| Home | The Kovalam Seminars | Editor's note | A Documentation | Biography | Books on Ramesh | Contact |
. . . o n R a m e s h - H i s B i o g r a p h y
Ramesh S. Balsekar
The mere incident of enlightenment does not necessarily confer an ability to
communicate the concomitant understanding. However, in Ramesh's case that
ability has assumed remarkable depth. This organism known as Ramesh is amply
endowed with compassion, patience, humor and eloquence. Though the dialogues in
his books can convey but a fraction of the impact that his presence can have,
as you read you may get a sense of the energy that fills the room as Ramesh
warms to his subject.
Still, what is most remarkable about Ramesh is his very ordinariness and the very ordinariness of his teaching. Though elaborate theoretical structures may be erected around it - his concept of the working mind and the thinking mind would be a good example of this - the essence of the teaching is simplicity itself. He offers no miracles, no cures, no special powers; in fact, all he really offers is Nothing, that Nothing, that we all truly are.
And while it is often said that Ramesh appears ordinary, no one could ever say he is mediocre. It is his complete lack of pretense that moderates the light of his accomplishments from a blinding brilliance to a warm glow. In his education, both in India and at the London School of Economics, he was always near the top of his class but never at the top of his class. In his leisure pursuits, as a body builder, competitive badminton player and golfer his standings were always superior though rarely superlative.
Ramesh married Sharda in 1940 and they raised three children. The eldest was Ajit, brilliant but with a life-long history of health problems. He died in 1990 at the age of forty-nine. Next came his daughter, Jaya, who married and then moved to Bangalore where she runs a successful dairy business. His youngest son, Shivdas, is also married and is the senior executive in the Indian branch of a multi-national pharmaceutical company.
It was in his career, which began in 1940 as a clerk in the Bank of India, that Ramesh's brilliance truly shone through. Despite lacking a booming ambition, he steadily rose through the ranks until his retirement in 1977 as that bank's General Manager (what is known in the U.S. as company president or C.E.0.). During his ten years of service as its head, he guided the bank through its most rapid and successful growth period, overseeing the hiring of thousands of people and the opening of hundreds of new branches in India and around the globe.
Shortly after his mandatory retirement at age sixty, Ramesh read a magazine article about a guru named Nisargadatta Maharaj who was teaching about Advaita (non-duality) in a poor area of Bombay. It was a subject in which he had always had a keen interest. He went to hear him, knew at once that this was his ultimate guru and within three or four months began translating for Maharaj at his daily morning talks. It was not long before Ramesh too experienced the ultimate understanding.
Retired bank president, golfer, husband and father doesn't fit the stereotype of
an Indian guru... and perhaps that accounts, at least in part, for the fact
that 90% of the people who come to him are Westerners. His background and
education combined with his understanding make him a master who is an ideal
bridge between East and West, the spiritual and the material.
Ramesh
S. Balsekar
"All there is is consciousness."
In June
2001 Ramesh went abroad for the very last time. A month earlier, on May 25th,
he had turned 84. For 4 years (1998 to 2001) he had been giving Seminars in
Germany, Schermau. Now You have to travel to India to hear and be with him.
Ramesh lives in the Breach Candy area – near the Mahalaksmi Tempel - in Mumbai,
former Bombay, and talks seven days a week at 9 a.m. in his home. Everybody is
welcome and entrance to his usually 90 minutes long Talk in the form of
dialogues - questions and answers - is free.
When visiting Mumbai, as Bombay is called now, there are two main questions:
How to get from the airport into town and where to stay?
In the arrival hall near the exit is an official taxi counter where you can buy a ticket
that shows the registration number of the taxi. There are fixed prices displayed at the
counter. Go outside the building and the taxies are parked across the road. Just ask any
driver and they will find the car you have booked.
Almost all the hotels are in the Colaba area and if you are headed there your destination
would be the Taj Mahal Hotel. Near Ramesh’s place, the Breach Candy area, are only a few
fairly expensive hotels that I have listed here. Before 9 in the morning the ride to Colaba
will take around 40 minutes and if you have booked one of the hotels from this listing,
then your destination with the taxi would be Kemp’s Corner. Most international flights
arrive in the middle of the night and you can either stay in the arrival lounge until
daybreak and then head for the city or go straight to the coffee shop at the Taj Mahal
Hotel that is open 24 hours to hang out until you can go searching for a hotel.
A booking in advance is only safe for the expensive hotels; with the cheaper ones you will
take a real gamble. For the latest listings of hotels it’s best to buy a travel guide and
I would recommend the ‘Lonely Planet Travel Guide’ that has all the info about the city
you need.
Near Ramesh’s house in the
Breach Candy area are 3 good hotels:
Shalimar Hotel, Kemps Corner
Tel: 0091-22-23631311 Fax: 0091-22-23631317
Email: theshalimarhotel@vsnl.com
Rooms from $80 to 120
Hotel Kemps Corner
Tel: 0091-22-23634646/4655/4666/4732/1955/1966
Fax: 0091-22-23634732
Rooms from $24 to 40
Regency Hotel, 73 Nepean Sea Road
Tel: 0091-22-23697700, 23630002, 23630003
Fax: 0091-22-23635575, 3697722
Rooms from $45 to 55 incl. breakfast
Ramesh S. Balsekar
"10 Sindhula"
N. Gamadia Road
Mumbai 400026
If you want to
have further information right now, please email:
Heiner Siegelmann
heiner4@gmail.com
| Home | The Kovalam Seminars | Editor's note | A Documentation | Biography | Books on Ramesh | Contact |
Developed by Yoginet