By Dr. R. Balasubramaniam
It was January 1985. I was sitting with Swami Achalanandaji, a monk who was then living at the Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education (RIMSE) in Mysuru and discussing the qualities of an ideal student and that of an ideal teacher (Guru). Swamiji was trying to explain to me Shankara’s Vivekachudamani, wherein Shankara so wonderfully describes these qualities. I felt them to be so ideal that I was left wondering if such people really existed. Suddenly, Achalanandaji turned the conversation to another monk in the Ramakrishna Order, whom he said I had to meet, and who embodied this concept. He said his name was Swami Sureshananda (who was also fondly referred to by his pre-monastic name as Hari) and he was the Correspondent of Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala at Mysuru. He told me that this was one person who lived by the Advaitic principles elucidated by Shankara and I would indeed learn a lot by just being with him.
