It includes the life story of the Maharshi in five parts

A book on Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, published by The Hindu Group of Publications, was launched at Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai, on Friday, March 20. It has been titled, Who Am I, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, 1879-1950.

The priest placed the book in the sanctum at the behest of V. Subramanian, administrator of Sri Ramanasramam.

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V.S. Ramanan, president, Sri Ramanasramam, Susila Ramanan and Mr. Subramanian were presented with the copies of the book. Copies were also given to Sivadas Krishnan, accounts and administration in-charge, K.S. Kannan, ashram office manager, and Dev Gogoi, independent editor and photographer. Sridhar Arnala, vice-president (sales and distribution), The Hindu Group, was present.

Malini Parthasarathy, Co-Chair, The Hindu Group & Director, Editorial Strategy, The Hindu, in her foreword to the book, said: “...Reflecting a truly mystical approach to spirituality, Sri Ramana’s own ‘awakening’ transformational experience happened when he was only 16. A sudden fear of death which he dramatised intentionally by imitating a corpse in rigor mortis ‘to give greater reality to the enquiry’ led him to discover that while ‘this body dies...the Spirit that transcends it cannot be touched by death’.”

“This laid the foundation of Ramana Maharshi’s teachings that primarily stressed Vichara or Self-enquiry such as ‘Who am I’, expressed in Tamil as ‘Naan Yaar’ which was an appealing route in that it transcended all denominations of religion, caste, gender or region, allowing the individual to access his or her true freedom of Self. Sri Ramana, by universalising his teachings and opening the doors of his ashram to all, represented the true inclusivist essence of Hinduism which does not discriminate amongst those longing for spiritual transformation or does not privilege specific religious or caste traditions to exclude people from its ambit.”

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Interviews with relatives

The 168-page book includes the life story of Sri Ramana Maharshi in five parts, milestones in his life, reproduction of his teaching “Who am I” in the form of his answers to 28 questions, his Forty Verses on Reality, the activities of the ashram, interviews with the grand-nephews of the Maharshi who had known him, the in-coming president of the ashram and with composer Ilaiyaraaja, who is also a devotee.

The book has articles on the multi-faceted Maharshi, his deep affection for the Arunachala hill, his love for the animals, Girivalam, and Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Swamigal of the Kanchipuram Math directing journalist Paul Brunton to meet the Maharshi, and on the famed Arunachaleswara temple complex at Tiruvannamalai, its inscriptions, murals.

The Hindu has reported on the Maharshi and published scores of commentaries in its columns during and after his lifetime.

Included in this volume are The Hindu’s tributes to the great sage of Arunachala and its editorial of April 17, 1950, three days after his passing.

There is a bonanza of pictures of Ramana Maharshi, and places and people that were close to him.

The cover price of the book is ₹399. Readers can avail themselves of a special launch offer of a 20% discount for a limited period by booking the copies online at https://publications.thehindugroup.com/bookstore/