Brahmarshi Patriji

Patriji was born in Shakkarnagar, Bodhan, Nizamabad district of current Telangana state, on 11th November 1947 to P.V. Ramana Rao and Savitri Devi.

Patriji's father P.V. Ramana Rao was born in Gudivada in 1911, completed a B.Sc. at Nizam's College, Hyderabad, and went on to postgraduate studies in Sugar Technology in Kanpur. He began his career in 1936 at K.C.P Sugar Factory in Vuyyuru, then joined Nizam Sugar Factory Ltd. at Shakkarnagar in 1938. He took early retirement in 1965 and the family moved to Warangal, where Patriji's elder brother Dr. P.K. Venu Vinod was a lecturer at the Regional Engineering College. P.V. Ramana Rao left his mortal body in 1993, in Patriji's own hands.

Patriji's mother Savitri Devi was born in Guntur in 1920 — a compassionate individual, a great lover of music, a fluent Hindi speaker, and a deep meditator. As a baby of two she was sent to her elder brother's place in Allahabad, where she grew up. She married at sixteen. After a few years of happy married life she carried the family through her husband's schizophrenia with extraordinary grace. She remained a steady support in Patriji's material and spiritual life until she left her body in 2006.

Patriji's father excelled in academic studies, and so did all his children. The most accomplished was Patriji's elder brother Dr. P.K. Venu Vinod, who completed a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Manchester between 1970–74. His sister Dr. Sudha completed an M.Sc. in Organic Chemistry and almost finished a Ph.D., then — as a mother of two — completed her M.B.B.S. from Bengaluru. Patriji's younger brother Aravind left his physical body in 1964, in Mumbai, due to leukaemia.

Patriji's parents built a house named Aravind in Amberpet, Hyderabad in 1969. The home in Shakkarnagar where Patriji and his sister Dr. Sudha were born was later acquired by Dr. Sudha Koduri and is now the Savitri Devi Pyramid Meditation Centre.

Patriji's childhood was spent at Shakkarnagar, growing up with the whole neighbourhood as one extended family. On one side of his house stood a Masjid that exists exactly as it was. A few furlongs away sat the serene Rama Temple. The Nizam Sugar Factory, now dilapidated, was once the largest in Asia.

His primary schooling was in Shakkarnagar up to 5th standard, then Middle School to 9th in Bodhan Govt. High School. He moved to Secunderabad for High School at Mahbub College High School (1960–63), passing 12th with a first class. In 1966 he completed his B.Sc. at Secunderabad Arts and Science College, briefly joined M.A. English Literature at Arts College, O.U. Main Campus, then enrolled at the Agriculture College, Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University at Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, completing his B.Sc. (Ag) in 1969.

In 1970 Patriji joined the Income Tax Department as an Inspector at age 22. After ten months he resigned and returned to Hyderabad to pursue M.Sc. (Ag). Between 1970 and 1974 he completed his M.Sc. (Ag) with specialisation in Soil Science. From 1969 to 1973 he also appeared for All India Level Competitive Examinations — working, studying in bits and spurts, and reading voraciously across every library in Hyderabad.

Patriji's childhood household had a harmonium and a tabla; the family practised harmonium together. Shri Shiv Ram Guruji from Bodhan would come to the house to teach basic Hindustani music and simple bhajans. Patriji also learnt a little tabla.

In 1960 the children moved to Secunderabad for higher studies. After Patriji's 12th class exams in 1963, his brother decided he should go to Shri T.S. Chandrasekharan and learn Classical Carnatic Flute. Chandrasekharan Garu — a disciple of the legendary T. R. Mahalingam — handed Patriji a flute in April 1963. Patriji's brother Venu Vinod, six years his senior in flute, often played alongside him.

Patriji married Swarnamala Siriguri on 26th May 1974 at Yadagiri Gutta near Hyderabad. Swarnamala Patri was born in Bidar, Karnataka to Shri S.L. Narayan Rao and Smt. Rukmini Bai. She is the youngest sister of Mrudula, who married Patriji's brother Dr. P.K. Venu Vinod in 1969. Swarnamala has been a great support to Patriji throughout his spiritual journey and is herself a profound yogin.

