Arunachala's Ramana: Eternal Ocean of Grace (Set of 7 Volumes) - A Rare Book

by Ramana Maharshi

3523 (223 B/W Illustrations)IntroductionAt the close of the nineteenth century, South India, or at least a part of it, was being slowly introduced to Western civilization, customs and industry, and railway lines were laid connecting important cities. However, life in the remote parts of South India was exactly the same as it had been centuries ago. During this period if a traveller were to take a country road from the temple city of Madurai in South India and travel westwards, he would have had to pass through one of the most arid areas of India. He would have seen men clad in loincloths toiling under the hot sun to grow a few grains of corn and millet for their families. Occasionally the traveller might have crossed green fields of paddy, where the mode of irrigation was a peculiar see-saw device used for drawing the water. The passerby might also have heard the singing of folk songs by these yeomen, a custom that has all but vanished with the advent of mechanical farming.Further on his way the traveller would have come across small villages consisting of cottages with thatched rooves and naked children playing around. These children and their parents lived in abject poverty. If the monsoon was bountiful the family would enjoy two square meals a day for a few months. The rest of the year they subsisted on gruel and spinach. Their domestic requirements were met by a barter system. Once in a week there used to be a village fair where neighbouring villagers would bring things to buy and sell - their farm produce, provisions, vegetables, condiments, corn, pulses, toys, trinkets and coarse cloth for garments. However, the affluent ones living in the cities had things brought to their houses. During the harvest season they bought their annual requirement of rice and stored

3367 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2018

About the author

Bhagavan Sri Ramaṇa Mahārṣi (Tamil: ரமண மஹரிஷி) born Venkataraman Iyer, was probably the most famous Indian sage of the twentieth century, he was born on December 30, 1879 in a village called Tirucculi about 30 miles south of Madurai in southern India. His middle-class parents named him Venkataraman. His father died when he was twelve, and he went to live with his uncle in Madurai, where he attended American Mission High School.

At age 16, he became spontaneously self-realized. Six weeks later he ran away to the holy hill of Arunachala where he would remain for the rest of his life. For several years he stopped talking and spent many hours each day in samadhi. When he began speaking again, people came to ask him questions, and he soon acquired a reputation as a sage. In 1907, when he was 28, one of his early devotees named him Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, Divine Eminent Ramana the Great Seer, and the name stuck. Eventually he became world-famous and an ashram was built around him. He died of cancer in 1950 at the age of 70.

Ramana Maharshi was born 30 kilometers south of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, India.

His Self-Realization

At age 16, he heard somebody mention "Arunachala." Although he didn't know what the word meant (it's the name of a holy hill associated with the god Shiva) he became greatly excited. At about the same time he came across a copy of Sekkilar's Periyapuranam, a book that describes the lives of Shaivite saints, and became fascinated by it. In the middle of 1896, at age 16, he was suddenly overcome by the feeling that he was about to die. He lay down on the floor, made his body stiff, and held his breath. "My body is dead now," he said to himself, "but I am still alive." In a flood of spiritual awareness he realized he was spirit, not his body.

His Guru
Ramana Maharshi didn't have a human guru (other than himself). He often said that his guru was Arunachala, a holy mountain in South India.

His Teachings

Ramana Maharshi taught a method called self-inquiry in which the seeker focuses continuous attention on the I-thought in order to find its source. In the beginning this requires effort, but eventually something deeper than the ego takes over and the mind dissolves in the heart center.