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• Personal Growth

September 2023

INTO THE Light 

Meet Suresh Ramaswamy,  a tech entrepreneur and a  spiritual teacher living inSan Diego, California, whose  transcendence journey and  

key messages revolve around  Light and Infinity. Ashwin  Patil interviews him.

I met Suresh in a quaint little café in  Bangalore on a rainy day in 2016. I distinctly  remember how Suresh sat peacefully,  sipping a hot cup of tea. His presence emanated  a deep sense of bliss. Later, we became friends,  and he coached me while I was going through  an intense phase in my inner journey. I also  attended a few of his online and in-person  retreats in Bangalore. These retreats were  spectacular because the focus was on directly  experiencing the Source and raising vibrations.  After spending time with him, I felt convinced  that Suresh had fully integrated and embodied  the essence of consciousness. 

What is also interesting about Suresh’s life is  that he is a tech entrepreneur, a family man,  and lives a regular life. He lives in San Diego,  California, US, with his wife and kids. Suresh  was born in Bangalore and grew up in Mumbai.  He did his Bachelor of Engineering from  Mumbai and his MS from the US. 

Suresh Ramaswamy is a transformational  teacher and visionary entrepreneur passionate  about igniting and catalysing the transformation  of humanity. He is the award-winning author of  Just Be: Transform Your Life and Live as Infinity. 

You can find more about his work at https:// sureshramaswamy.org/ and his organisation  Radiant Field at https://www.radiantfield.org.  

You grew up in Mumbai before travelling to  the US for higher studies. When did you get  interested in spirituality? 

To know that is almost impossible. It began in  my preschool days with very rich and spectacular  dreams that were like science fiction movies. I  would see patterns of light and colours which  were vibrant and intelligent. I could interact  with them. This stopped once school started  because I got busy with the schedule. 

Later on, I did have interesting experiences  from time to time. I remember coming back one  day from school and going out to our backyard.  It had just rained and everything smelled so  good. But there was more than that. There  was perfect clarity and bliss. It was very clear  that this was fundamental and not another  emotional experience. Of course, in a few days,  it did go away. 

When I was 10 or 12, I started to enjoy reading  science-related books, especially about galaxies,  black holes, relativity theory, space, and time.  This led me to read spiritual books in my teens.  

My family was not immersed in spirituality. It  was an average Indian household. My parents  would do the morning puja every day. We would  go to a temple and, sometimes, for Bhagavad  Gita talks or to ashrams. I would enjoy these  occasions very much.  

How did the culture of Mumbai shape your  spiritual pursuit? 

Mumbai has got a very dynamic quality. It’s  full of energy and vibrancy, and contains a  wide spectrum of food, cultures, and religions.  People here are go-getters, whether it is business  or spirituality. I think, somewhere, that was a  part of me. I couldn’t just sit back and think  everything was going to come to me. I knew I  had to put in the effort and be enterprising.  I had to be creative and think originally. It is  important not just for outer success but for  inner success too. I am grateful to have grown  up in Mumbai. 

That’s amazing. The outer hustle shaped  your inner hustle. What was your spiritual  pursuit like? 

Very unremarkable. It was amazing to read  and hear about the experiences of Swami  Vivekananda or Paramahansa Yogananda.  

Suresh Ramaswamy: One with the Light 

Their stories would actually shift my energy  and consciousness, and I could feel the change.  However, everyone said I couldn’t just read  books; I had to practise. So I would meditate  for 10 minutes, but the mind would get very  chatty. I assumed your mind had to be quiet,  so I felt unsuccessful at meditation. But on  the other hand, I would just see Light inside.  I would close my eyes and look into the inner  sky and the inner sun. I never thought that this  was significant. So this state lasted for many  decades.  

Did you meet or follow any living teacher? Along the way, I’ve met several teachers. None  of them felt as if they were my teacher. One  particular sage pointed out my connection with  Light that I’ve had throughout—even my being  is named after the sun. My name is one of the  words for the sun. Looking back, I would say 

Light itself and Infinity are my teachers. Not  just in this life but several lifetimes.  

When did you realise that Light and Infinity  were speaking to you and through you? After about 25 years of practising, my  meditation started to intensify. I would do six hour meditations regularly. Out of the six hours,  most of the time, I was just sitting there. But  there would be half a minute when something  undeniable happened. At first, the Light and I  were together but not for too long. You cannot  last in that Light. So you disappear and there  is only that Light. When I entered meditation,  I would have some worldly thoughts, such as  having to deal with an issue or even asking  God why he did a particular thing to me. But  you can’t do anything when you meet God.  So it was incredibly uplifting. The experience  of disappearing was like being struck by  lightning. It would change my vibration. I was  not the same old person thinking the same old  thoughts. 

