Vissuji was born in a small village near the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh. He was born into a simple farming and trading family. His mother was Gangabhavani and his father was Venkateswara Raju. He had a sister. From childhood, he was quiet and inward by nature. Even while living with family, there was a natural distance within him. He was not very interested in worldly things. Life around him moved normally, but something inside him was different. Because of business losses, his family moved to different places. Life was not very stable, but he accepted everything quietly.
A Childhood Experience
When he was about seven or eight years old, he had a very severe stomach pain. The pain was so strong that he felt as if his body was being squeezed tightly. During that pain, something unusual happened. For a few moments, he felt separate from his body. It was as if he was looking at his body from outside. The pain was happening to the body, but he was watching it. After some time, he fainted. When he woke up, the pain was gone. He had also forgotten some of his language for a short time. It all happened very naturally. When he told his mother, she thought it was just because of illness. Slowly, he also forgot about that experience. But somewhere deep inside, that seed was planted.
Early Life
His father worked as an electrical worker. From a young age, Vissuji was more interested in work than in studies. He was not very focused on education. He felt a special closeness to his grandfather, Krishnamurti Raju. Later, through his mother, he met a spiritual teacher. He received mantras and practiced them sincerely for a few years. He lived a simple devotional life during that time.
A Deep Inner Turning
When he was 17 years old, one day while sitting alone, something changed. His mind suddenly turned inward. Tears started flowing from his eyes. He did not know why. He felt deep peace and joy. After some time, he felt as if someone gently but firmly touched his right shoulder. It felt like divine assurance. Without planning, sacred verses like Sri Guru Gita began to flow from him in his own natural way. He felt great joy, beyond normal happiness. From that time, he liked being alone. He wanted inner freedom more than anything else.
A Journey Through Inner Turmoil
Although his first teacher's teachings were given in traditional ways. Over time, Vissuji felt that something was missing. He felt that truth should be direct and free, not limited by tradition. He started asking questions. Many people did not like his questions. Some yelled at him because he is going against their Guru tradition. Once, in a temple connected to a priest, he heard discussions that divided people based on tradition and caste. This disturbed him deeply. He felt that real spirituality should not create division. He questioned again, but people told him that it was not the right place to speak like that. Due to severe mental stress, he often experienced a kind of mental agony and would often lose physical consciousness. Slowly, he began to feel that many spiritual places were focused more on outer form than inner truth. He became disappointed. He preferred to stay alone rather than follow something that did not feel true to his heart
A Phase of Intense Struggle
For about 15 to 20 months, he went through intense mental struggle. He experienced deep inner suffering. Sometimes he would lose awareness of his body. Sometimes he would forget things. There was also strong anger toward spiritual teachers. But this anger was part of a deeper process. Inside, something was breaking. All beliefs were being questioned. All borrowed knowledge was falling away. Even the idea of being a seeker was dissolving. It was a very difficult time. But through this fire, something pure remained.
The Incident That Dissolved the 'I'
During that intense inner period, Vissuji often had deep spiritual talks with his friend Dorababu. They would speak about devotion, knowledge, detachment, simplicity, and the search for truth. Slowly, Vissuji began dropping everything even spiritual ideas. He wanted only what was real. When he was about 19 years old, Dorababu was collecting spiritual books and speaking about different spiritual organizations. He told Vissuji, “I will give you some books. Keep them with you.” Around that time, a small book came into Vissuji’s hands "Who Am I?", written by Ramana Maharshi. The moment he touched the book, something unknown moved inside him. It was not just reading. It was not just understanding. A deep feeling arose in the body. That feeling slowly grew stronger. It began to pull attention away from the body. Then suddenly, it was like a great inner explosion. The sense of being the body completely broke. It was so powerful that for 11 days he could not sleep. There was no care for the body. There was only a peak state of freedom wide, open, beyond thought. After that intense state slowly settled, one thing remained very clear in his mind the teaching of that book.
At the Feet of Arunachala
Soon after, he went to Sri Ramanasramam in Tiruvannamalai, at the sacred hill Arunachala. He stayed there for three days. During those days, there was deep inner silence and a strong spiritual intoxication. It was not emotional excitement. It was a silent burning inside. After some days, he returned home. But now, the Guru was no longer outside. He experienced Ramana not as a physical form, but as an inner presence as his own Self
The Grace of Simplicity
For one or two years, he lived quietly at home, mostly alone. Later, he moved to Vijayanagaram for work. He would often speak about natural awareness simple, direct consciousness without effort. Because of this, people began calling him “Ramana Swami.” He spent much time with sincere seekers there. Conversations would happen naturally. He spoke about the “state of the heart” not as theory, but from direct experience. His words were simple, but they carried depth. Many who sat with him felt drawn into silence.
The Great Transition
After retiring from his job 12 years later, he fully gave his time to inner work and sharing. There was no plan to become a teacher. No desire to start something. What had exploded within him earlier continued to express itself naturally.
The clarity, the freedom, the silence these began to touch others. Now, people know him as Vissuji.
Living as a presence is an art.
Its true essence lies in the balance of one’s own experience.
If it is merely inherited from past or future generations that art loses meaning
