Obituary: Smt. Sakkubhai Srinivasan (1936–2026)

Smt. Sakkubhai Sreenivasan was born in Thanjavur in 1936 into a family closely connected with Sri Bhagavan. The family later moved to Chennai, where her father, Sri Gopala Iyer, worked in the High Court and became a devoted follower. During court vacations he would bring the family to Tiruvannamalai for Bhagavan’s darshan, forming a lasting bond with the Ashram.
Sakkubhai’s childhood unfolded in this sacred atmosphere. The family endured early sorrow with the loss of Sakkubhai’s mother, and the younger children were largely raised by relatives. Her sister Santhabhai contracted polio at the age of four, becoming the focus of deep concern. Through this trial the family experienced Bhagavan’s compassion in many ways, preserving these as lifelong memories. When her father once spoke to Bhagavan about Santhabhai, Bhagavan remarked that in her eighteenth year, an engineer would marry her, and she would have a good life—words that later proved true. The family also recalled small but touching incidents reflecting Bhagavan’s kindness: he advised simple siddha treatment when young Santhabhai fractured her hand, and gently comforted her after a bee sting when she had struck a nest with a stick. Bhagavan took the opportunity to explain ahimsa and respecting all animals and beings.
On the eve of Bhagavan’s Mahanirvana, 14th April 1950, young Sakkubhai’s younger sister wept, saying Bhagavan had appeared to her and told her he was going far away. When the news came the next day, her father regretted doubting the child’s intuition.
Sakkubhai Amma grew up in this atmosphere of devotion. Her family maintained a long association with Sri Ramanasramam through both service and reverence. In the early 1960s her husband, J. Srinivasan, was requested by A. R. Natarajan to undertake the Ashram’s annual auditing. Despite advice to the contrary, Sakkubhai urged her husband to accept it as Bhagavan’s call. The family continues this service today through their son, Sri Gopalkrishnan.
Sakkubhai is remembered as straightforward, deeply loyal to family and tradition, and devoted to Bhagavan. Musically inclined, she offered devotional songs during Jayanti and Aradhana celebrations.
Smt. Sakkubhai Sreenivasan merged at the Feet of Sri Bhagavan on 23rd February 2026 at the age of ninety. With her passing, a living link to an earlier generation of devotees quietly comes to a close, even as the devotion she embodied endures. —

Obituary: Dr. G. Swaminathan (1936–2026)

We mourn the passing of Dr. G. Swaminathan, President of Guru Devi Sri Janaki Matha Ashram, Thanjavur, who passed away in February at the age of 90. Born in 1936, he was the son of Dr. C. S. Ganapathy Iyer and Guru Devi Sri Janaki Matha, the saintly devotee whose life was inseparably bound up with the grace of Bhagavan Ramana. Though her son by birth, GS also regarded her as his Sat-Guru, and his life reflected devotion, service, and faithful stewardship of her legacy.
Blessed from childhood with close contact with Bhagavan, GS often accompanied his mother to the Ashram. These visits left a deep impression. He cherished Bhagavan’s affectionate recognition in the dining hall: “Oh, you are Swaminathan! Have you come alone? I knew you would come.”
Bhagavan called GS “Thoppan Swami,” the one who teaches his father, recalling Lord Murugan as Swaminathan who taught the OM mantra to his father, Lord Siva. 
GS also recounted incidents revealing Bhagavan’s grace. As a child in the hall during the dark early morning hours, he lamented he could not see Bhagavan; just then, the lights came on, Bhagavan explained that as light reveals objects, the removal of ignorance reveals Truth. On another occasion, a thorn lodged in the boy’s foot suddenly “flew out” after a prayer to Bhagavan—an event he so treasured that he retained the thorn as a momento to Bhagavan’s grace.
GS also preserved a photograph he took of Bhagavan in 1949 at age thirteen near the gosala. One day when Bhagavan was walking near the gosala, he caught sight of the boy hiding with a camera. Bhagavan joked with his attendant that the child wanted to “catch him” and put him in “his box.” Seizing the moment, Swaminathan jumped out from behind the haystack and snapped the picture—an incident he fondly recalled.
A physician by training, Dr. Swaminathan dedicated his life to Janaki Matha Ashram as its President, ensuring it remains centred for Bhagavan’s worship, Vedic study, daily puja, and charity. After Janaki Matha’s mahasamadhi in 1969, Dr. GS helped establish it as a public trust, performing kumbhabhishekams in 1972, 1987, and 1999 with Sringeri Math’s blessings. 
A veteran of the Indian Air Force, GS was honoured with the national flag at his funeral. A moksha deepam was lit at Bhagavan’s Samadhi Shrine on the evening of his cremation. 
May Dr. G. Swaminathan rest in the peace of the Self. —
 

Smt. Elsa van den Muyzenberg (1947-1925)

