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“Who am I? Not the body, because it is decaying; not the mind, because the brain will decay with the body; not the personality, nor the emotions, for these also will vanish with death.” – Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi (vegetarian) Who is the Venerated Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi? To answer this question, let’s travel back in time to December 30, 1879, when a woman was about to give birth in the village of Tiruchuzhi, near Madurai in Tamil Nadu, South India. It was recorded that a blind woman in the mother’s delivery room had a vision of brilliant light and said, “He who is born today in your house must be a Divine being.” This event foreshadowed the remarkable life of Sri Ramana Maharshi, born as Venkataraman Iyer into a respected Brahmin family. His childhood was quite ordinary. Everyone in the village liked the boy, as He was naturally friendly and open-minded. At the age of 16, in the room on the first floor of His uncle’s house, Venkataraman had an extraordinary experience that would change His life forever. It was July 1896 when suddenly, without cause, an intense fear of death gripped Him, despite His body being healthy and strong. He experienced the crushing force of mortality pressed upon Him. Not understanding what was happening, He gave into the physical aspect of passing. He stiffened His body, closed His eyes and readied it to be returned to the Earth in dust and ash form. What happened next was Divine. He felt the death of His physical body only and realized His spirit, His soul was alive! This shock triggered a realization that “I am the Spirit,” something beyond the physical body. This current of awareness came to Him instantaneously through direct experience, not as the result of a long and painful process of logical reasoning. It touched the core of His being so deeply that it never left Him for a moment. This profound realization marked the most significant event in His life, setting Him on a path of spiritual awakening and self-discovery.
