Vol. I JANUARY 1964 No.

SRI R A M A N A S R A M A M , TIRUVANNAMALAI
 May the Grace of

Sri Ramana Maharshi

be with

'THE MOUNTAIN PATH

The devotional Journal
published from the Asramam

Inserted by the Management

WELLINGTON TALKIES, MADRAS

 " Arunachala ! T h o u dost
root out the ego of those
w h o meditate o n Thee in
the Heart, Oh Aruna-
chala."
— The Marital Garland of
Letters, Verse 1. THE MOUNTAIN PATH
( QUARTERLY )

Publisher:
Vol. I J A N U A R Y 1964 No. 1
T. N. Venkataraman,
Sri Ramanasramam,
TiruvannamalaL CONTENTS
Page
Messages . 14
EDITORIAL :'.

Editor ; T o Those W i t h Little Dust .. 17

Arthur Osborne, " The Mountain Path " — M . Bhaktavatsalam .. 20
Sri Ramanasramam,
R e m a i n W h e r e Y o u Ave—Nagamma ., 21
Tiruvannamalai.
Outside the Scriptures—Dr. T, N. Krishnaswami 23
ASPECTS OF I S L A M !
Is Sufism Islamic ?—Abdullah Qutbuddin . 28
ARROWS FROM A CHRISTIAN B O W :
Managing Editor: A n A g g r e s s i v e Teacher—Sagittarius .. 30
V. Ganesan, A B e a c o n Still—S. P. Mukerji .. 31
Sri Ramanasramam,
Tiruvannamalai,
Spiritual Traditions of the G r e e k O r t h o d o x
C h u r c h — F a t h e r Lazarus ,. 32
A Visit to A n a n d a s h r a m in the Lifetime of
Swami Ramdas—Unnamulai .. 38
The Relations b e t w e e n Religion and A r t — A r t h u r
Annual Subscription: Osborne .. 40
Rs. 5 ; 10 sh.; $ 1.50.
" I am not, but the Universe is M y S e l f " —
Logical Analysis of this Intuition —
Life Subscription :
Wei Wu Wei ,. 44
Rs. 100 ; £ 10 ; $ 30.
B u c h m a n and B h a g a v a n — B u c h m a n i t e .. 45
Single Copy :
A s h r a m Bulletin ,. 48
Rs. 1.50 ; 3 sh. ; , $ 0.45.
Book Reviews ,. 59
The G o l d e n Master .. 65

THE AIM OF THIS JOURNAL WILL BE TO SET FORTH THE T R A D I T I O N A L WISDOM

OF A L L RELIGIONS AND A L L AGES, ESPECIALLY A S TESTIFIED TO B Y THEIR SAINTS
A N D MYSTICS, A N D TO CLARIFY THE P A T H S AVAILABLE TO SEEKERS IN THE CONDI-
TIONS OF OUR MODERN WORLD.

Contributions for publication should be addressed to ' The Editor, THE M O U N T A I N PATH,
Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai, Madras State/ Manuscripts not published will be returned
on request.
 essajQs
H I S H O L I N E S S SRI J A G A D G U R U MAHASAMSTHANAM,
Sharada Peetham of Sringeri.

His Holiness was v e r y glad to k n o w y o u are starting publication of a

quarterly journal entitled " T h e Mountain P a t h ' ' f r o m January 1964 and
that its aims are " to set forth the traditional w i s d o m of all religions a n d
of all ages especially as testified to b y their saints and m y s t i c s . "

His Holiness is pleased to c o n v e y His Blessings for success of y o u r

journal,

* * #

DR, S. RADHAKRISHNAN, President, Indian Republic, Rashtrapati

Bhavan, New Delhi-4,

I am glad to receive your letter and k n o w that f r o m January 1964

y o u are starting a Quarterly Journal " T h e Mountain P a t h " . . . .
I wish y o u success in y o u r endeavour.
With best wishes.

* * «

SRI B I S N U R A M M E D H I , Governor of Madras, Raj Bhavan, Madras,

I thank y o u for y o u r letter of the 15th October 1963. I a m h a p p y

to k n o w that under the auspices of Sri Ramanasramam, it is proposed to
publish a quarterly journal called " The Mountain Path " . If it preaches
the fundamental unity of all religions and the message of universal l o v e
to mankind, it will have served a useful purpose, I wish the quarterly
e v e r y success.

* # *

SRI V, V . GIRI, Governor of Kerala, Raj Bhavan, Trivandrum.

It is o n l y in the fitness of things that Sri Ramanasramam has decided

to bring out a quarterly publication " The Mountain Path " to impart the
spiritual k n o w l e d g e and a g e - o l d w i s d o m w h i c h the seekers and seers h a v e
been espousing in all countries and ages. Sri Ramana Maharshi, the Sage
of Arunachala, taught the message of universal brotherhood and g o o d w i l l
among all. T h e realisation of the * B r a h m a n ' is not b e y o n d us. A n a s p i -
rant yearning to learn, understand and f o l l o w the great truth ' T h o u A r t
T h a t ' b e c o m e s liberated.
I am sure y o u r j o u r n a l w i l l b e doing a distinct service in propagating
the need for inter-religious h a r m o n y and awakening the hidden treasures
of Godliness in e v e r y individual.
1264 MESSAGES 15

D R . C. P. R A M A S W A M I A I Y A R , Vice-Chancellor, Annamalai University,

" Delisle "> Ootacamund.

Sri Ramana Maharshi w a s one of the authentic Seers that have

appeared f r o m time to time in India w h o s e mission w a s to enable people
to r e c o v e r their mental poise and to give them guidance on the f u n d a -
mental p r o b l e m s of existence.
I a m v e r y glad that a quarterly journal entitled " The Mountain Path "
is about to b e started and I wish it all success and prosperity.

# * *

SRI C. R. P A T T A B H I R A M A N , Union Deputy Minister, Labour & Employ-

ment and Planning, New Delhi

I a m glad that the Quarterly " Mountain Path " under the e d i t o r -
ship of Sri A r t h u r Osborne, is being started. I wish the endeavour all
success.
A s eternal and ' s a n a t h a n ' as our ancient Dharma, are the writings
about Sri R a m a n a Maharshi because he w a s a realised soul. Everyone
w h o comes across R a m a n a literature is b o u n d to b e h a p p y and elevated.
M a y the journal g r o w f r o m strength to strength and m a y it b e given
to you all to c a r r y on y o u r g o o d w o r k for m a n y years to c o m e .

* # #

SRI M. B H A K T A V A T S A L A M , Chief Minister, Government of Madras,

Fort. St. George, Madras.

T h e teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi take their rank among the

great scriptures w h i c h , e m b o d y i n g the Truth and the perceptions of seers,
shed light o n the path of earnest aspirants. The advent of a n e w journal
shedding n e w light on the teachings of Sri Maharshi w i l l b e w e l c o m e d
not m e r e l y b y the devotees of Sri Bhagavan, but b y e v e r y one w h o has
faith in the spiritual traditions of India.

SRI L. N. B I R L A , Birla House, New Delhi.

. . . I a m glad to k n o w that y o u are shortly going to start a

Quarterly journal.

SRI C. R A J A G O P A L A C H A R I , T. Nagar, Madras.

I have read the aim of the journal that is being inaugurated. The
aim deserves the cooperation of all g o o d and w i s e m e n .
16 THE M O U N T A I N PATH January

MATAJI (MOTHER KRISHNA BAI) OF ANANDASHRAM,

Kanhangad, S. Rly.

P u j y a Mataji got y o u r loving letter of the 15th instant and has noted
that y o u are starting the publication of a quarterly journal " The Mountain
Path " w h i c h will be edited b y Sri A r t h u r O s b o r n e . . . .
She sends her good wishes and prays for the complete success of
the journal.

* * *

M O T H E R R A M A DEVI (OF M A N G A L O R E ) , Camp: Bangalore.

It is heartening to observe that y o u have e m b a r k e d u p o n the p u b l i -

cation of a religious journal for the furtherance of the cause of spirituality,
Dissemination of ancient w i s d o m through the m e d i u m of a journal
is one of t h e easy and effective means of service available to doers of
good.
Association with elevating thoughts is the avenue to self-purification.
It provides conditions congenial to the awakening of the hidden p o t e n -
tialities of the h u m a n mind.
Let y o u r journal serve as a path-finder for w e a r y minds in the p i l -
grimage to the sacred shrine of supreme beatitude.
Blessings and best wishes.

"THE MOUNTAIN PATH"

(A Quarterly, issued from Sri Ramanasramam)

i
The Mountain P a t h a quarterly journal, is issued f r o m this A s h r a m
as one means of maintaining the high spiritual and intellectual level that
B h a g a v a n Sri Ramana Maharshi's teaching demands. The aim of this
j o u r n a l w i l l b e to set forth the traditional w i s d o m of all religions and all
ages, especially as testified to b y their saints and mystics, and to clarify
the paths available to seekers in the conditions of our m o d e r n w o r l d .

W e h o p e that devotees of Sri Maharshi and others also w h o are drawn

to the perennial spiritual w i s d o m will lend us their support.

W e also find that m a n y devotees who. are able to c o m e to T i r u v a n n a -

malai o n l y rarely or not at all, are eager for A s h r a m n e w s . F o r their
benefit w e shall issue an A s h r a m n e w s bulletin as a supplement to e a c h
issue. Usually this w i l l be a small part of the journal ; h o w e v e r , in this
issue, w e w i s h to bring readers u p - t o - d a t e w i t h an account of the
Maharshi's nirvana and of A s h r a m developments since then.

T. N. V E N K A T A R A M A N ,
Publisher.
 '7

The Mountain Path

(Q^U A R T E R L Y )

Editor: ARTHUR OSBORNE

VOL I JANUARY, 1 9 6 4 No, 1

T O THOSE WITH LITTLE DUST

[EDITORIAL]
It is related (and the story is no less to it can bring a peace of m i n d and sense
significant w h e t h e r historically true or n o t ) of w e l l being not otherwise attainable.
that after attaining Enlightenment the Mystics h a v e often had unsought glimpses
Buddha's first impulse w a s to abide in the of a higher or the highest state ; those w h o
effulgence of Bliss without turning b a c k to are psychic h a v e o u t - o f - t h e - b o d y and other
c o n v e y the i n c o m m u n i c a b l e to mankind. experiences closed to the ordinary m a n ; but
Then he reflected : " S o m e there are w h o all this is of little importance in the quest
are clear-sighted and do not need m y t e a c h - for Realization. Such p o w e r s or experiences
ing, and some w h o s e eyes are clouded with m a y be a help at certain stages of certain
dust w h o w i l l not heed it though given, but types of path, but they m a y also b e a h i n d -
b e t w e e n these t w o there are also some w i t h rance and distraction, like the sirens w h o m
but little dust in their eyes, w h o can b e Odysseus heard but against w h o m he m a d e
helped to see ; and for the sake of these I his c r e w plug their ears. If the pleasures of
will go b a c k among mankind and teach." It the physical w o r l d are seductive, those of
is for those w i t h little dust in their eyes the subtle w o r l d are certainly no less so.
that this journal is intended. Christ said that if a m a n attains the k i n g -
Its purpose is to s h o w that there is a m o r e d o m of heaven all else shall b e a d d e d to
satisfactory state than that of ignorant, c o n - him ; but that is after attaining. If he seeks
fused, unguided, frustrated m o d e r n man, and all else beforehand he is not likely to attain.
a higher, m o r e satisfying and m o r e durable It is safer to h a v e one's ears plugged.
alternative for him than any p r o v i d e d b y The quest is no shorter and no less a r d u -
wealth or l u x u r y , art o r music, or the l o v e ous for those w h o have such p o w e r s and
b e t w e e n m a n and w o m a n ; that such a state experiences than for those w h o h a v e not.
can b e attained in his lifetime, and that the Realization is not something like music, for
purpose of all religions has b e e n to lead m e n w h i c h some are b y nature m o r e gifted than
towards it, although in m a n y different w a y s . others ; it is fundamentally different, since
I say towards ' rather than ' to ' because
1
music requires the d e v e l o p m e n t of a faculty
e v e n though the supreme state m a y not b e w h i c h is stronger in some and w e a k e r in
attained in this lifetime, the m e r e approach others, whereas Realization is the discovery
3
18 THE M O U N T A I N PATH January

of and identification with the Self that has
the faculties.
It is v e r y hard, perhaps impossible, to say
w h o can and w i l l understand. It has certainly
nothing in c o m m o n w i t h intellectual ability
as c o m m o n l y understood. Indeed, the s c r i p -
tures of the various religions agree in w a r n -
ing that neither intellect nor learning is any
qualification. T h e y also can b e a hindrance.
" It is rather the unlearned w h o are saved
than those w h o s e ego has not yet subsided
in spite of their l e a r n i n g . " 1
" The h u m -
b l e k n o w l e d g e of oneself is a surer w a y to
G o d than deep researches after s c i e n c e . "
A scientist can fail to understand spiritual
science, a philosopher b e unreceptive to the
Perennial Philosophy, a psychologist remain
ignorant of what underlines the mind. O n the
other hand, a spiritual Master m a y or m a y
not b e an i n t e l l e c t u a l : Ramana Maharshi
w a s , but Sri Ramakrishna w a s an ecstatic
with the m i n d rather of a peasant than a
philosopher, w h i l e St. Ignatius L o y o l a w a s
temperamentally so averse to study that it
required immense effort for h i m to gain the
degree without w h i c h the Church w o u l d not
a l l o w him to teach, and he w a s m i d d l e - a g e d
before he did so.
1 Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi, Sup-
plementary Forty Verses, v. 36. Riders and Sri
Ramanasramam.
2 The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis.
A Master m a y feel w h o are his people and
d r a w them to him, but e v e n that is n o g u a -
rantee of a good~outcome to the q u e s t : Judas
was among • the closest followers of Christ
and Devadatta among those of Buddha, w h i l e
M o h a m m e d is told in the Quran : " Y o u c a n -
not save those w h o m y o u will but those
w h o m God wills."
W h a t is required is rather willingness to
open one's heart to the truth, to surrender
oneself, give u p one's ego, conceive of the
possibility of its n o n - e x i s t e n c e , g i v e u p one's
2 life for Christ's sake. That is w h y the Quran
speaks of unbelievers rather as perverse
than ignorant, saying that even if an angel
f r o m heaven came d o w n to explain to them
they w o u l d not listen.
Theoretical understanding is not enough.
Neither is belief in the sense of a conviction
that this or that will happen after death.
W h a t is needed is to set one's hand to the
plough, as Christ put it, to undertake the
true alchemy, transmuting the dross in one's
nature to gold. This is the quest of the S a n -
graal, the search for the elixir of life, the
eternal y o u t h of the Spirit. It is the p a t h -
w a y of the heroes, the w a y f r o m trivialities
to grandeur. Its consummation is like w a k -
ing u p f r o m a dream into the ever-existent
Reality,

THE FEW
By A R T H U R O S B O R N E

N o argument can pierce the shuttered mind.

