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Ramana Maharshi ([rəˈmʌɳə məˈhʌrʃi]; 30 December 1879 – 14 April 1950) was an Indian Hindu sage and jivanmukta (liberated being). He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

He was born in Tiruchuli, Tamil Nadu, India. In 1895, an attraction to the sacred hill Arunachala and the 63 Nayanmars was aroused in him,[4] and in 1896, at the age of 16, he had a "death-experience" where he became aware of a "current" or "force" (avesam) which he recognized as his true "I" or "self",[web 1][5] and which he later identified with "the personal God, or Iswara",[web 1][note 2] that is, Shiva. This resulted in a state that he later described as "the state of mind of Iswara or the jnani".[web 1][note 3] Six weeks later he left his uncle's home in Madurai, and journeyed to the holy mountain Arunachala, in Tiruvannamalai, where he took on the role of a sannyasin (though not formally initiated), and remained for the rest of his life.

He attracted devotees that regarded him as an avatar of Shiva and came to him for darshan ("the sight of God"). In later years, an ashram grew up around him, where visitors received upadesa ("spiritual instruction")[7] by sitting silently in his company asking questions.[8] Since the 1930s his teachings have been popularized in the West.

Ramana Maharshi approved a number of paths and practices,[3] but recommended self-enquiry as the principal means to remove ignorance and abide in self-awareness,[web 2][10] together with bhakti (devotion) or surrender to the self.

Ramana Maharshi was born Venkataraman Iyer on 30 December 1879 in the village Tiruchuzhi near Aruppukkottai, Virudhunagar District in Tamil Nadu, South India. He was the second of four children in an orthodox Hindu Brahmin family. His father was Sundaram Iyer (1848–1890), from the lineage of Parashara, and his mother was Azhagammal (1864–1922). He had two brothers Nagaswami (1877–1900) and Nagasundaram (1886–1953), along with a younger sister Alamelu (1887–1953). His father was a court pleader.

Both a paternal uncle of his father and his father's brother had become sannyasins.[12] Venkataraman's family belonged to the Smarta denomination, and regularly worshiped Lord Siva, Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesa, Lord Surya and Goddess Shakti in their home.

When Venkataraman was seven he had his upanayana,[15] the traditional initiation of the three upper varnas into Brahmanical learning and the knowledge of Self. He had a very good memory, and was able to recall information after hearing it once, an ability he used to memorize Tamil poems.

Narasimha notes that Venkataraman used to sleep very deeply, not waking from loud sounds, nor even when his body was beaten by others.[16][17] When he was about twelve years old, he may have experienced spontaneous deep meditative states. Sri Ramana Vijayam, the Tamil biography that first appeared in the 1920s, describes a period a few years before the death-experience in Madurai:

Some incomplete practice from a past birth was clinging to me. I would be putting attention solely within, forgetting the body. Sometimes I would be sitting in one place, but when I regained normal consciousness and got up, I would notice that I was lying down in a different narrow space [to the one where I had first sat down].

When he was about eleven his father sent him to live with his paternal uncle Subbaiyar in Dindigul as he wanted his sons to be educated in the English language, so that they would be eligible to enter government service. Only Tamil was taught at the village school in Tiruchuzhi,[15] which he attended for three years.[18] In 1891, when his uncle was transferred to Madurai, Venkataraman and his elder brother Nagaswami moved with him. In Dindigul, Venkataraman attended a Hindu School where English was taught,[15] and stayed there for a year.

His father, Sundaram Iyer, died suddenly on 18 February 1892.[19] After his father's death, the family split up; Venkataraman and Nagaswami stayed with Subbaiyar in Madurai.

In November 1948, a tiny cancerous lump was found on Ramana Maharshi's arm and was removed in February 1949 by the ashram's doctor. Soon, another growth appeared, and another operation was performed by an eminent surgeon in March 1949 with radium applied. The doctor told Ramana Maharshi that a complete amputation of the arm to the shoulder was required to save his life, but he refused. Third and fourth operations were performed in August and December 1949, but only weakened him. Other systems of medicine were then tried; all proved fruitless and were stopped by the end of March when devotees gave up all hope. To devotees who begged him to cure himself for the sake of his followers, Ramana Maharshi is said to have replied, "Why are you so attached to this body? Let it go", and "Where can I go? I am here."[11] By April 1950, Ramana Maharshi was too weak to go to the hall and visiting hours were limited. Visitors would file past the small room where he spent his last days to get one final glimpse. He died on 14 April 1950 at 8:47 p.m.[web 9] At the same time a shooting star was seen, which impressed some of his devotees as a synchronicity.

Although many claim to be influenced by him,[web 25] Ramana Maharshi did not publicise himself as a guru,[138] never claimed to have disciples, and never appointed any successors.[web 26][web 27] While a few who came to see him are said to have become enlightened through association,[note 27] he did not publicly acknowledge any living person as liberated other than his mother at death.[139] Ramana Maharshi never promoted any lineage.

With regard to the Sri Ramana Ashram, in 1938 Maharshi made a legal will bequeathing all the Ramanashram properties to his younger brother Niranjanananda and his descendants. In 2013, Ramanashram is run by Sri Niranjananda's grandson Sri V.S. Raman. Ramanashram is legally recognised as a public religious trust whose aim is to maintain it in a way that is consistent with Sri Ramana Maharshi's declared wishes. The ashram should remain open as a spiritual institution so that anyone who wishes to can avail themselves of its facilities.[141][web 29]

In the 1930s, Maharshi's teachings were brought to the west by Paul Brunton in his A Search in Secret India.[142][note 28] Stimulated by Arthur Osborne, in the 1960s Bhagawat Singh actively started to spread Ramana Maharshi's teachings in the US.[142] Ramana Maharshi has been further popularised in the west by the neo-Advaita movement,[151] via the students of H. W. L. Poonja;[151] this movement gives a western re-interpretation of his teachings by placing sole emphasis on insight alone. It has been criticised for this emphasis, omitting the preparatory practices.[152][note 29] Nevertheless, Neo-Advaita has become an important constituent of popular western spirituality.

The scholar Philip Goldberg has listed Western religious thinkers influenced by Ramana Maharshi as including Francis X. Clooney, Georg Feuerstein, Bede Griffiths, Andrew Harvey, Thomas Merton, Henri Le Saux (Swami Abhishiktananada), Eckhart Tolle, and Ken Wilber.

Courtesy – Wikipedia
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