When R. Raphael Hurst, a London journalist, first visited Sri Ramanasramam in 1931, he was sincerely seeking a direct experience of Truth. Up till then, all his travels, his meetings with holy men, yogis and occultists failed to satisfy the inner yearnings of his soul. The record of his search, culminating with an ecstatic glimpse of Reality while sitting in the presence of the Maharshi, was published in England in 1934. It was a sensation, an instant best seller enchanting thousands. A Search in Secret India, written under the pen name of Paul Brunton (a name he later adopted as his permanent name), did more at that time to propagate the spiritual grandeur of the Maharshi than any other medium. Now the world came to sit at the feet of the sage of Arunachala.
Let us follow Mr. Paul Brunton on his first visit.
"We shall now go in the hall of the Maharshi," announces the holy man of the yellow robe, bidding me to follow him. I pause outside the uncovered stone veranda and remove my shoes. I gather up the little pile of fruits which I have brought as an offering, and pass into an open doorway.
Twenty brown-and-black faces flash their eyes upon us. Their owners are squatting in half-circles on a red-tiled floor. They are grouped at a respectful distance from the corner which lies farthest to the right hand of the door. Apparently everyone has been facing this corner just prior to our entry. I glance there for a moment and perceive a seated figure upon a long white divan, but it suffices to tell me that here indeed is the Maharshi.