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Thoppayya Mudaliar (Thapas Swami)

Thoppayya Mudaliar, an ardent devotee of Bhagavan Sri Ramana, was born in Kalappal, a sacred place in the Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu, as the son of Aiyappa Mudaliar, a very kind hearted and charitably disposed devotee.

It is interesting how he came to Sri Bhagavan. In 1915, he got severe stomach ache. Medicines did not cure it and he was advised by a well-wisher to go to Tirupati and have darshan of Lord Venkateswara there. He accepted the advice and on his way alighted at Tiruvannamalai and had darshan of Sri Arunachaleswara at the Temple. That night, a Brahmin youth, who had met Sri Mudaliar that morning asked him if he had gone round the Hill Arunachala (giripradakshina) and had darshan of Sri Seshadri Swami and Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. He gave a negative reply and the youth remarked that his visit to Tiruvannamalai was of no use! That was corroborated by Ganapati Muni, whom he chanced to meet near the temple immediately after. Ganapati Muni gave an illuminating talk on the significance of Giripradakshina.

And so, lead by the same youth, Mudaliar went round the Hill and up on the Hill, had darshan of Sri Bhagavan. From that moment his heart was ever drawn to the Maharshi and he began to visit Him off and on.

In 1926, when he happened to stay at the Ashram for a few days he asked the Maharshi if the giving up of worldly life was not indispensable for Self-enquiry. Sri Bhagavan did not encourage him that way and asked him to turn within his attention to the ever-present Self under all circumstances of life. "What is there to give up or gain afresh? Where to go? Who is to go? Everything that is, is only the ever-present Being", replied Sri Bhagavan. Mudaliar was deeply moved by this reply and went on sobbing for some time. Sri Bhagavan made fun of him before Sri Muruganar and observed: "Wherever one goes it is the Self and Self alone and one has only to find out what it is."

Though he has received replies from Sri Bhagavan to various questions on many occasions, he firmly believed that the very Presence of Sri Bhagavan was capable of removing all doubts and made one established in the Self.

He had the good fortune of taking a leading part in the Maha Kumbhabhishekam of Sri Bhagavan's Mother's Shrine at the Ashram in 1949, having had good experience in that ritualistic line, already. The express-request of Sri Niranjanananda Swami in connection with this task, got the silent approval of Sri Bhagavan. Mudaliar was entrusted with this great task which he successfully accomplished, gaining the appreciation and gratitude of all Ramana-bhaktas. He will ever be remembered by devotees for his service in this connection.

Thoppayya Mudaliar is then had learnt Vedanta systematically from a resident Swami of the famous Koilur Math. His learning and devotion found their utter fulfilment in the proximity of Bhagavan Sri Ramana. He is a shining example of learning, devotion and humility. He had the good fortune of meeting Ma Anandamayee also, who called him Thapas Swami, by which name he is now known to all. What greater tapas is there than coming in contact with the Enlightened!

Sri Thapas Swami narrated the following: "When I was meditating in the Presence of Sri Bhagavan, the radio announced that Mahatma Gandhi had been shot dead. There were some communal disturbances in the town that night. The following day there were incidents of arson and looting. The Sarvadhikari asked some of us to keep vigil at night so that nobody trespassed into the Ashram.

"Next day when we were sitting before Sri Bhagavan, suddenly there were shouts of 'Catch them. Don't let them go.' A big crowd was moving in the direction of the Ashram. Salem Rajagopala Iyer bolted the doors and windows of the Hall so that nobody could come in. Chasing some Muslims, some Hindus ran towards the road through the Ashram.

"Unperturbed by all the noise and commotion around Him, Sri Bhagavan was quietly going through some proofs! I realised how a Jnani could be indifferent to things happening around Him.”

He continued:

"It was the time when Sri Bhagavan was known to have cancer. One day, He asked Viswanatha (Swami) whether he remembered the verse in Yoga Vasishta, which said that a Jnani would remain unaffected in the face of all difficulties. Viswanatha Swami could not recall it nor could I. Sri Bhagavan asked for the book and had the passage read out to us.

“He who sees Himself as free from the body (idea) knows it not even when the body is cut asunder, in just the same way as the sugarcandy whether dried in fire or cut remains sweet. Just as the wife carried on with the house-hold chores though ever doting on her husband, so too the Jnani remains ever in the Supreme State though engaged in activity. ”

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