Talk:Swāmī Rāmatīrtha
By Vishal Agarwal
Swāmī Rāmatīrtha was born in the village of Murāriwālā in the district of Gujrānvālā (in present-day Pakistan). From a very young age, he was very interested in reading and listening to Hindu holy books. As a young man, he became a mathematics teacher at a college in Lahore (Pakistan). One day, he heard a speech of Swāmī Vivekānanda and was so impressed that he decided to become a Sannyāsī himself.
Swāmī Rāmatīrtha travelled all over the world extensively. One day, he was sitting in a train in Japan. In those days, he mainly ate fruit, but was not able to procure good fruit. He happened to make a comment: “It appears that Japan does not have good fruit,” which was overheard by a Japanese man present nearby. To Swāmījī’s surprise, the man immediately ran away, and then returned with a basket of excellent quality fruit. Offering them to Swāmījī, the Japanese man said, “Sir, please accept these choicest fruit as a gift from me. But please promise to me that when you return to India, you will not say to anyone that Japan does not have good fruit.” Swāmījī was very impressed by the love that the Japanese man had for his motherland.
During his travels in the United States in 1902–1904, numerous Americans came to hear Swāmī Rāmatīrtha’s discourses on Vedānta, or the teachings of the Upaniṣads. One day, a lady came to see the Swāmī, and wept in front of him. She said, “Ever since I have lost my only child, my son, my life has been full of darkness. I do not see any more hope in my life. I am seeking true peace and happiness. Can you help me find it?”
The Swāmī responded, “To get something as precious as peace and happiness, you will need to pay a price. If you agree to do so, I will come to your home tomorrow and show you how to obtain it.” The lady agreed.
The following morning, Swāmī Rāmatīrtha knocked at the door of the lady’s home. When she opened, she saw that the Swāmī had come with an African American child. The Swāmī said to her, “If you raise this child as your own son, and educate him and love him, you will get true peace and happiness.”
In those days, when blacks and whites hardly mixed, it was very rare to see whites accept blacks as family members. The lady cringed and said, “Sir, how can a white woman accept a black child as her son?”
The Swāmī said, “If you cannot accept this child as your own, then you will find it very difficult to get true happiness and peace. There is unhappiness in this world because we discriminate against and look down upon others. Only when we accept and respect everyone, whether they are black or white, will we get true peace.”
Once Swāmī Rāmatīrtha arrived at Ṛṣikeśa, on the banks of Gaṅgā, on one of his pilgrimages. There, he met a practitioner of Yoga who was renowned for his Yogic powers. Eager to meet him, the Swāmī rushed to his Āśrama and asked him, “Lord! I am in search of a true teacher of Yoga. You have been practicing Yoga for more than 30 years. Please enlighten me as to what is the fruit of practicing Yoga.”
The Yogi replied, “As a result of my Yogic practice, I have learned how to walk on water.” Swāmījī was astounded when the Yogi actually walked on the water of Gaṅgā in front of his own eyes. Swāmījī then asked, “What else can we acquire from Yoga?”
The Yogi replied, “You must be a fool. Being able to walk on water is not a common feat. I have struggled for 30 years to acquire this miraculous power. What else could I want?”
Swāmījī said, “But what is the use of this power to be able to walk on water? I could give a Rupee to a boatman to cross the river. I was looking for a Yogi to teach me the spiritual gifts of practicing Yoga. I do not think that being able to walk on water is going to take me any closer to Paramātman.”