Patriji is the proud father of two daughters — Parinitha (born 1978) and Parimala (born 1982). Both are great meditators with deep meditative experiences. Parinitha married Srinivas Reddy on 31st December 1999 — a spiritual master with deep wisdom-knowledge (more at swadhyayayoga.blogspot.com). Parimala married Mihir Sanghvi on 19th December 2010 and is a Spiritual Empowerment Leader and energy worker based in the USA (more at paripatri.com).

In 1975 Patriji joined Coromandel Fertilizers Ltd. as Assistant Sales Promotion Officer and was posted to Kurnool. He was thrilled — Kurnool was home to the great doyen of Carnatic Music, Dr. Pinakapani Garu, whom Patriji went to meet that same year.

Sripada Pinakapani Garu immediately took Patriji under his wing and taught him intricate musical techniques for three years — 1975 to 1978. Patriji learnt many keertans and could apply the Pinakapani style in his flute. Through his two masters Chandrasekharan and Sripada, he also cultivated vocal music.

Since childhood Patriji has been deeply fond of cricket. He would gather peers, form a team, and organise matches — beginning in Shakkarnagar. He considers himself a good batsman, bowler, and wicket keeper.

Even at Coromandel Fertilizers Ltd. after 1975 he formed a team and played, always as the organiser. Cricket remains a passion to this day; he watches all major cricket events on television. Patriji says, "Cricket enables the players to develop excellent Group Consciousness."

Subhash Patri became enlightened in 1979 after serious experiments with Anapanasati Meditation, with the help of his friend and colleague Shri S. Ramachenna Reddy — who himself learnt meditation in 1976/77.

Since 1979 Patriji has been striving to awaken and enlighten every individual. In the decades that followed he read more than 50,000 books on enlightenment, spirituality, and the science of meditation — written by over 10,000 Old Age and New Age gurus and masters from all over the world.

Sadananda Yogi was born in Arabia, lived in the Himalayas, toured all of India, and finally arrived in Kurnool in 1975 — the same year Patriji was posted there. A tall man, not very old looking, he lived in a small 6′ × 12′ room in Raghavendra Lodge, Kurnool Town.

Patriji, along with two fellow seekers Ramachenna Reddy and Venkataratnam, visited him for the first time on 1st January 1981. Swamiji looked at them and said: "You will obtain nothing but BrahmaJnana here." The students replied: "Swamiji! We want only that." Satisfied, Sadananda Yogi recited wonderful spiritual things in Arabic and Telugu, and after twenty minutes told them, "Come tomorrow morning. I will initiate you into meditation."

From January 1st 1981 to 22nd May 1983, Patriji spent every Kurnool visit (7–8 days a month) with Swamiji — bringing cigarettes, snacks, tea, lunch; sometimes Swarnamala would arrange the meals when Patriji was on camp. Patriji listened to his stories and experiences from a long life. Swamiji never moved out of his old lodge. He voluntarily left his body on 22nd May 1983 in the presence of Patriji and Dr. Sripada Pinakapani.

Patriji — together with spiritual friends including B.V. Reddy, Shri N.G. Showry, and Paul Vijay Kumar — established the Kurnool Spiritual Society in 1990 in Kurnool Town. Its sole mission: to create intense awareness about the science of Anapanasati Meditation and its primary role in providing physical, mental, and intellectual health and well-being to all.

In 1991 the Buddha Pyramid Meditation Center was established with the help of Shri B.V. Reddy Garu, a great meditator and industrialist of Kurnool.

Patriji resigned from Coromandel Fertilizers Ltd. in 1992 and from then on has been in uninterrupted service to humanity. His dedicated effort has resulted in hundreds of Pyramid Spiritual Societies being established across India.

Patriji has authored over sixty books, audio and video cassettes, and CDs — mostly in Telugu — on New Age spiritual-science topics. Under his guidance a vast body of spiritual-science literature has been created across languages: magazines, books, audios, videos. Works by great spiritual masters from across the world have been translated into Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, and more.

He travels extensively to every corner of India — including remote villages — and gives meditation classes to individuals of all ages, education, and strata. To date Patriji has conducted thousands of workshops on Anapanasati Meditation, vegetarianism, pyramid energy, and New Age spiritual science.