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{{Short description|Hindu guru}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Swami Ramdas
| image = Low quality image of the cover of the book 'IN QUEST OF GOD'.jpg
| caption = The cover of Swami Ramdas autobiography describing his spiritual search, first published in 1925.
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1884|4|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Kanhangad]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]] (present-day [[Kerala]], [[India]])
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1963|7|25|1884|4|10|df=y}}
| death_place =
}}

'''Swami Ramdas''' ({{IPA-hi|sʋaːmiː raːmdaːs|}}; {{lang-sa|स्वामी रामदास|Svāmī Rāmadāsa}}, born '''Vittal Rao''' on 10 April 1884) was an Indian [[saint]], [[philosopher]], [[philanthropist]] and [[pilgrim]]. Swami Ramdas became a wandering ascetic in his late 30s and after attaining [[moksha]] while still alive established [[Anandashram, Kanhangad|Anandashram]] in Kanhangad, Kerala. He is the author of several books, the most famous of which is the spiritual autobiography ''In Quest of God'' (1925).

==Biography==

===Early life: 1884-1922===
Swami Ramdas was born as Vittal Rao in [[Hosdurg taluk|Hosdurg]], [[Kerala, India]] on 10 April 1884<ref name=gospelsr>page xiii in: [[Swami Satchidananda]] (1979). [https://books.google.com/books?id=3II9AAAAIAAJ&q=10th+April%2C+1884 ''The Gospel of Swami Ramdas'']. Published for Anandashram by [[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]]. {{OCLC|7173794}}</ref> to Balakrishna Rao and Lalita Bai. Vittal was educated first at a local school in Hosdurg and was later sent to [[Mangalore]] to study at the [[Basel Evangelical School, Mangalore|Basel Evangelical Mission High School]] run by German missionaries.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chandrashekar |title=Passage to Divinity: The Early Life of Swami Ramdas |date=1999 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-7-9 |page=63 |edition=5th}}</ref> He was a voracious reader and was admired for his mastery of the English language; he was also deeply interested in drawing, sculpture and theatre. His indifference to his school curriculum, however, did not allow him to pass high school despite attempting his exams twice.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chandrashekar |title=Passage to Divinity: The Early Life of Swami Ramdas |date=1999 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-7-9 |page=8,65–66 |edition=5th}}</ref> After a failed attempt to run away to Bombay to seek his fortune and a brief stint as the director of an amateur theatre society he founded in Hosdurg (they opened with scenes from Shakespeare's ''King John''), Vittal joined a course in drawing and engraving at the [[Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai|School of Arts in Madras]]. Before completing the course, however, he won a scholarship to study textile engineering at the [[Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute|Victoria Jubilee Institute]] in Bombay. This time, he completed the degree, and very soon found work as a spinning master in a cotton mill in [[Gulbarga]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chandrashekar |title=Passage to Divinity: The Early Life of Swami Ramdas |date=1999 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-7-9 |pages=67–73 |edition=5th}}</ref>

Vittal Rao was now expected to marry, and within a few months of his finding a job, his parents had found a bride for him. He married Umabai (renamed 'Rukmabai' upon her marriage according to the custom of the [[Saraswat Brahmin|Saraswats]]) in 1908.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chandrashekar |title=Passage to Divinity: The Early Life of Swami Ramdas |date=1999 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-7-9 |page=75 |edition=5th}}</ref> Within a couple of months of this happy event, however, Vittal Rao had lost his job at Gulbarga. He began to move quickly from one job to another all over Southern India, with spells of unemployment in between.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chandrashekar |title=Passage to Divinity: The Early Life of Swami Ramdas |date=1999 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-7-9 |pages=77–83 |edition=5th}}</ref> A daughter, Ramabai, was born in 1913.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chandrashekar |title=Passage to Divinity: The Early Life of Swami Ramdas |date=1999 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-7-9 |page=82 |edition=5th}}</ref> Vittal Rao's fortunes continued to decline, and in 1917 he returned to Mangalore to join his father-in-law's business. This arrangement did not last long; in 1919, he started his own business of dyeing and printing sarees. This enterprise did not prosper either. By 1920, both his professional and personal lives had seriously deteriorated, and Vittal Rao became increasingly unhappy and frustrated.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chandrashekar |title=Passage to Divinity: The Early Life of Swami Ramdas |date=1999 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-7-9 |pages=86–88, 93 |edition=5th}}</ref> In his desperate state, he sought relief in the chanting of the syllable "[[rama|Ram]]" considered sacred in India. Soon afterward, his father instructed him to repeat the longer ''Ram Mantra'': "''Sri Ram jai Ram jai jai Ram''" and assured him that the constant chanting of this mantra would give him eternal happiness. Vittal Rao felt inspired to add "''[[Om]]''" to each repetition, and he began to chant the mantra "''Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram''" all through his waking hours. He was also deeply influenced by the teachings of [[Krishna|Sri Krishna]], [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]], [[Gautama Buddha|the Buddha]], and [[Mahatma Gandhi]], and frequently turned for spiritual guidance to ''[[Bhagavad Gita|The Bhagavad Gita]]'', ''[[New Testament|The New Testament]]'', ''[[The Light of Asia]]'' (Edwin Arnold's poetic retelling of the Buddha's life and teachings), and Gandhi's books ''Young India'' and ''Ethical Religion''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=In Quest of God |date=1925 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-0-0 |pages=2–3 |edition=18th}}</ref>

