Stories of a Yogi – Shri Malladahali Swami

From time to time, many Yogis and great souls have incarnated in India who led an exemplary life and who are source of inspiration for million of seekers around the world. One such great soul was Sri Raghavendra Swamiji ofMalladihalli popularly known as “Malladihalli Swamiji”. During his lifetime, he taught Yoga to more than 4.5 million people all over the world. He recently passed away in the year 1996. He used to call himself “Thiruka” (a beggar) and urged the people to donate freely to his projects to help the poor, downtrodden and orphans. Here are a few inspiring glimpse from his extra ordinary life.

Early life

Right from his infancy, he had been a chronic asthmatic. He was just wheezing day and night. His parents tried a lot of medicines and did whatever they could, but the boy was just wasting away. When he was about 11 or 12 years of age, a Yogi came by and the parents asked him to heal the boy. The Yogi said, “Anyway this boy is not going to be of any use to you. If you keep him with you, he will die. Give him to me; I will take him with me.” This yogi was Palani Swamy. He usually used to walk alone and generally didn’t recruit any disciple. But he took compassion upon this boy, took him along and trained him in the ways of Yoga. The boy not only grew out of his ailment, he grew into a physically strong wrestler who lived a happy life till the age of 106.

Rise above the ego and the attachments

In a green forest deep in the Himalayan valley, where the soft breeze sweeps across the green trees with a message of joy, there lived a mighty bull. During the morning hours, as he diverted himself among the green grass, he discovered an amiable friend in a cat. The cat amused him with his playful hide and seek; he told him stories of the jungle – the terror of the lions, the gossiping of foxes, the deceitful demeanor of the wolves and the jovial dances of rats.

During the siesta hours of the afternoon, as the bull rested serenely in the mountain cave, he discovered a tiny little rat playing in the vicinity. Slowly, he persuaded the rat to shun off all the fears of him and continue with his frolics and dances. The Bull was sensitive to life and an aspirant of universal love. Slowly the rat became friendly and brought even his tiny rattish children to amuse the grand personality of the Bull.

Does our Karma decide our Destiny?

This is an age old topic of discussion among the wise ones: Does our destiny decide our Karma or our Karma makes our destiny? Recently I came across a beautiful story from the Puranas about this topic that I would like to share.

In Sata-Yuga, it was a tradition to have Gyan Yoga discussion during festivals and all the auspicious occasions like marriages. When all the Deities assembled to participate in the marriage ceremony of Sri Ganesha, one of the Deities remarked, “it is the result of our past pious Karmas that we got an opportunity to participate in Sri Ganesha’s marriage ceremony. Then Prajapatiji said, “It might be that we were destined to perform those pious Karma as a result of which we are here today. It might be the result of our destiny.”

Hearing this Sri Ganesha said, “We got the topic of discussion for our spiritual discussion on the auspicious occasion of this marriage and it is: Does our destiny decide our Karma or our Karma makes our destiny? When we look at our past, this question arises in our mind- what is the root cause of the situations that we are in today? Is it our destiny or is it our past Karmas?”

What if a modern religion is made today?

If a modern religion is to evolve today, how would it be? In my opinion, if a modern religion is to evolve today, it would be treated like modern Science, with universality in nature. It would apply to all, irrespective of your culture, beliefs, creed, geographical location or limited set of holy scriptures. It would be one for all. Such a religion would be based on logic, practicality in life and experimentation – not just on beliefs and faith. Such a religion would be more of a way of life that could enhance peace, harmony and happiness in the society rather than creating friction.  

Such a religion would encourage openness and would try to embrace all the philosophies and dogmas related to the spiritual Truth about the Self and the God. Such a religion would allow free flow of thoughts without the boundaries of beliefs and faith.  Such a religion would encourage evolution of new philosophies. Such a religion would encourage discussion and questioning as opposed to just believing. Such a religion would encourage and respect living Saints or the Scientists of inner world who attempt to explore the inner world in search of supreme peace and inner happiness.

Complex knot of conscious and unconscious substance

The Sages of India, thousands of years ago, beautifully described human consciousness as a complex knot (or combination) of conscious (Chetan) and unconscious (jad) substance – Chit-Jad-Granthi. We are all spiritual and conscious beings having worldly human experiences. On the same thought, there is a famous quote by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin – “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."

The conscious component of our Being pulls us towards the Divine and inspires us to engage ourselves in helping others, paying reverence to Saints, listening to Self-realized ones, read holy scriptures, remember God, be peaceful and blissful while conducting in the worldly affairs. Whereas the unconscious, earthy component of our psyche drag us towards enjoying worldly momentary sensual pleasures, being selfish, over sleeping, over eating, being restless, being angry, hurting others and all other sorts of negative emotions.

Divine laws of inner happiness

In order to lead a serene, healthy and happy life it is important that we are aware of the laws that we are all governed by at different planes of existence. Ignorance of laws is no excuse. If we break a law, we have to bear the consequences. At social level, we are all bounded by the laws of the society, state or nation. At the broader level, our body being part of nature, we are also bounded by the laws of nature. And at even broader and subtler level, we are all bounded by the divine spiritual laws of existence, because after all, we are all spiritual beings.

