Sri A.R.Natarajan - Founder President
After doing his M.A. and M.B.A., and graduating in Law, he joined the Indian Revenue Service and held several important posts in the Govt. of India. He had been active in the Ramana Movement from 1955 and had been the Founder-President of this Centre which was established as a non-profit heritage and cultural organization in 1979. He is the author, editor, compiler and translator of more than 60 books on the life and teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi. One of his most significant contributions to Ramana literature is a comprehensive biography on Bhagavan Ramana titled 'Timeless in Time'.
He has been the driving force behind the building of the Ramana Maharshi Shrine and Meditation Hall at Mekhri Circle and the Ramana Heritage Auditorium and Research blocks at Sanjaynagar.
He has been the inspiration for the vision and mission of the Centre and personally moulded the various aspects of the Centre to its present shape and direction.
Ms.Sulochana Natarajan
She was a Founder Member of the Governing Body and was the life and spirit for the birth and growth of a whole new stream of music called ‘Ramana Music’ or ‘Ramananjali Music’. She headed the Music Division of the Centre and led its music ensemble 'Ramananjali'. Under her leadership, more than 500 live programmes have been given in India and all over the world and 140 music cassettes have been recorded. She has also notated and set to music all the compositions of Bhagavan Ramana and those on him by Ganapati Muni and Muruganar and is the compiler of several Ramana Sangeetham books.
Dr.S.Balasundaram
He had been a Member of the Governing Body from the inception. He was a distinguished educationist, having been the Principal of the Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh and Director of the Valley School in Bangalore. He had been a Member of the Trust Board of Krishnamurthi Foundation for many years. He experience and insights played a major part in the framing the Memorandum of the Centre.
Ms.Veena Visalakshi
A famous vainika of her times, she was deeply devoted to Bhagavan Ramana and had played the veena several times in his presence. Imbued with great spirituality and an almost mystic silence and humility, she would sing to God for hours simultaneously playing on her veena. A versatile artiste and scholar she had translated and set to music several dance ballets for Rishi Valley school. She may be credited with being the mother of the dance movement at RMCL as she intuitively selected Ambika Natarajan (now Dr.Ambika Kameshwar) to be trained in dance and inspired her own niece Kumari Meenakshi to develop the first Bharatanatyam repertoire from Ramana Music. Veena Visalakshi was one of the Founder Members of RMCL and a source of great strength.
Sri S.Krishnaswamy
He is a Chartered Accountant in the forefront of his profession. He has also written a number of books for Chartered Accountants, which are extremely useful. As a Founder Member of the Governing Body, he has always contributed original ideas for implementation of the objectives for which the Centre has been established. He is the Secretary of RMCL.
Dr.Sarada Natarajan
She is a Ph.D in English, from the Gnana Bharathi, Bangalore University. She was awarded the doctorate degree on the basis of her thesis, 'Concept of Self: a Study in Comparative Literature'. She has dedicated herself to the work of creating greater awareness of the life and teachings of Ramana. She is the editor of the monthly journal, 'The Ramana Way' and author of the books ‘Ramana Way in Search of Self’, 'Surging Joy' and ‘Wonderous Vigilance’. She has scripted and directed 108 dance ballets on the life and teachings of Ramana Maharshi. She has conceptualised and executed three television serials based on the dance ballets. Currently, she is the President of the organisation.
Dr.Shankaranarayanan
Dr.Shankaranarayanan, a senior scientist in HAL was the Founder Vice President of RMCL. He was steeped in the teachings of Ramana and was particularly instrumental for the commencement of the Ramana Movement in Bangalore.
It was a stormy evening in the USA, way back in the 1950's. A bright young Indian student studying his MS took shelter from the rain in a library. He was homesick and searched for some book on India. What did Providence place in his hands? 'A Search in Secret India' by Paul Brunton. He read the whole book with avid interest. Yet, what took him captive were the chapters relating to Sri Ramana Maharshi. The young man was literally mesmerised by Ramana one could say, and fell deeply in love with his life and teachings.
On his return to India and Bangalore, in 1962 Dr.Shankaranarayanan got married to Shanta. Her father Dr.Mahadevan had the rare blessing of having seen Ramana. It was during the days when Ramana's body was suffering from the terrible sarcoma. He got reconnected to Ramana through his son-in-law and became instrumental in sowing the seeds for Ramana Maharshi Centre for Learning, Bangalore. As the Delhi Kendra sprouted from the weekly Ramana Satsang initiated there by Prof.K.Swaminathan, at Bangalore a monthly satsang was started by Dr.Mahadevan in the home of Dr.Shankaranarayanan. There would be a talk by some eminent speaker, some reading, meditation and puja. This satsang was started in 1975-76. In 1978 Sri A.R.Natarajan attended the satsang after reading about it in the engagements column of the newspaper. There has been no turning back in the history of the Ramana Movement in Bangalore. Satsangs were thereafter held in different parts of Bangalore and Ramana Maharshi Centre for Learning was registered in 1979. At the insistent request of Sri A.R.Natarajan, Dr.Shankaranarayanan became the founder Vice President.
Sri K.S.Bhanu
He is one of the Founder Members of RMCL and currently the Vice President. He is a silent and very unassuming follower of Ramana’s life and teachings. He and his wife, Smt.Lakshmi Bhanu, have been associated with the Ramana Movement in Bangalore ever since its inception. She has had the privilege of having darshan of Bhagavan, is a vainika and has participated in the early recordings and programs of Ramananjali both on the veena and as a singer.
Coming in the lineage of Dewan Seshadri Iyer who is known as the ‘Maker of Bangalore’, Sri Bhanu, through his association with the Centre, has surely been an active part of adding a significant landmark to Bangalore in the Ramana Maharshi Meditation Hall and Shrine near Mekhri Circle. Dewan Seshadri Iyer also served under Sri Krishnaraja Wodeyar who had the unique opportunity for a special darshan of Bhagavan Ramana who described him as a ripe fruit. In all probability, the Dewan must also have been blessed by the gracious glance of Ramana at that time.