===Renunciation and the quest for God: 1922-23===

Vittal Rao soon lost all interest in the material world. He left home on the night of 27 December 1922 after writing a farewell letter to his wife.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chandrashekar |title=Passage to Divinity: The Early Life of Swami Ramdas |date=1999 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-7-9 |page=111 |edition=5th}}</ref> At [[Srirangam]], on the banks of the river [[Kaveri]], he adopted [[Sannyasa|sanyas]] by giving himself the ochre robes of a renunciate. He changed his name to 'Ramdas' and made three vows: to dedicate his life to [[Rama|Sri Ram]], to observe strict celibacy, and to live only upon food that was freely offered to him as alms.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=In Quest of God |date=1925 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-0-0 |page=9 |edition=18th}}</ref> His practice was to view the world as forms of Ram – and thus to see everything that might befall him as the will of Ram. Ramdas was known for always [[Illeism|referring to himself in the third person]], which is a common spiritual practice in [[Hinduism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwisdom.com/public/viewpdf/default.aspx?article-title=The_Life_of_Swami_Ramdas_by_Susunaga_Weeraperuma.pdf|title=The Life of Swami Ramdas|author=Susunaga Weeraperuma|date=|access-date=16 April 2020}}</ref>

After visiting various centres of Hindu pilgrimage in Tamil Nadu including [[Rameswaram]], [[Madurai]] and [[Chidambaram]], Swami Ramdas arrived in [[Tiruvannamalai]]. Here he met and received the blessings of the young saint already famous as Sri [[Ramana Maharshi]]. As a result of this momentous encounter, he went into his first retreat, living for 21 days in solitude in a cave in [[Arunachala]]. It was here that he had his first full experience of Ram, or God, as a presence that permeated everything. For him, from this point, "All was Ram, nothing but Ram."<ref>[http://www.ramana-maharshi.org/m_path/m_path.htm] ''[[The Mountain Path]]''</ref>

Swami Ramdas spent the following months visiting centres of pilgrimage all over India, including [[Puri]], [[Dakshineswar Kali Temple|Dakshineswar]], [[Varanasi|Kashi]], [[Haridwar]], [[Rishikesh]], [[Kedarnath]], [[Badrinath]], [[Mathura]], and [[Vrindavan|Brindavan]]; in all these places he was fed, clothed and guided by complete strangers. After paying his respects at the Muslim shrine of [[Ajmer Sharif Dargah|Ajmer Sharif]], he moved southwards, visiting [[Dwarka|Dwaraka]] and [[Pandharpur]]. He then went further south to visit Sri [[Siddharudha Swami]] at Hubli. It was here, in 1923, that his family finally tracked him down. His wife and daughter arrived in Hubli and on Siddharudha Swami's advice, Swami Ramdas returned with Rukmabai and his daughter to Mangalore. But instead of going home with them, he immediately went to the nearby Kadri Hills and started living in the [[Pandava Caves|Panch Pandav Cave]], where he continued his spiritual practices. It was also in this cave that he wrote his first book, ''In Quest of God.''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=In Quest of God |date=1925 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-0-0 |pages=169–72 |edition=18th}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=In the Vision of God |date=1935 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-2-4 |page=8 |edition=8th}}</ref>

