Papa Ramdas

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.

Birth of Ramdas

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]