2019-12-30 Mon

This holy land of India has given birth to several sages and saints belonging to all faiths from times immemorial. Ramana Maharshi was one of the most famous sages of the twentieth century both in India and the rest of the world. He was born on 30th December 1879, Tiruchuli, Tamil Nadu, India, into an orthodox Hindu Brahmin family.

He perfectly embodied the ultimate truth of Self-realisation or complete absorption in the Supreme Itself. In 1895 Maharshi was divinely attracted to the holy hill Arunachala and the 63 Nayanars was aroused in him. At a tender age of 16, he had a "death-experience" in which he became aware of true-self and later he described this awareness as "the state of mind of ‘Iswara’ or the ‘jnani’.

Soon he journeyed to the Arunachala Mountains, Tiruvannamalai, where he took on the role of a sannyasin and remained for the rest of his life. People regarded him as a divinity and in later years an ashram grew up around him, where visitors received upadesa ("spiritual instruction). Since the 1930s his teachings have been popularised in the west, resulting in worldwide recognition as an enlightened being.

The India Post has issued two commemorative stamps in the honor of Shri Ramana Maharshi of denominations INR 2 and 20 Paise. The design of 20 Paise stamp which issued in the year 1971 is horizontal and depicts a portrait of Sri Ramana Maharshi.