When Sri Ramana first arrived in Tiruvannamalai, he stayed in a great temple. In the midst of self-inquiry (in Sanskrit “vichara,” also called jnana-vichara or ātma-vichār), during this physicalized death of his body, Ramana realized the eternal nature of his soul, an eternal force he called “a personal God” or “Ashwara.” Amid this awakening, Ramana said, ”My body is dead now, but I am still alive.” The resulting flood of spiritual awareness gave birth to his self-realization. In the middle of 1896, at age 16, Ramana fell flat on the floor in rigid form and held his breath. Ramana became entranced by this book which inspired the death of his ego. When he was in his early teens, someone gave Ramana a copy of Sekkilar’s Periya Puranam, or Great Purana, which describes the lives of sixty-three Shaivite saints. Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi Sri Ramana’s Moment Of Self-Realization “By Incessantly Pursuing Within Yourself The Inquiry ‘Who Am I?’, You Will Know Your True Self And Thereby Attain Salvation.” His luminous spirit continues to fill the hearts of his many followers around the world. Tiruvannamalai is also where Ramana Maharshi declared his love for the resident mountain, Arunachala.

How can I possibly express in words the mysterious working of Bhagavan through silence?” Those who received his message of silence had no need whatsoever to talk to him, much less a need for his instructions. Many of his earliest devotees also became self-realized.Įventually, Bhagavan’s followers built an ashram around him in Tiruvannamalai, which they named “Sri Ramana Ashram” or “Sri Ramanasramam.” This became Ramana’s home from 1922 until his death in 1950.Ī self-realized woman, Sankarammal, who worked in the ashram’s kitchen said of Ramana, “Silence was the state of Bhagavan, and his direct teaching was only through silence. They would sit at his feet awaiting his darshan (blessing). He attracted many devotees who saw him as an avatar. After living in various places in Tiruvannamalai, he moved to the caves and several of India’s holy sites in Tiruvannamalai, where his followers named him Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi or “Divine Eminent Ramana, the Great Seer.”įor several years Bhagavan refrained from speaking and spent each day in samadhi. Soon after his 16th birthday, Venkataraman self-realized spontaneously and immediately journeyed to Arunachala Hill in Tiruvannamalai. More and more, he became fascinated with local temples and the statues of its deities. A sensitive soul, and strong athlete, Venkataraman endured beatings by local schoolboys. In his early childhood, upon his father’s death, the young Venkataraman was separated from his mother and placed with his loving uncle. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.īhagavan Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) was an Indian Satguru, born as Venkataraman Iyer, to a Brahmin family in Tiruchuzhi, South India. Sri Ramana Maharshi, lovely and profound.

Ramana maharshi ashram tiruvannamalai