Yogi Ramsuratkumar 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.
Pre Enlightenment History
Yogi Ramsuratkumar was born in a village Naradara, Lalganj, Ballia-277216 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. He grew up as a Grihasta 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, Sri Ramana Maharshi blessed him with tapas and Swami Ramdas gave him the nectar of Bhakti. Swami Ramdas initiated him into the holy mantra : " 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 History
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. 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, and Krishna Carcelle, 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 Ramsuratkumar.