In order to lead a serene life in the society, we should be aware of the social laws of the society in which we live. For example, if we are travelling, we should be aware of the traffic laws of the country that we are visiting or else, we will be in trouble.

Why does meditation seems so difficult?

Holy Master was glorifying meditation to a small group of disciples. While telling about the importance of meditation he said, “When during the night time you go to sleep, you take rest in the Antaryami Parmatma (Supreme God dwelling in your heart), your physical energy gets revived and you feel fresh in the morning. This is everyone’s experience. Then you should also believe me when I tell you that if you learn to take rest in the same Antaryami Parmatma (Supreme God dwelling in your heart) while you are awake, by means of meditation, not only your physical energy will be rejuvenated, but also your mental and spiritual energies gets rejuvenated. With such revived inner consciousness you will find inner peace and wholesome blissfulness within.”

One of the disciples asked candidly, “Dear Sir, it is not that we don’t believe you. We try to learn and do mediation. But, it seems very difficult for us to sit and do meditation. Why is it so?”

Time to begin our own journey to inner Truth

Gautam, the Buddha once visited a small village on the outskirts of river Ganges. A lot of people from all around gathered to have a glimpse of the Self realized one and listen to his talks. Just being around the completely peaceful one and listening to his talks gave glimpse of inner peace and inner happiness to the people. Soon his fame spread all over and a lot of people started to gather for listening to Buddha’s discourses.

Whenever anyone used to ask Buddha about the existence of God, he used to enter into a long silence without saying much. His disciples were all confused about the existence of God as most of the Buddha’s talks were around explicating the Dharmas constituting reality.  During his discourses, Buddha hardly spoke anything on the subjects of metaphysics, reincarnation, life after death and God.  

Two wise aspects of looking at this world

“Dear Master, we have heard during your discourses that the true goal of spiritual practices is to realize the true Self and the God. However, we live in this world wherein we have to conduct from the time we wake up from bed in the morning till the time we go to the bed at night. How should we view and conduct in this external world?”

The master appreciated the sincere depth of the question silently and then said with a voice filled with compassion, “Son, you have asked a very relevant question. One good question benefits a lot of seekers. That is the reason most of our Upnishads are in the form of question answer session between a Self-realized Saint and a true seeker.”

After a brief silence, the master continued, “Yogis and Self-realized Saints look at this world in two manners based on the stage of their progress in their spiritual pursuit– “This apparent world is not real; it is made up of the same stuff as a dream; it is only an illusion.” Or  “This world is all divine; There is presence of God in every atom of this world; Every emotion, every thought, every moment is divine.”

Is Hinduism polytheist or monotheist?

People often ask- there are so many Gods in Hinduism (360 million as per scriptures), then how do Hindus say that they believe in One God. The answer to this question depends on how you define God.

The truth of the matter is the moment you try to define God, it becomes something limited. Even though one should not try to limit God with one definition or one name, but one can always try to describe God with its attributes. Self-realized Saints, Rishis, Munis and sages of India have tried to ascribe many different attributes of God like omnipresence (present everywhere), eternal (never born and never dies), omniscience (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), Supreme Consciousness, complete and blissful.

Poetry: I am conscious and blissful, the auspicious one.

The sublime message of inner world that cannot be communicated with the help of pros, can beautifully be presented in the form on poetry. In one of such a glorious verse in Sanskrit, the proponent of Advaita Philosophy, Adi Shankara recited about his authentic and blissful nature. In these wonderful verses, the 8th century Saint attempted to negate his false Self and point at his own eternal conscious blissful Self. The mystics tell us that whatever you can see or witness with the help of your senses, cannot be you or your authentic Self. For example, you see your ears, your nose, your body, so you are not this body. In this manner, the Saint depicted the glory of the eternal conscious blissful Self.

[Mano budhyahankara chithaa ninaham, Na cha vyoma bhoomir na thejo na vayu,
Chidananada Roopa Shivoham, Shivoham.]

If there is one God, then why are there so many religions?

The younger generation, who thinks by logic, often ask a question that if there is one God, then why are there so many religions? This question often comes with a valid supporting argument that Science is universal, scientific facts are universal – for example, gravity acts in same way on everything, properties of matter are universal, then why can’t the religions agree on one universal God ?

Let me begin by telling a parable.  Six blind men were asked to determine what an elephant looked like by feeling different parts of the elephant's body. The blind man who felt a leg said the elephant is like a pillar; the one who felt the tail said the elephant is like a rope; the one who felt the trunk said the elephant is like a tree branch; the one who felt the ear said the elephant is like a hand fan; the one who felt the belly said the elephant is like a wall; and the one who felt the tusk said the elephant is like a solid pipe.  There was a conflict among them. But finally a wise man resolved the conflict by telling them, “All of you are right. The reason every one of you is telling it differently is because each one of you touched the different part of the elephant. So, actually the elephant has all the features you mentioned.”