Elsa van den Muyzenberg was a devoted and regular visitor to Sri Ramanasramam over several decades. During her stays, she participated actively in Ashram life, especially the evening Tamil parayanam, and spent long afternoons in quiet meditation on the Hill.
She also rendered valuable service to the Ashram through her translation, from French, the Ashram book published under the title: A Pilgrimage in South India in 1845: Tiruvannamalai.
Else last visited the Ashram in the years before Covid, but then owing to poor health, was unable to return. She developed a lung condition and shortly before passing away, she completed a full rereading of all the issues of The Mountain Path. At the age of 78, she merged with the Holy Hill on 10th October 2025 in Ontario, Canada. Her husband of twenty-five happy years was at her side, chanting “Arunachala Siva” as she took her final breaths.  —

Smt. Vijaya Nagaraj (1971-1925)

Smt. Vijaya Nagaraj was born on 8th May 1971 in Cholavandan, Madurai, and grew up with her two elder brothers, Giridaran and Shekar. In 1981, the family moved to Chennai. As their means were modest, Vijaya assisted her mother in preparing food items for the neighbours, contributing to the household from a young age.

In time, a well-wisher suggested Vijaya as a suitable match for Sri Nagaraj, the youngest son of Appichi Mama, the revered head priest of Sri Ramanasramam. The couple were married on 11th February 1996, after which Nagaraj took up employment in a chocolate factory in Chittoor. In March 1997, their son was born, and the following year the family moved to Tiruvannamalai, where Nagaraj began his service at Sri Ramanasramam. Their daughter was born in 2002.

Having known hardship in her early years and having been denied the chance for higher studies, Vijaya was determined that her children should receive a good education. She managed the household near the Ashram with devotion and discipline and was often seen performing her daily prayers at the various shrines in and around Ramanasramam.

In later years, Vijaya developed diabetes, which became more severe in recent months. In mid-September,

she suffered acute abdominal pain and was hospitalised. When gallbladder disease was finally diagnosed and emergency surgery performed, complications had already affected her pancreas and kidneys. Despite all efforts, her condition worsened, and she peacefully merged at the Feet of Bhagavan on the evening of 18th September. Vijaya is survived by her husband, Nagaraj and her son, Ramanaganesh and her daughter, Jayalakshmi. —

 

Sri R. Venkatakrishnan (1925-2025)

Sri R. Venkatakrishnan, son of Manavasi “Saranagati” Ramaswamy Iyer and long-time servant of Bhagavan, attained Bhagavan’s Feet on 11th October 2025, at 7:20 am, aged ninety-nine. Blessed to sit on Bhagavan’s lap as a boy, Venkatakrishnan’s lifelong dedication and devotion had been assured. When his father was employed as a govt. civil engineer constructing the famous Godavari Rail bridge in Berhampur, Orissa, Venkatakrishnan was born there on 25th December 1925 following his father’s prayers to Bhagavan for a male child. The family was subsequently transferred to Tiruvannamalai, where his father served as a PWD engineer. One day, taking measurements for the road under construction, Bhagavan held one end of the tape and Ramaswamy Iyer, the other. Venkatakrishnan’s father had been among the earliest devotees to meet Bhagavan (in 1907, at Virupaksha Cave) and was later celebrated for composing immortal devotional hymns such as Dhikku Verillai and Saranagati.

Venkatakrishnan got a good education and served with distinction as Chief Manager (Finance & Accounts) at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (formerly Madras Refineries Ltd.), where his integrity, discipline, and sense of responsibility earned him the respect of his colleagues. Beyond his professional life, it was his spiritual service that most defined him. As Treasurer, and later President, of the Ramana Kendra, Mylapore, he played a pivotal role in sustaining and strengthening the Kendra’s activities, guiding it with the quiet devotion and steadfastness that marked his family’s long association with Bhagavan.

  Sri Venkatakrishnan’s late wife, Smt. Padma Venkatakrishnan (1927–2018), was also steeped in the Ramana tradition. Raised in Tiruvannamalai under the care of her aunt Yogambal, who had moved there to be near Bhagavan, Padma grew up visiting the Ashram daily as a young girl. Trained in music by her father-in-law, she often sang before Bhagavan and was blessed by the guru’s gracious attention. Her life remained anchored in devotion—attending Navaratri at Sri Ramanasramam each year, participating in the Sumangali Puja, and upholding the simple values of service and surrender. She attained the Feet of Bhagavan on October 11th, 2018, the third day of Navaratri, at the age of ninety-one.

   Sri and Smt. Venkatakrishnan embodied the spirit of saranagati—a life of humility, devotion, and faith in Bhagavan’s ever-present grace. Their home in Chennai was a sanctuary of devotion, where the name of Arunachala was ever on their lips.

   Sri Venkatakrishnan is survived by his son, Sri V. Ramesh, and daughter, Smt. Chandrika Mohan, and by many friends and devotees who cherish his memory. His long life, marked by faith, and quiet dignity, stands as a bridge linking the early devotees of Bhagavan’s time to the present generation—a living testament to the enduring grace of Bhagavan Ramana. —