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Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 7
First Encounters with the Masters ..............................................................................................................10
Swami Sivananda and Paramahamsa Viswananda Saraswati .......................................................10
Swami Vishnudevananda and Swami Sivananda .................................................................................11
Swami Muktananda and Bhagawan Nithyananda ...............................................................................13
Swami Vivekananda and Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa ..............................................................18
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Totapuri .......................................................................................21
Sri Ramana Maharshi and Arunachala ....................................................................................................23
Sivaprakasam Pillai and Sri Ramana Maharshi .....................................................................................24
Ganapathi Sastri and Sri Ramana Maharshi............................................................................................24
Ragavachariar and Sri Ramana Maharshi ................................................................................................25
Suddhananda Bharati and Sri Ramana Maharshi ................................................................................25
Yogi Ramiah and Sri Ramana Maharshi ....................................................................................................26
Natesa Mudaliar and Sri Ramana Maharshi ............................................................................................26
Yogi Ramsuratkumar and Sri Ramana Maharshi .................................................................................27
Yogi Ramsuratkumar and Swami Ramdas ..............................................................................................28
Swami Ramdas and Sri Ramana Maharshi ..............................................................................................31
Swami Gnanananda Giri and Swami Sivaratna Giri ............................................................................33
Adi Sankara and Lord Shiva ............................................................................................................................34
Paramahamsa Yogananda and Sri Yukteswar .......................................................................................35
Lahiri Mahasaya and Babaji ............................................................................................................................37
Lama Surya Das and Lama Yeshe .................................................................................................................39
First Encounters with My Guru .....................................................................................................................40
Tavatiru Rengaraja Desigar ............................................................................................................................40
Supramania Swami .............................................................................................................................................42
Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal........................................................................................................................48
Epilogue ....................................................................................................................................................................60

Introduction

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First Encounters with the Masters

Swami Sivananda and Paramahamsa Viswananda Saraswati

Photo 1 Stamp released on Swami Sivanandas Birth Centenary 1986

Photo courtesy of www.indiapicks.com

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Swami Vishnudevananda and Swami Sivananda

Photo 2 Swami Vishnudevananda (Right) and Swami Sivananda

Photo courtesy of http://www.maasyoga.nl

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Swami Muktananda and Bhagawan Nithyananda

Photo 3 Muktananda with his guru Bhagawan Nithyananda

Photo courtesy of www.cosmicharmony.com

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Photo 4 Bhagawan Nithyananda. Photo Courtesy of The Chidakasha Gita of Bhagawan Nithyananda of Ganeshpuri

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Swami Vivekananda and Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Photo 5 Ramakrishna and Vivekananda

Ramakrishna Photo courtesy of www.himalayanacademy.com, Vivekananda Photo courtesy of www.rkmvu.ac.in

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Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Totapuri

Photo 6 Totapuri
Photo courtesy of www.gurusfeet.com

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Sri Ramana Maharshi and Arunachala

Photo 7 Stamp of Sri Ramana released in 1971

Photo courtesy of www.indiapicks.com

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Sivaprakasam Pillai and Sri Ramana Maharshi

Photo 8 Sivaprakasam Pillai

Photo courtesy of www.sriramanamaharshi.org

Ganapathi Sastri and Sri Ramana Maharshi

Photo 9 Ganapathi Sastri with Sri Ramana

Photo courtesy of http://arunachalamaharshi.blogspot.com

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Ragavachariar and Sri Ramana Maharshi

Suddhananda Bharati and Sri Ramana Maharshi

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Yogi Ramiah and Sri Ramana Maharshi

Photo 10 Yogi Ramiah (sitting on the ground) with Sri Ramana, B. V. Narasimha Swami with pencil and paper.
Photo courtesy of http://forum.yogananda.net

Natesa Mudaliar and Sri Ramana Maharshi

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Yogi Ramsuratkumar and Sri Ramana Maharshi

Photo 11 Yogi Ramsuratkumar

Photo courtesy of http://www.lifepositive.com

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Yogi Ramsuratkumar and Swami Ramdas

Photo 12 Ramdas
Photo courtesy of www.urbanhindu.com

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Swami Ramdas and Sri Ramana Maharshi

