Yogi Protoplasm
About YP
When Yogi Protoplasm was a science student of Andhra University he read Paul Brunton’s book, “Search in Secret India” which inspired him to visit Ramana Maharsi at his ashrama three days before Maharsi took mahā samādhi. Since then he was highly motivated into spirituality. It was a turning point in his life. Yogi ji was also highly inspired by the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swāmi Vivekananda.
When you ask him why he calls himself Yogi Protoplasm he coolly replies –
“All plants, animals, insects, bacteria are made up of protoplasm. Protoplasm is one but has taken the shape of many forms. Its description is similar to that of Brahman. Through the discovery of Protoplasm scientists are corroborating the Vedantic principle that there is one atman in all whether you are rich or poor, black or white, male or female. Thus protoplasm is not only my name but your name also”.
Yogi Protoplasm is a tapasvi and has been living on a diet of only milk for the past thirty years. Yogiji came in close contact with the Self Realised saint Yogi Rama and served him for ten years from 1952 to 1962. In 1962 when Yogi Ramaiah appeared to be ill, Yogi Protoplasm and other took him to Dr TN Krishnaswamy, a great devote of Ramana Maharshi and Yogi Rama at Chennai. Thinking that Yogi Rama was in a semi conscious state, the doctor asked him – Do you know where you are? Yogi Rama who had not been speaking since three days answered – I am Everywhere. These were the last words of this great Yogi.
Paramahamsa Yogananda the author of Autobiography of a Yogi, met Yogi Rama at Ramana Ashram when he visited India in 1935. Later he told his American disciples that if he had stayed with Yogi Ramaiah for another half an hour he might have given up the idea of going back to America.
In 1992 Yogi Protoplasm was living in a cave in Uttarkashi where he got inspired to design Atma Parisodhana Yoga Sādhana scheme in which there is a preliminary Paricaya course and then advance courses like Sadhana Praveena, Siddha and Arudha. Participants in the sadhana camp have to achieve targets like still body (Āsana siddhi of 3, 6, 9 and12 hours duration), and still mind (Niścala Manas) and Prajňa Pratyaviksana and Brahma Bhavana. At first, camps were held in Rishĩkesh in Nirvana Ashram, Mayakund. Later on the camps were conducted all over India and now regularly held at Yogi Rāma Tapovanam Āshram, Nellore, Annareddy Palem village and at Prashanti Kutiram, the campus of S-VYASA Yoga University, Bengaluru inspiring seekers to do serious sadhana to attain the Self. To discard Dehatma Bhavana and attain Chaitanyatma Bhavana is the goal. He often quotes Swami Vivekanandas saying The first step in Spirituality is to know that you are not this body.
“Yogiji practical approach emphasizing on understanding and practice takes the sadhaka to Niddidhyasana from mere sravana and manana.”- Dr. HR Nagendra (Vice Chancellor SVYASA University) Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhāna Samsthana (S-VYASA Yoga University) Bengaluru honoured Pūjya Yogiji by offering him the Ramana Maharshi Smaraka Dhyana Yoga Pĩtham on 24th June 2010. Yogiji has been a great source of inspiration and guidance for all faculty, students and sādhakas at S-VYASA and he has taken the mission of imparting Ātma Parisodhana Yoga Sādhana to all participants. Yogiji guides those who seek his help.
Article
“Self-Enquiry is My Mantra”, as narrated by Pujya Shri Swami Prajnaranya Maharaj on the occasion of Guru Purnima, recollecting memories shared in Andhra Jyothi monthly magazine (2006) under the title “Memories”:
“Self-Enquiry is My Mantra”
At that time, I was pursuing B.Sc. (Hons) in Botany at university. During that phase, I happened to read a remarkable book titled “A Search in Secret India” by Paul Brunton, a British journalist who visited India around 1930 and wrote about his spiritual journey in the country. That book, published in 1934, introduced me to Sri Ramana Maharshi, Yogi Ramiah, and others.
After reading it, I was deeply moved. A strong urge arose in me to give up my studies and go straight to Ramana Ashram. I almost discontinued my education at that point.
My father was a police officer. One of his acquaintances, a Barrister-at-Law named P.C. Reddy, used to visit him often. My father shared my spiritual inclination with him. After hearing everything, he brought me a small booklet titled “Who Am I?”—a direct dialogue between Sri Ramana Maharshi and a devotee named Shivaprakasha Pillai, which had been recorded and published.
Since then, that simple yet profound booklet has remained the driving force of my life.
