Sri M (born Mumtaz Ali Khan, 6 November 1948),[1] also known as Sri Madhukar Nath, is an Indian yogi, spiritual guide, orator, and educationist. He is an initiate of the Nath tradition of Hinduism and is the disciple of Sri Maheshwarnath Babaji, who was a disciple of Sri Guru Babaji (Mahavatar Babaji). Sri M lives in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh, India.[2] He received the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award, in 2020.[3]
Sri M | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Mumtaz Ali Khan 6 November 1948 |
| Other names | Sri Madhukar Nath |
| Organization | The Satsang Foundation |
| Spouse | Sunanda Ali (Sunanda Sanadi) |
| Children | 2 |
| Honors | Padma Bhushan (2020) |
| Website | satsang-foundation |
Early life
editMumtaz Ali Khan was born on 6 November 1949 to an affluent Muslim family in Trivandrum, Travancore–Cochin (now in Kerala).[4][5] In his autobiography, Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master, Sri M describes meeting his guru Sri Maheshwarnath Babaji in the backyard of his home in Trivandrum: a distinguished, youthful-looking stranger with matted hair, standing near a jackfruit tree. After a brief conversation, the stranger disappeared. This was a turning point in nine-year-old Sri M's life, and he later said about the meeting:
After the jackfruit tree incident, although outwardly I looked like any other boy of that age, my personality had undergone a profound change. A secret life went on within, side by side with the ordinary activities of day-to-day existence. The inner journey had begun and the first sign of this was that I began to meditate without even knowing the word meditation.[6]
After this, Sri M made contact with a number of South Indian saints who included Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri,[7] Yogi Gopala Saami, Kaladi Mastan, Swami Abhedananda, Chempazhanti Swami, Swami Tapasyananda and Mai Ma.[4][8]
Quest for self-realisation
editAccording to his autobiography,[9] Sri M left his home at age nineteen to find his master in the Himalayas. Exhausted by the search, he met Sri Maheshwarnath Babaji—the same person he had met when he was nine—at the Vyasa Gufa (cave) near Badrinath. Sri M lived with Maheshwarnath Babaji for three-and-a-half years and learned many things. Initiated into the Nath tradition, his Kundalini energy was awakened.[10] Sri M and Sri Maheshwarnath Babaji traveled to a mutt in Tholing, Tibet.[11] His desire to meet Grand Master Sri Guru Babaji (Mahavatar Babaji) was fulfilled on Nilkantha Hill with the help of Maheshwarnath Babaji. Sri M claimed that Sri Babaji was his master in a previous life, and Maheshwarnath Babaji reportedly had the power to materialize and de-materialize in any form on earth or beyond.[12]
Later years
editAfter spending three years in the Himalayas as a wandering yogi with his master, Sri M said that he was asked by his master to go back and prepare for his life mission. He returned from the Himalayas and traveled throughout India, meeting gurus such as Neem Karoli Baba, Lakshman Joo and J. Krishnamurti. Sri M spent substantial time in the Ramakrishna Mission and the Krishnamurti Foundation. While associated with the foundation he met his future wife, Sunanda Sanadi; they have two adult children Roshan Ali and Aisha Ali.[13]
Sri M heads the Satsang Foundation, which runs two schools in Andhra Pradesh: the Peepal Grove School and the Satsang Vidyalaya. The Peepal Grove School, a boarding school, was inaugurated by former President of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in 2006. Satsang Vidyalaya is a free school for children in the Madanapalle area, where Sri M lives. The foundation began Bharat Yoga Vidya Kendra, a training programme for yoga teachers, in 2020. He writes in "Speaking Tree", a spiritual forum run by The Times of India.[14] A documentary film, The Modern Mystic: Sri M of Madnapalle,[15] was directed by Raja Choudhury in 2011.
