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Swami Ramdas
Swami Ramdas (Hindi pronunciation: [sʋaːmiː raːmdaːs]), born Vittal Rao (10 April 1884 to 25 July 1963), was an Indian saint, philosopher, philanthropist and pilgrim.
Swami Ramdas became a wandering ascetic in his late 30s and, after attaining spiritual liberation or moksha while still alive, established Anandashram in Kanhangad, Kerala. He is the author of several books; the spiritual autobiography In Quest of God (1925) is his best known work.
Swami Ramdas was born as Vittal Rao in Hosdurg, Kerala, India on 10 April 1884 to Balakrishna Rao and Lalita Bai. Vittal was educated first at a local school in Hosdurg and was later sent to Mangalore to study at the Basel Evangelical Mission High School run by German missionaries. He was a voracious reader and was admired for his mastery of the English language; he was also interested in drawing, sculpture and theatre. His indifference to his school curriculum, however, did not allow him to pass high school despite attempting his exams twice. After a failed attempt to run away to Bombay to seek his fortune and a brief stint as the director of an amateur theatre society he founded in Hosdurg (they opened with scenes from Shakespeare's King John), Vittal joined a course in drawing and engraving at the School of Arts in Madras. Before completing the course, however, he won a scholarship to study textile engineering at the Victoria Jubilee Institute in Bombay. This time, he completed the degree, and found work as a spinning master in a cotton mill in Gulbarga.
Vittal Rao was now expected to marry, and within a few months of his finding a job, his parents had found a bride for him. He married Umabai (renamed 'Rukmabai' upon her marriage according to the custom of the Saraswats) in 1908. Within a couple of months of this event, however, Vittal Rao had lost his job at Gulbarga. He began to move from one job to another all over southern India, with spells of unemployment in between. A daughter, Ramabai, was born in 1913.
Vittal Rao's fortunes continued to decline, and in 1917, he returned to Mangalore to join his father-in-law's business. This arrangement did not last long; in 1919, he started his own business of dyeing and printing sarees. By 1920, both his professional and personal lives had deteriorated, and Vittal Rao became unhappy and frustrated. In his desperate state, he sought relief in the chanting of the syllable "Ram" considered sacred in India. Soon afterward, his father instructed him to repeat the longer Ram Mantra: "Sri Ram jai Ram jai jai Ram" and assured him that the chanting of this mantra would give him eternal happiness. Vittal Rao felt inspired to add "Om" to each repetition, and he began to chant the mantra "Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram" all through his waking hours. He was also influenced by the teachings of Sri Krishna.
Vittal Rao soon lost interest in the material world. He left home on the night of 27 December 1922 after writing a farewell letter to his wife. At Srirangam, on the banks of the river Kaveri, he adopted sanyas by giving himself the ochre robes of a renunciate. He changed his name to 'Ramdas' and made three vows: to dedicate his life to Sri Ram, to observe celibacy, and to live only upon food that was freely offered to him as alms. His practice was to view the world as forms of Ram – and thus to see everything that might befall him as the will of Ram. Ramdas was known for referring to himself in the third person, which is a common spiritual practice in Hinduism.
After visiting various centres of Hindu pilgrimage in Tamil Nadu including Rameswaram, Madurai and Chidambaram, Swami Ramdas arrived in Tiruvannamalai. Here he met and received the blessings of the young saint known as Sri Ramana Maharshi. As a result of this encounter, he went into his first retreat, living for 21 days in solitude in a cave in Arunachala. It was here that he had his first full experience of Ram, or God, as a presence that permeated everything. For him, from this point, "All was Ram, nothing but Ram."
Swami Ramdas spent the following months visiting centres of pilgrimage all over India, including Puri, Dakshineswar, Kashi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Mathura, and Brindavan; in all these places he was fed, clothed and guided by strangers. After paying his respects at the Muslim shrine of Ajmer Sharif, he moved southwards, visiting Dwaraka and Pandharpur. He then went further south to visit Sri Siddharudha Swami at Hubli. It was here, in 1923, that his family finally tracked him down. His wife and daughter arrived in Hubli and on Siddharudha Swami's advice, Swami Ramdas returned with Rukmabai and his daughter to Mangalore. But instead of going home with them, he went to the nearby Kadri Hills and started living in the Panch Pandav Cave, where he continued his spiritual practices. It was also in this cave that he wrote his first book, In Quest of God.