L e t truth shine forth resplendent as the sun,
Still, crouched in their dark corner, w i l l they find
S o m e guttering candle till life's day b e done.
E v e n though w e sang like angels in their ear
T h e y w o u l d not hear.

Those only in w h o s e heart some inkling dwells,

G r o w n o v e r though it b e , crushed d o w n , denied,
W i l l greet the pealing of the golden bells
A n d w e l c o m e truth w h e n all around deride.
Y e t sight has laid a debt u p o n their will
Not all fulfil.
1984 THE FEW 19

F o r e v e n of those w h o see, o n l y a f e w
W i l l h a v e the intrepid w i s d o m to arise
A n d barter time's false values for the true,
Making their life a valiant enterprise
T o vindicate their heritage long lost,
N o r count the cost.

A n d out of that so n o b l e f e l l o w s h i p
Questing the Graal u p o n the m o u n t a i n peaks,
W e l l is it if it m e e t the expectant l i p
Of e v e n one persistently w h o seeks.
Y e t is this quest the g l o r y and the goal
Of the a w a k e n e d soul.

A l l religions postulate the three fundamentals, the w o r l d , the soul

and G o d , but it is o n l y the one Reality that manifests itself as these
three. One can say ' T h e three are really three ' o n l y as long as the e g o
lasts. T h e r e f o r e to inhere in one's o w n Being, w h e r e the ' I ' or e g o is
dead is the perfect state.
— Ramana M a h a r s h i — F o r t y Verses, v. 2.

T h e entire w o r l d is G o d : This is the c o r e of m y teaching. First

banish egoism ; then y o u w i l l c o m e u p to this test. W o u l d y o u like to
k n o w the core of Divine W i s d o m ? This is m y certain answer. T u k a says :
Rise a b o v e the m i n d to destroy the ego.
— TUKARAM.

# * * *

T h e result of K n o w l e d g e is identity w i t h all ; the result of ignorance

is identity w i t h the limited being of one's b o d y .
— Shankara, Commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

* * * *

The A t m a n ( S e l f ) is n e v e r b o r n and n e v e r dies. It is b e y o n d time,

u n b o r n , permanent and everlasting. It does not d i e w h e n the b o d y dies.
— Kathopanishad.
 THE MOUNTAIN PATH
By M. BHAKTAVATSALAM
(Chief Minister of Madras)

'The Mountain Path' that Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvanna-

malai, are publishing deserves to be a great success, since the
quarterly journal aims at setting forth and maintaining the high
spiritual and intellectual level that Bhagavan Sri Ramana
Maharshi's teaching demands.
It is evident that the ' Mountain' in the caption denotes
' Arunachala' and the ' Path' is the Ramana-Path, i.e. the Path
of Self-Enquiry.
The Mountain Arunachala is the achala tattwa, commonly
known as nischala tattwa, upon which, as the screen, runs the
entire panorama of manifestation. Seeing the pictures, forgetting
the screen, he who sees is in delusion. With the realisation that
the screen alone IS, comes the Peace of Being, born out of the
understanding of Truth. This realisation that the nischala tattwa
alone is the ever present Present, is screened off by avidya (igno-
rance) . This avidya, the knot between chit and achit, is cut asun-
der by the smruthi (recollection of the highest), also known as
druva smruthi. This smruthi (remembrance) is Arunachala-
smruthi, which made the boy Venkataraman into Bhagavan Sri
Ramana Maharshi, who blessed us all with his benign Presence
for over 50 years from Tiruvannamalai.
In his pure Transcendental Existence, he imparted to us the
import of nija mouna bhava of Lord Dakshinamurthi. He was a
living commentary on the Upanishadic Truth and with his plenary
experience, he attracted the elite of all religions and creeds to
him to confirm to them that in realisation of That, as it is, is the
fulfilment of all religions and philosophies.
' The Mountain Path' will help us in this druva smruthi, per-
petual recollection of the highest Truth. I trust in course of time
it will become a monthly.
The management of Sri Ramanasramam deserves to be con-
gratulated on launching this journal, as a means of fulfilling Sri
Maharshi's Will, of making Sri Ramanasramam a centre where-
from will radiate the Light of Sri Maharshi's teaching and also
upon choosing as its Editor Mr. Arthur Osborne who really knows
the Maharshi and his teachings and in addition has very good
experience in the field of journalism.
LETTERS TO A BROTHER—1

REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE

By N A G A M M A

Nagamma is an Andhra lady who was living here in the lifetime of Bhagavan. Her brother
also is a great devotee but <could pay only occasional visits here, as he was the Manager of a
Bank in Madras. Therefore Nagamma formed the habit of writing him reports of the doings
and sayings of Bhagavan. Some of these letters have been put together as a book and published
by the Ashram,* but what follows has not yet been published in English.

10th Sept., 1947

A t a quarter to ten this morning, just as
Bhagavan w a s getting u p to go f o r his usual
short m i d - m o r n i n g w a l k , an A n d h r a y o u n g
man approached the couch and said :
" S w a m i , I have c o m e here because I w a n t
to p e r f o r m tapas (austerities) and don't
k n o w what w o u l d b e a g o o d place for it. I
will go for the p u r p o s e w h e r e v e r y o u tell
me."
Bhagavan did not answer. H e w a s s t o o p -
ing d o w n rubbing his legs and knees, as he
often does b e f o r e beginning to w a l k , on a c -
count of the rheumatism in them, and was
smiling quietly to himself. W e , of course,
w e r e waiting eagerly for w h a t he w o u l d
say. A m o m e n t later he t o o k the staff that
h e uses to steady himself in w a l k i n g and,
looking at the y o u n g m a n , said : " H o w can
I tell y o u w h e r e to stay ? It is best to stay
w h e r e y o u a r e . " A n d w i t h a smile he w e n t
out.
The y o u n g m a n was b e w i l d e r e d . " What
, is the meaning of this ? " he exclaimed.
iC
Being an elderly person I thought he w o u l d
tell m e some h o l y place w h e r e I could stay,
but instead of that he tells m e to stay w h e r e
I am. I am n o w near this couch. Does that
m e a n that I should stay here ? W a s it to
-eceive such a r e p l y that I approached him ?
Is this a matter for j o k i n g ? "
One of the devotees took h i m out of the
hall and explained : " E v e n w h e n B h a g a v a n
says something in a light v e i n there is always
1 See the Ashram Book list published
' Ashram Bulletin\ in this issue,
some deep meaning in it. W h e r e the feeling
* I ' arises is one's Self. Tapas means k n o w -
ing w h e r e the Self is and abiding there. For
that one has to k n o w w h o one is ; and w h a t
then does it matter w h e r e one stays ? That
is what he m e a n t . " He thus pacified the
y o u n g m a n and sent him a w a y ,
Similarly, s o m e one asked yesterday :
" S w a m i , h o w can w e find the A t m a ? "
" Y o u are in the A t m a , so h o w can there
be any difficulty in finding it ? " Bhagavan
replied.
" Y o u say that I am in the A t m a , but
w h e r e e x a c t l y is that A t m a , " the questioner
persisted.
" If y o u abide in the heart and search
patiently y o u w i l l find i t . "
T h e questioner still seemed unsatisfied and
m a d e the rather curious o b j e c t i o n that there
w a s no r o o m in his heart for him to stay
in it.
Bhagavan turned to one of the devotees
sitting there and said, smiling : " L o o k h o w
he worries about w h e r e A t m a is ! W h a t can
I tell him ? W h a t is A t m a ? It is a l l - p e r -
vading. W h e n I tell h i m that it is called
' Heart * he says there is n o r o o m in it for
h i m to stay. W h a t can I do ? T o say that
there is no r o o m in the heart after filling it
full of vasanas (inherent tendencies and
c r a v i n g s ) is like grumbling that there is n o
r o o m to sit d o w n in a house as big as Ceylon.
in
If all the j u n k is t h r o w n out w o n ' t there b e
22 THE M O U N T A I N PATH January

r o o m ? T h e b o d y itself is j u n k . These p e o p l e are swept a w a y and t h r o w n out there w i l l

are like some one w h o fills all the r o o m s of
his house c h o c k full of j u n k w h i c h is not
necessary for his b o d y and then complains
that there is n o r o o m for his b o d y in it. In
the same w a y they fill the mind w i t h all
sorts of vasanas and then say there i s ' n o
r o o m for the Self in it. If all the vasanas
be plenty of r o o m and it w i l l all b e A t m a ,
T h e n there will b e no such thing as a s e p a -
rate ' I s o w h a t need then for r o o m , or
w h o w o u l d o c c u p y the r o o m ? Instead of
seeking the Self they say ' n o r o o m ! n o
room ! just like shutting y o u r eyes and
saying there is no sun, W h a t can b e d o n e ? "

NOTE OS i NAMES

The names * Bhagavan Sri Ramana to one w h o is recognized as a Divine I n c a r -

M a h a r s h i ' and ' Arunachala ' w i l l occur f r e -
quently in this journal. W e ^are therefore
inserting a note on their meaning and p r o -
nunciation for those readers v/ho are not
familiar w i t h them.
* S r i p r o n o u n c e d ' S h r e e ' is a Sanskrit
9
nation and is the same as the appellation of
the Buddha w h i c h is c o m m o n l y rendered in
English as ' The Blessed One \ It w a s usual
to address the Maharshi in the third person
as • Bhagavan \ He accepted this usage and
sometimes referred to himself so. T h e accent

is on the first and last syllables, the second

honorific signifying ' blessed • or ' auspicious \
being slurred over.
It has n o w lost m u c h of its meaning and
c o m e to b e used b e f o r e names, m u c h like Various meanings are assigned to ' A r u n a -
* Mr.' in English. B e f o r e the name of a S w a m i chala ', the name of the sacred Hill. T h e
or h o l y place, h o w e v e r , it still has its o r i g i - third and last v o w e l s are long, the accent
nal connotation. being m a i n l y on the third.

' R a m a n a ' is an abbreviation of the p e r - A remark m a y also b e in place on the f o r m

sonal name Venkataramana. T h e accent is Ramanasramam *, w h i c h m a y confuse some
1

on the first syllable. readers. T h e w o r d * a s h r a m ' has f o u n d its

w a y into English dictionaries and is t h e r e -
' M a h a r s h i ' is a contraction of t
Maha-
fore the correct English f o r m , whether a c o r -
R i s h i ' , meaning the Great R i s h i ' or Great
1 4

rect transliteration of the Sanskrit o r not ;

S a g e T h e accent is on the second syllable. h o w e v e r , ' a s r a m a m ' is the T a m i l f o r m , and

* B h a g a v a n ' is the w o r d c o m m o n l y used this ashram is registered under that n a m e ,

for * G o d \ It is applied b y c o m m o n consent which is therefore used for its address.
 OUTSIDE THE SCRIPTURES
By DR. T. N. K R I S H N A S W A M I

A special transmission outside the scriptures;

No dependence upon words or letters;
Direct pointing at the heart of m a n ;
Seeing into one's own nature, and the attainment of Liberation.

These are the reflections of a traveller on
the Mountain P a t h laid d o w n b y the M a h a r -
shi. The Maharshi's wordless doctrine is
unlike the usual traditional teachings. T h e r e
are no creeds to be elaborated, so there is
no need for preaching. There is nothing
for the mind to theorize or philosophize
about. W h a t is needed is immediate, i n t u i -
tive understanding of the heart. " The,
intricate maze of philosophy of the various
schools is said to clarify matters and to r e -
veal the Truth, but in fact it creates c o n -
fusion w h e r e n o n e need exist. To under-
stand anything there must b e the Self. The
Self is obvious. So w h y not remain as the
Self ? What need to explain the n o n -
self ? " 1
This reminds one of Chuang Tsu's saying
that if one gets rid of small w i s d o m great
w i s d o m comes in.
T h e r e are no precepts for special a u s t e -
rities, w h i l e at the same time indulgence is
not condoned. T h e question always is : w h o
is it that seeks all this. T o refer a second
time to a Taoist Sage, it is like L e e Tsu's
story of the animal trainer w h o subdued his
tigers (the vasanas) b y treating them quite
impersonally, neither gratifying their desires
nor p r o v o k i n g their anger.
A l l thinking is out of place as a means
of sadhana. It is not one's true nature. It
creates all errors and, what is w o r s t of all,

creates, as the father of them a false entity,

the ego or individual being. " Concentra-
W h a t the seeker has to clo is rather to
tion is not thinking of one thing. O n the
unlearn and let go all his p r e c o n c e i v e d ideas
contrary it is excluding all thoughts, since
about the Self. Indeed, the Maharshi has
all thoughts obstruct the sense of one's true
b e e n k n o w n to say that in the end even the
being. A l l efforts are to b e directed simply
scriptures must b e given u p and u n l e a r n -
to r e m o v i n g the veil of i g n o r a n c e . "
3

