Thuli Baba
“Everything is One. We are that One. You are also that One. There is nothing other than that One.”
– Thuli Baba
Discover the profound teachings of Thuli Baba, a realized master from South India, guiding seekers on the path of Self-realization and eternal Truth.
Interview with Thuli Baba by John David
Thuli Baba’s chuckles and dreadlocks make him sound and look like a wizard. Almost naked, he manages to appear as a child and a wise man at the same time. We have met very often and are now so familiar that I am welcomed with a slap on the back! Living in a small, intimate ashram with around a dozen devotees, he touches deeply with his grace, simplicity and presence.
– John David
Questions and Answers
Sri Ramana proposed the fundamental question, ‘Who am I?’* Who are you?
Many Western seekers come to India looking for enlightenment as if it is an experience. What is enlightenment?
Are there any qualifications for enlightenment? Is sadhana (spiritual practice) necessary? If yes, what form do you advise?
Sri Ramana said that Self-enquiry is the most direct route to realising the Self. What do you say about Self-enquiry? How to conduct Self-enquiry?
When Sri Ramana was asked, ‘When will the realisation of the Self be gained?’ he replied, ‘When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realisation of the Self which is the seer.’* What is the true understanding of the world? How to remove the world?
It has been suggested that the mind must be destroyed for liberation to occur. Do you have a mind? Sri Ramana used the term manonasha to describe the state of liberation, meaning destroyed mind. How to destroy the mind?
What about vasanas, the tendencies of the mind? Must these be removed before Self-realisation can become permanent? Is it enough to achieve asattvic (calm and peaceful) state of mind and to know one’s vasanas so that they no longer bind? How to remove the vasanas?
At the end of his book, Self-Enquiry, Sri Ramana says, ‘He who is thus endowed with a mind that has become subtle, and who has the experience of the Self is called a jivanmukta.’ Is this the state that can be called Self- realised?
He goes on, ‘And when one is immersed in the ocean of bliss and has become one with it without any differentiated existence, one is called a videhamukta. It is the state of videhamukti that is referred to as the transcendent turiya (state). This is the final goal.’ Is this the state that can be called enlightenment?
It appears essential to meet a guru and stay with that guru. Who is the guru? What is the guru’s role? How to recognise a true guru?
Sri Ramana’s devotees had tremendous devotion to him, and he to Arunachala. Please say something about bhakti, devotion, in the pursuit of awakening.
Thuli Baba's Teachings
Core Teachings of Thuli Baba
At the heart of Thuli Baba’s message is the fundamental truth taught by Sri Ramana Maharshi: “Who am I?” Thuli Baba explains that the One supreme Reality manifests in countless forms but remains indivisible and eternal. We are not separate from this One; ignorance alone veils our true nature.
Self-Realization is Not a Goal to Achieve:
It is the removal of ignorance, the lifting of the veil that hides our true Self.
The Obstructions:
Desire for worldly possessions and attachment to sensual pleasures are the main barriers to awakening.
The Role of the Guru:
Only through a living satguru’s guidance can one gradually dissolve ignorance and realize the Self.
Total Surrender:
Surrendering all possessions and ego creates peace, removes anger, and leads to true freedom.
appears in
Blueprints for Awakening – Indian Masters
Indian Spiritual Masters
John David has been interviewing sixteen important Indian Spiritual Masters. The result is a compendium of astonishing wisdom about the biggest secret of all times: the Nature of our True Self and how to realise it.
This boock answers all questions of the spiritual search and is for everyone who has an inner passion to find out who they are.
Published in two volumes.
Ajja is part of Volume I.
Other Ramana Maharshi Books
NEW: Aham Sphurana – A Glimpse of Self Realisation
Fascinating dialogues and stories of Sri Ramana Maharshi recorded by Sri Gajapathi Aiyyer in the summer 1936, at Ramana Ashram.
This book contains a selection from the complete manuscript Aham Sphurana. This selection, a brilliant treasure, speaks for itself. Beside the detailed teachings on Self-Enquiry, Surrender and Jnana, it exposes a new glimpse of Bhagavan’s personal day-to-day life at fifty-six, in his middle age.
The Book is available in English and German, as Ebook and Paperback.
Biography
Thuli Baba was born in 1930 in Tirumandiram Nagar, a small village in South India. From a very young age, he was deeply absorbed in spiritual life. His father, Sri Vadivel Swami—also known as Sri Gurudev—played a crucial role in Thuli Baba’s early awakening by breaking the bonds of attachment and the false sense of “I” and “mine.” Under his father’s guidance, who later became his guru, Thuli Baba learned to abandon personal identification, choosing instead to speak of himself as “This,” “we,” or “us,” avoiding the words “I” and “mine” altogether.
As a teenager, Thuli Baba’s spiritual discipline intensified, and by sixteen, he had fully embraced this practice of non-attachment and surrender. Known for his distinctive chuckles and wild dreadlocks, he exudes a presence that is at once childlike and profoundly wise—an image that has often led admirers to see him as a kind of mystical wizard. His near-naked simplicity and humility underscore a life wholly dedicated to the realization of the One Truth underlying all existence.
Thuli Baba’s teachings reflect his deep experience of the non-dual reality: that everything is One, and all distinctions are illusions veiling the supreme Self. His journey was not one of seeking enlightenment as a distant goal but of removing the veil of ignorance to reveal the Self that has always been present. Living quietly in a small, intimate ashram surrounded by a devoted circle, Thuli Baba continues to guide seekers with grace, patience, and clarity.
Thuli Baba’s daily life remains simple and grounded, marked by profound surrender to the Divine and a total absence of ego. For decades, Thuli Baba has inspired both Indian and Western spiritual aspirants, bridging cultures with his universal message of oneness, faith, and self-enquiry.
A true guru is the living Self who gradually removes your ignorance and attachments. Enlightenment cannot be given or taken—it is revealed through surrender, faith, and the guru’s guidance. Without a living guru, realization is nearly impossible. Total surrender to the guru is essential.
– Thuli Baba
