My encounter with Sri M

 

The Himalayas always attract us. I too have an attraction for it. Whenever I know of a book that describes the saints of the Himalayas I go for it. There are memorable books like the one by Swami Rama. Prior to it I have read a number of books on the subject in English and Bengali.

Then I came to know that one Sri M has written a book. I thought why not give it a try? I got it and finished it quite fast. Then I got the second part and finished it too. These books are mind blowing.

He has narrated some supernatural things. Earlier I would have been sceptical but my encounter with Chakradhar made me know everything is possible. The events of the world are not set in stone.

I do not let go any opportunity to meet a saint. I have met some very great personalities. From my childhood I had a feeling that I had to meet someone. So that made me search a lot.

There was a prediction that I would meet Lord Shiva himself. In my childhood my relatives used to tell me that I was a devotee of Lord Shiva. I did not pay much heed as it seemed outlandish. My suffering also had made me agnostic and I was bitter though within I knew a lot of things.

But then events led me to Chakradhar and I had absolutely no doubt who he was when I ultimately reached him. In fact in my very first meeting I told him who exactly he was (he has an identity besides Shiva) and he was really taken aback. He stared at me startled. He was an adept in hiding himself. Magically the intense desire to meet somebody that always troubled me vanished the moment I set my eyes on him.

But the habit of meeting good souls has remained. After reading the books of Sri M I realized that he was not an ordinary soul. He has all the classic symptoms of a sage. It is as if somebody has emerged from India's hoary past.

But he lives in Andhra Pradesh and he travels to places that are far away. My health does not tolerate travel. How was I to meet him?

Then suddenly out of the blue I got the intimation that he was due to visit Bhubaneswar. I was the first to register. I was very happy that ultimately I would meet him.

He turned out to be a very simple soul. No airs of superiority. An intensely practical person who cares for all. He has aged; he is 75 now. He talks of the spiritual heritage of India that all should take care to preserve. He says he is happy that the young generation are getting attracted to spirituality. There were many youth who attended the program.

The youth responded well to him and wanted to aid his work. He advised them not to preach from the pulpit but go and mix with the public to know what ails them. Selfless action is at the core of vedanta. It is enough if a person works tirelessly for the masses. He does not need any meditation or spiritual practices. Selfless work is enough to purify the mind. But it is also good to focus on the goal.

He said life passes too fast. One should do ones best to know the purpose of life and achieve it. He stressed a lot on this. He said whatever you can do to progress can only be done till you are in the body. After the last breath the opportunity ceases. Repentance at the point of death which can come at any moment is a very heavy burden to carry.

He did not oppose idolatry though he was talking on vedanta. He said the idols were based on images seen by the Sages. Chakradhar too said that the Gods are the pillars that prop the world. The spiritual world is just as described, he said.

Sri M oozes the air of familiarity. You feel you have always known him. He does not like adulation and treats all as his own. These are all the signs of a gyani. All souls are divine, was the message he conveyed. He said therefore the realized souls treat all with respect. When asked he said he had tested Samadhi but was asked by his Guru to be in the world and help others.

He had joined the Ramakrishna Mission for some time and was guided by Srimat Swami Ranganathanandaji Maharaj. His love for Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda was evident in his speech.

His knowledge is vast. He has never attended formal classes. He learnt during his sojourn in the Himalayas with his Guru. Rather than use the word learnt, he obviously recalled his earlier knowledge.

He first met his Guru when he was 9 years old. First he had a dream vision and then he appeared in person. His Guru left saying they would meet again. In his teens Sri M set forth in the search of his Guru. He ultimately found him waiting in a deep cave in the heights of the Himalayas.

Sri M is from the Kriya Yoga tradition started by Sri Krishna. He has recalled his last life. He was a disciple of Mahavatar Babaji. He was very learned and accomplished. But he treated a person very shabbily unable to restrict his ego. That made him come again in this life. During his lecture he stated that the ego should be kept locked up in a box. A very potent advice for those on the spiritual path. The ego is the greatest stumbling block.

During the question answer session he said that reincarnation is a fact. Because people do not remember, which is for a good reason, they do not tend to believe. If people remembered their past lives they would go insane, is his view that I came through in one of his YouTube lectures.

I too am very amenable to the other side as I have been through the death process. I have met Chakradhar who remembers all his previous lives. Sri M said in his talk that Avatars are not human though they come in a human body. They have capabilities we cannot dream of. The most accomplished person will not be able to bear the load.

Meeting him was very satisfying. I told him that I waited for 3 years for this day and he smiled. I asked him to bless all of us. He readily did but said we should not worry as Lord Jagannath was looking after us.

The devotees of Kali Yuga are troubled because divinity is not the desired objective in this age. Meeting Sages like Sri M, who is like a character straight out of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, is very assuring that below all the unfortunate events and trends, the flow of Dharma continues unabated.