consciousness is the only existing reality"
"of all the thoughts that rise in the mind, the thought 'i' is the first."
- bhagavan sri ramana maharshi (30.12.1879 - 14.04.1950)
- 70 years
in 1879, venkataraman iyer was born to an orthodox tamil hindu brahmin family in tiruchuzhi, near madurai in tamil nadu. his father was a respected pleader. he was good at sports and an intelligent but lazy student who indulged in mischiefs. he showed no religious interests during his chldhood. he went inot deep sleeps, sometimes to the verge of unconsiousness that his friends often assaulted him physically, but it didnt seem to make a difference. in games, the team that he played in, used to always win - it earned him a nickname 'thangakai' meaning 'golden hand'. at the age of 11, he was sent to live with his paternal uncle in madurai, so that he could be educated in english that would make him eligible to government service. he lost his father at the age of 12 and the loss made him contemplete about death - about how his father's body was there without the 'i' in it. an elderly relative told him about arunachala... a word that was already instilled in him as an inaccessible, authoritative, absolutely blissful entity. he was deeply moved and inspired by 'periya puranam' written by sekkizhar, describing the lives of 63 saivite saints. he began devotional visits to the madurai meenakshi temple and associated himslef with bhakti.
he started to fear death. upon inititaing a process of 'self-inquiry', he realised that even if the body dies, the spirit of 'i' in it transcends the body; 'i' cannot betouched by death; 'i' is a deathless spirit. the self-focussed attention or the power of 'i' was a fascination for the young man. the fear of death vanished in him. the ego was lost in the greatness of self-awareness. he lost interest in studies, friends and relations. he preferred to sit alone and concentrate on the 'self'. at the age of 16, lying at home that he had to attend special class, he left home. he spend three days walking to temples relying on food given to him as alms. finally he reached arunachaleswara temple in thiruvannamalai and embraced the linga in ecstasy - he had reached his home. he was so deeply absorbed in samadhi that he was unware of the vermins and pests that were feeding on his body. food had to forced into his mouth. a sadhu named palaniswami became his attendant and followed him thereafter, begging alms and preparing food for both of them. both of them stayed in the caves of virupaksha and skandasramam. despite his silence and desire for privacy, he attracted attention from visitors who soon became his disciples. he considered himslef to be an 'atiasrami' - a state of non-attachment to all bonds and beyond all caste restrictions.
a government offical, sivaprakasam pillai visited him in the hope of obtaining answers to understand one's identity through 14 questions. the answers were eventually published as 'nan yaar?' (who am i?). the vedic scholar kavyakantha sri ganapati shastri proclaimed him as bhagavan sri ramana maharshi. bhagavan (god), sri (indian honorific title), ramana (a version of venkataraman), maharshi (seer). paul brunton's 'a search in secret india' (1931) introduced sri ramana to the western world. the spiritual guru in w. somerset maugham's 'the razor's edge' is modelled after sri ramana. even as his fame spread, his lifestyle remained that of a renunciate.
sri ramana was noted for his belief in the power of silence. he rarely spoke. he believed that the purest form of his teachings was the powerful silence which radiated from his presence and went in sync with the mindsof those attuned to it. he gave verbal teachings only for those who could not understand his silence. his verbal teachings were said to flow from his direct experience of consciousness as the only existing reality. he believed in the liberation of souls for humans and animals. when asked for advice, he recommended self-enquiry as the fastest path to moksha. though his teachings were based on non-dualism, advaita vedantha and jnana yoga, he highly recommended bhakti. he had a lack of concern for fame or criticism. he gave equal prioroty to people of all starta of society.
his mother and younger brother later joined him, becoming sanyasins. his mother looked after the ashram kitchen. sri ramana composed 'the five hymns to arunachala' a magnum opus of devotional lyric poetry which tells of the glowing symbolism of the love between the human soul and god. after his mother's sudden death, her body was enshrined in a samadhi, on top of which a sivalingam was installed and given the name 'mathrubhuteshwara' (siva manifesting as mother), where a puja is conducted every year. sri ramana came down the from skandashram and settled at the base of the hill where the sri ramanashramam is located today. the ashramam grew to include a library, hospital, post office and other basic necessities.
treatments of cancer failed and sri ramana died in 1950. upon his death, a bright ray of light passed across the sky and disappeared behind the ashram , as reported by various newspapers and photos taken by french photographer henri cartier-bressen.
to devotees who begged him to cure himself for their sake, he is said to have replied, "why are you so attached to this body? let it go.... where can i go? i am here."
'here in india, where thousands of so-called holy men claim close tune with the infinite, the most remarkable thing about sri ramana maharshi as that he never claimed anything remarkable about himself yet became one of the most loved and respected spiritual masters of all.' - april 15, 1950, new york times.