ed. " A l l scriptures w i t h o u t e x c e p t i o n p r o -

claim that for attaining salvation the mind The Maharshi says that the Self is not in
should b e subdued. A n d once one k n o w s
b o o k s ; if it w e r e a n y b o d y might b e c o m e a
that control of the m i n d is their final aim, Sage b y study. A l s o it is not in any h e r m i -
it is futile to m a k e an interminable study tage, and going to live in solitude w i l l not
of them. W h a t is required for such control help. " W h y do y o u think y o u are a h o u s e -
is actual enquiry into oneself b y s e l f - i n t e r -
holder ? T h e similar thought that y o u are
rogation : ' W h o am I ? ' H o w can thisa sannyasin w i l l haunt y o u e v e n if y o u go
enquiry in quest of the Self b e m a d e b y forth as one. W h e t h e r y o u continue in the
means of a study of the scriptures ? " household or renounce it and go to l i v e in
2

the forest, y o u r m i n d haunts y o u . T h e e g o

The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi in his own is the source of thought. It creates t h e
\ mis, p. 15, Rider's edition, p. 10, Sri Ramanas- b o d y and the w o r l d and makes y o u think of
: H T i a m edition.
/Old., p. 63/75. 3 Ibid., p. 127/160.
24 THE MOUNTAIN
being a householder. If y o u renounce it
w i l l only substitute the thought of r e n u n c i a -
tion for that of f a m i l y and the environment
of the forest for that of the household. But
the mental obstacles are always there for
y o u . T h e y e v e n increase greatly in the n e w
surroundings. Change of environment is n o
help. T h e one obstacle is the mind and this
must be o v e r c o m e whether in the h o m e or
in the forest. If y o u can do it in the forest,
w h y not in the h o m e ? So w h y change the
environment ? Y o u r efforts can b e m a d e
e v e n n o w , w h a t e v e r b e the environment.''
N o r is the Self something to b e attained at
some future date. " No one is ever a w a y
f r o m his Self, and therefore e v e r y o n e is in
fact Self-realized ; o n l y — a n d this is the
great m y s t e r y — p e o p l e do not k n o w this and
w a n t to realize the Self. Realization c o n -
sists o n l y in getting rid of the false idea
that one is not realized. It is not anything
n e w to b e acquired. It must already exist
or it w o u l d not b e eternal, and only w h a t
is eternal is w o r t h striving f o r . " 5
A l l doctrines are m a d e b y the ego and for
the ego. The ego flourishes o n them. But
on the Maharshi's path the v e r y existence
of the ego is denied right f r o m the start,
both that of the teacher and that of the
taught. " There is no ego. If there w e r e
y o u w o u l d have to admit of t w o selves in
you. Therefore there is no ignorance.
y o u enquire into the Self, ignorance, w h i c h
is already n o n - e x i s t e n t , w i l l b e f o u n d not
to exist and y o u w i l l say that it has fled."
Is there anything in the human b o d y that
can b e called ' I ' ? There are mental and
vital processes but investigation reveals no
person there to b e designated as ' 1 '. 7
The negative process consists of i n t e l l e c -
tually eliminating the n o t - I so that o n e can
see that he w h o eliminates everything else
cannot eliminate himself. Such intellectual
investigation m a y prepare the w a y for S e l f -
e n q u i r y but is n o t the enquiry itself.
4 Ibid,, p. 78/94.
5 Ibid., p. 23/21,
6 Ibid., p, 25/23.
7. It will be observed that this is the same as
the Buddhist doctrine of ' anatta'. (Editor).
PATH January
" Visitor: I begin with asking myself
' W h o am I ? ' and eliminate the b o d y as
n o t - I , the breath as n o t - I , the m i n d as n o t - I ,
but then I a m unable to proceed further,
" Bhagavan : W e l l , that is all right so
far as the m i n d goes. Y o u r process is o n l y
mental T h e Truth cannot be directly
indicated ; that is w h y this mental process
is used. Y o u see, he w h o eliminates all the
n o t - I cannot eliminate the * I \ In order to
b e able to say 1 arn not t h i s ' or ' I am
6
4 T h a t ' there must b e the ' I ' to say it. This
' I ' is only the ego or the I-thought. A f t e r
the rising u p of this I-thought all other
thoughts arise. T h e I-thought is therefore
the root thought. If the root is pulled out
the rest is at the same time uprooted. T h e r e -
fore seek the root * I ' ; question yourself :
' W h o am I ? ' ; find out the source of the
' I'. T h e n all these p r o b l e m s will vanish
and the pure Self alone w i l l r e m a i n . " 8
Why was the Maharshi so against
thought ? W h y was he not satisfied w i t h
mental investigation ? Because it cannot see
b e y o n d itself. It is created b y the ego and
therefore cannot pierce to the Self u n d e r -
lying the ego. But w i l l its renunciation not
result in a mere blank ? It can ; that is
what happens in deep sleep. B u t it can
also result in awakening into pure S a t - C h i t -
If Ananda, Being-Consciousness-Bliss. This is
w h a t is called Realization. " A b s e n c e of
thought does not m e a n a blank. There must
6 be some one to b e aware of that blank.
K n o w l e d g e and ignorance pertain o n l y to the
mind and are in duality, but the Self is b e -
y o n d them both. It is pure Light. There
is no need for one Self to see another.
There are no t w o selves. W h a t is not Self
is m e r e n o n - S e l f and cannot see the Self.
The Self has no sight or hearing ; it lies b e -
y o n d them, all alone, as pure Conscious-
ness." 9
Then does one w h o has realized the Sell.'
remain absorbed in pure, formless C o n s c i -
ousness, oblivious of any outer w o r l d ? He
can ; that is the state of trance k n o w n as
sibid., p. 117/146-7.
9 Ibid., p. 25/23,
1964 OUTSIDE THE SCRIPTURES 25

nirvikalpa samadhi. But he need not. Full
and complete Realization involves return to
f o r m a l consciousness also, with full p e r c e p -
tion of the outer w o r l d , not as a s e l f - s u b -
sistent reality but as a manifestation of the
Self. T h e m i n d and senses can still cognize ;
w h e n one says that the mind is dead, that
means o n l y that it no longer presumes to
imagine, create or originate, as it f o r m e r l y
did. This is the state the Maharshi w a s in.
It is k n o w n as sahaja samadhi.
" T o those w h o have not realized the Self,
as w e l l as to those w h o h a v e , the w o r d ' I '
refers to the b o d y , but w i t h this difference,
that, for those w h o have not realized, the
' I ' is confined to the b o d y , whereas, f o r
the final question is the o n l y o n e and is
raised f r o m the v e r y beginning Be-
cause e v e r y kind of path e x c e p t S e l f - e n -
quiry presupposes the retention of the m i n d
as the instrument for f o l l o w i n g it, and c a n -
not be f o l l o w e d without the m i n d . The ego
m a y take different and m o r e subtle forms
at different stages of one's practice but it is
n e v e r destroyed. The attempt to destroy the
ego or the m i n d b y methods other than
S e l f - e n q u i r y is like a thief turning p o l i c e -
m a n to catch the thief that is himself. S e l f -
e n q u i r y alone can reveal the truth that
neither the ego n o r the m i n d really exists
and enable one to realize the pure, undiffe-
rentiated Being of the Self or the A b s o -
lute." 1 1

those w h o h a v e realized the Self within the

b o d y , the * I ' shines as the limitless Self. M a n y hesitate and find this m e t h o d t o o
harsh, because of all renunciations this
" To those w h o have not realized as w e l l
seems to them the most severe, renouncing
as t o those w h o h a v e , the w o r l d is real. But
not m e r e l y e n j o y m e n t but h i m w h o desires
to those w h o h a v e not realized Truth is
and enjoys it. But this is a w r o n g idea. If
adapted to the measure of the w o r l d , w h e r e -
it w e r e true, a Self-realized m a n such as
as to those w h o h a v e , Truth shines as the
the Maharshi w o u l d b e the most miserable
Formless Prefection and as the Substratum
of m e n , whereas in fact h e is the most
of the w o r l d . This is all the difference b e t -
happy, in pure, unbroken, unalloyed h a p p i -
ween them." 1 0

ness, regardless of w h e t h e r outer c i r c u m -

W h y is the Maharshi so insistent against stances seem f a v o u r a b l e or u n f a v o u r a b l e .
the ego ? Because the ego is the usurper This is because in renouncing the ego one
that claims to b e the Self, the mask that really renounces nothing e x c e p t a w r o n g
conceals the Reality. Its elimination is the conception of ' I ' , an error w h o s e r e m o v a l
o n l y w a y to realization of the true Self that reveals the eternal Truth and unalloyed
underlies it. The seeker has n o alternative. happiness that is one's real nature. " The
T h e r e can b e no chick unless the e g g - s h e l l individual being w h i c h identifies its e x i s t -
is b r o k e n . T h e true Self cannot b e realized ence w i t h that of the life in the physical
until the false is renounced. Therefore, the b o d y as ' I ' is called the ego. T h e Self,
Maharshi says, since this is ultimately n e c e s - w h i c h is pure Consciousness, has n o e g o -
sary, w h y not start w i t h it straight a w a y ; sense about it. Neither can the physical
since y o u must finally remain as the Self, b o d y , w h i c h is inert in itself, have this e g o -
w h y not d o so f r o m the start ; since other sense. B e t w e e n the t w o , that is b e t w e e n the
paths w i l l lead y o u roundabout and finally Self or pure Consciousness and the inert
f a c e y o u with the alternative of Self or physical b o d y , there arises mysteriously t h e
pseudo-self, w h y n o t g o direct and face it e g o - s e n s e or 1 ' - n o t i o n , the h y b r i d w h i c h
6

here and n o w ? " This is the direct method. is neither of them, and this flourishes as an
A l l other m e t h o d s are practised w h i l e r e - individual being. The ego or individual
taining the ego and therefore m a n y doubts' being is at the root of all that is futile and
arise and the ultimate question still remains undesirable in life. Therefore it is to b e
to b e tackled in the end. B u t in this method destroyed b y any possible means ; then
That w h i c h ever is alone remains r e s p l e n -
1 0 " Forty Verses on Reality", vv. 17-18, from
The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi, Riders, n The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi in hi
London, and Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai. own Words, P. 112/139-40.
26 THE M O U N T A I N
dent. This is Liberation or Enlightenment
or Self-Realization." 1 2
It is to r e m o v e this error that the M a h a r -
shi prescribes the enquiry ' W h o am I ? '
f r o m the v e r y start. H e had no graded
methods. Nor did he grade his disciples
according to seniority. Progress w a s an
inner state w h i c h only he perceived. The
aspirant is e x p e c t e d to understand that h e
does not k n o w his self, to investigate into
it in order t o find out w h a t it really is. H e
must see : " I a m possessed of a w r o n g
v i e w of ' I ' . I am a slave of a p s e u d o - I .
I should not take him for the real ' I ' or
lend him that name. This t r a g e d y of w r o n g
thinking has brought on m e the sickness of
a w r o n g ' I T h e Maharshi has prescribed
the right medicine to cure m e . I am under
the spell of the ego w h i c h has hypnotised
and enslaved m e . I myself gave it the p o w e r
to do so b y thoughtlessly bestowing m y I -
sense o n it. B y doing so I am helping it to
r o b m e of m y v e r y Self." Indeed, the
Maharshi often referred to the story of
K i n g Janaka w h o , on attaining Realization,
e x c l a i m e d : " N o w I h a v e caught the thief
w h o has been robbing m e all these years ! "
W h y do I thus misplace m y I-sense ? B e -
cause I take sense-perceptions for true. I as belonging to the Self.
h a v e to learn to realize the true ' I ' w h i c h
underlies m i n d and senses and the w h o l e
objective world.
Man's m i n d and senses are used to c o g -
nize o b j e c t i v e things, but this talent is of
no use for k n o w i n g the Self, in w h i c h there
is no trace of objectivity. One cannot have
a vision of the Self or k n o w the Self as one
k n o w s another, because that w o u l d i m p l y
t w o selves in y o u , one to k n o w the other.
" Y o u speak of a vision of Siva, but a vision
always presumes an object. That implies
the existence of a subject. T h e value of the
vision is the same as that of the seer. That
is to say the nature of the vision is on the
same plane as that of the seer." " A vision
1 3
of G o d is only a vision of the Self o b j e c t i -
fied as the G o d of y o u r particular faith.
12 Ibid., p. 21/18.
13 Ibid., p. 167/213,
PATH January
W h a t y o u have to do is to k n o w the S e l f . ' ' 14
A n d to k n o w the Self is only to k n o w , to
be aware, to b e .
Devotee : When I seek the ' I' I see
nothing.
Bhagavan : Y o u say that because y o u are
accustomed to identify yourself with the
b o d y and sight with the eyes, but what is
there to b e seen ? And by whom ? And
h o w ? There is o n l y one Consciousness and
this, w h e n it identifies itself w i t h the b o d y ,
projects itself through the eyes and sees the
surrounding objects. The individual is
limited to the w a k i n g state ; he expects to
see something different and accepts the
authority of his senses. He will not admit
that he w h o sees, the objects seen and the
act of seeing are all manifestations of the
same Consciousness—the ' I - I ' . S e l f - e n q u i r y
helps to o v e r c o m e the illusion that the Self
is something to see. H o w do y o u recognize
yourself n o w ? D o y o u have to hold a m i r -
ror u p in front of yourself to recognize y o u r -
self ? The awareness is itself the ' I \ R e a -
lize it and that is the truth." 1 5
H o w e v e r the ego is engrossed with seeing,
hearing, feeling and o b j e c t i v e k n o w i n g . It
values these functions and considers them
Blinded b y this
v i e w , one does not experience the brilliance
of the true 1'. 1
One's attention is to b e
d r a w n a w a y f r o m such o b j e c t i v e perceptions
to That with respect to w h i c h there is u n -
knowingness. 16
If That w e r e k n o w n and e x -
perienced as It is, It w o u l d b e recognized
as one's v e r y Self, and then the false * I '
w o u l d fade out.
T h e outer m a n is unreal and should b e
m a d e passive, a m e r e recipient of i m p r e s -
sions. S e l f - e n q u i r y helps to do this. The
j o u r n e y is inwards through territory u n -
k n o w n to the senses.
So long as life remains o n e should strive
to reach one's source. This is the o n l y
w o r t h y aim in life, the o n l y goal w o r t h s e e k -
14 Ibid., p. 168/215.
15 Ibid., p. 24/22.
16 This expression recalls the title of the 14th
Century English mystic's guide to aspirants,
' T h e Cloud of U n k n o w i n g ( E d i t o r ) .
1964 OUTSIDE THE SCRIPTURES

ing, the only use of life that can put an A m I w o r s e than a dog ? Steadfastly
end to suffering and frustration and reveal will I track Thee out and regain Thee*
the pure Bliss, the radiant Consciousness, O h Arunachala.
the unruffled Being that one really is. T h e
w e a p o n f o r doing this, on the Maharshi's (First of the 1
Five H y m n s to Arunachala,'
path, is concentration on the I-sense. This verse 3 9 . )
1 7

is not like other thoughts that c o m e and go

The Maharshi says that if one earnestly
and can b e dismissed at will. One's a t t e n -
seeks the * I ' , the false * I ' vanishes, leaving
tion must be constantly d r a w n to feeling of
only the true to shine in all its prinstine
pure awareness, pure consciousness of I - a m -
glory. H i s teaching is based on his o w n e x -
ness. A t first this can be done only during
perience not on learning or reasoning, and
concentrated sessions of S e l f - e n q u i r y k n o w n
nothing he says is for the sake of argument.
loosely as ' meditation ' but later the a w a r e -
W h a t can be m o r e heartening to the t r a v e l -
ness of I - a m - n e s s b e c o m e s an undercurrent
ler on the Mountain Path ?
underlying all one's activities. This I-sense
is the scent b y tracing w h i c h to its source
H T h e Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi,
one reaches the Self, as a dog tracks out its Riders, London and Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvan-
master. namalai.