===Further travels: 1923-1928===

In his book ''In the Vision of God'' Swami Ramdas describes attaining the [[Jivanmukta]] state during his stay at the Panch Pandav cave:

<blockquote><p>For two years from the time of the significant change which had come over him, Ramdas had been prepared to enter into the very depths of his being for the realization of the immutable, calm and eternal spirit of God. Here he had to transcend name, form, thought and will--every feeling of the heart and faculty of the mind. The world had then appeared to him as a dim shadow--a dreamy nothing. The vision then was mainly internal. It was only for the glory of the Atman in His pristine purity, peace and joy as an all-pervading, immanent, static, immortal and glowing spirit. ... [T]hen a still exalted state came on; his hitherto inner vision projected outward. ...He would feel as if his very soul had expanded like the blossoming of a flower and, by a flash as it were, enveloped the whole universe embracing all in a subtle halo of love and light. This experience granted him a bliss infinitely greater than he had in the previous state. Now it was that Ramdas began to cry out "Ram is all, it is He as everybody and everything." ... With this externalized vision started Ramdas's mission. Its fullness and magnificence was revealed to him during his stay in the Kadri cave, and here the experience became more sustained and continuous.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=In the Vision of God |date=1935 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-2-4 |pages=13–14 |edition=8th}}</ref></p></blockquote>

Swami Ramdas soon left the cave to start another pilgrimage. The record of his further adventures all over India, published under the title ''In the Vision of God'' in 1935, is filled with colourful characters, some of them occasional fellow-travellers, most prominently a very spiritually-inclined but endearingly fallible young man named Madhav who adopted the name 'Ramcharandas' and insisted on joining Swami Ramdas in his travels. Ramcharandas weaves in and out of the narrative of ''In the Vision of God'' until he takes leave of Swami Ramdas for the last time in Srinagar, Kashmir.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=In the Vision of God |date=1935 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-2-4 |page=336 |edition=8th}}</ref> During this period, Swami Ramdas visited the Vasishtashram or the [https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g580106-d4092570-Reviews-Vashishta_Gufa-Rishikesh_Dehradun_District_Uttarakhand.html Vasishta Cave] in the Himalayas, where he had a vision of Christ.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=In the Vision of God |date=1935 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-2-4 |page=252 |edition=8th}}</ref> He also began displaying the [[siddhi]]s, or spiritual powers, that accompany enlightenment, and attracted large crowds wherever he went.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=In the Vision of God |date=1935 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-2-4 |page=18,84,119,314 |edition=8th}}</ref>

===Anandashram, Kasargod: 1928-1931===

After several years of wandering, Swami Ramdas settled down on 3 June 1928 in a small Ashram in Kasargod built for him by his devotees; it consisted of a single room and an open verandah.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krishnabai |first1=Mother |title=Guru's Grace |date=1964 |isbn=9780949971227 |page=29}}</ref> It was here that Krishnabai, his most important disciple, met him. A young widow desperate to find a Guru who would give her spiritual liberation, Krishnabai accepted the Ram mantra from Swami Ramdas and began her intense spiritual journey under his guidance. She began calling Swami Ramdas 'Papa' when she found that Swami Ramdas's daughter addressed him this way; later on, Swami Ramdas became 'Papa' to most of his devotees.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Satchidananda |first1=Swami |title=Vishwamātā Krishnābāi: Some Glimpses |date=1991 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn= 978-93-88315-27-2 |page=4}}</ref>

By the time a year had passed, Mother Krishnabai—as she would be later known—had left her two children and had become a permanent resident of the Ashram in order to complete her spiritual training. The presence of an attractive young woman in the Ashram of a renunciate subjected both Swami Ramdas and Mother Krishnabai to considerable public criticism; the Ashram also lost its initial popularity. Later, Mother Krishnabai would recall this period with wry humour: "When the ashram was started at Kasaragod, people were pouring in everyday, group after group for ''Bhajans'' and talks. They were spending hours together with Papa. But when I came to Papa, those people who were so much devoted to him, gradually stayed away and in a short time there used to be none there except Papa, myself and some crows."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Satchidananda |first1=Swami |title=The Gospel of Swami Ramdas, Volume II |date=2006 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-93-88315-00-5 |pages=671–72 |edition=3rd}}</ref>

