David Godman draws on a range of incidents from Ramana Maharshi’s life to show how the core ideas of Self-realization, non-identification with the body, and egoless action were lived rather than merely stated. Central among these is the well-known account of Ramana’s transformative experience as a sixteen-year-old, when an intense fear of death led him to lie down and simulate the death of the body. In that crisis he discovered the enduring “I am” that remains when body and mind are treated as dead, an event Godman presents as a paradigmatic illustration of total inner surrender and direct realization of the Self. This single episode becomes a touchstone for understanding later teachings on the unreality of the ego and the deathless nature of the Self.

Godman also highlights how Ramana’s daily conduct in the ashram embodied his vision of non-duality and equality. Stories of him cooking, cleaning, cutting vegetables, and engaging in other communal chores, without claiming any special status, are used to show that realization does not require withdrawal from ordinary life. His interactions with animals, such as cows and dogs, are presented in the same light: he related to them with the same tenderness and respect he showed human visitors, exemplifying the view that the same Self shines in all beings. These simple, concrete scenes allow readers to see how an advaitic understanding naturally expresses itself as humility, service, and an absence of hierarchy.

Another important thread in Godman’s presentation is Ramana’s mode of instruction, which often relied more on presence and silence than on elaborate discourse. There are accounts of seekers coming with complex questions and finding that, in his silent company, their doubts simply fell away, or that a single look or a brief redirection—such as turning a question back with “Who is asking?”—was more decisive than lengthy explanations. Dialogues are cited in which he consistently steers people away from theoretical speculation and toward self-enquiry, using their own questions as a mirror to reveal the inquiring ego. In this way, both his spoken and unspoken responses function as living demonstrations of the teaching that the real Guru is the Self within.

Finally, Godman includes episodes from the last phase of Ramana’s life, especially his response to serious illness, to underscore the teaching on non-attachment to the body. Even in the face of physical pain, he remained outwardly unperturbed, treating the body as something incidental rather than central to identity. These accounts resonate with earlier anecdotes of his equanimity under criticism and his refusal to take offense, all pointing to a stable freedom from egoic identification. Taken together, such narratives do not merely ornament the philosophy; they serve as concrete evidence that the principles of Self-enquiry, surrender, and non-dual awareness can permeate every aspect of life.