In 2015, Sri M undertook a "Walk of Hope": a 7,500-kilometre (4,700 mi) padayatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. The walk began on 12 January, the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda (who had undertaken a similar journey over a century earlier). With a group of fellow travelers, Sri M walked through 11 Indian states and considered the Walk of Hope an exercise to restore the country's spirituality.[16] The padayatra ended in Srinagar, Kashmir, on 29 April 2016.[17]
Sri M published The Journey Continues, the second part of his autobiography, in 2017.[18] It exceeds the earlier book in apparently-miraculous incidents; in the introduction, he wrote that his readers might think that he "had finally gone bonkers".[This quote needs a citation] Sri M detailed a number of his previous lives over a period of 5,000 years, during which he (or she; in several lives, he was a woman) was associated with Indian saints.[19]
In the year 2020, Sri M has been conferred with the Padma Bhushan Award for the distinguished service of high order in the field of Spirituality.[20]
Books
edit- Jewel in the Lotus: Deeper Aspects of Hinduism. Sterling. 1998. ISBN 978-8120720466.
- Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master: A Yogi's Autobiography. Magenta Press. 2010. ISBN 978-81-910096-0-6.
- Sri M: The Journey Continues: a Sequel to Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master. Magenta Press. 2017. ISBN 978-9382585244.
- The Upanishads: Katha - Prashna – Mundaka. Magenta Press. 2017. ISBN 9789382585206.
- On Meditation: Finding Infinite Bliss and Power Within. Penguin Books India. 2019. ISBN 978-0143447511.
- The Homecoming and Other Stories. Penguin Books India. 2020. ISBN 978-0143447528.
- Wisdom of the Rishis: The Three Upanishads: Ishavasya, Keno, Mandukya. Magenta Press. 2021. ISBN 978-8191009637.
- The Friend: Mind, Body, Soul, Well-Being. Penguin Books India. 2022. ISBN 978-0143457169.
- The Little Guide to Greater Glory and a Happier Life. Magenta Press. 2022. ISBN 978-8195608980.
References
edit- ^ M, Sri (18 July 2022). Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master. India: Penguin Random House India Private Limited. p. 2. ISBN 9789354926136.
- ^ http://satsang-foundation.org/?page_id=80 Archived 10 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Sri M — Founder of Satsang Foundation
- ^ "Padma honour for eight Malayalis". The Times of India. 26 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ a b "Sri M | Spiritual guide, Social Reformer and Educationist".
- ^ Sri M (2010). Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master. Magenta Press. Chapter 2.
- ^ Sri M (2010). Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master. Magenta Press. Chapter 2.
- ^ Sri M (2017). The Journey Continues. Magenta Press. Chapter 2.
- ^ Sri M (2010). Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master. Magenta Press. Chapters 4–12.
- ^ Apprenticed to a Himalayan master: a yogi's autobiography, Sri M, 2010, Magenta Press, ISBN 81-910096-0-9
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20140220082831/http://www.ourkarnataka.com/kannada/articles/srim.htm – Review of Sri M's autobiography
- ^ http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=13702 – Another review of Madhukarnath's autobiography
- ^ http://www.heraldofindia.com/article.php?id=554 – Article about book
- ^ Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master, Chapter 47.
- ^ http://www.speakingtree.in/srim Sri M profile in Speaking Tree
- ^ http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/8173/The-Modern-Mystic--Sri-M-of-Madnapalle – Documentary – The Modern Mystic: Sri M of Madnapalle
- ^ "Walk of Hope 2015–16". Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ Ajai Kumar Singh (former DGP-IGP), former state police chief from Karnataka, also walked the entire stretch from Kanyakumari to Kashmir with his wife Tara (an ex-IAS officer).Hemanth Kashyap (10 May 2016). "Age no bar in this walk for a cause". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019.
- ^ Sri M (2017). The Journey Continues. Magenta Press.
- ^ "Sri M travels to past lives in search of human consciousness". The New Indian Express. 3 May 2017.
- ^ "Sri M conferred with the Padmabhushan : one of India's highest civilian awards". 26 January 2020.