Earlier, I would feel I would have to take  another birth for Self-realisation because I  was still alive. But now I know that in the act  of surrender, you’re actually going to die for  the first and last time. That part of you which  holds itself apart from infinite life is going to  relinquish itself into Infinity. This does not  happen instantly. There is an unknown period  of time before it kicks in. You don’t control  it. And when it happens, you know Grace has  essentially embraced you. Even so, everything  goes on as usual.  

After your Self-realisation, what inspired you  to become a teacher? 

There were a few turning points and events  which led to my teaching a course on personal  transformation at the local community college,  here in California. Another significant event  

was my writing of the book Just Be several years  ago. I would have these promptings to write a  book. And I turned them down. I felt that even  if I came up with the most incredible content,  there was already such good content available.  We didn’t need another book. 

The inklings intensified, as if somebody was  knocking on my door. I responded that unless  the book inherently had a vibration that could  uplift the readers, I would not write the book.  It was made very clear to me that I didn’t have  to worry about that. I was shown, rather than  told, that the book would have a vibration.  I was in tears because this was not me. This  was something bigger saying, “We’re going  to take care of the real stuff. You just do your  little part.” So I could no longer argue. That  realisation led to the book, which was the first  big step in becoming a public figure. I realised  that people picking up the book would have  never met me or heard of me.  

Another turning point was when I started  doing events like retreats and workshops. My  preference would have been to stay private and  obscure. However, Light made it very clear that  it wanted me to be playing the role of a public  teacher. And that also empowered me because  Light made it clear that it was actually doing  it, not me.  

So what is your message or, rather, Light’s  message? 

One of the things I would start out by saying  is to go directly to the Source. I like to use the  term Infinity to refer to all that is, everything,  the ultimate. Only the Infinity can pull it  off. So I would say go straight for that. Don’t  depend on any intermediary, including me.  It’s important for each one of us to know that  and not feel excessively dependent on anything  outside of ourselves.  

In terms of what I talk about, I use perhaps  three words: Being, Light, and Infinity. I  already talked about Infinity.  

What is Being? Being is actually the very core of  what we are. So if you start stripping away the  layers, you might start with possessions, then  

When I entered meditation, I would have some worldly thoughts, such as having to deal with an issue or even asking  God why he did a particular thing to me. But you can’t do  anything when you meet God. So it was incredibly uplifting.  The experience of disappearing was like being struck by  lightning. It would change my vibration. I was not the same  old person thinking the same old thoughts. relationships, your persona, your patterns, your  emotions, and your thoughts. When there’s  nothing that can be peeled away, what is left  is the core. This is your essence. The essence  can never be gone, but we can lose touch with  it. And when you’re back in touch with your  essence and you are functioning, living, and  operating as essence, that’s what I call Being.  When you’re simply Being, you’re not being  this, you’re not being that. You’re just being.  

Now let me talk about Light. If you look at  Creation, we have planets and galaxies, but even  beyond galaxies, we have many dimensions.  Beyond the physical reality, there is the non physical reality. So, this everything together is  Creation. And if you were to say, “What is all  this made of?” it’s all vibrations. Now if you  keep looking at the vibration and you focus on  the most refined of vibrations, that’s what I call  Light. This is transcendental Light as opposed  to ordinary light. Why is this important? When  we start trying to find our way back to our true  nature, the nature of reality in the physical  plane is very confusing. We can call upon the  transcendental Light and connect with it. Light  is able to lift us out of the confusion very quickly  because it is the most refined vibration and we  are attuning to it. This helps us in raising our  vibration and anchors us in Beingness from  where we are connected to the Source itself,  which is Infinity. So, if you keep these three in  mind, you’re in good shape.  

Suresh, if this was so easy, many people would  be Self-realised by now. What comes in their  way? 

The reason why it’s so hard to find the truth,  and truth with the capital ‘T,’ is because people  don’t really want it. Even if we have a spiritual  interest, it is half-hearted. It’s like a hobby. You  got to really want it. Your yearning has to be  so strong that it is singular. If somebody could  put a probe into your heart, there is only one  melody coming, the one music—your heart  singing for the Infinite.  

So, for someone who is reading this article  and wanting to merge with the Source or get  realised, what is your message? 

Firstly, the title of my book is the summary of  what I have to say: “Just be.” So, “Just be” is  the primary directive from the beginning to the  end. Now, a lot of people will say, “I need some  more understanding and known practices.” For  this reason, the book is there. A core practice  that I talk about is something called Awakening  Infinite Radiance (AIR) which will help you  systematically move towards Beingness. It  takes you from a more finite orientation to the  Infinite. This is the foundational practice. You  can learn it from the book. I also describe a  framework which is important to understand.  Transcend, integrate, and embody: these are the  three phases of growth. 

