Ramana Maharshi:
(Born Venkataraman Iyer, 30 December 1879, Tiruchuzhi, Virudhunagar, Madras Presidency, British India (Now Tamil Nadu, India) December 1879 – 14 April 1950).
Indian Hindu sage and jivanmukta (liberated being). Mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.
In 1895, an attraction to the sacred hill Arunachala and the 63 Nayanmars was aroused in him, and in 1896, at the age of 16, he had a “death-experience” where he became aware of a “current” or “force” (avesam) which he recognized as his true “I” or “self”, and which he later identified with “the personal God, or Iswara”, that is, Shiva. This resulted in a state that he later described as “the state of mind of Iswara or the jnani”. Six weeks later he left his uncle’s home in Madurai, and journeyed to the holy mountain Arunachala, in Tiruvannamalai, where he took on the role of a sannyasin (though not formally initiated), and remained for the rest of his life.
There is no greater mystery than this; oureslves being the Realitywe seek to gain Reality.
You are all searching for the silence of the mountain. But you’re looking for something outside. This silence is accessible to you right now, inside the center of your own Being.
In the deep sleep state we lay down our ego, our thoughts and our desires. If we could only do all this while we are conscious, we would realise the Self.
If a man considers that he is born, he cannot avoid the fear of death. Let him find out if he has been born or if the Self has any birth. He will discover that the Self always exist, that the body that is born resolves itself into thought and that the emergence of thought is the root of all mischief. Find from where thoughts emerge. Then you will be ableto abide in the ever-present inmost Self and be free from the idea of birth or the fear of death.
