Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu·1879 – 1950
रमण महर्षि
Ramana Maharshi
The Silent Sage of Arunachala
He asked one question and it dissolved the universe.
“Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.”
Life
At the age of sixteen, Venkataraman Iyer experienced a spontaneous and overwhelming confrontation with death in his family home in Madurai. Rather than fleeing, he surrendered fully to it — lying still, withdrawing breath and sensation, and discovering that the awareness witnessing the apparent death of the body remained untouched and luminous. This was not a gradual awakening but an abrupt and permanent dissolution of identification with the individual self.
Within weeks, without telling anyone, he left home and traveled to Tiruvannamalai, drawn irresistibly to the sacred hill Arunachala. He arrived in September 1896 and never left. He first took up residence in the Arunachalesvara temple, remaining absorbed in deep samadhi for months. Over the following years, he moved to various caves on Arunachala, eventually settling at Virupaksha Cave and later Skandasramam.
Sri Ramanasramam was established at the foot of the hill in 1922. From that point until his death, he remained accessible to all who came — sitting in the hall in silence or answering questions with uncommon brevity and precision. He died on the evening of April 14, 1950. Devotees present reported that at the moment of his death, a luminous body was seen to arc across the sky toward the summit of Arunachala.
Teachings
Self-Inquiry (Atma Vichara)
The practice of tracing the “I” thought back to its source by asking “Who am I?” When sustained, all other thoughts dissolve and the ego-sense merges back into the pure awareness from which it arose.
The Self as Pure Awareness
What we truly are is not body, mind, or personality but the formless, changeless witnessing presence that illumines all experience. This Self is not something to be achieved — it is already the case.
Surrender and Abidance
For those who find Self-inquiry difficult, complete surrender to the divine is equally valid. The key is not forceful effort but a relaxed, continuous abidance in the sense of “I am.”
Works & Publications
Nan Yar? (Who Am I?)
The foundational text of his teaching, composed as answers to a devotee’s questions in 1902.
Ulladu Narpadu (Forty Verses on Reality)
The most comprehensive expression of his philosophy in verse.
Upadesa Saram (The Essence of Instruction)
Thirty verses on the nature of action, devotion, and Self-knowledge.
An Inspiration
Ramana Maharshi’s teaching of Self-inquiry is a constant reference in Ananta’s satsang. The question “Who am I?” runs through every pointing — whether framed in Advaitic silence or Ram bhakti.