The Life of Ramana Maharshi
Paul Brunton who visited him described an environment free from dogma or religious bias he could sense “an atmosphere of authentic greatness”.
Born in 1879 and died in 1950, he left his family without explanation and settled on Arunachala Mountain to practice Self Inquiry; an effective means for eliminating ignorance and developing self-awareness.
Ramana Maharshi was born into an affluent and orthodox Brahmin family who belonged to the Smarta denomination, an emphasised form of Hinduism characterized by spiritualism. While taught the scriptures of Hinduism at home, in his teenage years he began searching for meaning through meditation and self inquiry and moved away from luxury living to seek enlightenment through living simply in nature.
He met many devotees in the woods who sought his knowledge and advice, writing several books on self-realization; Arunachala Shiva being his most notable work that details Advaita Vedanta. Additionally, he composed hymns in Tamil as well as Akshara Mana Malai for devotees to sing while making alms rounds.
Alagammal, the mother of the sage, visited him regularly and begged him to return home, but he would not do so. Finally after 19 years she decided to join him at Tiruvannamalai where they lived for life as part of an ashram lifestyle community and she learned how to cook for him as she passed on into 1922 with him holding her close in her arms.
Over time, followers gathered around Ramana Maharshi and his sage decided to establish an ashram at the base of Arunachala hill. Ramana himself oversaw construction, taking care to oversee every aspect of ashram life including minimising waste by never throwing away food.
Maharshi taught through silence, although he occasionally answered the questions from his disciples. Additionally, he would recite from Shivarahasya Purana the Ribhu Gita which is considered an authoritative scripture on Shiva and Advaita Vedanta.
Swami Ramdas, Paramhansa Yogananda, Somerset Maugham and Henri Cariet Bresson visited him frequently during his lifetime; these figures included Swami Ramdas, Paramhansa Yogananda, Somerset Maugham and Henri Cariet Bresson among many others. He was the guru for numerous seekers including Kavyakanda Ganapathy Sastri (known for writing “The Revelations of Arunachala”) as well as several prominent seekers such as Indian spiritualist Kavyakanda Ganapathy Sastri (known for writing “The Revelations of Arunachala”) before passing away on 14 April 1950 while chanting his beloved hymn Arunachala Shiva; his death was felt across India but still shines brightly within those who accept it open up themselves to receiving it.
His view of self realization
Ramana Maharshi and other Advaita teachers taught that life’s purpose is to overcome illusions such as individual identity in a world filled with interrelated objects, through continuously remembering who one really is: an eternal, formless Self that exists beyond time and space. Spiritual inquiry provides a pathway towards this realization.
Self-enquiry involves continually asking oneself: “Who am I?” Ramana Maharshi spent much of his early years at Arunachala meditating silently, sitting still without moving, and inviting visitors to do the same. Such inquiries aim to reveal not just an “I” but the true nature of all phenomena that surrounds us – thus leading them into true self-knowledge.
Once the ego recognizes its dependence on the higher Self, it surrenders. This is the only way to gain control of it and rid ourselves of its false egoism; otherwise it remains as an unchecked passenger, carrying its burden with no regard for consequences.
Self-realization can be achieved while leading a normal life and engaging in professional or other activities, according to Ramana Maharshi. Attachment to personal desires and goals prevents one from progressing toward Self-realization; to successfully do this, one should continuously remember one’s Self. Eventually, body and soul merge as one with each other for service of humanity.
Once one has attained self-realization, helping others should become part of one’s practice. But first, one must know themselves; teaching without prior understanding would be like treating diseases in others blindfolded.
His teachings quickly became widely renowned and attracted many to visit his ashram; among these were Paramahansa Yogananda, Somerset Maugham (who wrote The Razor’s Edge about him in 1944), Mercedes de Acosta and Arthur Osborne of Mountain Path magazine; all were fascinated with his simple but profound spiritual teachings.
His teachings
Ramana Maharshi spent much of the latter part of his life living at the base of Arunachala mountain in South India. He encouraged seekers to visit him, teaching them meditation techniques. Additionally, he stressed the significance of pure vegetarian diet and spiritual study while practicing pranayam with Vedic mantra recitation as part of pranakshina worship ritual.
Ramana Maharshi gave many discourses and answered many inquiries from seekers. He would occasionally offer commentaries on spiritual scriptures without venturing into philosophical debates, and advised seekers to identify what caused their ignorance by exploring their samskaras – or inborn mental tendencies – with repeated hearing of truth (sravana) and deep reflection and contemplation on it (manana). Ignorance cannot be dispelled until its roots have been broken through repeated exposure (sravana) and ongoing contemplation/contemplation on (manana).
He explained that although people often talk of memory and oblivion as separate entities, these are just thoughts; what lies beyond is oneness between Self and cosmos. Furthermore, while an ego cannot be completely removed from our minds, its presence can be reduced through strong desire to become witnesses of reality and by rejecting physical and mental pleasures that would otherwise provide temporary escape.
His most influential teachings include his self-authored Forty Verses on Reality and Its Supplement, written in Tamil with an easy format designed for chanting. These verses serve to remove misidentifications attributed to the Self and provide firm experiential conviction that this reality exists.
Ramana Maharshi taught that self-inquiry, or vichara, was the key to liberation. He believed that by practicing it regularly, one would discover the true nature of reality and become free from reincarnation or samsara. Furthermore, self-inquiry was the sole path leading to God.
Ramana Maharshi became an international hero during his lifetime due to his philosophy of non-attachment and simple lifestyle. Over time he built up Sri Ramanasramam Ashram around himself; today it includes libraries, hospitals and post offices.
As a hermit, he spent much of his time living amongst the temples and caves of Arunachala. Observing a strict regimen of silence while giving up material possessions without becoming an actual sannyasin, he attracted both Hindus and Westerners as followers.
Ramana Maharshi taught many of his teachings based on personal experience. His depth of understanding in physics, mathematics, astronomy and spirituality was immense – as evidenced by his prolific writing in Tamil.
Ramana Maharshi had a tumor in his neck that he refused to take medicine for. Suri Nagamma tried persuading him to use an herbal remedy made for her but to no avail; on 14 April 1950 he died without succumbing to temptation and the herbal remedy made specifically for him by Suri Nagamma was disapproved of by Ramana himself. Following his passing, a shooting star appeared in the sky that many believed was divine intervention from above; media reported on this incident widely and gave rise to an entirely new movement dedicated to Ramana Maharshi’s life and teachings.
