Ramana Maharishi
(1879–1950) was a Hindu guru who lived from 1879 to 1950.
Modern Hindu guru whose life and teachings reaffirmed the
old speculative Upanishads' fundamental understanding, namely, that the inner
Self (atman) is one with Supreme Reality (Brahman).
Ramana was born into a middle-class Indian household and
showed no exceptional aptitude as a child.
In 1895, Ramana received a copy of the Periya Puranam, a
work commemorating the lives of the poet-saints known as the Nayanars, and
while reading about their lives, he became inspired to give up the world.
The next year, he understood this propensity when he
pictured the demise of his body and came to the realization that his true
identity was the Self.
He left his family and moved to Tiru vannamalai, popularly
known as Arunachala, where he stayed for fifty-four years till his death.
He was immersed in concentration for a while in the start, scarcely
paying attention to his bodily requirements.
Soon after, he gathered followers, through whom his family
learned of his location, despite Ramana's refusal to accompany them home when
they came to visit him.
In 1916, his mother moved to Tiruvannamalai, and when she
died five years later, Ramana moved his home to be near her grave.
Despite the fact that he talked little, he managed to write
two short works—Self-Enquiry and Who am I?—in which he expressed his core
beliefs.
T. M. P. Mahadevan, Ramana Maharshi, 1977, is a good source
of knowledge.
