Dharma Ratna Yami is the kind of personality who feels familiar even to those who do not know him personally. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the credit for introducing him to the world goes to Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan. This is because Rahul captured Dharma Ratna in many pages of his travel literature, through which many intellectuals came to know him.
Mahapandit Rahul has mentioned Dharma Ratna's life starting from his childhood, through the revolution of 1951 (2007 BS), and up until his time as the Deputy Minister of Forests after the revolution. No one else has understood Dharma Ratna as deeply as Rahul did. He documented the details of how Yami’s childhood was spent in Tibet, how he fell into debt, and the pain of losing his loved ones. Although Dharma Ratna Yami was not a successful businessman, he had to struggle immensely in trade (metaphorically, "bake many papads"). He was more interested in political thought than business, which is why he became a target of the Ranas' wrath.
Fundamentally, Dharma Ratna Yami was a follower of Buddhism, but he held no blind faith toward it. For this reason, he presented his work "Buddha was a Human" to the public. Perhaps an English version of this has already been published. Although this work is small, it is highly worthy of contemplation.
Dharma Ratna Yami’s nature was extremely outspoken. That is to say, he could not hide what was in his mind and would speak bluntly. This behavior did cause him obstacles in various places. He fiercely opposed "Brahmanism" (orthodoxy), which led some people to view him as a communal-minded person. However, calling him communal would be a great mistake. Primarily, he was a Buddhist. Buddha himself was the greatest critic of Brahmanism. Since Yami’s life was immersed in Buddhist literature, it was natural for that influence to show; it is only our perception that makes us think he was communal. If anyone studies Buddhist literature carefully, even a "son of a Brahmin" would become an opponent of Brahmanism. We find many examples in ancient times of Brahmins themselves being opponents of such orthodoxy.
I personally knew Dharma Ratna Yami. We visited each other's homes frequently. We lived as neighbors for many years in a house purchased by King Tribhuvan. We shared in each other's family joys and sorrows.
Date: 1989-07-17 (2046-04-02 BS) Address: Chha-2/186 Maharajgunj, Kathmandu.