W h e n the ego-sense of the individual m e vanishes there springs up

within m e an endless current of * I - I ' , conferring unique and transcen-
dental bliss w h i c h engulfs all m y k n o w l e d g e and ends in Silence. H o w
then can Silence b e expressed ?
— T A Y U M AN AVAR.

# * * *

It is o n l y because of ignorance that the Self appears to be finite.

W h e n ignorance is destroyed the Self w h i c h does not admit of any
multiplicity whatsoever, truly reveals Itself b y Itself, like the sun w h e n
the cloud is r e m o v e d .
— SHANKARA.

# *• -* *

A l t h o u g h the scriptures proclaim Thou art T h a t ' , it is only a sign

1

of weakness of mind to meditate ' I am That, not this ', because y o u are
eternally That. W h a t has to b e done is to investigate w h a t one really is
and remain That.
— " Forty Verses o n Reality " , v. 32, f r o m The Collected Works
of Ramana Maharshi, Rider and Sri Ramanasramam.
ASPECTS OF ISLAM—1

IS SUFISM ISLAMIC ?
By A B D U L L A H Q U T B U D D I N

W h e n a y o u n g Muslim, seeks initiation into same as Identity or A d v a i t a , but that is all,

a Sufi order he w i l l b e s h o w n the silsilah, After that it is practice not theory that is
that is the ' c h a i n ' or genealogical tree of needed,
the order, going b a c k f r o m sheikh to sheikh
in u n b r o k e n line to the Prophet himself. E v
philosophers had never f o r m u l a t -
e n i f

True, m a n y of these orders bear the names e d

theories at all, if there w e r e no
t h e i r

of the great Sufi saints of the 11th and 12th t e x t s

> "books, no theories, the basic m e a n -
n o

centuries of t h e Christian era — A b d u ' l i n

S contained in the shahada
i s
itself:
Qadir Jilani, Mu'inuddin Chishti, Ibn A r a b i ' T n
£ ° but
e r
\ e
worshipful i s n o d G o d n o n e

and others ; but although these great builders b u t

> t
being n
Being, no self
e 0 n e n o b u t t h e

impressed their o w n character o n them, they b u t

Self. It is the same as that t r e -
t h e

had themselves b e e n initiated into them and t e n d o n s sentence in the B h a g a v a d Gita f

w e r e r e - a d a p t i n g them, n o t creating n e w " T n
existence of the unreal and no
e r e i s n o

ones. n o n - e x i s t e n c e of the R e a l , " and according 1

to Islamic tradition it has b e e n used w i t h

If, h o w e v e r , h e then takes a b o o k on I s l a -
m i c history and culture f r o m the library he
w i l l p r o b a b l y read that Sufism is an a d a p -
tation of n e o - P l a t o n i s m and came into
Islam several centuries after the Prophet,
These t w o apparently contradictory state-
ments m a y c o m e as a great shock to him.
W h i c h is he to believe ? The armchair h i s -
torian, w h o p r o b a b l y has an anti-spiritual
bias in any case, w i l l see no p r o b l e m ; he
will simply brush aside the testimony of the
silsilah as f o r g e r y . But one w h o has felt
the intense f e r v o u r of the Sufi quest for
truth w i l l not b e l i e v e that it is based on
falsehood ; n o r could h e f o l l o w it if h e did.
A c t u a l l y the p r o b l e m melts a w a y as soon
as one r e m e m b e r s that Sufism is n o t a p h i -
losophy but a path, w h i c h is something
full understanding as a w e a p o n for fighting
the ' greater h o l y w a r ' f r o m the beginning,
Its implications w e r e d e v e l o p e d m o r e s p e -
cifically later—the burgeoning into v o l u p t u -
ous f o r m of w h a t w a s latent is a stage in
the g r o w t h of e v e r y religion—philosophers
w e r e delighted to find its essential truths
elaborated b y the Greeks, poets b e g a n to
write rapturously about it, it b e c a m e w i d e l y
k n o w n w h e r e at first it had eschewed p u b -
licity, but all this concerns the salik or
spiritual w a y f a r e r v e r y little. His task is
not to theorise about it but to use it.
F r o m another angle also this question m a y
b e asked, w h e t h e r Sufism is Islamic ; for
there are groups in the West t o - d a y w h i c h
p r 0p a g a t e , under the n a m e of Sufism, a sort
o f g u e inter-religious mysticism. T o call
v a

v e r y different. A philosopher w h o studies this Sufism is a simple misuse of language.

n e o - P l a t o n i c and Sufi philosophy does not T h < S u f i s m ' has always b e e n used,
e t e r m

t h e r e b y b e c o m e a Sufi, is not e v e n training a n c j j therefore correctly used, to indicate s

to b e a, Sufi, does not think of himself as a < tasawwuf \ the traditional esoteric aspect
Sufi, w h i l e on the other hand a Sufi murid 0 f M a m transmitted d o w n the centuries in
or disciple is not called u p o n to study n e o - g u l a r schools b y direct descent f r o m t
r e

Platonic or any other philosophy. He can ch e r to disciple. S o m e of the Sufi sain

if he has a bent that w a y , b u t there is no m h a v e spoken o r b e h a v e d in a w a y to
a y

obligation. It is important for him to u n d e r - shock the o r t h o d o x , but a saint often does
stand the basic doctrine of tawhid, Oneness, _ _ _
w h i c h , as interpreted b y the Sufis, is the irjh. II, v. 16.
1904 IS S U F I S M I S L A M I C ? 29

feel that society is too smug and needs shock not Hindu or Sufism not Islamic. T h e y m a y
treatment. Some of the orthodox, from all lead to the same goal, but they are s e p a -
their side, m a y h a v e b e e n blind to the e s o - rate paths till they get there.
teric teachings of Islam and denied their
A n e w path independent of the religions
orthodoxy, but that too is a phenomenon
has indeed b e e n laid d o w n in our age, but
c o m m o n to all religions. P l e n t y of C h r i s -
it required Bhagavan, that is G o d I n c a r -
tians are blind to Christian mysticism, and
nate, to establish it. * That does not mean
there h a v e been Hindu dualists w h o have that groups of m e n can p r o d u c e a composite
rejected A d v a i t a and attacked Shankara- path ; nor does it justify them in calling
charya ; but that does not mean that the w h a t they p r o d u c e b y an Islamic name and
via purgativa is not Christian or Vedanta then denying that it is Islamic.

If it is said that Liberation is of three kinds, with f o r m or without

f o r m or w i t h and. without f o r m , then let m e tell y o u that the extinction
of the three forms of Liberation is the o n l y true Liberation.
— " F o r t y Verses on Reality " , v. 40, f r o m The Collected Works
of Ramana Maharshi, Riders and Sri Ramanasramam.

Mind is the B u d d h a , w h i l e the cessation of conceptual thought is the

W a y . Once y o u stop arousing concepts and thinking in terms of existence
and n o n - e x i s t e n c e , long and short, other and self, active and passive, and
suchlike, y o u w i l l find that y o u r m i n d is intrinsically the B u d d h a , that
the B u d d h a is intrinsically Mind, and that Mind resembles a V o i d .
— F r o m The Zen Teaching of Huang P o , p. 67,
translated b y John Blofeld, Riders.

* * * *

Self-Realization does not d e p e n d on any kind of consciousness ; its

v e r y nature is A w a r e n e s s or Consciousness.
— Shankara, Introduction to Commentary on Kena Vakya.
* * * *

Tinier than the tiniest atom, T u k a is vast as the sky ! I s w a l l o w e d

and spat out the b o d y — the v e r y image of w orldly delusion. I h a v e
T

abandoned the triplets ( o f k n o w l e d g e , k n o w e r and k n o w n ) . T h e light is

lit within the l a m p . T u k a says : I n o w remain only for the service of all.
— TUKARAM.
ARROWS FROM A CHRISTIAN BOW—.•1
1g
AN AGGRESSIVE TEACHER
By SAGITTARIUS
Christ was an aggressive teacher. Ver-
bally, he hit b a c k hard w h e n attacked. N o
" gentle Jesus m e e k and mild " about him.
His m e t h o d w a s always to counter-attack
and put the attacker on the defensive.
W h e n Buddha c a m e to a rest-house with
a f e w f o l l o w e r s one night and heard a sadhu
there holding forth against h i m and his t e a -
ching he neither intervened nor allowed his
f o l l o w e r s to. This magnanimity had such an
effect that the attacker b e c a m e a f o l l o w e r .
W h e n abused he answered m i l d l y that since
he refused to accept the abuse it must fall
back on its utterer. W h e n , on the other
hand, to take one characteristic e x a m p l e
a m o n g m a n y , some Pharisees asked Jesus
w h y his disciples ate without the prescribed
ritualistic washing of hands, he rounded on
them, calling them hypocrites, quoting Isaiah
against them and adding : " Y o u are so
b u s y holding on to the traditions of m e n
that y o u let go the C o m m a n d m e n t of G o d . 1
True, of course, but certainly the w a y to
make enemies. 2
O n c e w h e n he was accusing s o m e P h a r i -
sees of h y p o c r i s y a doctor of l a w protested :
" Master, w h e n y o u say things like that y o u
are insulting us as w e l l . "
A n d he returned : " Y e s and I do b l a m e
y o u experts in l a w ! For y o u pile u p b a c k -
breaking burdens for other m e n to bear but
y o u yourselves will not raise a finger to lift
them. Alas for y o u , for y o u build memorial
tombs for the Prophets — the very m e n
w h o m y o u r fathers murdered. Y o u show
clearly enough h o w y o u a p p r o v e of y o u r
1 In these articles my quotations from the Gos-
pels will normally be taken from the translation
Of J. B. Philips, ' The Gospel in Modern English,
fontana paper-back, Collins, as the Authorised
Version is so over-familiar and its wording so
obscure to the ordinary reader that the sharp
edge of the sayings is blunted.
2 St. Mark, ch. VII, v. 6-8.
father's actions. T h e y did the actual killing
and y o u put up a memorial to it.'' 3
M a n y of the l a w y e r s m a y h a v e deserved
r e b u k e for being formalists—many l a w y e r s
do in all ages ; but they could hardly help
being antagonized b y such an onslaught.
M a n y of the Pharisees m a y h a v e been
hypocrites, but w e k n o w n f r o m surviving
Jewish accounts that some at least of them
w e r e m e n of integrity and devotion sincerely
trying to perpetuate all that was best in
the Jewish tradition.
M o r e o v e r , Christ's saying that all w h o
w e r e not for him w e r e against him implied
that they w e r e deliberately being treated as
enemies. T o recognize the n e w teaching and
Teacher must have required such integrity
and understanding that there w e r e b o u n d to
b e quite a n u m b e r w h o did not—priests,
l a w y e r s , ordinary people — and a wholesale
denunciation of them seems unnecessarily
aggressive to those steeped in any Eastern
tradition. Buddha rejected the Brahmin
m o n o p o l y of w i s d o m as firmly as Christ did
that of the Pharisees, but he never d e n o u n c -
ed them ; he simply accepted n o n - B r a h m i n s
into his Order o n the same footing as
Brahmins.
It was not only what Christ taught that
was aggressive but the circumstances h e
chose for teaching it in. B u d d h a w a n d e r e d
quietly about the country, teaching those
w h o w o u l d listen. T h e Maharshi did not-
e v e n do that ; he stayed at his A s h r a m c
Tiruvannamalai and if any c a m e and asked
questions he answered them. But Jesus
w e n t and taught in the great T e m p l e c
Jerusalem during the most c r o w d e d festiv?
of the J e w i s h year and w h i l e doing i
mingled his o w n teaching w i t h violei
3 St. Luke, ch. X I , v. 46-48.
V
1964 A BEACON STILL 31

attacks on the guardians of the J e w i s h t r a - but I do not. That is w h y I told y o u , y o u

dition, warning the p e o p l e not to imitate
their w a y of l i v i n g 4
and telling t h e m :
" Y o u are like w h i t e - w a s h e d t o m b s , w h i c h
l o o k fine on the outside but inside are full
of. dead men's bones and all kinds of r o t -
tenness. For y o u appear like g o o d m e n on
the outside—but inside y o u are a mass of
pretence and w i c k e d n e s s . " 5
F r o m the social
point of v i e w , the priests and l a w y e r s (and
they w e r e the guardians of the social o r d e r —
the m o r e important since political p o w e r
w a s in the hands of an alien c o n q u e r o r )
must h a v e regarded m u c h of this as r a b b l e -
rousing and the speaker as a dangerous r e -
volutionary.
A n o t h e r striking feature is that Jesus
constantly demanded belief not only in his
teaching but in himself and denounced those
w h o did not b e l i e v e in him. " The difference
b e t w e e n us is that y o u c o m e f r o m b e l o w and
I am f r o m above. Y o u belong to this w o r l d
4 St. Matthew, ch. X X I I I , v. 3.
5 St. Matthew, ch. XXIII, v. 27-28.
will die in y o u r sins. F o r unless y o u b e -
lieve that I a m W h o I am y o u w i l l die in
y o u r sins." 6
T h e r e is a similar emphasis in
Islam ; the Quran is full of assertions that
M u h a m m a d is a true P r o p h e t and d e n u n c i a -
tions of those w h o do not recognize him as
such. In b o t h cases the assertion m a y have
been true, the denunciation justified, but
apart f r o m the truth of a teaching there is
the manner in w h i c h it is delivered to be
considered. The f o r m e r might b e called
' v e r t i c a l ' , the descent f r o m Formless Truth
to the forms of a human w o r l d , the latter
• h o r i z o n t a l ' , the permeation of the h u m a n
w o r l d . B e t w e e n the t w o is the impact, the
striking of the vertical on the horizontal,
and the nature of this can v a r y . H o w m u c h
more gracious it seems when Buddha
says : " D o n ' t believe because I tell y o u or
any one else does. T r y it out for yourselves
and see w h e t h e r it w o r k s , and o n l y believe
if y o u find it brings g o o d results."
But Christ's was the aggressive w a y .
6St. John, ch. VIII, v. 23-24.

