Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi has opened more hearts to the spiritual path than perhaps any other book in the West. *(paid link)*
A 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. Those who received his message of silence had no need whatsoever to talk to him, much less a need for his instructions. How can I possibly express in words the mysterious working of Bhagavan through silence?” Tiruvannamalai is also where Ramana Maharshi declared his love for the resident mountain, Arunachala. His luminous spirit continues to fill the hearts of his many followers around the world.“By Incessantly Pursuing Within Yourself The Inquiry ‘Who Am I?’, You Will Know Your True Self And So Attain Salvation.” - Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramana’s Moment Of Self-Realization
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. Ramana became entranced by this book which inspired the death of his ego. In the middle of 1896, at age 16, Ramana fell flat on the floor in rigid form and held his breath. 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.Sri Ramana’s Mother “Alagammal”
When Sri Ramana first arrived in Tiruvannamalai, he stayed in a great temple. While sitting silently in samadhi for days upon end, he was often unaware of his many visitors, including bugs, ants and vermin. When he moved to the underground vault known as Patala Lingam, local, mischievous boys would harass him and barraged him with stones. Seshadri Swamigal often protected the young Swami, standing guard over him.Nisargadatta Maharaj's I Am That is one of the most direct and powerful pointers to truth ever recorded. *(paid link)* The man didn't mess around with flowery spiritual language or elaborate philosophies. He just hammered away at the core question: Who are you? His responses to seekers were like precision strikes - cutting through decades of conditioning and mental noise in a single exchange. You read those dialogues and feel like someone just slapped the bullshit right out of your head. Know what I mean? It's raw, uncompromising pointing that leaves zero room for the ego to hide behind concepts or practices.
Ramana remained immersed in eternal bliss and paid no attention to his bodily needs. Deeply touched by his silent depths, his devotees lifted him from Patala Lingam and carried him to a nearby Subrahmanya shrine. His loving followers would tend to Sri Ramana’s physical needs, including forcefully putting food into his mouth and begging him to chew and swallow. I remember sitting cross-legged in a dim room at Amma’s ashram in Kerala, trembling uncontrollably after a long day of intense breath work and silent meditation. My nervous system was completely fried, but something inside me cracked wide open. The shaking wasn’t just physical—it was like years of buried grief and anger pouring out without warning. I had no choice but to lean into it, surrender the control I’d clung to since my days in tech startups, and let the rawness teach me what I couldn’t yet put into words. Years ago, one of my clients arrived at a Denver workshop bruised by trauma and relationship wounds so deep she couldn’t sit still without flinching. We worked with somatic release practices—breath, movement, sound—until her body stopped fighting. Watching her finally exhale decades of tightness was a reminder I needed: the path to seeing through the mind’s fog starts in the body. No fancy talk. No shortcuts. Just hard, unflinching attention to what’s alive beneath the surface. Sri Ramana would continue to move to various gardens, groves, shrines, and caves around Arunachala Hill. It was during this time, after years of no contact, that his mother Alagammal came to visit him. No matter the visitor, Ramana remained in silence.“Our Own Self-Realization Is The Greatest Service We Can Render The World.” - Sri Ramana Maharshi
When asked to at least write something to his crying Mother who sat at his feet, he wrote: “The Ordainer controls the fate of souls in accordance with their past deeds. Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try how hard you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to stop it. This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent.”Eventually, Sri Ramana moved into Virupaksha Cave, where he stayed for 17 years.
Among the growing number of followers, including other religious devotees, men, and women of all ages, children, and animals, his mother came to visit him a second time. When she fell ill, Sri Ramana provided loving care and affection for his mother, sometimes holding her hand throughout the night to comfort her. To expedite her recovery and cure her disease, Ramana prayed to Arunachala Hill with a hymn he scribed in the early morning:“Oh Medicine in the form of a Hill that arose to cure the disease of all the births that come in succession like waves! Oh, Lord! It is Thy duty to save my mother who regards Thy feet alone as her refuge, by curing her fever.”
