Sri Ramana Maharshi was probably the most famous sage of the twentieth century both in India and the rest of the world.

He was renowned for his saintly life, for being fully realized, and for the powerful transmissions that often occurred to visitors in his presence. At age 16 he realized spontaneously and ran away to Arunachala, one of India’s traditional holy sites, where he stayed for the rest of his life. So many people came to see him there that an ashram was built around him. Many of his close devotees were regarded by their peers as self-realized.

His Main Teaching

Ramana Maharshi always said that his most important teaching was done in silence. He meant that when people were in his physical presence, in his sannidhi, their minds were affected. In some cases the effects was astonishingly strong.

Hundreds of people have described these phenomena in books and articles.

His Second-Most Important Teaching

His second-most important teaching was a practice called vichara in Sanskrit. The customary English translation is “self-enquiry.”

Self-enquiry as taught by Sri Ramana is the continuous effort to focus attention as keenly as possible on the I-thought in order to recognize the I-thought’s source, the Self.

When this is done, awareness intensifies and thoughts diminish. The practice must be performed continuously for long periods in order to achieve results.

Sri Ramana often used the word “enquire” in the sense of “observe closely.” For example, in verse 23 of Ulladu Narpadu he wrote, “With a keen mind enquire from where this ‘I’ emerges.”

Self-enquiry does not mean asking questions except as an occasional device for reminding ourselves to refocus attention when it wanders.

Self-enquiry does not mean focusing on the physical heart or on any other part of the body or on any object whatsoever.

ramana maharshi

 

Who Am I?

Sri Ramana was born near Madurai in Tamil Nadu, India.

Sri Ramana summarized his method in a pamphlet called “Who Am I?” which was for years his most widely disseminated writing. The title has probably contributed to the widespread but mistaken impression that the method consists of questions.

Actually, the main significance of the title is that the method is a technique for finding the answer.

Sri Ramana didn’t intend the question to be mysterious. Early editions of the pamphlet began with the sentence “Who am I?” The next sentence supplied the answer: “Consciousness [arivu] itself is I.”

Biography

He was born on December 30, 1879 in a village called Tirucculi about 30 miles south of Madurai in southern India. His middle-class parents named him Venkateshwara, although a few years later he enrolled in school under the name Venkataraman. His family were Iyers, members of the Tamil Brahmin caste. His father died when he was twelve, and he went to live with his uncle in Madurai where he attended American Mission High School.

At age 16, he became spontaneously self-realized. Six weeks later he ran away to the holy hill of Arunachala where he would remain for the rest of his life. When he arrived he threw away all his property including the thread which marked him as a Brahmin. For several years he stopped talking and spent many hours each day in samadhi. When he began speaking again, people came to ask him questions and he soon acquired a reputation as a sage. In 1907, when he was 28, one of his early devotees named him Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, Divine Eminent Ramana the Great Seer, and the name stuck. Eventually he became world-famous and an ashram was built around him. He died of cancer in 1950 at the age of 70.

His Self-Realization

At age 16, he heard somebody mention “Arunachala.” Although he didn’t know what the word meant (it’s the name of a holy hill associated with the god Shiva) he became greatly excited. At about the same time he came across a copy of Sekkilar’s Periyapuranam, a book that describes the lives of Shaivite saints, and became fascinated by it. In the middle of 1896, at age 16, he was suddenly overcome by the feeling that he was about to die. He lay down on the floor, made his body stiff, and held his breath. “My body is dead now,” he said to himself, “but I am still alive.” In a flood of spiritual awareness he realized he was the Self.

 

 

 

 

Text: realization.org

Video: youtube.com

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