The present work in prose consists of forty questions with answers covering the entire range ofspiritual disciplines required for the gaining of release (moksha).

Ramana Maharshi('s body) was born Venkataraman Iyer 1879. In July 1896, at age 16, he had a sudden fear of death. He was struck by "a flash of excitement" or "heat", like some avesam, a "current" or "force" that seemed to possess him, while his body became rigid. He initiated a process of self-enquiry, asking himself, "what it is that dies?" He concluded the body dies, but this "current" or "force" remains alive, and recognized this "current" or "force" as his Self, which he later identified with "the personal God, or Iswara”