Foreword
by
Dr. S. RADHAKRISHNAN
Vice-President of India
SRI RAMANASRAMAM
Tiruvannamalai
2002
© Sri Ramanasramam
First Edition
: 1997
Second Edition
: 2002
2000 copies
ISBN No: 81-88018-11-2
Price: Rs.
CC No: 1052
Published by
V.S. Ramanan
President, Board of Trustees
Sri Ramanasramam
Tiruvannamalai 606 603
Tamil Nadu
INDIA
Tel: 91-4175-37292
Fax: 91-4175-37491
Email: alagamma@vsnl.com
Website: www.ramana-maharshi.org
Designed and typeset at
Sri Ramanasramam
Printed by
Kartik Offset Printers
Chennai 600 015
Since the printing of this work as an Ashram publication
in 1997 there has been demand for a reprint.
A second edition has therefore been brought out, also
utilising the opportunity to effect some improvement.
The improvement consists in the addition of illustrations
appropriate to the contents of each chapter.
| Sri Sundara Mandiram, Tiruchuli, where Bhagavan was born in 1879 | 1 |
| Sri Ramana Mandiram, Madurai, where Bhagavan realised the Self in 1896 | 7 |
| Arunachala as seen from the railway bridge mentioned by Bhagavan, where the Big Temple appears in line with the Mountain Peak | 17 |
| Pathala Linga, the cellar-shrine where Bhagavan took shelter | 25 |
| Pavalakunru, where mother Alagamma found her son | 35 |
| Arunachala, Panchamukha Darshana or all the five faces of Arunachala | 45 |
| Virupaksha Cave. Sri Bhagavan lived here for 16 years, from 1900 to 1916 | 64 |
| Alagammal, Sri Bhagavan's Mother | 73 |
| Sri Bhagavan in Mango Tree Cave at the age of twenty one. This is the earliest surviving photo of Bhagavan which was taken in 1900 | 86 |
| Bhagavan with devotees at Virupaksha Cave (circa 1913) | 91 |
| Bhagavan feeding a monkey | 121 |
| Early view of Mother's Shrine. Sri Bhagavan is standing to the right | 132 |
| Sri Bhagavan attending a special occasion in the Ashram | 140 |
| Sri Bhagavan in the old hall | 155 |
| Sri Bhagavan with devotees in front of the Ashram office | 181 |
| Ink sketch of Arunachala by Sri Bhagavan and verses to Arunachala in Bhagavan's own handwriting | 193 |
| Sri Bhagavan's last photograph taken ten days before Mahanirvana in 1950 | 202 |
| The Samadhi Shrine of Sri Bhagavan today | 214 |
In writing this book I have tried to make the meaning clear
without using more foreign words than necessary. However, every
language contains words which have no direct equivalent in
another, and every science, spiritual as well as physical, has
technical terms which scarcely admit of translation. Therefore it
was necessary to use a certain number of Sanskrit and other
words. These have been explained in the text, but for easy
reference and for an approximate idea of their pronunciation, a
glossary has been added. Since it is intended to help the general
reader in his understanding of the book, I have not given simple
dictionary definitions but rather an idea of the sense in which a
word is used and of the doctrinal implications it carries.
I am glad to write this short foreword to Mr. Osborne's
account of the life and teaching of Sri Ramana Maharshi. It has
a special relevance to our age with its dominant mood of wistful
reluctant scepticism. We are given here a religion of the spirit
which enables us to liberate ourselves from dogmas and
superstitions, rituals and ceremonies and live as free spirits. The
essence of all religion is an inner personal experience, an
individual relationship with the Divine. It is not worship so much
as a quest. It is a way of becoming, of liberation.
The well-known Greek aphorism `Know thyself ' is akin to
the Upanishad precept atmanam viddhi, know the Self. By a
process of abstraction we get behind the layers of body, mind
and intellect and reach the Universal Self, "the true light which
lighteth every man that cometh into the world". "To attain the
Good, we must ascend to the highest state and fixing our gaze
thereon, lay aside the garments we donned when descending
here below; just as, in the Mysteries, those who are admitted to
penetrate into the inner recesses of the sanctuary, after having
purified themselves, lay aside every garment and advance stark
naked."1 We sink into the measureless being that is without
limitation or determination. It is pure being in which one thing
is not opposed to another. There is no being to which the subject
opposes himself. He identifies himself with all things and events
as they happen. Reality fills the self as it is no longer barred by
preferences or aversions, likes or dislikes. These can no more act
as a distorting medium.
The child is much nearer the vision of the Self. We must
become as little children before we can enter into the realm of
truth. This is why we are required to put aside the sophistication
of the learned. The need for being born again is insisted on. It is
said that the wisdom of babes is greater than that of scholars.
Sri Ramana Maharshi gives us the outlines of a religion
based on the Indian Scriptures which is essentially spiritual
without ceasing to be rational and ethical.