Swami Munishwaranandaji Maharaj, popularly known as Sri Kapadia Baba, was, during that period, roaming along the banks of the holy Ganga. He lived in a small hut in a secluded spot near Nardara. Carrying a large earthen pot in his hands, he would beg for food in the riverside villages, calling out loudly, “Roti de, roti de.” Since ‘kapadia’ means a large mud vessel, the saint came to be known as Kapadia Baba.

Many stories are associated with this great mahatma. The villagers of Nardara believed that he hailed from a region in present-day West Bengal, about twenty-five miles from the Ganga and roughly a hundred miles from Bhagalpur in Bihar. According to local belief, Kapadia Baba had once served as a judge. Fate compelled him to pronounce a death sentence upon his own son-in-law. When the sentence was carried out, the shock shattered his worldly attachments. Renouncing all ties, he undertook Ganga Pradakshina, realized God, and thereafter taught people to chant the Mahamantra: “Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare; Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.”

From early childhood, Ram Surat Kunwar was deeply drawn to Kapadia Baba. The Baba wore nothing but a loincloth, and his appearance frightened many village children. Yet Ram Surat Kunwar felt only attraction and reverence. Whenever the Baba came to Nardara seeking alms, Ram Surat Kunwar would be the first to offer him food. Kapadia Baba, in turn, showed special affection toward the boy.

In 1953, villagers along the Ganga, including those from Nardara, built an ashram for Kapadia Baba at Chandpur near Bariya. Though the ashram stood ready, the Baba visited it only occasionally, preferring his life of wandering along the riverbanks and begging as before. He eventually attained mahasamadhi at the Chandpur ashram, where a marble statue was installed over his samadhi.

Sri Amitabh, the son of Ram Surat Kunwar, later recalled faint memories of visiting this ashram with his father and elder sister Yasodhara in the early 1950s and receiving prasad there.

Kapadia Baba played a significant role in shaping Ram Surat Kunwar’s inner life. Through roaring laughter, enigmatic words, and silent grace, he drew the boy close and showered him with compassion and blessings. This association deeply influenced Ram Surat Kunwar’s transformation and instilled in him the courage to seek his true guru.

Although Kapadia Baba was a realized soul, he refused to accept Ram Surat Kunwar as his disciple and instead directed him to search for his guru in South India. Perhaps the Baba foresaw that Ram Surat Kunwar’s destined service lay at Tiruvannamalai. Had Kapadia Baba accepted him as a disciple, that destiny might never have unfolded.

The ways of God are mysterious, yet precise. As guided by this mahatma, Ram Surat Kunwar would later journey southward in search of his guru. Saints, across all ages, know their roles and fulfill them with quiet perfection.

At home, Mother Kusum Devi continued to narrate the stories of Rama and Krishna to her children. Ram Surat Kunwar repeatedly asked her to retell them, listening with rapt attention. He longed to become like Rama and Krishna and was especially devoted to Hanuman, marveling at his valor and unwavering devotion.

From an early age, Ram Surat Kunwar was known for his helpful nature. He assisted his mother in household chores, fetched water from the well, and readily served elders in the village. His sincerity and gentleness made him beloved by all.

He completed his elementary education in 1929 and joined the middle school at Bariya, five kilometers from Nardara. Later, in 1933, he enrolled at Ballia High School to pursue matriculation, staying with relatives in Ballia. He passed his matriculation examination in first class in 1937.

During school holidays in 1931, when he was thirteen, Ram Surat Kunwar returned to Nardara. One morning, while drawing water from a well, he noticed a sparrow perched nearby, gazing at him.

Enchanted by its beauty and swift movements, he impulsively tossed the rope toward it in playful affection. Tragically, the rope struck the bird, and it fell mortally wounded. He rushed to it, cradled it in his hands, and ran to the Ganga, pouring holy water into its beak in desperate hope. But the bird died in his palms. Shock and grief overwhelmed him. He sat by the riverbank, trembling, tears streaming down his face.

His tender heart was consumed by guilt. “Why did this beautiful creature die by my hand?” he questioned himself. “What was it that left the bird? The wings remain, yet the power to fly is gone. Can what has departed ever return?”

These unanswered questions pierced his being. After a long while, he gently placed the bird into the Ganga, watching as it disappeared into the sacred waters. This first encounter with death marked him deeply, awakening an intense awareness of life, creation, and impermanence. From that day, a silent transformation began within him.

Whenever he returned to Nardara, Ram Surat Kunwar sought out Kapadia Baba. After the bird’s death, his restlessness and inner pain became evident, especially to the saint. On Kapadia Baba’s guidance, Ram Surat Kunwar traveled to Kasi at the age of sixteen to seek solace and clarity at the temple of Kashi Vishwanath. Standing before the Sivalingam, he closed his eyes in deep devotion. Suddenly, for the first time, he was flooded with divine ecstasy that dissolved his pain and thoughts. A radiant presence enveloped him; he perceived a compassionate message, though its meaning eluded him. It felt like an embrace from the all-pervading Father.

He later went to Harishchandra Ghat on the Ganga, where funerals were performed. Watching bodies consigned to flames and ashes offered to the river, he experienced a profound loss of body-consciousness, as though his own body were being cremated and dissolved in the Ganga. Slowly returning to normal awareness, he emerged calmer and more serene. The pain caused by the bird’s death finally vanished.

From Kasi he traveled to Sarnath, where the Buddha had delivered his first sermon. Immersed in ecstasy, he wandered the sacred grounds, imagining the Buddha walking there with his disciples. After several days in this elevated state, he returned to Nardara and narrated his experiences to Kapadia Baba. The saint laughed joyfully, then grew serious and advised him to study the lives and teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Swami Ram Tirtha, and to read the Tulsi Ramayana and the Bhagavad Gita daily. Ram Surat Kunwar followed this guidance with devotion until he met his guru, committing vast portions of these texts to memory.

Even decades later, after merging with his Supreme Father, he would effortlessly quote verses from the Tulsi Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita, sing compositions of Kabir and Meera Bai, and occasionally recite passages from the Vedas and Upanishads, explaining their meanings in English. His memory and spiritual absorption remained extraordinary throughout his life.