A BEACON STILL

By S. P. M U K H E R J I

We 1
have not seen y o u , Bhagavan ;
W e have not approached y o u r lotus-feet,
Yet do w e find
T h e n o w and the then are the same for us,
The b o d y - p r e s e n c e , the presence in the heart,
These are the same.
One thing o n l y do w e k n o w
That Ramanashram is a beacon still,

i The author explains that * w e ' is used instead of 1 ' in order to include his wife, who settled
1

down,near Sri Ramanasramam with him after the death of the Maharshi. (Editor)
 SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS OF THE GREEK
O R T H O D O X CHURCH
By FATHER L A Z A R U S
The w o r d O r t h o d o x y * comes f r o m t w o
G r e e k w o r d s meaning ' r i g h t glory.' So
O r t h o d o x y means right w o r s h i p , and that
implies right belief and right thinking. W e
are reminded of w h a t our L o r d said to the
Samaritan w o m a n : " G o d is spirit, and
His worshippers must w o r s h i p H i m in spirit
and in truth." (John 4 : 2 4 ) .
P e o p l e sometimes say, " It doesn't matter
what y o u believe as long as y o u live a g o o d
life." That is a v e r y unthinking remark.
In fact, it isn't true. T h e truth is that it is
of vital importance w h a t w e believe, b e -
cause :
(i) " Without faith it is impossible to
please G o d , " still less to b e saved
(Heb. 11:6) ;
(ii) " The devils also believe, and
t r e m b l e , " i.e. they are terrified,
having neither h o p e nor l o v e , but
believing that what w e l o v e and h o p e
for v/ill c o m e true (Jas. 2 : 1 9 ) ;
( i i i ) If w e do not believe, in G o d w e c a n -
not receive His life and p o w e r to
worship, l o v e and glorify Him. Then,
deprived of grace, w e fall into i d o -
latry and i m m o r a l i t y ( R o m . 1:20-32 ;
W i s d o m , chs. 13 & 14) ;
(iv) Our character and conduct depends
on what w e believe, Character is
what w e are. Conduct is w h a t w e
do. W h a t w e are and w h a t w e d o
makes u p the w h o l e of our life. So
our w h o l e life depends on w h a t w e
believe ( G a l . 3 : 1 1 ) .
* The word Orthodoxy' is used in this article
1 P u b l i c w o r s h i p holds a v e r y large place
in a technical sense, as applying to the Greek
Orthodox Church, just as members of the Church
of Rome use ' catholic' in a technical sense, as
applying to their Church.—(Editor)
A n illustration : A mother tells her child
that fire hurts, b u t the child does not believe
it. The mother goes a w a y . Left to itself,
the child crawls to the fire and puts its hand
in. It screams, cries and changes its faith,
and consequently changes its conduct.
T h e O r t h o d o x C h u r c h is v e r y rich in
d o g m a , doctrine, dogmatic belief. W h e r e does
this revealed truth c o m e f r o m ? Orthodox
d o g m a comes f r o m H o l y Tradition and H o l y
Scripture, and is to b e f o u n d largely in the
Church Service b o o k s . I suppose the O r t h o -
d o x Service b o o k s are the richest in the
w o r l d , and these services are based p r i m a -
rily o n the twin sources I have just m e n t i o n -
ed. In a sense there is only o n e source, for
H o l y Scripture is really part of H o l y T r a d i -
tion. It is a f o r m of written tradition. In
the life of the Church, and in the life of
the individual, tradition comes first. From
A d a m for m a n y centuries there w e r e no
books. Religion w a s dependent o n the t r a -
ditions handed d o w n f r o m father to son.
Even in N e w Testament times, our L o r d
w r o t e nothing. H o w did t h e Apostles and
early Christians get their faith and k n o w -
ledge. B y tradition handed o n b y w o r d of
mouth. It was not until 397 A . D . that the
Canon of the N e w Testament w a s fixed as
w e h a v e it today. A n d in the life of the
individual, each of us gets his first k n o w -
ledge of life and religion n o r m a l l y f r o m his
parents. L o n g b e f o r e w e can read w e learn
f r o m their lives and lips. So the A p o s t l e
Paul says :. " H o l d the traditions w h i c h y o u
h a v e been taught b y w o r d or l e t t e r " (2
Thess. 2 : 1 5 ; 1 Cor, 1 1 : 2 ) . '
in O r t h o d o x life. T h e centre of O r t h o d o x
w o r s h i p is the H o l y L i t u r g y or H o l y E u c h a -
rist or H o l y Sacrifice or L o r d ' s Supper, the
1964 SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS
various names indicating different aspects of
the service. Here w e are reminded of the
nature of the Gospel, of the heart of r e d e m p -
tion. For in the L i t u r g y the w h o l e of
Christ's life and Passion is c o m m e m o r a t e d
and r e - e n a c t e d b y w o r d , s y m b o l and action
f r o m His h u m b l e birth in the stable in
Bethlehem to His glorious Resurrection and
Ascension and the sitting at the right hand
of the Father. In addition to all the other
aspects of the service, the L i t u r g y is a deep
sermon in itself. That is w h y in the O r t h o -
d o x Church it is not such a tragedy as it
is w i t h other Christians if the priest is a
poor preacher or for some reason cannot
preach, for the service in itself is a most
p r o f o u n d and v i v i d sermon.
A t a meeting of Presbyterian ministers,
while discussing the V i r g i n birth of Christ
one minister said, " T h e r e are m a n y in this
Presbytery w h o d o not believe in that p a r -
ticular fable. I myself am one w h o does
not accept it."
One of them asked, " T h e n h o w did y o u
b e c o m e a Presbyterian minister ?
He replied, " I did accept it w h e n I w a s
much younger. But I have since b e c o m e
educated and no longer hold m y previous
belief."
O n e asked, " D o y o u mind telling us just
w h y y o u do not believe in the virgin birth ? ''
He said, " I don't b e l i e v e in that doctrine
because it is o n l y f o u n d o n t w o pages of the
N e w Testament. M a t t h e w and L u k e are the
o n l y ones w h o e v e r mention it. In all the
writings of Paul he never introduced the
question of the virgin birth. Peter n e v e r
mentions it in his writings, and Jesus w a s
utterly ignorant of any such suggestion.
Y o u never find it in a single sentence or
statement uttered b y Jesus Himself."
" T h e n tell u s , " one minister asked, " What
d o y o u teach and preach ? "
" The Sermon on the M o u n t , " was his
instant reply. " That is enough Gospel for
anyone."
" Not for m e , " answered the other m i n i s -
ter, " because I don't believe in the S e r m o n
on the M o u n t ! "
OF G R E E K ORTHODOX CHURCH
If a b o m b had been d r o p p e d , it could not
h a v e created m o r e excitement. Somewhat
bewildered, the first minister asked, " W h a t
do y o u m e a n w h e n y o u say that y o u don't
believe in the S e r m o n o n the M o u n t ? "
T h e other replied, " I don't b e l i e v e that
Jesus ever uttered the w o r d s that y o u call
the Sermon on the M o u n t . "
Greatly astonished, h e said, " W h y ever
not ? "
" Because it only occurs o n t w o pages of
the N e w Testament, M a t t h e w and L u k e
are the o n l y m e n w h o ever mention it. Paul
never talked of the S e r m o n o n the Mount.
Peter says nothing about it. James, John
and Jude are equally ignorant of it. N o w ,
f o l l o w i n g y o u r line of reason, if M a t t h e w
and L u k e lied about the virgin birth, w h y
should I b e l i e v e them concerning t h e S e r -
m o n on the Mount ? "
Of course, it is n o t true that St. Paul
k n e w nothing of the Virgin Birth, for he
never once calls Jesus " S o n of M a n " but
constantly calls H i m the S o n of G o d . And
w h e r e did M a t t h e w and L u k e get the i n f o r -
mation they give us in the Gospels if not
f r o m Jesus and M a r y ? That, h o w e v e r , is
not m y subject for the m o m e n t . The point
I w i s h to m a k e is this. T h e r e are m a n y
people in the w o r l d t o d a y w h o think that
the S e r m o n o n the Mount is the essence and
heart of the Gospel. " G i v e us m o r e of the
S e r m o n on the M o u n t and less t h e o l o g y , "
they say. E v e n such a great m a n as M a h a t -
ma Gandhi said : " T h e message of Jesus
is contained in the S e r m o n on the Mount,
unadulterated and taken as a w h o l e . " It is
one of the popular heresies and it needs to
b e answered.
T h e S e r m o n o n the M o u n t is not the G o s -
pel that the early Church taught. When
St. P a u l w a n t e d to recall t h e Corinthians to
the fundamentals of Christianity, he did not
say : " Blessed are the peacemakers. Do
not resist an evil person. L o v e y o u r enemies.
Let t o m o r r o w take care of itself. D o to
others w h a t y o u w o u l d like them to d o to
you. Be perfect." Those are magnificent
34 THE MOUNTAIN
principles. T h e y could b e called g o o d advice,
T h e y could not possibly b e called g o o d n e w s .
N o , St. Paul w r o t e something quite diffe-
rent. Here are his w o r d s : " I delivered to
y o u among the fundamentals w h a t I also
received, that Christ died for our sins a c -
cording to the Scriptures, that He w a s
buried, that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures, that H e a p p e a r -
ed to Cephas, then to the t w e l v e , then to
m o r e than 500 brothers at once, then to
James, then to all the Apostles. Last of
all H e appeared t o m e " (1 Cor. 1 5 : 1 - 9 ) .
A n d here is what St. Peter preached :
" The G o d of our fathers raised Jesus W h o m
y o u killed b y hanging H i m on a tree. It is
this Jesus W h o m G o d has exalted at His
right hand to b e our Leader and Saviour,
to g i v e repentance to Israel and forgiveness
of sins. A n d w e are witnesses to these
things, and so is the H o l y Spirit W h o m G o d
has g i v e n to those w h o o b e y H i m " (Acts
5:30-32).
In any case the original Gospel was not
a sermon, and not. just the Beatitudes. It
w a s thrilling n e w s , glad tidings of great j o y
for all the peoples of the w o r l d . It w a s
Jesus Himself, the divine Saviour, His life,
His death, His Cross, His E m p t y T o m b , His
K i n g d o m , His l o v e and forgiveness, His
p o w e r and His glory. It is this great truth
that our salvation depends on, the act of
G o d , o n what G o d in His great l o v e has
d o n e for us, that O r t h o d o x Spirituality i n -
sists u p o n and emphasizes in a remarkable
way. In order to fix in the minds and
hearts of the faithful w h a t G o d has done f o r
us, the O r t h o d o x church, besides the Creed,
has t w e l v e great annual Feasts c o m m e m o -
rating events in the drama of Redemption.
Y o u m a y b e surprised to learn that Easter
is not one of the t w e l v e . So great is the
Resurrection in the m i n d of the Church that
it is in a class b y itself and is called " T h e
Feast of Feasts and T r i u m p h of T r i u m p h s . "
Easter is always celebrated at midnight and
the service usually takes till about d a w n .
To attend an O r t h o d o x Easter Service is an
PATH January
unforgettable experience. M a n y people, i n -
cluding R o m a n Catholic priests and m o n k s ,
h a v e told m e that they have n e v e r seen any
service to c o m p a r e with it. The singing,
especially as p e r f o r m e d in the Russian
Church, is uplifting in the extreme. One
detail : at certain points in the service the
priest greets the* p e o p l e in a loud v o i c e
with the w o r d s , " Christ is Risen," and the
congregation responds, " He is Risen
indeed ! " This is also h o w people greet
one another at Easter time. Instead of s a y -
ing G o o d D a y or Namaskaram, one says
" Christ is Risen " and the response is " H e
is Risen I n d e e d . " O n Sundays and at Easter
there is a rule that prostrations to the
ground are not to be m a d e , as t h e j o y of
the Resurrection o v e r w h e l m s even the sense
of penitence. A l s o at Easter the psalms are
not used for a w h o l e w e e k , and there is no
fasting.
No days are blank in the O r t h o d o x c a l e n -
dar. E v e r y d a y some saints are r e m e m b e r -
ed. Saints are of various classes. The
G r e e k w o r k Martyr means a witness. The
martyrs b o r e witness to Christ with their
blood. It is possible to be a m a r t y r in v a r i -
ous w a y s . " Feel the tortures of conscience,"
says St. Athanasius, " die to sin, amputate
sinful desires, and y o u w i l l be martyr in
will. The martyrs struggled w i t h the t o r -
turers, kings and princes. Y o u have a t o r -
turer, the devil ; h e is the king of sin. T h e r e
are also prince-persecutors, n a m e l y demons.
If y o u refrain f r o m these passions and f r o m
sinful desires, it v/ill m e a n that y o u h a v e
trampled o n the idols and b e c o m e a m a r t y r . "
So m u c h for St. Athanasius.
Typical of O r t h o d o x y is the group of
saints called ' Fools for Christ's sake.' These
w e r e m e n and w o m e n w h o , f o r the l o v e of
G o d and in response to a special call, p r e -
tended to b e m a d or mentally abnormal. I
think the earliest was a n u n of Tabenna in
the Egyptian desert, St. Isidora ( 3 8 0 ) . She
was never k n o w n to eat p r o p e r f o o d . She
lived o n the scraps the nuns left. It- w a s a
large c o m m u n i t y and she w a s mostly t r e a t -
ed with disdain and abhorrence. But such
1964 SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS
was her humility that she never refused to
serve and o b e y e v e r y o n e in the lowliest tasks.
A n o t h e r F o o l was St. Basil of M o s c o w
w h o died in 1552, aged 88. One of the m o s t
magnificent churches in the w o r l d was built
in his honour and can b e seen in M o s c o w
today. Once the Russian E m p e r o r w a s b u i l d -
ing a n e w palace on S p a r r o w Mountains.
One day he w e n t to church, but instead of
praying he was thinking about beautifying
the n e w palace. St. Basil w e n t to the same
church and stood in a corner unnoticed. But
he saw what the E m p e r o r w a s doing w i t h
his mind. A f t e r the Liturgy the E m p e r o r
went h o m e and Basil f o l l o w e d him. The
Emperor asked h i m , " W h e r e have y o u
been ? " " There, w h e r e y o u w e r e , at the
Holy Liturgy." " H o w was that ? I didn't
see y o u . " " But I saw y o u and I saw w h e r e
y o u really w e r e . " " I was n o w h e r e else,
only in c h u r c h , " said the Emperor. " Y o u r
w o r d s are not true, O Emperor, for I saw
y o u in spirit on S p a r r o w Mountains building
your palace." D e e p l y m o v e d , the E m p e r o r
said : " It is true, that is just what h a p p e n -
ed to m e . " That is typical of the spiritual
insight to w h i c h the saints attained.
Here it m a y be g o o d to m e n t i o n that m o -
nasticism has always b e e n h i g h l y regarded
in the O r t h o d o x Church. It is based on
Christ's w o r d s : " He w h o is able to r e -
c e i v e it, let him receive it " (Mat. 1 9 : 1 0 - 1 2 ) .
A n d " sell what y o u h a v e and give to t h e
poor, and c o m e and f o l l o w M e " (Mat. 1 9 : 2 1 ) .
A n d the promises to those w h o renounce
everything (Mat. 1 9 : 2 9 ) . M o n k s are p l e d g -
ed to battle with evil. Monasticism is not
an escape f r o m service.
A great virture in O r t h o d o x Spirituality
is dispassion ( G k . Apatheia), w h i c h is often
misunderstood and mistranslated as
" apathy," " indifference,'' or " insensibility "
in a stoic sense. But true dispassion is f r e e -
d o m f r o m passion through being filled w i t h
the spirit of G o d as a fruit of divine l o v e .
It is a state of soul in w h i c h a burning
l o v e for G o d and m e n leaves no r o o m f o r
selfish and h u m a n passions. H o w far it is
f r o m the cold stoic conception w e can see
OF G R E E K ORTHODOX CHURCH 35
f r o m the fact that St. Diadochus can speak
of " the fire of dispassion." 1
The thought of deification m a y seem
strange, yet that is a w o r d constantly m e t
2
with in O r t h o d o x w o r k s . It is based on Holy-
Scripture, of course. St. Peter tells us that
G o d has given us His " great and precious
promises that through them w e m a y b e p a r -
takers of the divine nature " ( 2 Peter 1 : 4 ) .
A n d St. Athanasius explains that it is
through the Incarnation that " the flesh has
been deified." This deification. is w o r k e d
out, according to St. M a x i m u s the C o n f e s -
sor, b y the identification of our h u m a n will
with the divine will. That prevents all
pantheism. It is u n i o n with the divine life
and activity, not w i t h the divine being and
essence. Iron placed in a fire becomes red
hot and fiery, but it remains iron.
E v e r y o n e is h u n g r y for life and happiness.
That is just w h a t Jesus Christ came to give.
" I have c o m e , " He said, " that y o u m a y
have life and m a y h a v e it abundantly."
There is nothing w r o n g in being h u n g r y for
life and happiness, because that is the w a y
w e are m a d e . Y e t it is one of life's p a r a -
d o x e s that the pursuit of happiness, like the
pursuit of pleasure, defeats its o w n purpose.
W e find happiness o n l y w h e n w e d o n o t
directly seek it. So G o d g a v e us the spiri-
tual l a w : " Seek first the K i n g d o m of G o d "
( L k . 1 2 : 3 1 ) . T h e n He promises that all o u r
needs w i l l b e supplied. So O r t h o d o x C h r i s -
tians have seasons of special seeking b y
penitence, p r a y e r and abstinence that they
m a y partake m o r e fully of that life and
happiness w h i c h constitutes the K i n g d o m of
G o d . P e o p l e think that w e a l t h and honours
mean happiness. But G o d tells us that a
man's life and happiness does not consist in
the abundance of his possessions ( L k . 1 2 : 1 5 ) .
In the O r t h o d o x v i e w , so great is the human,
heart that nothing less than G o d can satisfy
it. A n d the truth is that G o d is man's h a p -
1 It corresponds to the Hindu ' vairagya and 9
could perhaps best be rendered as ' non-attach-
ment ' or ' equal-mindedness \ (Editor).
2 It will not seem strange to Hindu readers.
(Editor).
36 THE M O U N T A I N PATH January

