H.W.L. Poonja, affectionately known as Papaji, was a 20th-century Indian sage and a devotee of the great master Ramana Maharshi. His teaching was radically simple and direct. He insisted that liberation is not something to be achieved in the future through effort or practice, but is one’s natural state, available here and now. He taught that the Self is already free and that no spiritual practice is needed to realize it. His powerful presence and direct pointing to the truth attracted a large following of Western seekers, making him a key figure in the modern transmission of Advaita Vedanta.