The reason why it’s so hard to find the truth, and truth  with the capital ‘T,’ is because people don’t really want it.  Even if we have a spiritual interest, it is half-hearted. It’s  like a hobby. You got to really want it. Your yearning has  to be so strong that it is singular. If somebody could put  a probe into your heart, there is only one melody coming,  the one music—your heart singing for the Infinite.  

Could you please talk about these three  phases? 

If you don’t develop holistically and in a  balanced way, at some point, you will find that  some areas are highly undeveloped, and this  can hold you back. Transcendence happens  when we lift our consciousness and touch  something super high. However, other parts of  us may have remained the same, and these will  show up when we function in the world. 

Integration comes next when I work on bringing  that Light to other areas in my life which are  still in the shadows. It is generally not as much  fun. Whereas transcendence is really blissful. If  somebody tells you, you cleaned up one room in  your house but that other room you didn’t, you  then feel compelled to clean the other room too.  It may be hard work, but it’s important to bring  Light to all the areas. 

Then comes the Embodiment phase where  you radiate Light, sharing it with the world.  This is very important because you are never  in isolation. You’re always part of the whole.  You are not this one little guy who went off and  became enlightened. You include the world  because you are connected with the whole  world. So, those are the three phases from  Light’s perspective.  

Are these phases linear or nonlinear? It’s actually both, which may seem very strange.  So, there is a macro transcend phase where  people are involved in blissful experiences,  like going to an ashram, tasting bliss in  meditations, or satori. This could be followed  by a macro integration phase, where this bliss  which was experienced is integrated with our  shadows, and then our behaviour in the outer  world radiates the peace and love which is the  embodiment of Light. 

However, within the transcend phase, you can  have many cycles where there’s a transcend  integration phase, and that little thing you can  integrate and then embody. So you can have these  mini-cycles also. In a single day, let’s say you  had a deep meditation in the morning. That is  mostly transcendence. Then, of course, you had  to take care of some work which required you  to drive somewhere; integration is happening.

In your work and in your relationships, a lot of  integration is happening. 

When this evolution is happening, how does  one balance spiritual and material pursuits? Let me share from my own life. After my studies,  I started working with larger corporations.  After some time, I realised that while corporate  jobs offer predictable income, security, and in  my case, even a good boss and co-workers, there  was no place for internal freedom and creativity.  So I decided to start a tech startup in my  garage. The entrepreneurial journey involves  risk-taking big time. There is also a high degree  of uncertainty. You don’t know what even next  week is going to bring. So that raises a lot of  fears. All those years of meditation brought  me face to face with my fears, and I worked on  that for several years. I think business helped  me in spirituality and vice versa. That was a  significant phase of my growth. 

We don’t have to look at money and physical  things as being anti-spiritual. That’s a very  limited way of looking at it. If I do meditation, I  am spiritual. But five days a week, in corporate  meetings, doing presentations is just business  and material corporate life. It doesn’t make  sense. Your own being is continuously present  24 hours a day. Okay, you may present yourself  a little differently, but your awareness is the key.  That’s there all the time. So when you step into  a corporate environment or whatever your work  looks like, don’t switch off until you go home to  meditate. That situation contains big spiritual  growth. So everything is spiritual if you ask me.  Spirituality is happening all the time. 

My last question to you, Suresh: Are  we humans stepping up to our spiritual  dimension? 

I would say we are stepping up but tentatively,  incrementally. I think we can do better. It  doesn’t have to be all eight billion people.  There are enough of us who are willing to really  step up that will make a big difference. So I am  optimistic. 

The second reason I am optimistic is the Light  itself. Light is intensifying on the planet.  It is really very strong. I see that as simply a  blessing from Light. Which means each and  every one of us who decides to step up will get  a boost from Light, and we will feel it as we go  deeper and deeper. You will be able to take in a  lot more Light, and you will find it supporting  you to do whatever you need to do next. And  it is such a tremendously positive thing that  growth can become so good. When you step  into that resonance and attunement with Light,  it’s beautiful, and because of this, I think more  and more people will realise their true nature.  It may happen in their own way; they may not  even use the word ‘Light.’ It doesn’t matter.  They will feel inside and they will step up. And  so, that makes me feel very optimistic.

Ashwin Patil is an executive coach for startup and social impact leaders.  He loves integrating and embodying peace through daily living, work and  writing. He lives in Bangalore.