On his first visit to New Zealand, Indian spiritual teacher and social reformer Sri M held a well-attended discourse at the High Commission of India premises in Wellington on March 25.
Sri M, who in 2020 was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Bhushan, opened by quoting from the ancient Hindu scripture of the Upanishads, which “by a conservative estimate are 2000 years old.”
He explained how he came to be called M. His birth name Mumtaz, along with Madhukar (the name given by his guru) and the Sanskrit word Manav (man) all merged into the single alphabet M, which became his name ever since.
“The Sri is not required,” he told the audience.
Sri M recalled his childhood memory of a stranger standing under a jackfruit tree in the backyard. “A tall man with matted hair put his hand on my head. From that time, I was no longer a normal child.”
At 19, Sri M left Trivandrum in the Indian state of Kerala, where his family had been settled for three generations, and headed to the Himalayas. There he met his guru, Maheshwarnath Babaji, and discovered his life’s quest. “I understood that the aim of life is to find the truth,” Sri M told the assembly. “This is what all the ancient teachings in India have said.”
But the idyllic life of the disciple amidst the snow-capped peaks abruptly ended when his guru sent him back to embrace the everyday life of ordinary people. “When I give you the green signal, you need to start teaching,” his guru said, adding: “Go back, get married, have kids. People will come to you tomorrow with their problems and you will not know how to answer them [unless] you live in this world as a family man. Then teach, when I tell you.”
Years later, Sri M got the green signal from his guru. “I started in a small way in the Theosophical Society in Bangalore, talking to a few people,” he recalled. His following gradually grew to what it is today.
He recounted an anecdote about Swami Vivekananda who once called himself a socialist. “Everybody was stunned. Swamiji a socialist?”
“Vivekananda realised that there is a divine spark in every human being. That means all are equal. Vivekananda called it Vedantic socialism.”
Sri M believes India should head the global movement towards Vedantic socialism, “understanding that every human being is essentially a spark of the divine, the Atman that has come from the Paramatman.”
He believes the Bhagavad Gita is the key to understanding Indian spirituality, which is universal in its message.
“What is noteworthy is that this teaching happens in the middle of a battlefield. It does not happen in an isolated cave in the forest,” he observed.
“Each of the 18 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita represents an approach to reach the Truth.”
The underlying message of the Lord’s Song is that the armour-plating of the intellect has to be broken down before gaining entry into the domain of the heart.
The Gita debates form and formlessness, with Lord Krishna setting out the attributes that mark a true yogi, such as control of the senses, tranquillity of mind and universal compassion. Forms of worship are not relevant to the true yogi. Infinity cannot be fathomed by the mind, which is finite.
At 74, Sri M leads a peripatetic life, spreading the ancient wisdom passed down by the “great rishis of India.”
Earlier, High Commissioner of India to New Zealand Neeta Bhushan received an autographed copy from Sri M of his book titled “A Himalayan Master.” She welcomed Sri M to the newly constructed chancery premises, saying: “Your life is an inspiration for all of us.” High Commissioner Bhushan added that the guru’s visit was especially important because “the world is beset with strife and war” and was in need of apostles of peace.
Satsang Foundation NZ vice president Ram Bharadwaj, who organised the event, welcomed the gathering with a brief introduction of Sri M, while foundation secretary Viru Aralikatti gave the vote of thanks.