Teachers and sages

Ramana Maharshi

1879–1950

India Advaita Vedanta

Ramana Maharshi was an Indian sage who, at the age of sixteen, experienced a profound spiritual awakening that revealed to him his true nature as pure awareness. Without any formal teaching or initiation, he spontaneously realized the Self and spent the remainder of his life at the holy mountain Arunachala in South India.

Nisargadatta Maharaj

1897–1981

India Advaita Vedanta

Nisargadatta Maharaj was an Indian spiritual teacher who lived and taught in the bustling city of Mumbai. A simple shopkeeper who sold bidis (Indian cigarettes), he received initiation from his guru Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj and attained realization within three years of dedicated practice.

Gautama Buddha

563 BCE–483 BCE

India/Nepal Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama, who became known as the Buddha ("the awakened one"), was born a prince in ancient India. Despite a life of luxury, he was deeply moved by the suffering he witnessed and renounced his privileged existence to seek the cause of and liberation from suffering.

Rumi

1207–1273

Persia Sufism

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī was a 13th-century Persian poet, scholar, and Sufi mystic whose poetry has transcended cultural and religious boundaries to become beloved worldwide. Born in present-day Afghanistan, he settled in Konya (modern-day Turkey), where he became a respected Islamic scholar.

Adi Shankara

788–820

India Advaita Vedanta

Adi Shankaracharya was an Indian philosopher and theologian who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, one of the most influential schools of Hindu philosophy. In his brief life of only thirty-two years, he composed extensive commentaries on the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras, establishing the philosophical foundation for non-dual understanding.

H.W.L. Poonja

1910–1997

India Advaita Vedanta

H.W.L. Poonja, affectionately known as Papaji, was a direct disciple of Ramana Maharshi whose presence and teachings helped bring Advaita wisdom to countless Western seekers in the final decades of the twentieth century. Born in Punjab, he had spiritual experiences from early childhood and spent years searching for God before meeting Ramana, who showed him his true nature.

Ramakrishna

1836–1886

India Hinduism/Vedanta

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was a Bengali mystic and saint whose ecstatic devotion and direct experience of the divine made him one of the most influential spiritual figures of modern India. Serving as a priest at the Dakshineswar Kali Temple near Kolkata, he engaged in intense spiritual practices from various Hindu traditions and later explored Islam and Christianity, declaring that all paths lead to the same divine reality.

Anandamayi Ma

1896–1982

India Hinduism/Vedanta

Anandamayi Ma, whose name means "bliss-permeated mother," was one of the most renowned saints of twentieth-century India. From early childhood, she displayed unusual spiritual qualities, and by her early twenties, she had passed through various stages of spiritual realization without formal instruction, becoming established in a state of continuous divine consciousness.

Huang Po

770–850

China Zen Buddhism

Huang Po (also known as Huangbo Xiyun) was a Chinese Zen master whose teachings represent some of the most direct and uncompromising expressions of Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism. A successor in the lineage of the Sixth Patriarch, he was the teacher of Linji (Rinzai), founder of one of the major schools of Zen.

Meister Eckhart

1260–1328

Germany Christian Mysticism

Meister Eckhart was a German theologian, philosopher, and mystic whose teachings on the direct experience of God represent a peak of Western mystical expression. A Dominican friar and scholar, he held important positions in his order and was known as a brilliant preacher who could communicate profound mystical truths to ordinary people.