Devraj is
no more. In his physical body. Rather, I would confidently proclaim, he attained
his samadhi in Thiruvannamalai.
Thiruvannamalai…
That place where words are never enough. They make no sense in front of the
silent sage’s ashram; they’re not needed in front of the majestic mountain.
Ever since
I stepped on this sacred soil way back in 2005, I have had the privilege to meet
with few souls, who’re truly blessed.
Prasadji, Devraj,
and Swamiji are three interesting characters, quirky and enlightened in their
own ways, I guess. While Swamiji appeals to your seeking intellect and Prasadji
appeals to your whimsical, musical, loving heart, it was Devraj, who touched your soul directly with his measured words, with his loud silences.
A
nondescript man always shabbily dressed in a four-pocket shirt and dirty ochre-colored
mundu with a jhola slung over his shoulder, he was the seeker I thought I’ll
become. I may someday, if I am also as blessed as him.
Here was a taxi
driver from Toronto who spent six months in Toronto and six months in
Thiruvannamalai ever since he stood astounded at Ramana Ashram in 1974.
“I had a
lot of questions when I came here first. Then, one by one, each question melted
away… You have made plans? Well, let’s see you know! For you have your plans and then
there is always a master plan…”
His words
will echo throughout my path of seeking.
Devraj was
the first person Prasadji introduced me to in Thiruvannamalai way back in 2009 when
I met the former at the Ashram bookstore. Devraj was instrumental in
reintroducing Prasadji’s son to him after they had lost touch with each other for a long time.
Theirs was
a friendship to treasure… Devraj will always get a packet of milk and tell Prasadji
to make tea. They’ll rant about each other but equally care for the other a lot.
Devraj was
an ideal sadhak. During the earlier
years of knowing him, he would easily circumambulate the hill twice on the same
day! That’s a 28 km tiring walk for a diabetic with overgrown toenails! During
the later years, he switched to a simple moped as his legs started giving up on
him. But, till the last day he lived, he would’ve fed all the stray cows, monkeys,
and dogs along girivalam before
having a morsel of food himself!
People like
him are not born anymore.
He would
never stay overnight anywhere if he must leave Thiruvannamalai! He’ll take the
night bus both ways either to Chennai or Bangalore from Thiruvannamalai and return
to his ‘home’ the very next day. In his earlier years, every time he had to
leave for Toronto to stay there for six months before he could return, he used to fill a 10-liter can of water from Skanda Ashram
and carry that as check-in luggage! He used to mix that water with the drinking
water in Toronto before quenching his thirst! He made sure those 10 liters lasted those six months!
Towards the
last couple of years before his passing away, he used to travel to goshalas in Bangalore and Chennai to
spend a night and take care of the cows there. Such was his devotion, his
compassion for all.
It’s a day
of mixed emotions and feelings all blended and beat inside my mind’s grinder.
In the usual
way, I am saddened as he’s left a void that none can fill. I no longer can hear
that voice over the phone asking me, “Are you in the Ashram? Okay! I’ll see you
there in sometime!”
But, in a
weird way, I am happy to know that he attained samadhi near his home, his beloved mountain.
You’ll
always be a lighthouse in my life, Devraj.
My journey
of seeking got its biggest boost from having met you, known you, and spending a
lot of my confused moments with you in silence and in conversation.
May your light continue to light my path and
those of others, who were blessed with your love and compassion.
