him to enquire deeply into the true meaning of
life. A wonderful transformation was wrought in him and he was fired
with an intense wave of dispassion. He came to realise the futility of
worldly pursuits, and the need for real, everlasting peace and
happiness.
Inspired by the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda and
Swami Ram Tirtha, Papa became thoroughly convinced that God alone can
give eternal peace and happiness. The path of pure devotion and
self-surrender shone forth for him with an irresistible appeal. All
attachments to family, friends and business dropped away and he was
inwardly ready to give himself up wholly and unreservedly to God.
At such a critical time, his father, noticing his son's waning interest
in worldly matters and his devotion to God, initiated him into the Ram
mantram and assured him that by repeating it unstintingly he would, in
due time, find the peace and happiness he was longing for. As the
mantram took hold of him, Papa found his life filled with Ram. It was
then that he renounced worldly life and went forth in quest of God as a
mendicnt sadhu.
It was thus on one morning in December 1922 that Papa left home by train
from Mangalore. He did not know where he was going, nor was he anxious
about it. Papa was thus directed to Srirangam where he bathed in the
Cauvery river and donned the ochre robes of a sannyasin and underwent a
spiritual rebirth. As prompted by Ram Himself, Papa assumed the new name
of Ramdas (servant of Ram) and took the vow of sannyasa. Papa never
referred to himself in the first person ever again. With the name of God
constantly on his lips, Papa continued his travels in the company of
itinerant sadhus. The journey took him to Tiruvannamalai.
Sri Ramana had just moved out of the caves in which he had spent
twenty-two years on the holy mountain Arunachala and taken up residency
at his newly constructed ashram at the base of the mountain along with
his longtime attendant Palaniswami. In those days the ashram was not
much more than a thatched shed or hut and, as Ramdas entered the ashram,
seeing the saint for the first time, he fell prostrate at his feet.
Ramdas was told that the young swami knew English, so he addressed him
thus: "Maharaj, here stands before thee a humble slave. Have pity on
him. His only prayer to thee is to give him thy blessing."
About this experience Ramdas has said, "The Maharshi, turning his
beautiful eyes towards Ramdas, and looking intently for a few minutes
into his eyes as though he was pouring into Ramdas his blessings through
those orbs, nodded his head to say he had blessed. A thrill of
inexpressible joy coursed through the frame of Ramdas, his whole body
quivering like a leaf in the breeze."
In that ecstatic state he left Maharshi's presence and went to spend
nearly a month in a cave on the slopes of Arunachala in constant
chanting of Ramnam. This was the first occasion that he went into
solitude and during this period he never bathed, shaved, or cut his
hair. When he ate, he only ate very little. After twenty-one days, when
he came out of the cave he saw a strange, all-pervasive light:
everything was Ram and only Ram.
Swami the Tapasvi
"And it came one morning apocalyptically - when, lo, the entire
landscape changed: All was Rama, nothing but Rama - wherever Ramdas
looked! Everything was ensouled by Rama - vivid, marvellous, rapturous -
the trees, the shrubs, the ants, the cows, the cats, the dogs - even
inanimate things pulsated with the marvellous presence of the one Rama.
And Ramdas danced in joy, like a boy who, when given a lovely present,
can't help breaking out into a dance. And so it was with Ramdas: he
danced with joy and rushed at a tree in front, which he embraced because
it was not a tree but Rama Himself! A man was passing by, Ramdas ran
towards him and embraced him, calling out: 'Rama, O Rama!' The man got
scared and bolted. But Ramdas gave him chase and dragged him back to his
cave. The man noted that Ramdas had not a tooth in his head and so felt
a little reassured: at least the loony would not be able to bite him!"
(Source: The Mountain Path)
Papa continued his travels, which took him to many parts of India,
including sacred shrines in the Himalayas, then on to Bombay and finally
back to Mangalore, where he spent three months in the Panch-Pandava
cave at Kadri. It was here that he had his first experience of
nirvikalpa samadhi.
During the next few years he travelled all over India and finally
settled down in a small ashram built by one of his devotees at
Kasaragod, Kerala. It was here that Mother Krishnabai had his darshan
and decided to dedicate her life to his service. Circumstances caused
them to leave Kasaragod and settle down in Kanhangad, where the present
Anandashram was founded in the year 1931.
The Power of Nama Japa
As Swami Ramdas had attained realization through uninterrupted chanting
of the divine name of Ram along with contemplation on the attributes of
God, he always extolled the virtue of nama-japa in sadhana.
"The Divine Name is pregnant with a great power to transform the world.
It can create light where there is darkness, love where there is hate,
order where there is chaos, and happiness where there is misery. The
Name can change the entire atmosphere of the world from one of
bitterness, ill will and fear to that of mutual love, goodwill and
trust. For, the Name is God himself. To bring nearer, the day of human
liberation from the sway of hatred and misery, the way is the
recognition of the supremacy of God over all things and keeping the mind
in tune with the Universal by the chanting of the Divine Name."
Surrender to God
Papa emphasised the need of absolute surrender to the Divine Will. He would say:
"His will is supreme. If we are conscious of this always, there is no
struggle in life at all. When we surrender to God's will, we put all our
burdens on Him. He is only too willing to carry everything. Surrender
means strength, peace, bliss and wisdom. But when the ego raises its
head, all these disappear and man becomes a puny, care-worn creature.
