SRI M WAS BORN in Trivandrum Kerala in 1949. At the age of nine he had a strange encounter in the backyard of his house. Under the jackfruit tree he saw a matted-haired yogi. The yogi blessed him saying ''you will get to know our connection in time'' and walked away.

After this incident the mind of the young boy, born of Deccani Muslim parents, turned towards Vedanta and the great Indian tradition of yoga that led to deep contemplation. Meeting many known and unknown sages and yogis as if by design, Sri M at the age of 19 left home and went off to the Himalayas. There, at the Vyasa Guha beyond Badrinath, he met the great yogi Sri Maheshwaranath Babaji belonging to the Nath sampradaya.

As an apprentice to this great being, his mind underwent a profound transformation. Travelling with this bare-footed yogi, he had many wonderful experiences. A detailed account of his almost unbelievable experiences from childhood to the present can be found in Sri M''s autobiography, Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master: A yogi''s Autobiography.

On the instructions of his master, he returned to the plains and lived incognito for a long time. Meanwhile, he got married and has two children who are themselves grownup and married now.

Sri M wears no grand robes, has no special hair style, is often found wearing jeans and T-shirt or dhothi and white shirt. He lives in Madanapalle, travels around the world conducting retreats and giving talks on yoga, Upanishads, Sufi teachings - in short, inner core of the religious traditions of most religions including the Jewish, the Christian, Buddhist and so on.

He calls himself a practising yogi.

Sri M heads the Satsang Foundation which runs the Satsang Vidyalaya - a free school for the underprivileged and an IIC-ICSC boarding school called Peepal Grove School, a rural school in a remote village 20 kms from Madanapalle and a Swasthya Kendra - a free medical service for the poor.

The Satsang Foundation has recently initiated the MYTHRI programme involving large scale re-forestation and is in the process of setting up a modern hospital to cater to the needy on the outskirts of Bangalore.