Yogi Ramsuratkumar Ashram — Attraction in Tiruvannamalai

Yogi Ramsuratkumar (1 December 1918 – 20 February 2001) was an Indian saint and mystic. He was also referred to as "Visiri samiyar" and spent most of his post-enlightenment period in Tiruvannamalai, a small town in Tamil Nadu which is famous for attracting spiritual seekers worldwide and has had a continuous lineage of enlightened souls. He acknowledges the contribution of three of the most well known saints of his time in his evolution to enlightenment. These individuals were Sri Aurobindo, the founder of Integral yoga, Ramana Maharshi, one of the "spiritual supermen" of his time, and Swami Ramdas, Yogi's eventual guru.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar Personal Born 1 December 1918 Nardara Ballia U.P. Died 20 February 2001 (aged 82) Religion Hinduism Religious career Website Yogi Ramsuratkumar Ashram - Official Website Pre-enlightenment life Edit Yogi Ramsuratkumar was born in a village Naradara, Lalganj, Ballia-277216 (U. P.) near Kashi on 1 December 1918. In his childhood, he loved very much to meet the yogis and monks. He was befriended by a number of holy men who built their huts on the Ganges shore or simply wandered nearby. During this time, he met Sri Sri 1008 Sri Khapadia Baba, a mystic monk, who advises him to go for South and be a seeker.

He grew up as a Grihasta (Gṛhastha: Gṛha- means home, family or house; -sth means devoted to, occupied with being in) but eventually, the tugs of spirituality in his heart took over. In search of his "guru", he visited and spent time in the ashrams of both Sri Aurobindo and Ramana Maharishi. He later moved to Kerala at the ashram of Swami Ramdas. In his own assessment, Sri Aurobindo gave him Jnana (Jñāna : knowledge), Sri Ramana Maharshi blessed him with tapas (spiritual meditations) and Swami Ramdas gave him the nectar of Bhakti (devotion). Swami Ramdas initiated him into the holy mantra (a powerful spiritual phrase ): " Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram ", by pronouncing it thrice in his ears. Yogi Ramsuratkumar often refers to this instance as his "death", since from this moment on, his ego no longer existed, and he had a profound spiritual experience.

Post-enlightenment life Edit Yogiji travelled across the country from 1952 to 1959. Not much is known about the exact whereabouts of the yogi in this period. He finally reached Tiruvannamalai in the Southern India in 1959. He was a "hidden" saint during this early period, with not too many individuals realizing that this "beggar" was someone who would bring riches to the lives of countless many. After his guru, Swami Ramdas initiated him with the holy mantra, he also asked him to live a beggar's life. Yogi Ramsuratkumar willingly accepted and from then on he called himself a "beggar". He was seen near the Temple chariot, at the corners of the Road, under the trees of the Temple. As more and more people started acknowledging the divine presence in him, Swamiji then began living in a small house in Sannadhi Street beneath the Temple. He continued to bless the devotees who thronged at thousands to his house at the Sannadhi Street. At a point, his devotees became too many to be handled in a small house and the devotees wished him to have an Ashram which he gently accepted after much persuasion for the sake of his devotees. The Yogi Ramsuratkumar Ashram is constructed at Agrahara collai with a total area of 3.5 Acres.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar's most prominent Western students were Lee Lozowick, who founded "Western Baul" communities in the United States and Europe,[1] and Krishna Carcelle (Gaurakrishna), who published the Vedantic monthly magazine 'Rama Nama' and created the website of 'Yogi Ramsuratkumar Bhavan' with the blessings of his Master, and publishes free ebooks on Yogi...

Yogi Ramsuratkumar's ashram is just about a kilometre from Sri Ramana's ashram. Definitely visit this place. Very divine. You can go around the temple and it is considered as a mini giri-valam. The meditation hall houses the great saint Yogi Ram Suratkumar. Pictures of enlightened masters such as Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanujar, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, Buddha, Mahavira, Gandhiji, Sri Aurobindo, Pondicherry Mother, Matha Amritanandamayi, Anandamayee Ma can be seen here. I was fortunate to get darshan of Ma Devaki who is a disciple of Yogi Ramsuratkumar and who is now running the ashram. Free lunch is served between 12:30 pm and 1:15 pm. After eating the lunch, remember to wash your plates and keep them where they belong. Do not waste food. There is a cow-shed (goshala) too. About 10 to 15 cars can be parked at any give time. Must visit.

Updated - Aug 14, 2022. We visited the ashram yet again. One likes to keep coming here again and again. We had lunch at the ashram and we are ever grateful for their kindness. We were served tasty pongal, sambar rice, curd rice and curry. You can have as many servings as you want, as long as you don't waste any food.

We got darshan of Ma Devaki in the evening at around 7:00 pm. She was singing bhajans and chanting prayers. She was kind enough to enquire us about where we were coming from, what we were doing. She is a great friend of Mooji and was delighted when we told her that we attend...

As spiritual seekers, hubby and I found this ashram an excellent environment. The whole atmosphere was calm, serene and inviting. The fact that it was away from mainstream roads kept curious tourists away - much less noisy for those into meditation sitting.

The main hall was a delight - tranquil. Was lovely to go round slowly and read the Master's quotes, story of His life journey and vieving the accompanying beautiful visuals. We also enjoyed sitting and devotedly observing the scheduled prayers in the main hall.

Most of my time during the few visits we made to this ashram during our stay (bulk of the time was spent at Sri Ramanasramam as Bhagavan's devotees) we would not miss to meditate in the Dyanam/Meditation hall. The oval dome and quietness therein provides great ambiance for meditation. Quietitude.

After meditation sitting, we partook the delicious lunch whenever we were there. It is heartwarming to see devotion in serving the food by the staff and devotees. It is not required but we made it a point to drop into the office and make a donation each day we had lunch - our way of supporting the feeding of those in need who come to have lunch there.

All in all, we are glad we did not miss spending some time at this ashram during our stay in...