Apprenticed To A Himalayan Master: A Yogi’s Autobiography

This book is the unfolding of the Spiritual ‘rags to riches’ story of a Young man from Kerala, who by Sheer dedication, sincerity and single-Mindedness evolved into Sri ‘M’, a living yogi. Through his simple prose, Sri M gently shares with the reader his Fascination travels across the Himalayas And back, profound knowledge of Upanishad philosophy and deep Spiritual insights born out of first hand Experiences, promising the reader a Unique and thought provoking journey. One of the many unusual and intriguing Aspects of this story is the fact that Sri M was born Mumtaz Ali Khan.

Sri M was born in Tiruvananthapuram, Kerala, At the age of nineteen and A half, attracted by a strange and irresistible urge to go to the Himalayas he left home.

At the Vyasa Cave, beyond the Himalayan shrine of Baddrinath, he met his Master and lived with him for three And a half years, wandering freely, the Length and breadth of the snow clad Himalayan region. What he learnt from his Master Maheshwarnath Babaji, transformed his consciousness totally.

Back in the plains, he, as instructed By his Master, lived a normal life, Working for a living, fulfilling his social Commitments and at the same time Preparing himself to teach that entire he had learnt and experienced, At a signal, from his Master he entered the teaching phase of his life. Today, he travels all over the world to share his experiences and knowledge.

Equally at home in the religious Teachings of most major religions, Sri M, born as Mumtaz Ali Khan, often Says “Go to the core. Theories are of No use”.

Sri M is married and has two children. He leads a simple life – teaching and heading the Satsang Foundation, a Charitable concern promoting excellence In education, At present he lives in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh, just Three hours from Bangalore.

Before I take you with me on this adventurous Journey, from the southern coast of India to the snowy heights of the mystical Himalyas and back, meeting extraordinary individuals, and sharing unusual and incredible experiences, I would like to say few words which will put everything in its proper perspective.

Until now, I have held most of the experiences I have written about in this book, close to my heart, not letting even my closest friends, persuade me to come out with anything more than a hint of what lay hidden in the depths of my consciousness.

Why was I so secretive in these matters and why have I now spilled the beans, as the expression goes? Let me answer these questions now:

My Master Babaji, although he had hinted that I would At some point, write an autobiography, the green signal to do that, which expecting from him, did not come till two years ago. Even after that, I deliberated a great deal for over six months, before reluctantly beginning to write, mainly for two reasons:

One, I was afraid that, caught in the fantasy of the fascinating saga, the sincere spiritual aspirant might miss out the practical and necessary aspects of the spiritual journey.

Two, that the critical reader, finding some parts of the narrative unbelievably strange, might dismiss the whole book as a cock-and-bull story.

However, what clinched the issue in favour of writing this autobiography was the following factors:

First; it occurred to me that it was my business to write what I experienced and leave it to the small minority of skeptical readers to accept or reject. I felt, I was being unfair to the majority of readers, by hesitating to tell my story for fear of the minority.

Second; after the appearance of the autobiography of a Yogi, very few authentic spiritual biographies have appeared, and the writers of even those are no longer alive and available for discussion. Also, however authentic Swami Yogananda’s autobiography is, he hadn’t personally spent much time in the Himalayas. Therefore, I thought it was important that I relate my experiences, especially those I had in the Himalayas, right now, so that I am available to the reader for a one on one.

Third; I wanted to prove the point that great teachers like Babaji and Sri Guru, influence the tide of spiritual evolution silently, behind the scenes, even though very few know of their existence.

I appeal to the readers to ignore those parts that appear to them as too fantastic to be real, of need be, and read the rest so that they don’t miss the great teachings of Sri Guru and Babaji. about my guru, “A particle of dust from his blessed feer could have created a thousand Vivekananda.”

Substitute ‘Vivekananda’ with ‘M’ and you’ll know what I mean. So, come with me on this wonderful journey dear reader; and may the blessings of the Masters be with you.