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Swami Ramdas
Swami Ramdas (Hindi pronunciation: [sʋaːmiː raːmdaːs]), born Vittal Rao (10 April 1884 to 25 July 1963), was an Indian saint, philosopher, philanthropist and pilgrim.
Swami Ramdas became a wandering ascetic in his late 30s and, after attaining spiritual liberation or moksha while still alive, established Anandashram in Kanhangad, Kerala. He is the author of several books; the spiritual autobiography In Quest of God (1925) is his best known work.
Swami Ramdas was born as Vittal Rao in Hosdurg, Kerala, India on 10 April 1884 to Balakrishna Rao and Lalita Bai. Vittal was educated first at a local school in Hosdurg and was later sent to Mangalore to study at the Basel Evangelical Mission High School run by German missionaries. He was a voracious reader and was admired for his mastery of the English language; he was also interested in drawing, sculpture and theatre. His indifference to his school curriculum, however, did not allow him to pass high school despite attempting his exams twice. After a failed attempt to run away to Bombay to seek his fortune and a brief stint as the director of an amateur theatre society he founded in Hosdurg (they opened with scenes from Shakespeare's King John), Vittal joined a course in drawing and engraving at the School of Arts in Madras. Before completing the course, however, he won a scholarship to study textile engineering at the Victoria Jubilee Institute in Bombay. This time, he completed the degree, and found work as a spinning master in a cotton mill in Gulbarga.
Vittal Rao was now expected to marry, and within a few months of his finding a job, his parents had found a bride for him. He married Umabai (renamed 'Rukmabai' upon her marriage according to the custom of the Saraswats) in 1908. Within a couple of months of this event, however, Vittal Rao had lost his job at Gulbarga. He began to move from one job to another all over southern India, with spells of unemployment in between. A daughter, Ramabai, was born in 1913.
Vittal Rao's fortunes continued to decline, and in 1917, he returned to Mangalore to join his father-in-law's business. This arrangement did not last long; in 1919, he started his own business of dyeing and printing sarees. By 1920, both his professional and personal lives had deteriorated, and Vittal Rao became unhappy and frustrated. In his desperate state, he sought relief in the chanting of the syllable "Ram" considered sacred in India. Soon afterward, his father instructed him to repeat the longer Ram Mantra: "Sri Ram jai Ram jai jai Ram" and assured him that the chanting of this mantra would give him eternal happiness. Vittal Rao felt inspired to add "Om" to each repetition, and he began to chant the mantra "Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram" all through his waking hours. He was also influenced by the teachings of Sri Krishna.
Vittal Rao soon lost interest in the material world. He left home on the night of 27 December 1922 after writing a farewell letter to his wife. At Srirangam, on the banks of the river Kaveri, he adopted sanyas by giving himself the ochre robes of a renunciate. He changed his name to 'Ramdas' and made three vows: to dedicate his life to Sri Ram, to observe celibacy, and to live only upon food that was freely offered to him as alms. His practice was to view the world as forms of Ram – and thus to see everything that might befall him as the will of Ram. Ramdas was known for referring to himself in the third person, which is a common spiritual practice in Hinduism.
After visiting various centres of Hindu pilgrimage in Tamil Nadu including Rameswaram, Madurai and Chidambaram, Swami Ramdas arrived in Tiruvannamalai. Here he met and received the blessings of the young saint known as Sri Ramana Maharshi. As a result of this encounter, he went into his first retreat, living for 21 days in solitude in a cave in Arunachala. It was here that he had his first full experience of Ram, or God, as a presence that permeated everything. For him, from this point, "All was Ram, nothing but Ram."
Swami Ramdas spent the following months visiting centres of pilgrimage all over India, including Puri, Dakshineswar, Kashi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Mathura, and Brindavan; in all these places he was fed, clothed and guided by strangers. After paying his respects at the Muslim shrine of Ajmer Sharif, he moved southwards, visiting Dwaraka and Pandharpur. He then went further south to visit Sri Siddharudha Swami at Hubli. It was here, in 1923, that his family finally tracked him down. His wife and daughter arrived in Hubli and on Siddharudha Swami's advice, Swami Ramdas returned with Rukmabai and his daughter to Mangalore. But instead of going home with them, he went to the nearby Kadri Hills and started living in the Panch Pandav Cave, where he continued his spiritual practices. It was also in this cave that he wrote his first book, In Quest of God.