When he was hardly 13, even before anybody could tell him that the soul was immortal, Ramana had discovered the fact for himself through inner enlightenment. The boy became a saint then and there.  He renounced home and spent 15 long years in deep meditation on the Arunachala Hills, in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu. He had become a Maharshi. Disciples came one by one and the Ramana Ashram grew into a major centre of meditation, learning and training in spirituality. He told everyone to ask oneself "Who am I" constantly.