Ramana Maharshi
Submitted by solo on Fri, 01/25/2008 - 22:53.Tags:
Biography
Sri Ramana Maharshi was born on December 30, 1879 in a village called Tiruchuli about 30 miles south of Madurai in Tamil Nadu in South India. His middle-class parents named him Venkataraman. His father died when he was twelve, and he went to live with his uncle in Madurai, where he attended the American Mission High School.
At age 16, he became spontaneously self-realized following what looks like a near-death experience. Six weeks later he ran away to the holy hill of Arunachala in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu. He lived on and subsequently near Arunachala for the rest of his life, never leaving the place physically.
For several years he stopped talking and spent days 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.
With the years, he became world-famous and an ashram was built for him to which many westerners used to come.
He died of cancer in 1950 at the age of 70.
Teachings
Sri Ramana maintained that a powerful silence radiating from his presence that quieted the minds of those attuned to this was the purest form of his teachings, that he gave verbal teachings only for the benefit of those who could not understand his silence. According to David Godman, Sri Ramana's "verbal teachings flowed authoritatively from his direct knowledge that Consciousness was the only existing reality".
When asked for advice, he recommended self-enquiry as the fastest path to Moksha. Though his primary teaching is associated with Non-dualism, Advaita Vedanta, and Jnana yoga, he highly recommended Bhakti, and gave his approval to a variety of paths and practices , saying: "To each person that way is the best which appears easiest or appeals most. All the ways are equally good as they lead to the same goal, which is the merging of the ego in the Self. What the Bhakta (devotee) calls surrender, the man who does Vichara (self-enquiry) calls Jnana (knowledge). Both are trying only to take the ego back to the source from which it sprang and make it merge there".
Self Enquiry
Self-enquiry (Sanskrit ātma-vicāra) is a practice of meditation designed to rapidly bring about Self-realization, Self awareness, spiritual liberation or enlightenment, and is most commonly associated with Sri Ramana Maharshi. While Sri Ramana said that Self-realisation could be brought about, as it was for him, merely by giving up the idea that there is an individual self which functions through the body and the mind, few could readily do so. When asked for the most effective practice to facilitate Self-awareness, he commonly recommended forms of self-enquiry, along with recommending Satsang, (literally association with Sat or Being), in the form of mental contact with a realized Guru, or more properly the One Guru "within".
Sri Ramana Maharshi taught that every conscious activity of the mind or body, for example ‘I think’, ‘I remember’, 'I feel' ‘I am acting’, etc., revolves around the tacit assumption that there is an individual ‘I’ who is doing something, a common factor and mental fiction termed the ‘I’-thought (a translation of Aham-Vritti, which literally means ‘mental modification of ‘I’). He equated individuality with the mind and the mind with the ‘I’-thought which is dependent on identification with an object, and said that after Self-realization there is no thinker of thoughts, no performer of actions and no awareness of individual existence. When the thoughts arise, he said, the ‘I’-thought claims ownership of them- ‘I think’, ‘I believe’, ‘I want’, ‘I am acting’, but there really is no separate ‘I’-thought that exists independently of the objects that it is identifying with, only an incessant flow of mis-identifications, based on an initial assumption that the ‘I’ is individual and associated with the bodily form. He considered this ‘I am the body’ idea as the primary source of all subsequent wrong identifications and its dissolution as the principal aim of self-enquiry.
Sri Ramana taught that since the individual ‘I’-thought cannot exist without an object, if attention is focused on the subjective feeling of ‘I’ or ‘I am’ with such intensity that the thoughts ‘I am this’ or ‘I am that’ do not arise, then the individual ‘I’ will be unable to connect with objects. If this awareness of ‘I’ is sustained, the individual ‘I’ (the ‘I’-thought) will disappear and in its place there will be a direct experience of the Self. This constant attention to the inner awareness of ‘I’ or ‘I am’ was called self-enquiry (atma vichara) by Sri Ramana Maharshi and he constantly recommended it as the most efficient and direct way of discovering the unreality of the ‘I’-thought. He taught that the ‘I’-thought only finally disappears when the perception of all objects, both physical and mental, ceases and only Self Awareness exists. This is not brought about by being aware of an ‘I’, but only by BEING the ‘I’. This stage of experiencing the subject rather than being aware of an object is the culminating phase of self-enquiry.