Once healed, Alagammal became a disciple of Ramana’s, and he named her Niranjanananda Swami. She would cook for the disciples at their new location called “Skandasramam Cave,” a little higher up the hill. Within a short time, her youngest son, Ramana’s brother, Nagasundaram, also became a disciple. His new name was Chinnaswami (the younger Swami). Ramana was committed to giving both Niranjanananda Swami and Chinnaswami intense, personal instructions on self-realization. Upon the moment of her death in 1922, Niranjanananda Swami attained liberation and was buried on Arunachala Hill. The site of her resting place became Sri Ramana’s mother ashram, Sri Ramanasramam.The Teachings Of Ramana Maharshi
Ramana taught self-inquiry (using the spelling self-inquiry) so that his followers could focus their continual attention on the source of the “I.” He would express his idea of inner-observance in this way: “Fix the mind in your Heart. If you keep your attention on the source from where all thoughts arise, the mind will subside there at the source, and reality will shine forth.” Ramana taught his disciples to refrain from fixating on the changing aspects surrounding life, death, and daily circumstance. Ramana wanted every follower to focus solely on that which sees all these things, the source that is responsible for all of it. Although he approved a long list of paths and practices, Sri Ramana taught that Bhakti (devotion) and complete surrender to the Self, the unchanging reality underlying all that exists, will spring forth our liberation.There is something about a sandalwood mala that carries the energy of thousands of years of devotion. *(paid link)*
As the ashram grew around him, Bhagavan would give upadesa (spiritual instruction) where visitors sat at his feet and asked questions. Because of his answers and the resulting experiences of his followers, Ramana became known throughout the world as an enlightened being.Ramana would not confirm that he was a guru and he never stated that he had devotees. Considering God, Guru, and Self to be the manifestations of the same reality, and with a tendency toward Shaivism, Ramana remained focused on teaching self-inquiry toward the goal of liberation.
Sri Ramana Maharshi Quotes
- “Silence is also conversation.”
- “No one succeeds without effort… Those who succeed owe their success to perseverance.”
- “The degree of freedom from unwanted thoughts and the degree of concentration on a single thought are the measures to gauge spiritual progress.”
- “The Real is ever-present, like the screen on which the cinematographic pictures move. While the picture appears on it, the screen remains invisible. Stop the picture, and the screen will become clear. All thoughts and events are merely pictures moving on the screen of Pure Consciousness, which alone is real.”
- “Who am I? Not the body, because it is decaying; not the mind, because the brain will decay with the body; not the personality, nor the emotions, for these also will vanish with death.”
- “Think of God; attachments will gradually drop away. If you wait till all desires disappear before starting your devotion and prayer, you will have to wait for a very long time indeed.”
Sri Ramana Maharshi Ashrams And Biographies
While Sri Ramana was dedicated to silence and teaching self-inquiry, he was also extremely active at the ashram, which included cooking, cleaning and stitching leaf plates which held the free meals for the ashram’s many visitors. The biography entitled “Self Realisation: The Life and Teachings of Ramana Maharshi, written by BV Narasimha was published in 1931. Paul Brunton wrote “A Search in Secret India” in 1934, which noted the “sublimely all-embracing” awareness that he received while visiting Sri Ramanasramam, Sri Ramana’s ashram. Brunton paid Ramana a high compliment when he described Ramana as ”one of the last of India’s spiritual supermen.” Brunton went on to describe Ramana in this way, “I like him greatly because he is so simple and modest, when an atmosphere of authentic greatness lies so palpably around him; because he makes no claims to occult powers and hierophantic knowledge to impress the mystery-loving nature of his countrymen; and because he is so totally without any traces of pretension that he strongly resists every effort to canonize him during his lifetime.” After these books brought Sri Ramana Maharshi’s life into public awareness, other periodicals, and books detailing the real experiences surrounding this master followed.Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now remains one of the most important spiritual books of our time. *(paid link)* Look, I get that it's trendy to dismiss popular spiritual books as watered-down wisdom. But this one cuts through the bullshit. Tolle doesn't dance around with fancy concepts - he hits you with the simple truth that your thoughts aren't you. That's it. Most people spend their entire lives trapped in mental chatter, completely missing the fact that awareness itself is what they're really looking for. Think about that. The very thing observing your thoughts... that's the real you. I've watched friends go through decades of therapy, meditation retreats, you name it - all searching for some mystical experience. Meanwhile, the thing they're seeking is what's been watching the whole damn search. It's so obvious it's almost insulting. But that's exactly why most people miss it. We're conditioned to believe enlightenment has to be complicated, earned through years of struggle. Nope. It's right here, noticing these words right now.
Those who wish to explore the teachings of Ramana Maharshi may attend a Satsang (spiritual group) to learn more. His website has a list of Satsangs worldwide. You may also visit the mother ashram in Tiruvannamalai to experience a transmission of Sri Ramana’s light and teachings.