Sri Ramana Ashram also known as Sri Ramanasramam is the ashram, which was home to modern sage and Advaita Vedanta philosopher, Ramana Maharishi from 1922 till his death here in 1950. It is situated at the foot of the Arunachala hill, to the west of the Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, where thousands of seekers flocked to be in his presence and later after he died in 1950 his samadhi shrine continues to attract devotees from all over the world[1]
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The ashram at its present location, grew after he settled near the Samadhi shrine of his mother Alagammal, who died on May 19, 1922, at that time only a small hut was built there and by 1924 two huts were set up, one opposite the samadhi and the other to the north were erected.
Amongst its early western visitors were British writer Paul Brunton in 1931, who is credited with introducing Ramana Maharshi to the West through his books "A Search in Secret India" (1934) and "The Secret Path". In fact in his first book, he mentioned, Ramana discouraging villagers from calling him Bhagwan, as he found the title excessive and inflated[2]. Writer W. Somerset Maugham who visited the ashram in 1938, and later used Maharishi as the model for the holy man, Shri Ganesha in his novel, The Razor’s Edge (1944)[3][4]. Other visitors include, Swami Sivananda, Paramahansa Yogananda[5], Alfred Sorensen (Sunyata) and Wei Wu Wei amongst others.[6].
Arthur Osborne stayed here for twenty years, and edited Ashram's journal, The Mountain Path, besides writing several book on Maharishi and his teachings, Mouni Sadhu spent several months here in 1949[7]. David Godman came to the ashram in 1976, and has since written or edited fourteen books on topics related to Sri Ramana Maharshi and continues to live near the ashram.
Niranjananda Swami, brother of Ramana Maharshi, who had moved to the ashram along his mother in 1916, stayed at the ashram for the rest of his life and handling its management, and after him his son and grandson looked after the ashram[8].