Locations
Sri Ramanasramam is Ramana Maharshi Ashram where he lived and provided spiritual guidance. Although Sri Maharshi’s physical presence no longer graces the Ashram, his spiritual presence is as alive as ever; thus, devotees and aspirants who attune themselves to the silent teaching can derive considerable spiritual benefit from a visit to the Ashram.
Sri Ramanasramam P.O.,
Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu 606 603, India
(The ashram is located about 2 miles from Tiruvannamalai in an area called Ramananagar. Tiruvannamalai is called in short Tiru. )
Sri Ramanasramam ashram is located about 2 miles from Tiruvannamalai in an area called Ramananagar on what is known as the Chengam Road. It is a prominent landmark on the north side of this road and a new visitor will experience no difficulty in locating it.
The town of Tiruvannamalai is 120 miles southwest of Chennai. It is situated on the Villupuram-Katpadi branch line of the Southern Railway. Buses connect it to most of the important places within a radius of about 130 miles.
Taxis are also available for visitors traveling to the Ashram from different points in South India.
Full Moon Pradakshina (a must!) - Every month on the full moon hundreds thousands of people come to Tiru to do the Pradakshana, the spiritual practice of walking the 16km around the Arunachala mountain (most of them barefoot). It is an amazing sight and experience to participate. The full moon pradakshana takes place all night.
Birthday of Sri Ramana - Jayanti or birthday of Sri Ramana is celebrated every year in the solar month of Margasira on the day on which the moon is in the constellation known as Punarvasu. This generally occurs in December or January.
6:30 a.m. Chanting and Milk offering to Sri Bhagavan in the Samadhi Hall
7:00 a.m. Breakfast
8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Chanting of the Vedas in front of Sri Bhagavan's Shrine
8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Puja at the Shrine of Sri Bhagavan followed by Puja at the Shrine of Mother
11:30 a.m. Lunch
4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m Tea or hot milk served in the dining hall
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Reading in Tamil and English in the Samadhi Hall
5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Chanting of the Vedas in front of Sri Bhagavan's Shrine
5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Puja at the Shine of Sri Bhagavan, followed by Puja at the Shrine of Mother
6:45 p.m. to 7:30 p.m Tamil Parayana on Monday through Saturday
7:30 p.m. Dinner
Sri Chakra Puja in the Mathrubhuteswar Shrine is performed between 5 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. every Friday, full moon day, and the first day of each Tamil month.
Pradakshina - the spiritual practice of walking the 16km around the Arunachala hill. Along the Pradakshina road you will find many temples, ashrams and shrines (see map below). There are two optional paths around the hill: outer road which is the car road itself and an inner path in beautiful nature, starting right behind the Ramana Ashram.
Climbing the Arunachala Hill and visiting the Virupaksha cave and the Skanda ashram where Sri Ramana used to live for many years before he moved to the ashram.
Visiting the many satsangs and talks conducted by spiritual teachers and saints in and around Ramananagar, mainly during the high season. Check around for details.
The ashram includes the following services: bookstore, library,dinning room and guest houses.
You can find all services needed near the ashram (Ramananagar) and in Tiruvannamalai town.
The ashram provides accommodation for short stays of up to a week. All ashramguest rooms are clean with simple beds, bathroom, overhead fan and screened windows and doors.
Ramananagar is the area of the scene of the visitors with guest houses, restaurants, coffee shops and all other services. There are many guest rooms around the ashram. Do not stay in the hotels located in Tiru itself as they are not recommended and are too far away from Ramananagar.
For long stays, you can consider the option to rent an apartment. Many options are available in Ramananagar and along the Pradakshina road.
View Video
Books & Media

