There is always an inquisitiveness to know about the lives of persons who have made a mark in their specific fields of action and endeavor. It not only satisfies our curiosity but offers clues and guidelines towards the resolution of the problems of life. Be that as it may, biographical narrations are always entertaining, engaging, and valuable in imparting insights and inspirations. Friends have often been making queries about my life but I have generally put off answering such queries because outwardly visible events of my life are there for all to see as an open book. People have a propensity for magic and miracles. Numerous persons who have come in close contact with me as serious spiritual aspirants have been benefited by the divine grace working through me and they consider me a siddha purusa (an enlightened soul). They are keen to know all about those secrets which have made my life a benediction and a blessing. In fact, the secrets will remain a secret during my lifetime as I have imposed a ban on their disclosure. If anybody wants to really know about my life story he should, at first, understand its underlying philosophy. Those searching for something truly mystical and out of the ordinary will probably get a new direction from my way of life.
Although, there has been nothing ostensibly magical in this life, there is much that is substantial, which can help in understanding the real nature of spirituality (Science of the Spirit) and its definitively positive results. Being ignorant of its real nature, people are misled, they get disappointed, lose faith, and regard spirituality as mere pretension or sham. The majority of the people these days, consist of those covert atheists who at one time had turned to formalistic religion enthusiastically but did nothing beyond following some mechanical rituals. Later, joy and zeal disappeared from these lifeless routines. How could faith be retained when whatever was held forth as the culmination of these religious pursuits did not ever materialize?
My life story can act as a lighthouse for genuine seekers of Truth. It is a way of life adopted by a rational and realistic person and there is nothing obscurantic and pretentious in it. The stigma of failure cannot also be attributed to it. Persons who seriously try to understand that there could be a true path to attain the goal of soul-awakening, who do not fall into the trap of illusion of short¬ cuts, would not meet with disappointment and disillusionment. Had such persons read my story, understood the spiritual philosophy underlying it and followed the process of self-growth prescribed therein, it is certain that the number of such misled and confused persons would have been far less than what it is today.
There is another category of persons who are realistic and at the same time are endowed with insight. They wholeheartedly believe in Risi traditions. They concede the supremacy of spirituality (Science of Spirit) over the physical sciences which deal with working of the apparent phenomena and are inquisitive about its real nature. Every fruit vendor says that her plums are sweet but the truth or otherwise of the claim is determined after actual testing of the fruit. When righteous people act together towards righteous ends, the result is bound to be good. Thus those who want to understand the nature of spirituality of the Risi traditions will greatly benefit by the in-depth study of my way of life. The whole of my life of the past sixty-three years has been spent for this very purpose. The results are there for everyone to read like an open book and to be convinced that the right path must have been pursued to get these astoundingly sublime results. Such a sunlit path can be profitably followed by others. It is hoped that those who are drawn towards Self-knowledge and the life-transforming power of spirituality, who want to see its re-effulgence, who want to test theories on the touchstone of the actual proof would find the perusal of these pages {truthfully narrating the process of my own self-growth) rewarding.
There is nothing peculiar or fascinating in my outer life apart from certain turning points which are being published here. There is no scope in it for magic or miracles or for hopping and jumping about by way of fun and frolic. I have been spending my time single-pointedly in a well organised and well planned manner. Therefore, those looking for a march of glittering pageant of stimulating events will be disappointed. However, those interested in the verities and mysteries working beneath the foam and froth of the surface events will get a glimpse of the perennial unbroken tradition of the flow of spirituality and they would be able to understand the underlying causes of success and failure in life. The only reason which causes disappointment in the field of religious worship, which has defamed spirituality and made it ridiculous, is to consider formal rituals as everything and to pay no attention to the inner cleansing and refinement. My outward actions and activities are like those of an ordinary person but they directly originate from the bedrock of Spirit and release the spiritual splendour and energy ( brahmatejas ) which bestows the capacity to accomplish something worthwhile and of decisive importance for the good of all.
There was no purpose in describing in detail the various events of life, except to satisfy some curiosity. What really mattered was
the inner vision and steadfastness of faith which acted as manure and water for nurturing the tiny seed to grow into a mighty tree. In fact, it is the radiant personality of the devotee ( sadhak) that infuses life in sadhana and the mere performance of rituals is nothing but a pastime. Ram of Tulsi, Hare Krishna of Soor, collective singing of devotional songs by Chaitanya, songs of Meera, Ramakrishna’s worship of Mother Kali, did not become radiantly alive for these devotees merely by their ritualistic worship. Innumerable persons act in an absurd and mechanical manner; what they get is nothing but ridicule. When Valmiki changed the pattern of his life, he became illumined even by doing jap in an incorrect, reverse manner. Ajamil, Angulimal, Ganika, and Amrapali were hardly literate but they had molded their inner lives in conformity with spiritual ideals. It is rather a sad irony that people these days mistakenly assume that they have embarked on the path of self-realization merely by uttering some words, performing certain rituals or making certain offerings to the Deity. They never try to transform their thoughts, character and attitudes in the light of the Indwelling Spirit which is a must for spiritual progress. I have always been cautious not to allow this falsity to enter into my way of sadhana. This path is realistic, practical, and easy to be followed by and beneficial to the common mass of humanity. My way of life should be studied keeping this in view. I have read volumes of treatises on detachment and Self- knowledge and Self-realisation. Have listened to many discourses about the illusive and evanescent nature of the visible phenomena, about the selfishness inherent in all relationships. I have even myself spoken in the same vein. However, I must confess that, in my own inmost being, I have neither experienced the world as a mere illusion nor have I felt anyone or anything separate from my own Real Self. I see the reflection of the same One Self in all.
There is no question of turning away from anyone or forgetting anyone. How can I forget those parijans who can never forget me or break away from those who are linked to me through the unbreakable bonds of love? All my studies of and reflections on Self-knowledge are of no avail, when sometimes I wake up at the dead of night and visualize a long stretching line of laughing, talking, toiling parijans full of deep affection for me. It has been a celestial joy to live and work in their midst. My soul is gripped with great anguish when I think of separation from them all.
Source: My Life Its legacy and message
Chapter 1