Shri Vethathiri Maharishi was born in 1911 in the village of
Guduvancheri, 30 km south of Chennai, India, into an indigent weaver’s
family. From his youth he was driven by the desire for knowledge and in
particular strove to find answers to three questions: “What is God?”
“What is life?” “Why is poverty in the world?” The search to find these
answers as well as to further his lot in life led him into various
fields of endeavor, including becoming a qualified practitioner of two
systems of Indian indigenous medicine, Ayurveda and Siddha, and
certified practitioner Homeopathy as well.
After spending several years in various minor employments,
he established a textile concern that grew to employ over 2000 workers
on a profit sharing basis that would be thought progressive even today.
Although constantly busy with family and business matters, he always
found time to pursue his deep desire to achieve self-realization and
realization of Truth. Several years of intense meditation and
introspection brought him full enlightenment at the age of thirty five.
At the age of fifty he closed his commercial ventures and devoted
himself solely to spiritual service so as to guide sincere spiritual
aspirants by transmitting and sharing with them his experiences and
revelations of Truth. Even though his life has long been dedicated
spiritual and social service he has remained a “householder”, i.e. he
has not broken his family ties and taken vows of renunciation, but
rather lived in the indigenous Siddha tradition, maintaining family ties
and fulfilling his duties.
From his enlightenment till today, Shri Vethathiri Maharishi has
received knowledge of the origin and functions of the cosmos and all
aspects of life, as Nature revealed to his inner vision. During these
years he has spontaneously written over 2000 poems on philosophical
subjects. He remains dedicated to serving his fellow beings by conveying
his understanding of universe and the One Supreme Power through his
speeches and writings. In the Indian Philosophical tradition, his
philosophy corresponds to pure advaits; it may be called pantheistic
monism. His language and attitudes are contemporary, non-sectarian and
non-dogmatic. As of date, he has authored about 70 books in Tamil and
English.
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