Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi Ashram - A Spiritual Getaway

Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi Ashram is situated at the foothills of the famous Arunachala temple in Tiruvannamalai, which is in the Tamil Nadu state of India. For those people, who seek peace and solitude, there is no other place better than this.

The story of Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi is very inspiring. As a child, he was a devout disciple of Lord Shiva. When he was twelve years of age, he was at his uncle’s house in Madurai when he experienced a death-like feeling. That’s when he attained enlightenment. He realised that the soul is deathless. He lost interest in the worldly affairs and always immersed himself in meditating upon God. He meditated for years in the caves of Skanda Ashram and Virupaksha.

There are many books on Sri Ramana Maharshi. The ‘Who am I’ and ‘The Mountain path’ series are quite popular. It makes one think deep within and question one self.  Self enquiry coupled with will and determination to know God will definately help a person in the spiritual path.

The ashram itself gives you a sense of a serene feeling. You need to be standing there to feel the vibrations that emanate from that place. The temple has a Shiva linga and behind the Shiva linga a statue of Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

Following video gives the life history of Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

How to get there -
Distance from Bangalore to Tiruvannamalai is around 210kms. If you are traveling by road, the journey can be divided into 2 parts. The 1st part of the journey would be Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri. This journey is quite smooth as its a four-lane road. This journey takes about 2hrs if you maintain a steady speed of 90kms/hr.

Just before reaching Krishnagiri,  if you want to take a break and have lunch / snacks etc., you can do so at Adayar Ananda Bhavan which is 12kms before Krishnagiri.

The 2nd part of the journey is the Krishnagiri - Tiruvannamalai one. This is slightly bumpy as the road has some potholes and it is rugged in certain places. From Krishnagiri, one would have to take diversion to touch the Chennai highway, and then take a deviation to the right when you see a sign board indicating direction to Pondicherry. This road proceeds to Tiruvannamalai, passing through small villages like ‘Singarapetai’, ‘Uttangarai’, ‘Chengam’. This road is a typical 2 lane road. But does not have that much traffic. You do come across some road repairs too, but nevertheless, it is manageable. This is another 2 hours of journey.

The Ramana Maharshi Ashram has rooms for the guests who visit. But you need to book in advance, sometimes as early as 3 months in advance to get the accommodation. You will need to send an email to ashram@sriramanamaharshi.org.  All other details of the same can be found at the Official website of Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

If you do not get accommodation at Sri Ramana Ashram guesthouse, the other alternative is to go to “Siva Sannidhi”. Here you will surely get accommodation. This place is walkable distance from Ramana Ashram. You can ask someone in one of the shops and they can guide you to this place. The contacts numbers for this place are 04175-235089, 97901 78589, 97893 78779. International callers need to dial prefix 91 for India and dont add 0 (zero) for land line numbers. As an example - For the first number, international callers would dial +91-4175-235089.

Namoh Sri Ramanaya!

See Google Route map to travel from Bangalore to Thiruvannamalai by road

Centers and Satsang groups established by Ramana devotees:

(extracted from the main Ramanasramam website)

Ramana Maharshi Ashram, Bangalore:

There is no ashram as such in Bangalore.  It is a satsang/non-profit group that publishes a monthly magazine called the “The Ramana way” on the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi. In addition there are books published at the centre. The Ramana Shrine and Meditation Hall near Mekhri Circle, Bangalore, has been open since December 1982. Their website is here.

Click here for a list of centers around the world

Editor’s Note: You will find a lot more about spirituality in the Golumolu’s Spiritual section

Related posts:

1. Grand celebration of Ramana Jayanti at Ramanasramam
2. Photos, videos from Ramanasram visit September 2009