The main teaching of Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi is based on self-inquiry.Initially he taught this method to a sincere truth seeker Sri Siva Prakasam Pillai as an answer to his 14 questions.Later on another 14 answers of Bhagawan are added making it a very small book with little explanation.For Telugu speaking people who constitute 70% of Bhagawan devotees the author tried in his own way as commentary in Telugu.
Man can never be free unless he understands his own self. The concept of god is a projection of concept of Individual consciousness (Jiva) and we understand the nature of Jiva, we cannot understand the nature of god. To understand the nature, functioning, of self self-inquiry is the way. It is a scientific investigation into the self and nothing to do with religion as there is no place for belief and dogma in self-inquiry. Bhagawan did self-inquiry during his death experience and got Self realized in just 20 minutes and in no other saint’s case we never heard such thing happening. Bhagawan shed his conditioning more easily and effortlessly than a snake shedding its skin. He preached the same and integrated spiritual disciplines based on effort (Yoga), devotion (Bhakti) action (karma) and self-inquiry being the jnana marga. He never encouraged sado-masochistic attitude to attain to the Self. His only aim is to set the man from conditioning. Philosophy is extroverted and psychology is introverted but both use the thought. Religion is to tell you how to go beyond thought and have the taste if infinity which is the taste of life. But religions are not doing that and so we have to do self-inquiry to go beyond the thought and at present there is no other go for us if we are really serious to find out and discover for ourselves the ultimate reality. For humanity mind is their main problem and each one has to solve it himself because no guru or savior will help in this regard, just they exploit you in the name of helping you. Religions and politics have failed to address the problems of human and life is insecure and in this context it is better for us to do self-inquiry on our own and to know who we really are.