Photo 13 Swami Ramdas

Photo courtesy of http://sudheeptnair.blogspot.com

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Swami Gnanananda Giri and Swami Sivaratna Giri

Photo 14 Swami Gnanananda Giri

Photo courtesy of http://srignananandansmm.org/

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Adi Sankara and Lord Shiva

Photo 15 Sankara with his disciples

Photo courtesy of http://www.vanamaliashram.org

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Paramahamsa Yogananda and Sri Yukteswar

Photo 16 Yogananda with Yukteswar

Photo courtesy of www.myspace.com/anahatasacredsound

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Lahiri Mahasaya and Babaji

Photo 17 Lahiri and Babaji

Photo courtesy of http://vishwananda4mauritius.wordpress.com

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Lama Surya Das and Lama Yeshe

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First Encounters with My Guru

Tavatiru Rengaraja Desigar

Photo 18 Rengaraja Desigar

Photo courtesy of Ganesen & Maran, Malaysia

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Supramania Swami

Photo 19 Supramania Swami poses for me the first time I meet him in 2003

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Photo 20 Clockwise: Supramania Swami at his altar in his Kudil; Swamis Kudil in Tiruvannamalai; Swami at his village
home in Nachananthal.

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Photo 21 Supramania Swami with Yogi Ramsuratkumar in a digitally edited photo

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Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal

Photo 22 Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal in 2005

Photo courtesy of the New Straits Times Malaysia.

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Photo 23 Clockwise: Feeding the poor at Tavayogis ashram; Tavayogi at the banks of the river that passes through his
ashram; at the entrance to the Peedham; inside the Peedham; outside Tavayogis ashram.

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Photo 24 The 1 leg of my pilgrimage with Tavayogi. Clockwise: Sivanmalai; Deserted temple in Kangayam;
Punakeeswarar Samadhi at Chennimalai; Murugan temple in the jungles of Kangayam; Tavayogi in his Cave at
Kangayam; Tavayogi squeezing through an opening into Konganars Cave; Inside Konganars Cave; On the steps towards
Konganars Cave.

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Photo 25 The 2 leg of my pilgrimage with Tavayogi. Clockwise: In Sargurunathars Cave & Ashram, Outside
Sargurunathars Cave & Ashram, Mettupalayam - Ooti Road; at the Mariamman temple in Ooti; With Dayananda Swami
in Ooti; at Tavatiru Suyanjhothi Swamis Satguru Sathya Raja Yoga Seva Gnana Ashram in Kasolai.

Photo 26 Jeganathar; Tavayogi performing Abhisegam to the granite Peedham at his ashram; Chitramuthu Adigal

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Photo 27 The 3 leg of my pilgrimage with Tavayogi. Clockwise: Tavayogi at Breehadeshwar temple; Agathiyar opens his
eyes; At Karuvurar temple; Outside Agasthiyars temple at Agasthiyampalli; Tavayogi with Agathiyar.

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Photo 28 The 4 leg of the pilgrimage. Clockwise: At Kalyana Theertam at the foothills of Pothigai; Shiva temple at
Kalyana Theertam; Agathiyars temple at the foothills of Pothigai; Agathiyars temple at Kalyana Theertam in Pothigai.

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Photo 29 The 5 leg of the pilgrimage. Clockwise: Outside Agathiyars Cave at Courtallam; At Shenbaga Devi Ammans
temple; Outside Agathiyars Cave; Inside Agathiyars Cave; Tavayogi at the inner chamber of Agathiyars Cave.

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Photo 30 The final leg of my pilgrimage with Tavayogi. Clockwise: With a sadhu outside Dhakshinamurthis Cave in
Courtallam; Paintings at Chitrasabai in Courtallam; Inside Dhakshinamurthis Cave; Chitrasabai; Inside the inner chamber
of Vallalars Cave; Chitrasabai; Outside Vallalars Cave

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Epilogue

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Photo 31 Tavayogi demonstrating Asanas and Pranayama to students in Malaysia. Still photos retrieved from video
footages by Muralitharan Saminathan, Sathiswaran Arumugam and Thayalan Arumugam, Malaysia

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