Ramana Maharshi : Bharat’s most revered Rishi

30^th December 2006 was the Birth anniversary of Bharath’s most revered Rishi Ramana Maharshi  

RAMANA MAHARSHI is one of the most celebrated saints of modern India. Ramana Maharshi symbolizes renunciation and realization. He found that the essential message of the Upanishadic Mahavakyas-Aham Brahmaasmi, Tattvamaisi, Ayamatma Brahma and Prajanaanam Brahma-is that the Divinity is within one’s own self and gets manifested through the path of enquiry, “Who am I?” He showed the path of self-realization to the people all over the world. Like the Musk-deer (Kasturi Mriga) that has all the fragrance in its navel and yet runs hither and thither to know whence it comes, man, possessing the path for salvation within, searches for the same without.

It was his passionate quest for union with Paramatma that marked the life of Ramana Maharshi-spiritual master, seeker of truth, contemplative, mystic. People around the world visited him and were swept up into his mystical realm of Ramana Maharshi.

Raman Maharshi (Venkataraman) was born in Trichuli Village of Tamilnadu to Sundaram Iyer and Alagammal on December 30, 1879. Ramana Maharshi used to absorb himself in deep Samadhi, mostly in Patala Lingam. He was called Brahmna Swami. Slowly his spiritual powers became well known. Many became his disciples listening to his sermons. An Ashram called Skandashram was built near the mountain slope. As the number of devotees was growing, another Ashram-Ramanaashram was built at the foothills. This became an international centre with devotees coming from all over the world. Bhagavan attained Brahma Nirvana on 14th April 1950.

Ramana Maharshi was endowed with special spiritual powers and was able to synthasize the traditional Vedic truth and the transient life. He was a great intellect who could speak universal truths in contemporary terms for the common man. Ramana Maharshi served Hindu society in traditional Vedic fashion in a special way.