Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950)
Born 1879 CE, died 1950 CE.
Ramana Maharshi (pronounced [ˈɾɐ.mɐ.ɳɐ mɐˈɦɐɾ.ʂi] ; 30 December 1879 – 14 April 1950) was an Indian Hindu sage widely regarded by his followers and by "most advocates of Advaita" as a jivanmukta (liberated being). He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. He was born in Tiruchuli, Tamil Nadu, India in 1879. In 1895, an attraction to the sacred hill Arunachala and the 63 Nayanmars was aroused in him, and in 1896, at the age of 16, he had a "death-experience" in which he became aware of a "current" or "force" (avesam) which he recognised as his true "I" or "self", and which he later identified with "the personal God, or Iswara", that is, Shiva. This resulted in a state that he later described as "the state of mind of Iswara or the jnani". Six weeks later he left his uncle's home in Madurai, and journeyed to the holy mountain Arunachala, in Tiruvannamalai, where he took on the role of a sannyasin (though not formally initiated), and remained for the rest of his life. He attracted devotees who regarded him as an avatar of Shiva and came to him for darshan ("the sight of God").
Text from the Wikipedia article Ramana_Maharshi, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.