Walking the talk

Walking the talk

January 2015

By Punya Srivatsava

Punya Srivastava interviews Sri M, a renowned spiritual teacher whose marathon Walk of Hope across the length and breadth of India is scheduled to begin on January 12th from Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu A small boy of nine meets a man at his doorstep for a few moments who announces himself as his guru and vanishes. At 19, that boy runs away from his home in Thiruvananthapuram, travels the length of the country, reaches Badrinath and accidentally comes across the same man in a cave. His aimless wandering comes to an end. He had been guided towards his master. This is the story of Mumtaz Ali Khan’s transformation into M or Sri M, as he is widely known. He had always been an unusual child, and an even more restless teenager. Running away from home and wandering in Himalayan towns were destined for him before getting enlightened. After spending three and a half years with his master, Maheshwarnath Babaji, the young lad was sent back to the plains, and asked to prepare for his life mission. He was asked to travel the length and breadth of the country and familiarise himself with diverse spiritual and religious traditions. He consequently met masters such as Neem Karoli Baba and learnt from Laxman Joo and J. Krishnamurti.

Sri M believes that spiritual exploration and evolution is not a mass phenomenon; it is a very individualistic practice that does not need advertising or marketing. He started teaching to the public in 1998, within a few years of Babaji’s passing away, following his master’s command. He then founded the Satsang Foundation to take his teachings further to the masses. Sri M is based in Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh where he, along with his wife, runs a school for the underprivileged children. Sri M leads his life as per Babaji’s instructions. He got married at 35, to a Hindu Brahmin girl, as his master predicted. He also has a son and a daughter. Sri M has written two books, Jewel in the Lotus and Wisdom of the Rishis, and is planning to come out with a third one. His autobiography, Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master – A Yogi’s Autobiography, came out two years back and is a blistering best-seller, having been translated into quite a few regional languages as well.

I caught up with Sri M in the Active Peace Conclave held in the Palpung Sherabling Monastery where he was one of the panellists. At 66, dressed in a saffron kurta, white pyjama and brown Nehru jacket, Sri M exuded calm and serenity. The setting was perfect. He sat against the backdrop of the majestic green-brown mountains outside his room window, with the golden yellow sunlight filtering in through the light orange curtains, creating an illuminated halo behind the master. We talked about spirituality and how it can help the new generation. Excerpts from the interview. What is spirituality? Spirituality is becoming aware of the all-pervading reality which itself by nature is quite blissful. When a human being finds out that he is not completely satisfied with what he is seeing in this world, when his mind begins to wander seeking that which is beyond what meets the eye, when he begins to wonder about the purpose of life; that is when he embarks upon a spiritual journey. Which means that any person irrespective of age can… Spirituality is not the practice of a few people. Moreover, in this New Age more people are equipped to go within and lead a spiritual life – married, unmarried, robed, unrobed… that doesn’t matter. Everyone is entitled to understand that there is something more to this world than what he or she has experienced yet. What do you mean by ‘being equipped to lead a spiritual life’? Look, our civilization till now has been a frontal-brain-based (FBB) civilization, i.e. the whole civilization is the result of the development and evolution of the frontal lobes of the brain. This is a fact. But now we have reached the saturation point with regards to our FBB culture. Now there is no way we can evolve anymore in this direction. We need to recognise that there are other parts of the brain that need to be developed and evolved – the intuitive part. This is the future of evolution and every human being has this intuitive part inbuilt in his brain. I believe that today, most normally intelligent human beings potentially possess the capacity to explore this part of the brain. How do you explain this potential? There are some people who are under investigation by a very well-known psychiatrist named Daffold A Treffert. These people, due to some accident, have awakened certain faculties. For instance, a 40-year-old man named Derek Amato who was a corporate trainer in Colorado, had no special interest or skill in music. In 2006, he sustained a severe concussion and loss of hearing in one ear following an accident. After he got discharged from the hospital, he got inexplicably drawn to the piano which he had never touched before. He used to see black and white spots that he was able to transpose into notes of the piano. He now makes his living composing, performing and recording, and is considered one of the top performers in his country. This is what I am talking about. The intuitive brain helps us awaken these hidden potentials. But generally speaking, most youngsters are not too inclined towards spirituality… See, today, there are so many young people who have everything at their disposal. They do not need to do anything to eke out a living. When such people look at their lives, they find that there is nothing more that could be achieved materially. Also, more and more people these days, having seen the shortfalls of the prevalent materialistic culture, are getting disenchanted with the present system. This limited brain with its frontal lobe civilisation cannot offer them that which is beyond. This is why young people try to shut their brains and expand through drugs and alcohol, which is dangerous. But the desire to expand is there. This is a good sign as well as a bad sign. We just need to turn their outward journey inward. How do you turn them inward? By making them aware that there are ways to tap centres in your psyche which have all that you cannot see. The human brain is already wired for spiritual experiences. Whether one has these experiences or not, depends upon the circumstances but the equipment is in place. Moreover, we have so many methods and techniques of sadhanas left to us by ancient sages. These methods prepare you to receive the knowledge. Then, when you are ready to receive, you come across a person who has experienced that knowledge. You are like an iron piece whose rust has been scrubbed off. When you come in contact with your guru or master, you acquire that knowledge but only for some time. You become a temporary magnet. For you to become a permanent one, you would need to be in constant sadhana. Grace is needed, of course, but without efforts grace alone cannot help you. There are instances of people receiving shaktipat but then that is just a flash of enlightenment; not enlightenment in capital letters. Which means that evolution helps you reach enlightenment… Yes. Shaktipat is the sowing of a seed. Swami Vivekananda was given shaktipat by Ramakrishna Paramhansa; still he had to undergo a lot of sadhana for many years. Depending upon where you have evolved in your past, the effect would not be immediate. Otherwise, it is also quite unfair to people who have been putting years of sincere efforts in this direction. Is pain a requisite for one to set foot on the path of spirituality? Look, there are two things. First of all, there is no person on this earth who has had a pain-free life. If not physical, many people undergo a lot of ego pain. When the pain of any kind becomes acute, people start looking for healing. Pain, thus, becomes a teaching experience. A person on the spiritual path seeks a permanent solution to his pain. Secondly, it is not true that only people with pain seek spiritual exploration. There are people who learn from other people’s misery, and intelligently surmise that this could be their state too, and thus start looking for solutions. How does one stay on the path? There are two approaches. One is to look at everything in the outside world as the manifestation of Divine so that you don’t have to go in and out. The other is when you sit down to meditate; you see that divinity which you are seeing outside – the nature – a spark of that is also inside of us. Also, if you are very serious about reaching that centre of consciousness, nothing could distract you. For instance, nothing can distract a man hungry since four days from searching for food. The spiritual exploration becomes a way of life. And you don’t need to wear a robe to lead your life this way. Be who you are but with compassion in your heart. How can a person with a family tread on the spiritual path? You have a family. How does having a family affect your progression? I did not have a family when I got initiated. Ancient people divided life into four phases with a purpose. When you are in the brahmacharya ashram, you prepare yourself completely for the next phase. It is not confined to celibacy. Brahmachari means a student who is doing everything needed to reach the Brahman stage. Thus, when you reach the grihastha ashram, you are prepared to take care of all of your relationships. Consequently, you move on to vanaprastha ashram and retire from active life. Ultimately, you move into the sanyas ashram and focus single-mindedly on God. But today, people don’t get completely equipped in their brahmacharya stage, and that creates a problem. Also, when people directly jump from brahmacharya to sanyas, mostly they are raw, and that causes a lot of pain to them. I have followed the ancient way. I have taken care of my familial duties along wi