Living Tiruvannamalai · Satsang

Swami Nochur (Ramanacharanatirtha) & Voice of Rishis

One of India’s most revered living expounders of Advaita Vedanta ~ Nochur Swami, whose satsangs on the Gita, Upanishads and Ramana’s teachings draw great gatherings at Tiruvannamalai and across South India. A complete, factual guide: his life, his teaching, his devotees, his books, and his official satsang schedule.

← Part of Saints of Arunachala

Among the most revered living expounders of Advaita Vedanta in India today ~ and one whose satsangs draw great gatherings at Tiruvannamalai and across the south ~ is Sri Ramanacharanatirtha Swami, widely known and loved as Nochur Swami (formerly Sri Nochur Venkataraman). His discourses on the Gita, the Upanishads, the Bhagavata and the teachings of Ramana Maharshi ~ delivered with rare eloquence, scriptural depth and devotional warmth in Tamil, Malayalam, English and Sanskrit ~ have become a guiding light for countless seekers. This page is a complete, factual introduction, drawn from his official site, Voice of Rishis, and from devotees who have written of their own experience of him.

Sri Ramanacharanatirtha (Nochur) Swami

According to his official site, Swami was, from a young age in his native Nochur, immersed in Vedic culture and irresistibly drawn to the spiritual life. At the age of fourteen, while meditating before dawn, he had a profound experience of Peace beyond body and mind, which turned him to deep study of the Gita, the Upanishads and the Vedantic texts. From around the age of eighteen he began expounding these texts himself. He then came to Arunachala, where ~ in his own tradition’s telling ~ he found his spiritual anchorage in Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, whose teachings became the central axis of his life; coming to Arunachala, it is said, was “truly a homecoming.” He was closely associated with several of Bhagavan’s direct disciples, and later spent three years in deep contemplation and scriptural study at Kalady, the birthplace of Adi Sankaracharya.

In 2023 he formally received sannyasa diksha (monastic initiation) in the traditional Advaita lineage of Sankaracharya ~ according to Voice of Rishis, given by Sri Advayanandendra Saraswati Swamiji ~ taking the name Sri Ramanacharanatirtha, “the one whose refuge is at Ramana’s feet.” Devotees who witnessed the day described a visible radiance; one well-known account from the time, shared publicly, spoke of “a tejus brimming in his face, gleaming and transmitting peace everywhere around.”

Aflame with the power of Self-knowledge and suffused with the fragrance of devotion ~ his satsangs are prized for eloquence, clarity and scriptural depth.

His satsangs & teaching

From around the age of eighteen, Swami has expounded the Upanishads, the Gita, the Bhagavata and other foundational Vedantic texts ~ with a special centrality given to the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and the path of Self-enquiry (atma vichara). His discourses are woven through with “delightful and inspiring anecdotes from the lives of our greatest saints and sages,” a style that makes dense scriptural material feel immediate and alive. His satsangs are held at Rishi Tirtham and other venues in Tiruvannamalai and at venues across Chennai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore and beyond, and are described as marked by natural eloquence, clarity of insight, and scriptural depth, welcoming to renunciates, householders and children alike. Many satsangs are livestreamed and archived, in multiple languages, on his channels.

A devotee’s account

The composer and musician Kuldeep M Pai has written of finding, in Swami, the teacher he had searched for through years of difficulty ~ a meeting he describes as arriving precisely when it was needed, at a personal turning point. A single instruction from Swami, he recounts, redirected his creative life entirely: “Take Sankara Kruthis and give it the world” ~ which became the seed of his own devotional music project. Tellingly, Pai chose not to post a photograph alongside his account; in his words, a realised master is not something to be captured for social media, and he pointed readers instead to the Voice of Rishis channel itself. It is a small detail, but a telling one ~ typical of how Swami’s devotees tend to speak of him: with reverence for the teaching received, and reticence about the man himself.

The satsang schedule

Because Swami’s schedule moves between cities and changes regularly, the reliable, current source is always his official site’s Satsang Schedule page, which lists upcoming satsangs with dates, times, venues, contact numbers and livestream/audio links. Tiruvannamalai gatherings have in the past included multi-day series timed around Sri Bhagavan Jayanti (Ramana Maharshi’s birth anniversary) and a reading of the Aksharamanamalai spanning the turn of the year, alongside shorter series such as Arunachala Anubhavam. Many satsangs are also available live and recorded on his YouTube and other channels in Tamil, Malayalam and English.

Books & recordings

Voice of Rishis publishes an unusually extensive catalogue of Swami’s written works ~ more than two dozen titles across English, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam and Sanskrit. The flagship is his acclaimed 1,400-page commentary on the Bhagavad Gita (“Elixir of Eternal Wisdom”), with Sanskrit verses, English translation, detailed commentary and illustrations, written in language he intends to be “simple, lucid, accessible.” Alongside it sit shorter, equally loved works: Atmatirtham, his life and teachings of Adi Sankaracharya (also published in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam); Swatmasukhi, his commentary on Ramana Maharshi’s Forty Verses on Reality; a Malayalam biography of Ramana himself; talks on Adi Sankaracharya’s Dakshinamurti Stava; and several volumes of his own devotional poetry and Sanskrit hymns, including Ānandamakaranda and Sivanubhuti Stava. A great archive of his satsangs in several languages is also freely available on his channels. All titles are sold through the official online store, with current pricing and availability (India currently ships domestically for most physical titles).

Media & how to follow him

Voice of Rishis maintains an active digital presence: full satsang playlists in English, Tamil and Malayalam on YouTube, a dedicated Live Satsang page for current broadcasts, and updates via Instagram, Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp. The official gallery documents Swami’s long association with several Sankaracharyas of the major Advaita monasteries, with Ramakrishna Math leadership, with direct disciples of Bhagavan Ramana, and with pilgrimages to Sringeri, Tiruvannamalai, Kalady and Sri Sailam.

Last updated 2 October 2026. Drawn from the official Voice of Rishis website and from devotee accounts published elsewhere online; where an account is traditional, it is told as such.