Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi was probably the most famous Indian sage of the twentieth century. He was renowned for his saintly life, for the fullness of his self–realization, and for the feelings of deep peace that visitors experienced in his presence. So many people came to see him at the holy hill of Arunachula where he spent his adult life that an ashram had to be built around him. He answered questions for many hours every day, but never considered himself anyone’s guru.

At the age of sixteen, Ramana Maharshi left his home, his family, and all he knew. He felt drawn to Arunachula—a small mountain in Southern India. His only possessions were a piece of cloth to cover himself, and a walking stick. Little by little, word of a sage living alone on Arunachula Mountain became known. Many felt drawn to sit in his presence. Ramana Maharshi was on his deathbed when his followers began crying and tearfully asked, “Master, are you leaving us?” Ramana laughed and asked, “Where could I possibly go?” He was not saying that nothingness awaited him, nor was he denying the physical death of the body. He was saying that whom he is, in truth, could not possibly die. Ramana Maharshi, like Al Halláj Mansur, Jesus Christ, Saint Kabir, Sakyamuni Buddha, and Bankei Roshi, had realized his unity with the One who never dies. He had discovered what Jesus Christ called “my Father.”

Each of us has the fundamental choice of whether to attend to the present moment or whether to get lost in our cognitive processes. Through directly perceiving this moment, we can discover the Infinite. From our viewpoint, the choice is quite clear.

Ramana Maharshi practiced the huatou of "Who am I?" that was also expressed by Dahui Chan Master, who is the modern progenitor of Linji Zen practice. A simple seeker in India discovers the same truth as a fourteenth century Zen Master. It is a testament of the universal mind which flows through all of us.