piness. So all m e n are really seeking G o d . W h o m a d e i t " (Eccles. 4 3 : 1 2 ) . In order to

But it is one thing to try to get happiness b e attached to our Creator w e must b e d e -
for yourself, and quite another to t r y to tached f r o m creatures. Detachment is a
establish G o d ' s K i n g d o m of divine p o w e r and virtue w h i c h holds a high place in O r t h o -
happiness in t h e hearts of all m e n e v e r y - d o x thought. " A small hair disturbs the e y e ,
where. and a small care prevents detachment," says
St. J o h n of the Ladder. T o l o v e creatures
W h e n Our L o r d began His public life, the instead of the Creator is idolatry.
gist of His message w a s : " The Kingdom
of G o d is at hand. Repent and believe in A remarkable feature in the O r t h o d o x
the G o s p e l " (Mark. 1 : 1 5 ) . T o repent means, Church is what m a y be called her s a c r a m e n -
according to the G r e e k , to change our mind, talism. In order to train her children and
o u r outlook, and consequently our life. I n - teach them to pass through the visible to
stead of thinking thoughts of fear, r e v e n g e , the Invisible, she uses pictures, crosses,
anxiety, depression, acquisitiveness and various symbols and sacraments. The
sickness, it means to live and think in terms O r t h o d o x Church calls sacraments m y s t e -
of the h e a v e n l y k i n g d o m w h i c h is all around ries. A m y s t e r y is not something of w h i c h
us, and in w h i c h w e l i v e and m o v e and h a v e y o u can understand nothing, something
our being. M a n is a spirit, housed in a w h i c h is all darkness ; it is m o r e like a
body. So he lives at o n c e in T i m e and circle of light surrounded b y darkness.
Eternity. Eternal life begins h e r e and n o w .
Our business or church is h e a v e n o n earth. The H o l y Mysteries or Sacraments are
T h e ikons or pictures remind us of things neither the end nor the essence of the
not of this w o r l d . " Our life, our h o m e is spiritual life. T h e y are means of grace,
in H e a v e n " (Philip 3 : 2 0 ) . W e are s u r - and only means. B u t these means h a v e
rounded Saints and A n g e l s and all the h e a - a great importance in the life of the
v e n l y inhabitants. A prayer that occurs Church. Because God has clothed our
daily in L e n t reads : " Standing in the spirits in material bodies, He binds H i m -
temple of T h y glory, w e think that w e are self to use material things in c o m m u n i -
standing in H e a v e n . " " The K i n g d o m ofcating w i t h us. A n d so His l a w and p r a c -
Heaven is within y o u " ( L k . 1 7 : 2 1 ) , so u n - tice in nature and grace is to give us His
less y o u take H e a v e n w i t h y o u in y o u r heart,Gifts through the hands of His creatures.
y o u w i l l n e v e r go there. In other w o r d s G o d w o r k s through agents.
So our life comes through a h u m a n father
G o d m a d e the w o r l d of T i m e as a school and mother, light through the sun, breath
f o r Eternity. During this brief spell on through the air, f o o d through the earth. It
earth, w e are meant to b e schooling o u r - is the same with spiritual things. The
selves to l i v e w i t h G o d our Father in p e r - science of the Sacraments is through the
fect j o y for ever. B u t m a n y p e o p l e find material to the spiritual, through the visible
this w o r l d so beautiful, so attractive, that to the Invisible. T h e y teach us to find G o d
t h e y get attached to it and e v e n do n o t w a n t through His creatures, to find L i f e through
to l e a v e it. So St. J o h n says : " D o not matter. T h e w o n d e r f u l w o r k s of creation all
l o v e the w o r l d or the things in the w o r l d . tell us of the divine Presence, P o w e r ,
If a n y o n e l o v e s the w o r l d , l o v e for t h e Beauty, and L o v e .
Father is n o t in him. F o r the w o r l d
A s m a n is soul and b o d y , so O r t h o d o x
passes a w a y and the desire for i t ; b u t h e
w o r s h i p requires the h o m a g e of both, an
w h o does the w i l l of G o d lives for e v e r . "
O l d Testament ideal, of course : " That y o u
(1 John 2 : 1 5 ) .
m a y w o r s h i p the L o r d our G o d b y e v e r y -
W e are meant to find G o d in His creation, thing that y o u d o " (Josh. 4 : 2 4 ) . Says
to pass through the visible to The invisible, St. Isaac the S y r i a n : " E v e r y p r a y e r in
to " l o o k at the r a i n b o w and praise H i m w h i c h the b o d y does not participate and b y
1964 SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS OF G R E E K ORTHODOX CHURCH 37

w h i c h the heart is not affected is to b e to forget so He puts it e v e r y w h e r e . Every

reckoned as an abortion without a s o u l " .
So in O r t h o d o x w o r s h i p w e b o w w i t h our
w i l l and w i t h our b o d y as w e l l , that is w e
m a k e prostrations to the ground. Another
feature is t h e sign of the cross. Just as t h e
N a m e of Jesus is m a d e b y a m o v e m e n t of
the tongue, so the sign of the cross is m a d e
b y a m o v e m e n t of h a n d and arm. T h e cross
is the sign of faith, h o p e and l o v e ; it is the
Christian sign, w hich G o d wants us never
T
tree, e v e r y telegraph pole is a cross. W h a t
a b o o k is to a literate person, a picture is
to an illiterate. It brings him u n d e r s t a n d -
ing.
A n d w e b e l i e v e in the C o m m u n i o n of the
Saints, because there is n o w n o death and
all are alive to G o d . W e ask the Saints to
p r a y for us, and w e p r a y for those w h o are
not yet saints.

Y o u r true nature is something never lost to y o u e v e n in moments of

delusion, nor is it gained at the m o m e n t of Enlightenment. In it is neither
delusion nor right understanding. It fills the V o i d e v e r y w h e r e and is
intrinsically of the substance of the O n e Mind.
— F r o m The Zen Teaching of Huang P o , p. 93,
translated b y John Blofeld, Rider.

* * # *

I gave birth to myself ! I w a s c o n c e i v e d within m y o w n b o d y . Now

all v o w s are fulfilled ; all desire is extinguished. I have b e c o m e w e l l and
strong. I died a w a y that time. I l o o k on both sides. T u k a is what he is.
— TUKARAM.

* * * *

T h e purpose of A t m a Jnana (spiritual k n o w l e d g e ) is to r e m o v e the

illusory self created b y A v i d y a ( i g n o r a n c e ) . T h e attainment of Self b y
Divine K n o w l e d g e means only the r e m o v a l of the illusory self created
b y ignorance through the superimposition of the b o d y as the self.
— Shankara, Commentary on the Taittiriya Upanishad.
 A VISIT T O ANANDASHRAM
IN THE LIFETIME OF SWAMI RAMDAS
By UNNAMULAI