Be as You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (Arkana)
(Paperback)
Ramana Maharshi was one of the most significant spiritual teachers to emerge from India during the first half of the century, and remains widely admired. This recent collection of conversations between him and the many seekers who came to his ashram for guidance contains the essence of his teaching. His concern throughout his long life of imparting his experience to others was to convince his listeners that self-realisation - or enlightenment - is not an alien or mysterious state, but the natural condition of man. This state can be easily discovered by undertaking the self-investigation clearly described in these talks. The lucid instructions to each section provide further illumination of this greater seer\'s message.

The Essential Teachings of Ramana Maharshi: A Visual Journey
(Paperback)
Ken Wilber called Ramana Maharshi \"the greatest sage of the 20th century.\" The Dalai Lama, C. G. Jung, the president of India, and other luminaries have all paid homage to him. Mahatma Gandhi held him in such regard that he would send people to experience the wisdom and spiritual atmosphere at his hermitage.
This is an artistic presentation of the wisdom teachings of this great man (1879-1950). His aphorisms--representing the heart of all paths that lead to recognition of the ultimate reality--are set against a collection of rare photos of him. The book is designed to be especially accessible to those who have a serious interest in mysticism and meditation, yet are unamiliar with foreign terminology.

The Collected Works Of Sri Ramana Maharshi
(Paperback)
Ramana was a silent Teacher, if there was one. It would be more appropriate to call him the Silent One, for teaching denotes duality, the teacher and taught, while Ramana was, as a devotee wrote, the Pure Non-dual Essence. His most direct and profound teaching was transmitted in silence. However, how many were there that could immediately hear or experience the unspoken, the unwritten word? Devotees and visitors asked questions and out of his boundless compassion Bhagavan answered them in his own inimitable way, as the following excerpts will show. It was in 1911 that the first westerner, Frank Humphreys, then a policeman stationed in India, discovered Sri Ramana and wrote articles about him which were first published in The International Psychic Gazette in 1913. However, Sri Ramana only became relatively well known in and out of India after 1934 when Paul Brunton, having first visited Sri Ramana in January 1931, published the book A Search in Secret India, which became very popular. Resulting visitors included Paramahansa Yogananda, Somerset Maugham (whose 1944 novel The Razor\'s Edge models its spiritual guru after Sri Ramana), Mercedes de Acosta, Julian P. Johnson, and Arthur Osborne. Sri Ramana\'s relative fame spread throughout the 1940s. However, even as his fame spread, Sri Ramana was noted for his belief in the power of silence and his relatively sparse use of speech, as well as his lack of concern for fame or criticism.His lifestyle remained that of a renunciate. This work contains almost everything written by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. His inspired compositions, and a number of translations from ancient Advaitic texts, representing the essence of his teachings. They fall into two categories--those which exemplify the path of surrender through love and devotion to the Divine, and those which are more doctrinal. The first group includes the Five Hymns to Sri Arunachala of which the first poem, The Marital Garland Of Letters \"is among the most profound and moving poems in any language\" and expresses the attitude of the soul aspiring for union with God. Sri Bhagavan has affirmed that seekers who study these works are certain to attain the bliss of liberation.

Abide As The Self: The Essential Teachings Of Ramana Maharshi
(DVD)
Abide As the Self is a transforming DVD that takes you on an inner journey into the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and the path of Self-knowledge. Comprehensive film footage of Ramana comes alive, with emphasis on the teachings of Self-Inquiry and its practical application. A special collection of rare photographs enhances Ramana\'s presence and captures the compassion and grace of one of the most respected sages of our time. The inspired narration by Ram Dass provides an overview of Ramana\'s teachings. Also included are interviews with H.W.L. Poonja, Douglas Harding, Allan W. Anderson, and others. captures the compassion and grace of one of the most respected sages of our time. The inspired narration by Ram Dass provides an overview of Ramana\'s teachings. Also included are interviews with H.W.L. Poonja, Douglas Harding, Allan W. Anderson, and others.
Pro Opinions

No need
From all techniques and systems self enquiry is the one least in need for guidance or a guru. This is the genius in Ramana - the simplicity of this method.
Just read carefully his words and do it. Most of his following descendant gurus distort self enquiry and thus not only that do not help but most often spoil.

correctly said
Books says the best if we have the gracious understanding as well on command of tenth Guru in Sikhism Guru Granth Sahib is Guru and they are following it very nicely and we also follow as per our desire from books.
Con Opinions

yes...it's not about being
yes...it's not about being told..but the conviction of it. totally believing. Instead of finding a flaw. if you are meditator, just try it wholeheartedly and you will find some truth. Just try to find the I. hahha...

~
Can't say as I've ever heard such a thing happening. I see very clearly on an intuitive level and from a few different perspectives that there is no person here, and yet here I am still twidling my individual person thumbs with the rest of you persons. It does slow things down considerably and make ego sit in a corner pouting, so maybe we could say it's a good way to become 'accident prone'. There's a definite limit to what can be explored even intuitively and then there's nothing to do, which might make one more accident prone, but I wouldn't really know.