A Pilgrimage to Arunachala
During my second year of B.Sc., I left for Arunachala without informing anyone. I travelled by train without a ticket. But when I arrived at Ramanashram, the entire place was immersed in sorrow. Sri Ramana Maharshi had just left his physical body, merging into the Supreme. I stayed there just for a day and returned. Two days later, I read about his Mahasamadhi in the newspapers.
Eventually, I completed my B.Sc. and even taught Botany for a while.
The Myth of Rishis in the Himalayas
People often think that the Himalayas are filled with sages doing intense penance. But when you go there, that is not really the case. I visited Rishikesh and stayed in several ashrams. They teach scriptures like the Upanishads and the Gita in the traditional way and help one learn Sanskrit. But no one teaches sādhana (spiritual practice).
While our ancient texts are undoubtedly profound, the greatest discoveries have always come from direct Self-realization.
The Scientist’s Intuition and the Rishi’s Realization
Take Newton’s Laws for example. He observed an apple falling from a tree and discovered a great law. But deeper insight shows something more: millions witness apples fall, but only a few like Newton perceive the hidden law behind it.
During a university holiday, Newton went home and sat quietly in the garden, pondering. That’s when the apple fell—and the idea of gravitational force dawned on him. This wasn’t merely a conclusion derived from books; it was a direct inner realization. As Swami Vivekananda says, “All great discoveries come from the power of intuition.”
But not everyone becomes a Newton. Some require the help of scriptures to arrive at Self-realization.
Designing a Program for Self-Enquiry
That’s why I designed a scientifically structured Self-Enquiry program, when I was living in a cave in Uttarkashi. After all, at heart I am a scientist.
Science can only show the direction, not walk the path. Science has no self (ātman). To know the self, sādhana is essential.
As I mentioned before, all great truths arise from Self-enquiry—that is true creativity. It’s about knowing ourselves.
The tragedy is: our ancestors deeply practiced Self-enquiry, while modern people merely repeat their words like gramophone records. There is no fresh application, no personal effort. Our current education system does not sharpen independent thought; it merely trains parrots.
What we need is an application-oriented education for Self-realization.
The Shanti Ashram in our state was the first to invite me to speak on this Self-Enquiry model I developed. For the past ten years, I have been teaching this system.
My Association with Yogi Rama Tapovanam
Later, I became associated with Yogi Rama Tapovanam, founded 50 years ago at Annareddypalem (Nellore district) by Yogi Rama, a direct disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi.
Eminent people like Bezawada Gopal Reddy were among his disciples. They promoted free medical services, tree planting, and above all, encouraged Self-enquiry.
Yogi Rama maintained mouna vratam (vow of silence) for almost 12 years. In the last ten years of his life, he spoke only when necessary.
I visited the Tapovanam during that period. He never gave public lectures or wrote books. But just like a magnet energizes another magnet, or a lamp lights another, he transformed me without saying much.
He never asked me to take a mantra. I never asked either. The only thing he told me was to read the sixth chapter of the Yoga Vasistha.
Once, he went to Ramana Maharshi and said, “I want to take sannyasa.”
Ramana replied, “You are already a sannyasi. Why take sannyasa again? With a coin, anyone can dye robes or shave their head. That’s not sannyasa.”
After his Mahasamadhi, the Tapovanam flourished even more. Today, it has become a center where I teach Self-enquiry and yogic practice. We teach how to focus the unseen mind on the unseen self. We impart both Goal and Method.
We help spiritual aspirants attain the state of “Ātma-stha manaḥ kṛtvā”—where the mind is established in the Self. We show, even from a biological perspective, that the body and the soul are different.
There is a mysterious force that runs the body, just as electricity runs a fan. Through charts, models, and live demonstrations, we explain these principles scientifically.
Ultimately, what matters is experiential knowledge. That’s why we affirm:
Brahman is the Truth; the world is a superimposition.
Ramana Maharshi’s Message to Modern Seekers
If someone said, “There is no God,”
Ramana Maharshi would reply,
“God may or may not exist, but you exist—so at least find out who you are!”
If someone raised questions about past lives, he’d say,
“Forget the past—right now, you are alive. Find out what this life is!”
“You are not the body, nor the mind. There is a deeper awareness beyond all this. That is the Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss). Once you realize that, all problems dissolve.”
Hence, I feel Ramana Maharshi’s message is the most relevant to today’s youth, who do not want to follow blindly but seek to inquire and discover truth for themselves.
