Ramana Maharshi was known as Ramana Maharshi and Arunachala Swami. His ardent devotees called him Bhagawan. He is believed to be Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa’s spiritual southern twin. His message is rooted with the idea of‘Jnana Marg’ (the path of knowledge) which is an old tradition in Hinduism.
Ramana Maharsh was born in a small village called Tiruchuli, 30 miles from Madurai in Tamilnadu on December 30th 1879. As compared to other saints, Ramana Maharsh was rather sleepy, dull, did not exhibit his extraordinary powers or pronounced events that were yet to come in his life.
Ramana Maharsh underwent a unique experience at the age of 17 years in 1896 after which he realized the true nature of his hidden self by overcoming attachment with his own physical self. He abandoned his family and home and left for Tiruvannamalai to spend the remaining part of his life to provide guidance and inspiration to his devotees.
Popular personalities like Paul Brunton (the British author and W. Somerset Maugham) besides other foreigners visited him during his lifetime. Arunachala, an ashram has been dedicated in his name at Tiruvannamalai which became famous as a pilgrim centre called ‘Ramanasharam’ later. Each year, tourists in thousands visit the pilgrim centre.
Ramana Maharsh believed in a very simple philosophy. According to him, if a person wants to find the true nature of himself or herself, then it is necessary to conduct a persistent and intense inquiry about self. Sri Ramana Maharshi died in the year 1950.