S o m e friends w e r e going to Anandashram W e w e r e received v e r y kindly and s h o w n

b y car and, having heard of S w a m i Ramdas to our rooms, w h i c h w e r e comfortable and
for years past but n e v e r yet visited him, I airy. After washing and changing into a
accepted their invitation to accompany white sari I w e n t b a c k to Papa's r o o m . A
them. In fact, he was the only living saint n u m b e r of people w e r e there, sitting on the
w h o m I had an inclination to see. A s it floor, ladies against the wall and m e n at the
turned out, it was v e r y fortunate that I t o o k other side, with Papa in his armchair, his
this opportunity because o n l y a f e w months feet resting 'on a footstool. P e o p l e kept
later h e died suddenly, quite unexpectedly. coming and prostrating before h i m and
touching his feet. He explained that a c u r -
W h i l e the car was approaching A n a n d -
rent of p o w e r flows through a saint and that
ashram after a long drive through u n d u l a t -
there is especial benefit f r o m touching his
ing w o o d e d country and was still about t w o
feet. That is w h y so m a n y of the sacred
miles a w a y I suddenly had the extraordinary
poems and songs refer to the lotus feet of
experience of hearing the invocation of R a m
the Guru. In his presence one felt e n v e -
e v e r y w h e r e : the earth, the trees, the h u m -
loped in an atmosphere of l o v e and j o y f u l -
ming of the car, the sound of the w i n d , all
ness.
w e r e vibrating with the N a m e of R a m . This
was all the m o r e remarkable as I had n e v e r
A t half past seven the bell rang for the
been d r a w n to this invocation and had never
evening meal and w e all w e n t to an a d -
used it. 'Later I understood w h y it w a s so.
joining building in w h i c h w e r e the dining
The first thing that struck m e on b e h o l d - hall and kitchen. F o o d was served on stain-
ing S w a m i Ramdas, affectionately called less steel -plates o n the floor, in t w o r o w s ,
* P a p a ' b y e v e r y o n e , w a s h o w m u c h nicer one for w o m e n and one for men. W h i l e w e
he l o o k e d in real life than on photos. His waited to be served the dining hall w a s r e -
face w a s b e a m i n g w i t h joyfulness, goodness, sounding w i t h the chanting of R a m Nam.
liveliness ; his smile w a s so childlike and Outstanding w a s the soprano of a N o r -
spontaneous that one felt immediately d r a w n wegian trained opera singer, and the p o w e r -
to h i m . ful deep v o i c e of a German. T h e f o o d w a s
purely vegetarian, excellent in quality and
I f o u n d that the A s h r a m w a s being run with due consideration for those w h o could
b y Mother Krishna Bai, k n o w n to e v e r y - not eat spiced food. One could feel the
b o d y as ' Mataji \ W h e n w e w e n t f r o m the l o v i n g care of Mataji behind it.
car straight to the S w a m i ' s r o o m , tired and
unwashed, she w a s there. I had met her After the meal w e assembled in the main
o n c e b e f o r e briefly, years ago, w h e n she w a s hail w h e r e Papa was already seated. Peo-
passing t h r o u g h Madras. She w a s y o u n g ple asked questions and h e not only gave
then and in g o o d health, but s o m e h o w the replies and upadesa but launched into r e -
meeting had left no impression, but n o w I miniscences of his o w n sadhana during the
s a w b e f o r e m e a face ravished b y srokness years w h e n he w a s a wandering sadhu. 1

y e t incredibly beautiful, w i t h a b#a*ty not

of this w o r l d . She is w o r s h i p p e d as a r e a -
i A sample of these talks is contained in his
lized soul. book, God-Experience, reviewed in this issue.
1964 A VISIT TO A N A N D A S H R A M
Although most of these can b e f o u n d in his
books, it was quite a different experience
to hear him telling them, sometimes p o i g -
nant, sometimes full of laughter.
A t 10 o'clock all t o o k l e a v e of Papa and
Mataji and w e n t to their r o o m s , e x c e p t a
f e w w h o just spread their bedding and lay
d o w n to sleep in the hall.
A t 5 in the m o r n i n g some of the devotees
w e n t to Papa's r o o m and sat in silent m e d i -
tation for about an hour, until 6, w h e n he
got u p . This m o r n i n g hour seems to have
been the only time for silent meditation.
During the d a y it w a s m o r e talking and a s k -
ing questions. The chanting of the mantra
went on almost uninterruptedly in the big
hall, except w h e n Papa sat there w i t h the
devotees, as he usually did after lunch and
dinner. A s I said, the atmosphere w a s v e r y
lively w h e n he b e g a n his expositions mingled
with reminiscences. Once I was deeply
m o v e d w h e n he told about his experience
as a sadhu at a r a i l w a y station, h o w cold it
was, and a p o l i c e m a n c a m e and told him to
get up and go s o m e w h e r e else, but at first
he couldn't because his legs w e r e n u m b and
swollen f r o m sitting in the cold. With a
v o i c e choked with emotion, I asked, " A n d
then ? " . He immediately saw what I felt
and said reassuringly : " It w a s all right
afterwards. R a m t o o k g o o d care of R a m d a s
and some friends l o o k e d after h i m . " H e
always did refer to himself in this w a y , in
the third person, as ' R a m d a s ' (meaning
' slave of R a m ' ) .
There was the spontaneity of a child in
him, a carefree, h a p p y child. W h e n the
mail came in the afternoon he w o u l d read
the letters out w i t h childlike zest, e v e n if
they w e r e private. It was bhakti at its
purest, though at the same time he s o m e -
times spoke pure A d v a i t a . Of course, u l t i -
mately bhakti and jnana m e r g e ; there c a n -
39
not b e . l o v e without w i s d o m or w i s d o m w i t h -
out l o v e .
W h e n Papa laughed ( w h i c h was v e r y
often) it used to bring on p r o l o n g e d bouts
of coughing ending in breathlessness. I
was v e r y concerned about this and had a
strong foreboding. This p r o v e d o n l y too j u s -
tified a f e w months later w h e n he suddenly
e x p i r e d in a fit of suffocation, as w e w e r e
told b y an e y e - w i t n e s s . H o w the devotees
must have missed h i m ! H o w e v e r , Mataji
is still there. W h i l e I was there she w a s
running the A s h r a m firmly but u n o b t r u -
sively and with loving care. W h a t struck
m e was her great m o d e s t y and genuine
spirit of loving service, w h i c h she m a n a g e d
to instil into those around her. Ill as she
was, one w o u l d see her folding the laundry
of the visitors and doing endless j o b s , big
and small.
Finally something about R a m N a m , w h i c h
was the v e r y essence of the teaching of R a m -
das. P e o p l e w e r e singing it, repeating it
silently, writing it out, for hours together.
Its purpose is to hold the m i n d to one
thought so as to prevent it wandering.
Mantras are not m y w a y , but P a p a e x p l a i n -
ed that, e v e n f o l l o w i n g some other w a y , the
mantra can b e used as a fan to m a k e the
flame b u r n brighter.
A strange thing happened in this c o n n e c -
tion. It must have been about the time that
S w a m i Ramdas expired (about w h i c h w e
heard only several days l a t e r ) . I was m a k -
ing the pilgrimage round Arunachala. My
mind w a s unsteady, so I r e m e m b e r e d the
mantra and w h a t Papa had said about it
and used it as a fan. A t that m o m e n t it
came to life for m e . It w a s Papa himself
m e r g e d in the mantra. T h e r e w a s that i n -
describable feeling of tenderness, nearness,
all his goodness ; he was there, a l l - p e r v a d -
ing. Papa lives on in the mantra.
 THE RELATIONS BETWEEN RELIGION AND A R T
By A R T H U R
Despite the secular spirit w h i c h swept
o v e r Europe at the Renaissance and has
spread to the rest of the w o r l d in the p r e -
sent century, it w o u l d still b e true to say
that the greater part of the w o r l d ' s art and
poetry has b e e n religious in inspiration and
origin. W h y ?
It has been suggested that the reason is
simply that in past ages the churches h a v e
b e e n the principal or o n l y patrons ; that,
h o w e v e r , is a shallow explanation, looking
at the past through m o d e r n spectacles. It
does not explain w h y Hindu life and l i t e r a -
ture w e r e dominated for centuries b y the
great religious epics (and let us r e m e m b e r
that the Greeks also considered the H o m e -
ric p o e m s the basis of their religion, although
they s h o w little of the profundity of the
Hindu e p i c s ) . It does not fit the Taoist
painters, w h o w e r e largely amateurs in no
need of a patron, or the sculptors and p a i n -
ters of Buddhist c a v e temples, at Ajanta
and elsewhere, w h o w e r e w o r l d - r e n o u n c e r s .
It w o u l d b e laughed at b y the Persian p o e t -
saints w h o scandalized the o r t h o d o x . It
does not e v e n apply to the great temples of
Mediaeval India or the gothic cathedrals of
Christendom, in c o m p l y i n g with w h o s e intri-
cate s y m b o l i s m and shaping w h o s e exquisite
figures the builders w e r e hammering out
the lineaments of their o w n true nature.
Nor w e r e lay patrons lacking—princes and
feudal lords, not to mention royal courts, in
India, in China, in Japan, in Christendom,
in most parts of the w o r l d . W o r k s of art
w e r e indeed created for them too and p o e m s
sung in their honour. T o take but one e x -
ample a m o n g m a n y , there are the exquisite
miniature-like paintings of Rajpu+ana. B u t
always the greatest output, g r e a t e r b o t h in
quality and quantity, w a s for religion. A n d
indeed, h o w m a n y of the Rajput paintings
OSBORNE
had the eternal symbolism of the l o v e of
Radha and Krishna for their theme !
Before attempting an answer, there is a n -
other question that interweaves with this.
What- is the attitude of religion to art ? A t
their origin religions seem to agree in either
ignoring or deprecating art. T h e Quran f o r -
bids representational art and speaks s c o r n -
fully of poets. T h e T a o - T e - K i n g declares
that the five senses dull the m i n d and that
the Sage, therefore, is not deluded b y them
but aims at what is of benefit. Both Christ
and Buddha completely ignore art and
poetry in their teaching, as do also their
immediate followers. In fact all religions
that h a v e a k n o w n historical origin run the
same course : f r o m an austere, bare p r i -
mitivism w h e n art is deprecated or ignored
to a gorgeous mediaevalism a f e w centuries
later, w h e n religion burgeons out into a
luxurious g l o w of beauty, even though man's
private life is still hard c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e
comforts and conveniences of our secular
world.
Once again, the obvious answer—that the
religions b e c a m e untrue to their origins —
is superficial and does not fit the case. T h e
foremost purpose of a religion is to guide
those w h o will adventure out of the a p p a -
rent reality of this life to the clear-sighted
bliss or ecstatic rapture of the Sage or Saint,
through w h o m w a v e s of Grace flow d o w n -
wards and outwards to the less aspiring b e -
lievers. So long as this continues to be
done a religion is w e l l rooted in its origins ;
so long as a tree bears g o o d fruit it is a
healthy tree. Religions w h i c h could p r o d u c e
a St. Francis and an Eckhart, an A b d u l
Qadir and an Ibn A r a b i , a Shankara and a
Ramanuja, an Ashvaghosha and a Hui Neng,
were not untrue to their origins ; the paths
w e r e still o p e n and guides w h o had trodden
1964 THE R E L A T I O N S B E T W E E N R E L I G I O N A N D A R T
them still available. M o r e o v e r , it was often
the Masters themselves w h o created or e n -
couraged art or poetry, a Dante and a R u m i ,
a K a b i r and a Milarepa.
There is another explanation. In the i n -
candescent white heat of the origin of a r e -
ligion the energy of those w h o aspire,
strengthened as b y a springboard b y their
rejection of the degenerate w o r l d around
them, shoots straight u p w a r d s . The sattva
guna, the u p w a r d tendency, dominates.
Directing the energy outwards to f o r m s ,
even beautiful forms, w o u l d be a weakness,
almost a betrayal, for h o w e v e r beautiful
forms m a y b e they limit and obscure the
pure beauty of the Formless. A s a poet saw
intuitively long after the certainty of r e l i -
gion had been lost, e v e n though life b e a
d o m e of m a n y - c o l o u r e d glass, it still " Stains
the white radiance of eternity."
If y o u are climbing a mountain path and
it is a matter of life and death to reach the
summit, if all y o u r alertness is needed to
avoid pitfalls and dangers, all your
strength to strive u p w a r d s , y o u do not stop
to pick flowers b y the w a y s i d e , h o w e v e r
beautiful they m a y b e . One w h o has r e a c h -
ed safety can do that. Even after art and
poetry began to be h o n o u r e d , it was usually
assumed in India (and to a large extent in
Buddhism and Islam also) that it is those
w h o h a v e attained Realization w h o should
write poems. Indeed, their greatest poets are
those, like T u k a r a m in Marathi or T a y u m a -
navar in Tamil, w h o w r o t e f r o m the f u l -
ness of spiritual k n o w l e d g e . The Maharshi
himself, although h e did not write m u c h ,
composed in the * F o r t y Verses ' one of the
most profound metaphysical statements and
in the first of the ' F i v e H y m n s to Sri A r u -
n a c h a l a ' one of the most g l o w i n g s y m b o l i -
cal l o v e poems of all religions and all ages.
[
T o sortie extent this is anticipating. C o m -
ing now to the mediaeval epoch, w e find
that the incandescent white heat has c o o l -
ed to a m e l l o w golden g l o w . Sattva is c o m -
See, The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi,
Rilers, London, and Sri Ramanasramam, Tiru-
x^nnarjcialai.
4!
bined n o w with rajas, the u p w a r d - t e n d i n g
with the o u t w a r d - t e n d i n g urge. Indirect
paths to Realization begin to be f o l l o w e d :
Tantrism in Hindu and Buddhist India,
Hermetism in Christendom and indeed, with
surprising similarity, in China and Islam
also. It is found necessary first to h a r m o -
nize a man, redirecting his l o w e r tendencies
and developing his finer qualities, b e f o r e
launching him o n the final quest. Such r e c -
tification no longer happens automatically,
as a b y - p r o d u c t of the quest, as in the e a r -
lier stage, but needs to b e planned and
organized. A r t is n o w deliberately e n c o u -
raged and developed, it is not m e r e l y
allowed as a concession to those w h o are not
o n e - p o i n t e d enough to strive w i t h o u t it, still
less is it indulged in as a l u x u r y ; it is
used as a technique of discipline and d e v e -
lopment. A p o e m acquires the qualities of
a mantra, a sacred incantation w h o s e v i b r a -
tions harmonize the m i n d ; a drawing or
architectural plan b e c o m e s a development of
a yantra or a mandala, a shape of inherent
power. 2
In mediaeval religious art, w h e t h e r poetry
or the plastic arts, whether in Japan or
Europe or a n y w h e r e b e t w e e n , gorgeous e x -
uberance is c o m b i n e d with strict discipline
of f o r m and precise symbolism. T h e a d a p -
tation of art to s y m b o l i s m in order to use
it as a m o d e of w o r s h i p or a technique of
training does not in any w a y impair its
value as art. Rather it enhances it, for art
is f o r m - g i v i n g and, even though o n e had
the expertise of a S w i n b u r n e , the f o r m -
giving w i l l remain trivial if there is n o t h -
ing great to g i v e f o r m to. T h e r e f o r e w h a t
might b e termed in a b r o a d generic sense
' m e d i a e v a l ' religious art is on the one hand
rigorously formal and on the other superbly
1 sumptuous.
Exact f o r m does not destroy f r e e d o m in
art ; it gives it w i n g s . P o e t r y being f o r m a l
and disciplined language as c o m p a r e d with
prose, w h i c h is c o m p a r a t i v e l y informal and
undisciplined, there is no sense in making
2 See The Theory and Practice of the Mandala
by Prof. Giuseppe Tucci, Riders, London.
42 THE MOUNTAIN PATH
it formless ; if it is not going to c o n f o r m t o
the rules of p o e t r y let it b e prose. S o - c a l l e d
' f r e e ' or formless p o e t r y is in fact half-
b a k e d poetry. Either the impulse behind
it had not a h i g h enough temperature to
melt the w o r d s and m a k e them flow into its
mould, o r the creative p o w e r flagged w h e n
the w o r k w a s half d o n e — that is w h e n the
idea was h a l f - b a k e d into a p o e m .
I k n o w this f r o m experience and I c o n -
sider it important e n o u g h to justify an a u t o -
biographical aside. A s a y o u n g m a n I a s p i r -
ed to b e a p o e t — i n fact I believed I was
one. H o w e v e r , nothing c o m e of it. Then
came the time w h e n neither prose nor verse
had any v a l u e e x c e p t as a vehicle for spiri-
tual w i s d o m and a signpost on the w a y
( w h i c h , indeed, is w h a t p o e t r y should b e ) .
Then, quite suddenly, p o e m s began to come
almost r e a d y - m a d e .
SARAH
See how Grace is fallen on me !
The sudden beauty of my rhymes —
A sign made plain for all to see ;
As the Lord wrought in ancient times
With that gaunt patriarch's aged wife.
Sarah, who through all her life
Had been a barren tree.
Had this power come in youthful years,
A bastard brood my rhymes had been,
Begotten of desires and fears,
Or pompous words that little mean.
That shameful wandering denied,
I stayed perforce a faithful bride,
Whose bridgegroom now appears.
To turn m y rhymes to worldly things
Now would be a bitter shame,
Like a worthless wife who brings
Disgrace upon her husband's name.
There is not even the desire ;
No lesser theme can him inspire
Who of the highest sings.
T h e first four p o e m s w e r e almost f o r m -
less (actually, o n e w a s a l y r i c t h o u g h with
only v a g u e l y f o r m e d verses and one in blank
verse, though I did not realize this at the
t i m e ) ; it had n o t yet occurred to m e that
I w a s professional enough to attempt r h y m e
and metre. T h e n a p o e m c a m e w h i c h , in
January
intricacy and regularity of metre, was m o r e
like 17th than 20th Century verse, and I
discovered that if the impulse is sufficient
the w o r d s w i l l flow to the pattern. If not,
better keep quiet. This was the p o e m :
CONSOLATION
Disconsolate, to Him in grief 1 cried,
And the Beloved
From my own heart replied.
No radiant form appeared ;
The subtle mist that cleared
Nought new discovered,
No splendid, bridegroom, no expectant bride.
All pageants pass ; whatever comes must go.
Death hath a place
For all the mind can know.
Even the loftiest vision
Time holdeth in derision ;
Divine embrace
From vibrant joy to memory must grow.
He shed the jewelled robe for my delight,
And I beheld
A Void, no sound, no sight,
Only What IS shall be —
Him — Me — Eternity,
All clouds dispelled,
Seer and seen grown one in radiant sight.
A c c o r d i n g to Hindu doctrine there are
three gunas : sattva, the u p w a r d tendency
w h o s e colour is white, rajas, the outward,
w h o s e colour is red, and tamas, the d o w n -
w a r d , w h o s e colour in black. A l l things are
held in being b y their c o m b i n e d stress.
After the epoch of rajas in the relations
b e t w e e n religion and art comes that of
tamas. That is w h e n art has b r o k e n a w a y
f r o m religion and sunk to utilitarian and
ornamental patterns, w o r l d l y and human
themes. Occasional flashes of intuition m a y
still * inspire the poet, but no steady g l o w
of k n o w l e d g e , no true understanding. Re-
ligion is again devoid of art and poetry, but
b e l o w it n o w , not a b o v e it. Bad p o e t r y
w e d d e d to bad music forms hymns that can
have only a sentimental value. H o l y p i c -
tures that cannot be dignified with the name
of art are used to foster emotion. E x c e p t fc
rebels against the epoch, people no iotuv
aspire. The paths are o v e r g r o w n with wee*;
1964 THE RELATIONS BETWEEN RELIGION A N D A R T 43

