Swami Ramdas was an Indian spiritual leader, known for his philanthropic work, philosophy and pilgrimage. He left his family in his late thirties and became a wandering ascetic before establishing Anandashram in Kanhangad, Kerala. He wrote several books, including his renowned spiritual autobiography, In Quest of God (1925).
Swami Ramdas, originally named Vittal Rao, was born on April 10, 1884, in Hosdurg, Kerala, India, to Balakrishna Rao and Lalita Bai. He attended a local school in Hosdurg before being sent to Mangalore to study at a missionary high school. Despite his talent in English, drawing, sculpture, and theatre, he failed to pass high school twice. After a failed attempt to find work in Bombay and a short-lived directorship of an amateur theatre society in Hosdurg, Vittal joined a drawing and engraving course in Madras. He later won a scholarship to study textile engineering in Bombay, completing the degree, and worked as a spinning master in a cotton mill in Gulbarga. He married Umabai in 1908 and moved from job to job around Southern India, with periods of unemployment in between. They had a daughter named Ramabai in 1913. In 1917, he returned to Mangalore to work for his father-in-law's business, but it did not last long, and in 1919 he started his own dyeing and printing sarees business. By 1920, both his personal and professional lives had deteriorated, and he turned to chanting the "Ram" syllable for relief. His father instructed him to chant the longer Ram Mantra, "Sri Ram jai Ram jai jai Ram," which he modified to include "Om." He also found inspiration in the teachings of Sri Krishna, Jesus Christ, the Buddha, and Mahatma Gandhi and frequently turned to spiritual texts for guidance.
In 1922, Vittal Rao became disenchanted with the material world and decided to renounce his previous life. He left his home and family, leaving behind a farewell letter for his wife. He went to Srirangam where he became a sanyasi, a Hindu ascetic who has renounced worldly attachments. He changed his name to Ramdas and made three vows: to dedicate his life to Sri Ram (a Hindu deity), to observe strict celibacy, and to live only on food that was freely offered to him as alms. Ramdas started to see the world as forms of Ram and viewed everything that happened to him as the will of Ram. As a spiritual practice, he often referred to himself in the third person.
After spending two years in the Panch Pandav cave in a state of intense spiritual preparation, Swami Ramdas had a powerful experience that expanded his vision outward. He began to see Ram in everyone and everything and felt an overwhelming sense of love and light that encompassed the entire universe. This experience prompted him to embark on a pilgrimage all over India. During this time, he encountered many colorful characters, including a young man named Ramcharandas who joined him on his travels. Swami Ramdas displayed spiritual powers and attracted large crowds wherever he went. He visited the Vasishtashram in the Himalayas and had a vision of Christ. His travels and experiences during this period are chronicled in his book, In the Vision of God.
After years of wandering, Swami Ramdas settled in a small ashram in Kasargod built by his devotees in 1928. The ashram was a single room with an open veranda. It was here that Krishnabai, his most important disciple, met him. Krishnabai was a young widow who wanted to find a Guru who would give her spiritual liberation. She accepted the Ram mantra from Swami Ramdas and began her intense spiritual journey under his guidance. Krishnabai started calling Swami Ramdas 'Papa' after she found out that Swami Ramdas's daughter addressed him this way.
Within a year, Krishnabai left her two children and became a permanent resident of the ashram to complete her spiritual training. However, the presence of an attractive young woman in the ashram of a renunciate subjected both Swami Ramdas and Krishnabai to public criticism, and the ashram lost its initial popularity. Despite the criticism, Krishnabai persevered and quickly achieved the state of nirvikalpa samadhi.
Later on, strangers entered the ashram at night and attempted to assault her, which led Swami Ramdas to abandon the ashram that very night. Krishnabai would later recall this period with humor and say that when she came to the ashram, the devotees who were once devoted to Swami Ramdas gradually stayed away, and in a short time, there was no one there except Swami Ramdas, herself, and some crows.
In his book World Is God, Swami Ramdas vividly describes his experiences during a world tour he undertook in 1954. The tour took him to Europe, the United States, and East and South-East Asia. Swami Ramdas shares his spiritual insights and offers an account of his encounters with people from different cultures and backgrounds. This book is the third and final volume of his autobiography, which includes In Quest of God (1925) and In the Vision of God (1935). Throughout his life, Swami Ramdas continued to spread his message of universal love and service from his main abode, Anandashram in Kanhangad, where he spent the remainder of his life. His teachings have continued to inspire people around the world to this day.
According to those who knew him, Swami Ramdas' life had transcended time and space, and had achieved a state of oneness with Cosmic Reality. His existence was no longer limited by birth and death, but instead centered around eternal stillness and eternal movement. His life was a divine symphony of sublime serenity, calmness, and peace, embodying the spirit of universal love and service. Waves of bliss emanated from him, dancing on the bosom of Satchidanand and disappearing within himself. His creation was destruction, and his beginning was his own end. Ramdas was a resonant silence, resounding with the music of eternity.
After Swami Ramdas passed away in 1963, his teachings and spiritual legacy continued to inspire numerous disciples and seekers around the world. Some of his well-known disciples include Mataji Krishnabai, Swami Satchidananda, Swami Muktananda, and Yogi Ramsuratkumar. However, his influence extended beyond just his direct disciples and reached other spiritual seekers as well. Dilip Kumar Roy, a renowned musician and writer, was deeply influenced by Swami Ramdas's teachings, as was the American mystic Mildred Hamilton. Additionally, Maurice Frydman, also known as Swami Bharatananda, and Swami Chidananda Saraswati of the Divine Life Society were among the many others who were profoundly impacted by his teachings.