Spirituality in daily life

Contemporary man only relies on the outer eyes – believes whatever eyes can see or other senses can perceive. While leading the mundane life, modern man forgets the art of wondering, the art of appreciating the beauty of nature or being thankful for all the blessings in our lives. It is because of the habit of relying on all the scientific gadgets (TVs, iphones and what not) that modern man has lost its ability to wonder, to awe or to admire in daily life. In fact, Science itself has that limitation- Science can only analyze the facts that can be perceived by five senses. Science cannot measure the beauty of a flower, the purity in the eyes of a child, the love in the heart or the happiness in the mind.

Science can analyze a drop of water and can tell you that it constitutes of hydrogen and oxygen. However, it cannot tell that how much nectar is hiding in that drop of water. How much satisfaction a drop of water can give to a thirsty mouth. Scientific gadgets can provide you with bodily comforts, but the peace, the satisfaction and happiness of mind can only be achieved when you begin to realize the importance of spirituality in life.

The wholesome approach for God realization

A disciple asked the master, “Dear Sir, in the past, I have heard from many Saints that praying to God, singing the songs of his glory and Naam japa (Bhakti Marg) is the  superior most path of realizing the God. But, you always stress upon the wisdom of the Self (Gyan Marg) in your discourses. I am a little confused – Can God be realized just with the help of sharp intellect?”

The master started laughing and said, “Son, if God realization could be achieved with the help of sharp intellect, then Attorneys and Professors would be carrying the secret in their pockets. The Self realized Saints of Sanatan Dharma praises all the paths that lead to inner peace and to God – be it Gyan Yoga (path of knowledge), Karma Yoga(Path of selfless service), Dhyan Yoga (Path of Meditation) or Bhakti Yoga(Path of Devotional love). However, the spiritual wisdom has it’s own importance in all the paths. Even in daily worldly life, there is an importance of wisdom. Come with me and let me show you, how.”

Nature of a true seeker

Kabirji, , highly revered mystic of India who lived in 15^th century, to me represents the epitome of spiritual wisdom, devotion and the wisdom of life. The longer the Saint lives, the more benefit humankind can gain. Saint Kabirji lived for about 120 years and hence the fragrance of his wisdom in the form of his deeply meaningful poetic versus is alive even today and will remain alive for a long time. He is probably the most quoted poet in India. 

Once Kabirji was giving discourse to a usual gathering of seekers about the nature of a true seeker – how the seeker should be? It is very interesting to see how beautifully he recited these lines full of mysticism. He started with comparing the ego-less nature of a seeker to a pebble, then compared him to soil on earth, water and then finally he said the nature of a true seeker should be same as the nature of the one  that he is seeking - the omnipresent God.   

True meaning of success in human life

It is unfortunate that modern day society measure success of human life only in terms of money and wealth. It is ironical that even though we see all around us and experience that ample wealth doesn't bring forth inner peace and long lasting happiness, still we continue our never ending pursuit for more and more material gain.

Just like children give importance to toys and goodies, and are always hungry for more toys and chocolates. Similarly some people never grow up beyond the want and hunger for more wealth.  Only a few grow up to realize that once you have certain amount of stability and financial comfort in your life, wealth doesn’t matter any more. After certain point in life, what matters is the amount of your inner silence, love, wisdom, equanimity, satisfaction, inner peace and inner happiness.  

What is the root cause of sorrow?

A young man says that life is full of happiness, but a wise man, who is aware of the reality of life, says that life is full of sorrow. Where does this sorrow results from? Various philosophies around the world preach about “sins of the past” as the root cause of all the sorrow and hardships of life. Most of these philosophies become quiet when you ask about the root cause of sins? How to get out of the vicious cycle of experiencing the result of sins of the past and the occurrence of more sins in present? How to free ourselves of all the past Karma and establish ourselves in eternal peace and blissfulness?

The Saints of Sanatan Dharma have very logical answers. These Self realized ones advocate ignorance being the root cause of all the sorrows, of all the sins and of all the vicious cycle of Karma. Ignorance, meaning ignorance of our own true Self, ignorance of the right path as per Dharma and ignorance of the Truth. Even in our day to day life, while conducting in the outer world, ignorance causes all the hardships of life. A child attempts to touch the fire because of ignorance. Similarly, because of the spiritual ignorance of life, one goes on performing the sins under the influence of enjoyment-seeking mind.

Benefit of others is the foremost Dharma

An ascetic (Sadhu) was performing maun sadhana (silent penance) and while adhering to his vow, he didn’t speak for months. He used to live in a secluded hut just outside the village while remaining busy in the seeking of higher goal. He was highly admired by everyone in the adjacent villages. 

One day, a cow managed to escape the butcher and started running towards the outskirts of the village. The same ascetic was sitting under the tree outside his hut. The cow rushed across him towards the forest. After a while the butcher landed there and asked, “Dear Sir, I know you always tell the truth. Can you please tell me in which direction the cow went?”

In a very confused state of mind, the ascetic pointed in the right direction. But, he was filled with feelings of remorse from within as soon as he realized that the butcher is going to find the cow and kill her. He heard the inner voice saying, “You have committed a sin by telling the truth in this case. If a minor lie could have saved the life of the holy cow, then that course of action would have been righteous action as per the Dharma.