Vichara – Self Enquiry, Who am I?

‘The pristine, pure mind of the Master that speaks through this profound volume is bound to bring us to an awakening into the most obvious yet hidden truth of our own existence.’

Pravrajika Divyanandaprana
Sri Sarada Math, Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, in Delhi

Vichara offers a fresh and focused exploration of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi’s most profound teaching: Self-enquiry. It also provides an intimate glimpse into life at the Ramana Ashram in 1936, a period when Bhagavan’s teachings also began reaching Western seekers.

         Following the success of the first volume, Aham Sphurana – A Glimpse of Self-Realisation, this second volume delves deeper into the practice of Self-enquiry, which Bhagavan described as the fastest and most direct path to Self-realisation. Through a careful selection of his teachings, Vichara reveals how Self-enquiry dissolves the ego, bringing the seeker face-to-face with their True Nature. This book stands out as an essential guide of timeless insights into Bhagavan’s most potent path to the Self, unlocking the transformative power of Self-enquiry.

        In 1936, at fifty-six years old, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi was a vibrant and active Master, embodying pure Self-knowledge. Born in 1879, he is one of the most renowned and recent of India’s great Sages, Saints, and Spiritual Masters. At just sixteen, he experienced a spontaneous awakening, leaving his home in Madurai to live at the sacred mountain of Arunachala in Tiruvannamalai, where he taught and guided seekers until his passing in 1950. His luminous presence shines through this profound book, offering transformative wisdom for those on the path to spiritual awakening.

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, the Sage of Arunachala, born in 1878, is one of the most famous and most recent of India's wealth of sages, Saints and spiritual Masters. As a young man of sixteen he had a spontaneous awakening. He left his home in Madurai and made his way to Tiruvannamalai and the holy mountain, Arunachala. He lived for many years, alone and in silence, on and around the mountain, which he never left.

In the 1920s the present ashram was constructed. Here he lived and taught until his death in 1950. Many of this Maha Rishi's (Great Seer) students and devotees, who, through him gained Self-realisation, passed on to their own students Sri Ramana Maharshi's practice of Self-enquiry, using the question, 'Who am I?'