Krishnabai, however, persevered, and quickly achieved the state of ''[[nirvikalpa samadhi]]'' that takes the practitioner beyond all mental concepts and images.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krishnabai |first1=Mother |title=Guru's Grace |date=1964 |isbn=9780949971227 |page=76}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, strangers entered the ashram at night and attempted to assault her. Though she was not seriously harmed, Swami Ramdas decided to abandon the Ashram that very night.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krishnabai |first1=Mother |title=Guru's Grace |date=1964 |isbn=9780949971227 |pages=79–80}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=In the Vision of God |date=1935 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-2-4 |pages=431–435 |edition=8th}}</ref>

===Anandashram, Kanhangad: 1931-1963===

Go to [[Anandashram, Kanhangad|Anandashram main article]]

A new ashram, also called 'Anandashram,' was established in [[Kanhangad]] by Swami Ramdas's devotees on 15 May 1931. This would be Swami Ramdas's main abode for the rest of his life. The Ashram continues its work of helping local people and spreading Swami Ramdas's message of universal love and service.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=In the Vision of God |date=1935 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-2-4 |pages=438–449 |edition=8th}}</ref>

Around 1950, another ashram named 'Ramdas Ashram' was founded in Swami Ramdas's honour by Gunvantrai T. Kamdar in [[Bhavnagar]], Gujarat. Until he stopped travelling due to poor health, Swami Ramdas spent a couple of months here every year; during the rest of the year, this Ashram hosted other famous saints.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=In the Vision of God |date=1935 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-2-4 |page=456 |edition=8th}}</ref>

In 1954, Swami Ramdas went on a world tour, visiting Europe, the United States, and East and South-East Asia. His book ''World Is God'' (1955) offers an account of this trip.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=World Is God |date=1955 |publisher=Anandashram |url=https://archive.org/details/worldofgod0000swam/page/n9/mode/2up |access-date=31 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag2N5KAWm4Q |website=YouTube |title=Swami Ramdas, Mother Krishnabai, Sw Satchidananda World Tour |access-date=31 January 2022}}</ref> ''World Is God'' forms the third and last instalment of Swami Ramdas's autobiography, the other two being ''In Quest of God'' (1925) and ''In the Vision of God'' (1935).

In ''World Is God,'' Swami Ramdas gives an eloquent description of his state at the time:

<blockquote><p>Ramdas’ life has no future, as it has transcended time and space. It has nothing new to achieve or attain. It is one with Cosmic Reality. Birth and death have nothing to do with it. Eternal stillness and eternal movement are its centre and circumference—the centre fixed in eternity and circumference encompassing infinity; boundless existence reduced to a point and a point expanded beyond all conceivable limitations. … Thus Ramdas’ life is resounding with the music of Eternity. Its sweet strain is never-ending. It is a divine symphony of sublime serenity, calmness and peace that is ineffable, harmonised with spontaneous activity embodying the spirit of Universal Love and Service. Waves and waves of Bliss rise from it to dance on the bosom of [[Satcitananda|Satchidanand]] and lose themselves within itself. Its creation is destruction, its beginning its own end. A resonant Silence! That is Ramdas!<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=World Is God |date=1955 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-3-1 |page=xi-xii |edition=1st}}</ref></p></blockquote>

Swami Ramdas died on 25 July 1963.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Satchidananda |first1=Swami |title=Vishwamātā Krishnābāi: Some Glimpses |date=1991 |publisher=Anandashram |page=22-23}}</ref> A shrine, or ''samadhi mandir'', was constructed at his cremation site within Anandashram.

