It’s time to unwind the story of a great sage. Today I’m going to take you on a tour of Mr. Mumtaz Ali‘s life. Mumtaz Ali who is better known as Sri M is a noble, kind-hearted person born on the 6th of November 1948 in Trivandrum in the Indian state of Kerala. He started his journey on the spiritual path at the tender age of 9 when he first met his master Maheshwarnath Babaji.
In the first meeting of a few minutes itself, Sri M felt such an impact of the ideas of his guru that he decided to spend the rest of his life under the able guidance of Maheshwarnath Babaji. After this initial interaction, Maheshwarnath Babaji left Sri M with a promise to see him again.
For the next ten years, he continued to walk on the path shown by his guru. In his journey, he was blessed with an opportunity to meet many great saints through whom he acquired a lot of spiritual experiences. He was only nineteen when he decided to go on a search for his guru Maheshwarnath Babaji to receive further instructions from him.
So he gathered his courage and left home with the money given to him for his exam fee. He headed towards the north and spent a couple of days in Haridwar visiting various temples and many saintly people. He continued his journey and soon reached Rishikesh where he first went to the Divine Life Society.
A few weeks in this heavenly place got him into the practice of Yoga and he also attended a few classes on Upanishads. During this period that he interacted with many enlightened people and also explored the mysterious caves of Rishikesh.
He continued to travel after a small pause at Rishikesh and finally met his master after a long 220 kilometers walk at the Vyasa caves. From then on he lived and traveled with his master from the initiation of the Nath tradition to his journey towards Tholingmutt in Tibet and meeting the Grand Master Sri Guru.
Then Sri M was instructed by his master to go back to the plains and prepare for a mission to travel from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and become familiar with various spiritual and religious traditions. During this journey, Sri M met great souls like Neem Karoli Baba, Laxman Joo, and J.Krishnamurti.
A few years after the death of his Guru Sri M received instruction from him in his dream to spread his knowledge to the people around him by the method of teaching. As instructed Sri M began his life as a teacher in 1998 and formed a Satsang Foundation.
Just two years ago this great soul was instructed to pen his autobiography which he called “An Apprentice To A Himalayan Master, A Yogi’s Autobiography”. This book narrates the story of the great Sri M in his own words and gives us an opportunity to learn his teachings. Presently he is living in Madanapalle in the state of Andhra Pradesh, a few hours from Bangalore along with his wife and two children.
I truly believe that India is blessed to have been the birthplace of such a great saint and we are very fortunate to get an opportunity to learn the life and teachings of Sri M who spreads his great learning which takes away all our miseries and helps us develop into a better human being. What say?
Agreed. This book reminded me of “Living with the Himalayan Masters” by Swami Rama. Inspiring tale of a Yogi’s quest.