God has made man a blissful being."
"What is meant by surrender? Surrender means to know and feel that all
our actions are God's actions; all our movements are His movements. If
we live our life with this attitude, our ego-sense will gradually
disappear. The whole universe is the play and form of God's shakti. When
once we know that all are forms of the one Divine, all separateness
will be lost in the great realisation."
He had reverence for all saints and sages. Whenever he referred to them,
he would say that he was only a child of all saints. He had great
respect and love for Bhagavan Sri Ramana. Of him he has said:-
"Sri Ramana Maharshi was in all respects a remarkable saint. After
realising the Eternal, he lived in the Eternal. His advent was a
veritable blessing on this earth. By his contact thousands were saved
from the clutches of doubt and sorrow. He lived what he preached and
preached what he lived. He exerted a wonderful influence and created in
the hearts of ignorant men and women a consciousness of their inherent
Divinity. He awakened the sleeping soul to the awareness of its immortal
and all-blissful nature. By his very presence he rid the hearts of
people of their base and unbridled passions. The faithful derived the
greatest benefit by communion with him."
Sri Ramana Maharshi would advise sadhaks to go to Anandashram and spend
time there in the company of Swami Ramdas. Especially when serious
aspirants who did constant sadhana at Sri Ramanasramam, felt an
inexplicable fatigue at a particular stage in their inner journey and
reported it to Sri Bhagavan. As well as Sri Ramana showing an interest
in Papa Ramdas, there are a number of anecdotes of Sri Ramana's specific
instructions to devotees guiding them to the presence and influence of
Swami Ramdas at Anandashram.
Papa Ramdas
Anecdotes about Swami Ramdas
An old devotee of Sri Ramana named Balarama Reddiar said:
"... when I was alone with Sri Bhagavan, he asked me about Swami Ramdas.
He wanted to know his daily schedule and, in particular, what Ramdas
did in the mornings. It was unusual for Sri Bhagavan to inquire about
others in this manner. I told him that someone had suggested to Ramdas
that he should daily practise pranayama, as it would be good for his
health. It involved simply inhaling slowly and deeply, then exhaling
slowly, without any breath retention. He was doing this for one hour
every morning. I also told Sri Bhagavan, other matters concerning his
daily routine.
Viswanatha Swami was staying at Anandashram at the advice of Sri
Bhagavan. After some time, when he was planning to return to Arunachala,
Swami Ramdas requested him to translate into Tamil his book, 'In the
Vision of God'. On Viswanatha Swami's return to Tiruvannamalai, he
mentioned this to Bhagavan; and Sri Bhagavan directed that it would be
better to undertake such a literary work in the presence of the saint
himself. Hence, Viswanatha Swami returned to Anandashram and stayed
until the translation of Swami Ramdas' book was completed.
Papa Ramdas
The Ramana Maharshi devotee S.S.Cohen wrote of his experience with Ramdas:-
"I found myself at Anandashram in Kanhangad, on the north Kerala coast,
of which Swami Ramdas was the presiding deity. I had planned to stay
there for a few weeks, but somehow I lingered on for more than eight
months."
"Joy permeated everything: the hills, the grazing cattle, and the very
air one breathed – all were joy inspiring, all Ramdas's RAM. In the
spiritual life of some devotees what counts most is genuine bhakthi,
irrespective of labels and nomenclature, and Anandashram was, no doubt,
surcharged with it, but it was a bhakthi which was nurtured by joy. Joy
and love oozed out of every pore of Swami Ramdas's being and infected
his neighbourhood."
"Swami Ramdas was always in a state of bliss and yet exceptionally
simple and practical in his day-to-day life. He enthralled the devotees
with meaningful stories which helped them in their sadhana. "
[Anecdotes by V.Ganesan]
Development of Anandashram
Anandashram
Between 1938 to 1949, Papa Ramdas remained at Anandashram, which under
his presence and influence quickly expanded and included new buildings
to house printing activities, an Ashram kitchen, guest houses,
residential quarters for staff and a goshala. An elementary school was
opened in 1942 and in 1946 a vocational training institute was started. A
small hospital was also run by the Ashram from 1952.
Mother Krishnabai and Papa Ramdas
Mother Krishnabai (1903-1989) was the foremost disciple and future
caretaker of Anandashram. She received spiritual enlightenment by the
blessings and guidance of Ramdas through her dedicated practice and
surrender; she was held in the highest regard by Ramdas for her life
totally spent in loving and serving all. He wrote about
Krishnabai:
"Krishnabai's life presents a practical illustration of how an
individual can live a life of spontaneous and intense activity while
ever fixed in the Divine Consciousness born of complete self-surrender."
Swami Satchitananda
Papa Ramdas Samadhi
On the evening of July 25th 1963 at Papa's 80th year, Ramdas had a
severe heart attack. Mother Krishnabai and Swami Satchidananda
took him to his cot. While lying down there, Papa Ramdas suddenly
sat up chanting "Hari, Hari, Hari Ram." With the name of God on his lips
Papa breathed his last.
[Abridged from the writings of Swami Satchidananda]
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