Swami Ramdas' well-known disciples include Mataji Krishnabai, Swami Satchidananda, Swami Muktananda, and [[Yogi Ramsuratkumar]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sri Ram Surat Kumar |url=https://motherandsriaurobindo.in/_StaticContent/SriAurobindoAshram/-03%20The%20Ashram/Special%20Visitors/Sri%20Ramsurat%20Kumar/-01_Biography.htm |access-date=26 January 2022}}</ref> He also profoundly influenced many other spiritual seekers including the musician and writer [[Dilipkumar Roy|Dilip Kumar Roy]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Patel |first1=Amruta Paresh |title=Lover of Light Among Luminaries: Dilip Kumar Roy |date=2002 |publisher=L D Indology |location=Ahmedabad |page=132 |url=https://jainqq.org/explore/001542/141 |access-date=26 January 2022}}</ref> the American mystic [[List of direct disciples of Yogananda|Mildred Hamilton]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hamilton |first1=Mildred |title=My Blessed Papa: Letters to Swami Ramdas from Mother Hamilton, 1954-1960 |date=2018 |publisher=The Cross and The Lotus |url=http://www.crossandlotus.com/Publications/Booklets/2018%20Mahasamadhi%20Booket%20-%20Mother%20at%20Anandashram%20(My%20Blessed%20Papa)%20-%20Display.pdf |access-date=26 January 2022}}</ref> [[Maurice Frydman]] aka Swami Bharatananda,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pant |first1=Apa B. |title="An Early Devotee: Maurice Frydman" |journal=The Mountain Path |date=June 1991 |volume=28 |issue=1–2 |page=35 |url=https://realization.org/down/mountain-path/28-1.1991-Aradhana.pdf}}</ref> and [[Chidananda Saraswati|Swami Chidananda Saraswati]] of the [[Divine Life Society]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chidananda |first1=Swami |title=Autobiography of Swami Chidananda |url=https://www.sivanandaonline.org//?cmd=displaysection&section_id=1345 |website=The Divine Life Society |access-date=26 January 2022}}</ref>

==Philosophy==

===On Religion===

Swami Ramdas did not discriminate between religions. He writes: "Ramdas does not belong to any particular creed. He firmly believes that all creeds, faiths and religions are different paths which ultimately converge to the same goal. The very sight of a [[Muhammadan]] reminds him of [[Muhammad]]; of a [[Christians|Christian]], [[Jesus Christ]]; of a [[Hindus|Hindu]], [[Rama]], [[Krishna]] or [[Shiva]]; and of a [[Buddhism|Buddhist]], [[Buddha]]; of a [[Parsis|Parsee]], [[Zoroaster]]. All the great teachers of the world are from one God--the first eternal cause of all existence. Whether it be in the [[Gita]] or the [[Bible]] or the [[Koran]] or the [[Zend Avesta]], we find the same note insistently ringing, viz., self-surrender is the supreme way to liberation or salvation."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=In the Vision of God |date=1935 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-81-938386-2-4 |page=7 |edition=8th}}</ref>

===On "Sri Ram"===

When asked if the 'Sri Ram' that he constantly referred to was different from Sri Ram, the son of Dasaratha and the [[Avatar]] described in the ''[[Ramayana]]'', Swami Ramdas replied: "Ramdas will answer you in [[Kabir]]’s words. He was also put the same question. He said, ‘My Ram is the great Truth, Impersonal, dwelling in the hearts of all beings and creatures in the universe. My Ram is the all-pervading, immanent and all-transcendent Reality. My Ram has assumed the forms of all beings and things and my Ram is Dasaratha’s son also. My Ram is the all-inclusive and all-transcendent Supreme Godhead.’”<ref>{{cite book |last1=Satchidananda |first1=Swami |title=The Gospel of Swami Ramdas, Volume I |date=2006 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-93-88315-00-5 |page=449 |edition=3rd}}</ref>

===On Ashrams and Institutions===

Swami Ramdas believed that all spiritual norms and institutions were useful only up to a point. He says:
“When the false conventions and ostentatious observations are broken through, the soul is liberated. For realizing the Truth no external paraphernalia is necessary. No garb, no sign, no cult and no creed can help you. The day will come when you have to leave all these behind, and go to meet the Eternal in the perfect nakedness of your Spirit, shedding all make-believe forms, customs and traditions. Simplicity, spontaneity and humility become the guiding principles of your life. You move freely with all. You love all alike. You break the boundaries set by the calculating human mind. You soar like a free bird in the infinite expanse of the spiritual firmament. You look upon all beings and creatures as the embodiment of the one divine all-pervading Spirit. Temples, Ashrams, mosques, churches, synagogues, Viharas, etc., cannot imprison your soul. You find your soul’s delight and joy in all places—in the best as well as the worst.”<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramdas |first1=Swami |title=Hints to Aspirants |date=1959 |publisher=Anandashram |isbn=978-93-88315-26-5 |page=55 |edition=5th}}</ref>