Nothing to do...
This seems to relate to "knowing when to stop pushing the boat", and it seemed to 'work' just fine in my case. I dropped spirituality back in '03 altogether after five years of intense seeking, and fell immediately onto a path of aloneness + shedding all seeking, both spiritual and worldly. I never gave spirituality another thought after '03, at least until early this year when I returned to talk about stuff again.
There's really nothing to think about at all, it involves inner willingness or 'readiness' only.

Oh sure...
In particular, clarity that a verbal focus (through words) isn't needed, and in fact may be something of a hindrance, as the mind probably has unnecessary beliefs/assumptions that need to be let go. Unfortunately, such clarity is hard to find using words/concepts to help look for it ;-).

Sure
Impossible to find through the words and concepts, and yet, these serve as a focus for intuition. If mind can avoid processing it and just 'look there', it may see something that hasn't been seen before. We've all actually done this, but we seldom recognize what occurred or how because mind/ego wants to take credit for figuring it out, while in reality it had nothing to do with it.

This is a very good question
This is a very good question that should be heard, many of us in our desperate desire to have faith, unnoticeably repress these inconvenient doubts and so raising this question can only make our belief purer.
I am practicing Ramana's Self Enquiry for several years and in the first 2 years it was just spotting errors I (or rather the mind) do in the technique which is very delicate. It has made me much more aware and concious but not enlightened yet. I haven't met people who practiced SE and are enlightened but on the other hand I can say that most of them do not do it right - at some point they stick to some error and so from this point forward it ceases to be effective. In order to avoid some of the most common and misfortune pitfalls I recommend to read Self Enquiry - Tips.

Self Enquiry
Diac. In the West we tend to ask too many questions. Then we re question the answers and so on ad nauseam. In order to be enlightened we need to accept everything that (was) is and (shall be). So the question is "have you ever met anyone who accepted all that is?" My answer is Yes i have. I believe my Guruji is that.

petitio principii
You are assuming a certain approach (acceptance of what is) as the sure path to enlightenment which may be true and may not, it is not equivalent nor a consequence of the question in the post.
I think the question in the post is a good one by itself, is direct and should not be avoided by placing other questions - let's be honest - many are on this path with a conscious or unconscious objective of some sort of realization.
According to my own experience and judgment meeting many teachers and sages on the road around the world over the years: the Advaitan turned to be too analytical and lazy at the end of the day (including the disciples of Nisargadatta Maharaj, Papaji, Ramana etc.) and the Zen people I have met turned to be too much into discipline, effort and inner conflicts. You can recognize the people belonging to these paths from distance. The people I can still say after a long time of acquaintance that if they are not enlightened then there is no enlightenment are one some sort of Sufi guy from Iran, one old yogi swamiji who lived not far from Haridwar 6 years ago, one which followed all paths and followed none whom I met the first time in an airport in USA waiting together for hours for a delayed shuttle flight, and yes, one Israeli Advaitan guy which I am not yet sure about him but he has these still pure qualities you learn to sense.
These four, needless to say, none of them are self appointed or self testified, none will ever talk about their state, they have a special vibe of complete stillness and egolessness around them and in what they do or write or say that you want to stay in their presence for ever. It is more the special spotless quality of their behavior than what they say, if they say something at all.

Israeli advaita guy
the israeli advaita guy might well be Ameen. Well worth having a look at his website www.ameen.be

no
I don't remember his name but it is definitely not this one, he didn't see his spirituality as a profession, did not advertise himself nor collected any money.
Speaking of Israelis, there is also Shlomo Kalo but I think he is too old and does not meet people anymore.

Do not give up
mmm you have a point!
But I learnt from experience that one should be persistent. It is very hard to eradict in one day accumulated conditioing over conditioing over dozens of years that say "you are the body".
Keep on the work.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Self Enquiry by Sri Ramana Maharshi | 143.58 KB |
| Complete Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi | 2.41 MB |
| Who Am I by Ramana Maharshi | 86.17 KB |
| Self Enquiry Technique (Hebrew) | 200.3 KB |
- Printer friendly version
- Login or register to post Pro/Con opinion
- Login or register to edit/add content to Guru profile































Which book?
He seems to have a few out there.