Sri Ramana Maharshi birthday special: Why self-awareness is essential

Born as Venkataraman Iyer, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi was an Indian sage who travelled to the holy mountain Arunachala, Tiruvannamalai to become a Sanyasi.

He was born on December December 30, 1879 and breathed his last on April 14, 1950. At the age of 16, Venkataraman realised the fundamental truth of life, self and Ishvara or God.

Ramana Maharshi embraced varied paths and practices but emphasised on the importance of self-awareness or realisation. He believed that surrender to the God was only possible when one realised his self with deep devotion towards the almighty.

Sivaprakasam Pillai, a government official paid a visit to the Maharshi to seek answers to questions about “how to know what one’s true identity is”.

The answers to the fourteen questions became widely popular and were eventually published as ‘Nan Yar’ (Tamil) meaning “Who Am I?”.

His approach of self-awareness was so appealing that many from the West too got attracted to his teachings and since 1930, he attained recognition as an enlightened sage globally.