The diffusion of Ramana Maharshi’s teaching beyond India unfolded in a remarkably organic way, without any deliberate missionary effort. Western seekers began to arrive at Arunachala, drawn by reports of a silent sage whose presence itself seemed to communicate the essence of non-duality. Figures such as Paul Brunton, Arthur Osborne, and Major A. W. Chadwick encountered him at Sri Ramanasramam and later carried his influence back to their own cultures. Their books, memoirs, and informal sharing of experiences functioned as living conduits, allowing Ramana’s emphasis on Self-enquiry to take root far from the hill of Arunachala. In this sense, the teaching traveled primarily through human contact and the transformative impact of direct darśan, later crystallized into written accounts.

A second major stream of transmission lay in the written word and its translation. Texts such as “Who Am I?” and other core works, originally in Tamil, were rendered into English and then into various Western languages, making his concise, radical inquiry accessible to those who would never visit India. Collections of his conversations and dialogues, as well as interpretive works by close devotees, further articulated his Advaitic vision for a global readership. The ashram’s ongoing publication efforts, including periodicals dedicated to his life and teaching, extended this reach and maintained a steady flow of material for serious students of non-duality. Through these texts, Ramana’s voice came to be heard in study groups, meditation circles, and private contemplation across many countries.

Institutional and communal forms also emerged as the teaching spread. Devotees established centers and ashrams dedicated to Ramana in various parts of the world, creating spaces where his method of Self-enquiry could be studied and practiced collectively. These communities maintained links with Sri Ramanasramam, fostering a sense of continuity with the original source while allowing the teaching to adapt to different cultural contexts. Study circles, retreats, and informal gatherings all served to keep the inquiry “Who am I?” alive as a shared contemplative discipline rather than a merely theoretical doctrine.

Over time, Ramana’s influence began to permeate broader spiritual currents. Many later Advaita and non-duality teachers acknowledged his Self-enquiry as a central inspiration, integrating his insights into their own modes of expression. In this way, his presence subtly informed the language, metaphors, and practices of contemporary non-dual spirituality, even where his name was not always foregrounded. The spread of his teaching thus appears less as a linear expansion and more as a quiet infusion, in which a single, simple pointer to the Self found countless echoes in seekers and teachers around the world.