==Bibliography==

A selected list of books authored by Swami Ramdas:

* ''[http://www.anandashram.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/In_Quest_of_God-1.pdf In Quest of God]'' (1925)
* ''[http://www.anandashram.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/AtTheFeetOfGod.pdf At the Feet of God]'' (1928)
* ''Krishna Bai'' (1932)
* ''[http://dspace.nehu.ac.in/bitstream/handle/123456789/13324/Gita%20Sandesh.pdf?sequence=1 Gita Sandesh: Message of the Gita]'' (c. 1933; the link is to the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan edition of 1966)
* ''The Divine Life'' (1934)
* ''[http://www.anandashram.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/In_the_Vision_of_God.pdf In the Vision of God]'' (1935)
* ''[http://www.anandashram.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/GlimpsesOfDivineVision.pdf Glimpses of Divine Vision]'' (1944)
* ''Letters of Swami Ramdas'' (2 Volumes, 1946)
* ''[https://archive.org/details/worldofgod0000swam/page/n7/mode/2up World Is God]'' (1955)
* ''[http://www.anandashram.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Hints_To_Aspirants.pdf Hints to Aspirants]'' (1959)
* ''[http://www.anandashram.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Stories_as_told_by_SwamiRamdas.pdf Stories as Told by Swami Ramdas]'' (1961)
* ''God Experience'' (2 Volumes, 1975)

==Quotations==
{{cquote|People do not know what the Name of God can do. Those who repeat it constantly alone know its power. It can purify our mind completely... The Name can take us to the summit of spiritual experience.|20px|20px|Swami Ramdas<ref>Ramdas, Swami. ''The Essential Swami Ramdas'', World Wisdom, 2005.</ref>}}

{{cquote|Place yourself as an instrument in the hands of God who does his own work in his own way.|20px|20px|Swami Ramdas<ref>''The Tribune'', [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030925/edit.htm Reflections]</ref>}}

{{cquote|Just as a flower gives out its fragrance to whomsoever approaches or uses it, so love from within us radiates towards everybody and manifests as spontaneous service.|20px|20px|Swami Ramdas<ref>''The Times of India'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20121016150234/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-03-25/edit-page/27839877_1_bodies-stranger-brotherly-love SACRED SPACE: Caring and Sharing]</ref>}}

==See also==
* [[Nama sankeerthanam]]
* [[Rama]]
* [[Anandashram]]
* [[Ramana Maharshi]]
* [[Sri Aurobindo|Aurobindo]]
* [[Bhagawan Nityananda]]
* [[Neem Karoli Baba]]
* [[Anandamayi Ma]]
* [[Haidakhan Babaji]]
* [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]]
* [[Nisargadatta Maharaj]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.anandashram.org/ Homepage of Anandashram]
*[https://sites.google.com/view/swami-ramdas/home My beloved Papa, Swami Ramdas - Swami Satchidananda]
*[http://hinduismwayoflife.com/2019/02/28/brief-biography-of-swami-papa-ramdas-1884-1963/ Biography of Swami (Papa) Ramdas - Hinduismwayoflife.com]
*[https://sites.google.com/view/swami-ramdas/videos-and-audio-clips Video and Audio Clips]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aegTdlj3qWM Footage of Swami Ramdas and Mother Krishnabai from Arnaud Desjardins' documentary ''Ashrams'']
* [https://www.anandamayi.org/swami-ramdas-2/ Account of Swami Ramdas's Meeting with Sri Anandamayi Ma]
* [https://www.sivanandaonline.org//?cmd=displaysection&section_id=1345/ Swami Chidandanda Saraswati's autobiography containing a description of his relationship with Swami Ramdas]

{{Modern Hindu writers}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramdas}}
[[Category:20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians]]
[[Category:20th-century Hindu religious leaders]]
[[Category:1884 births]]
[[Category:1963 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kasaragod district]]
[[Category:Indian Hindu saints]]
[[Category:Illeists]]

Swami Ramdas - Revision history

ChristenaMcGraw: minor edit

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article