and b l o c k e d b y rockfalls and there are no
guides. The cycle comes round to w h e r e it
started but in an inverted likeness. In the,
pure aspiration of the beginning m e n had
no time for intricate techniques and paths ;
n o w again they have no time, but n o w b e -
cause they h a v e no aspiration at all.
Krishna says in the B h a g a v a d Gita :
u
W h e n e v e r h a r m o n y (dharma) is obscured
and disharmony (adharma) triumphs, I
appear.'' 1
N o w , in this m o d e r n age, w h e n
circumstances m a k e the elaborate disciplines
of an indirect path once m o r e unsuitable, if
not impossible, G o d has appeared on earth
incarnate as Ramana Maharshi and opened
once m o r e a direct path w h i c h , b y his
Grace, is accessible to those w h o turn to
him and on w h i c h art and poetry, yantra
and mantra, are again unnecessary. He did
i Ch. IV, v. 7.
not encourage those w h o trod the direct
path under his guidance to divert their e n e r -
gies to poetry or any of the arts. " All
this is only activity of the mind. The m o r e
y o u exercise the m i n d and the m o r e success
y o u have in composing verses, the less p e a c e
y o u have. A n d w h a t use is it to acquire
such accomplishments if y o u don't acquire
peace. But if y o u tell such p e o p l e this it
doesn't appeal to them ; they can't k e e p
quiet. T h e y must be composing songs."
It is significant that w h e n some one asked
him about a technique for developing the
various virtues and combating the vices in
oneself he replied that such techniques m a y
be useful o n an indirect path but on the
direct path of S e l f - e n q u i r y all this happens
automatically. T h e t w o go together : e n -
couragement of art and indirect methods of
training. Conditions in the w o r l d t o - d a y are
suitable for neither.

The Vedantic texts teach that although Brahman is One he is regarded

both as possessing attributes and as free f r o m them. In the f o r m e r sense
He is the o b j e c t of meditation, in the latter of K n o w l e d g e .
— Shankara, Commentary on the Brahma Sutra, 1-1-12.

* * * *

M y death is dead and gone ! I have been m a d e immortal. A l l sense

of b o d y is w i p e d out root and branch. The deluge came and w e n t . I
clung 'to life with courage. Tuka says : The foundations have been truly
disclosed.
— T UK ARAM.
 "I AM NOT, BUT THE UNIVERSE IS MY S E L F "
LOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THIS INTUITION
By W E I W U W E I
Objects are o n l y k n o w n as the result of
reactions of the senses of sentient beings to
a variety of stimuli.
These stimuli appear t o derive f r o m s o u r -
ces external to the reagent apparatus, but
there is no evidence of this apart f r o m the
reagent apparatus itself.
Objects, therefore, are only a surmise, for
they have no demonstrable existence apart
f r o m the subject that cognises them.
Since that subject itself is not sensorially
cognisable e x c e p t as an object, subject also
is only a surmise.
Since the factual existence of neither s u b -
ject nor o b j e c t can be demonstrated, e x i s -
tence is no m o r e than a conceptual a s s u m p -
tion, w h i c h , metaphysically, is inacceptable.
There is, therefore, no valid evidence for
the existence of a w o r l d external to the
consciousness of sentient beings, w h i c h e x -
ternal w o r l d is therefore seen to b e nothing
but the cognisers of it, that is — sentient
beings themselves.
But there can b e no factual evidence for
the existence of sentient beings, either as
subject or as o b j e c t , w h o therefore are
m e r e l y a conceptual assumption on the part
of the consciousness in w h i c h they are c o g -
nised.
It f o l l o w s that " c o n s c i o u s n e s s " also can
only b e a conceptual assumption without
demonstrable existence.
W h a t , then, can this assumption of c o n s -
ciousness denote ? This question can only b e
answered in metaphysical terms, according
to w h i c h consciousness m a y b e regarded as
the manifested aspect of the unmanifested
or non-manifestation, w h i c h is the nearest it
seems possible to go towards expressing in a
concept that w h i c h b y definition is i n c o n -
ceivable.
W h y should this b e so ? It must be so
because conceptuality cannot h a v e c o n c e p -
(Shit-t'ou, 700-790)
t u a l l y for source, but only the n o n - c o n c e p -
tual, because that w h i c h o b j e c t i v e l y conceives
must necessarily spring f r o m the o b j e c t i v e l y
non-existent, the manifested f r o m non-
manifestation, for conceptuality cannot c o n -
ceive or o b j e c t i f y itself — as an eye cannot
see itself as an object.
Therefore consciousness can be described
as pure non-conceptuality, w h i c h is " pure "
because unstained either b y the conceptual
or the n o n - c o n c e p t u a l , w h i c h implies that
there is a total absence of both positive and
negative conceptuality.
Not existing as an object, even conceptual,
there can b e no " it " , there is no " thing "
to bear a name, no subject is possible w h e r e
no o b j e c t is, and total absence of being is
inevitably implied.
A l l w e can say about this w h i c h w e are,
w h i c h to us must b e objectified as " i t " in
order that w e m a y speak of it at all, is to
regard " i t " as the n o u m e n o n of phenomena,
but, since neither of these exists objectively,
p h e n o m e n a l l y regarded it m a y be understood
as the ultimate absence f r o m w h i c h all p r e -
sence comes to appear.
But consciousness, or " M i n d " , does not
" p r o j e c t " the phenomenal universe : " it "
IS the phenomenal universe w h i c h is m a n i -
fested as its self.
Metaphysics, relying on intuition or direct
perception, says no m o r e than this, and points
out that no w o r d , be it the A b s o l u t e , the
L o g o s , G o d , or Tao, can be other than a
concept w h i c h , as such, has n o factual v a l i -
dity whatsoever.
T h i s - W h i c h - I s , then, w h i c h cannot be s u b -
ject or object, w h i c h cannot be n a m e d or
thought, and the realisation of w h i c h is the
ultimate awakening, can o n l y b e indicated
in such a phrase as that quoted a b o v e :
"I am not, but the apparent universe is
my Self."
 BUCHMAN AND BHAGAVAN
By BUCHMANITE

H o w can there be anything in c o m m o n w e e n men of g o o d will in all religions. H i m -

b e t w e e n Frank Buchman, w h o has been
referred to disparagingly as a ' mere
m o r a l i s t ' and Ramana Maharshi, the Master
of divine philosophy ? I think there is, and
I am glad of this opportunity to air m y
v i e w s on the subject.
W h y did Frank B u c h m a n launch Moral
Rearmament ? Because, as he put it, the
fences w e r e d o w n and s o m e one had to
repair them. In f o r m e r times only too m a n y
people b r o k e through the m o r a l fences and
trespassed into fields w h e r e they had no
right to b e ; but at least they k n e w they
w e r e trespassing. T h e y k n e w that they had
left the highroad and b r o k e n through a
moral fence and had no right to b e w h e r e
they w e r e . But n o w y o u n g people g r o w u p
recognizing no fences, or considering that it
is the fences that have no right to b e w h e r e
they are. F o r m e r l y if people w e n t b a c k on
their w o r d they k n e w it was w r o n g to do
so ; n o w , w h o cares ? If they fornicated they
k n e w that their religion f o r b a d e i t ; n o w
religion does not c o m e into the question and
they can q u o t e psychologists that it is the
natural thing to do. If hatred and e n v y
poison the air any one w h o speaks against
t h e m is l i k e l y to b e sneered at as a g o o d y -
g o o d y . A b o v e all, religion no longer means
anything for the vast m a j o r i t y of p e o p l e in
Western countries. A n d the ease with w h i c h
C o m m u n i s m supplanted it in China suggests
that its roots m a y be withered in Eastern
countries too, even though on the surface it
still seems to flourish.
Frank B u c h m a n steadfastly refused to
f o u n d a n e w religion or sect. H e held that
there w e r e too m a n y religions and sects in
the w o r l d already. A n e w one w o u l d soon
g r o w a stiff epidermis, like all the others,
and shut its f o l l o w e r s off f r o m theirs, whereas
what h e w a n t e d was to build bridges b e t -
self, h e was a devout Christian, but that did
not m e a n that he wanted to m a k e Indians
and Japanese, Buddhists and Muslims, C h r i s -
tians. He wanted them to b e c o m e g o o d m e n ,
sincere m e n , m e n one could trust — w i t h
one's m o n e y , with one's secrets, w i t h one's
daughter, m e n of g o o d will, eager to help
w h e r e help was needed, not bearing malice
or spreading slander, not gloating o v e r a n o -
ther's misfortune or resenting past injuries.
In m a n y , if not most, cases the best i n s t r u -
ment for recalling a m a n to a life of right
conduct is the religion he k n e w in childhood
and still sees around him ; therefore Moral
Rearmament can generally achieve better
results b y strengthening a m a n in his o w n
religion than b y coaxing him to another. Its
reluctance to proselytise does not mean that
it is indifferent to religion ; on the contrary,
it values religious faith a b o v e all, but it sees
that in the present urgent w o r k of r e b u i l d -
ing the dykes and holding b a c k the flood all
religions can help. A f t e r all, h o w e v e r great
the differences b e t w e e n them, all religions
do forbid falsehood and violent pursuit of
one's o w n interests, hatred and e n v y and
self-indulgence, and do sponsor a w a y of
life that could b e called moral and that Moral
Rearmament could a p p r o v e of.
One of the criticisms levelled at M R A is
that it is not intellectual, it has no p h i l o -
sophy. That is the w h o l e paradox. It is the
inevitable result of its refusal to b e c o m e a
sect or a religion. A s soon as it draws u p
any philosophy or code of beliefs for itself,
h o w e v e r b r o a d and general, it b e c o m e s a
creed and is w a l l e d off f r o m other creeds,
whereas its purpose is to build bridges not
walls.
I v e r y m u c h doubt whether Guru Nanak,
the founder of Sikhism, ever intended to
found a religion. The Granth Sahib, the h o l y
46 THE MOUNTAIN P A T H
b o o k containing his songs, contains also a
n u m b e r that he selected f r o m earlier p o e t -
saints, some Hindu and others Muslim, and
especially f r o m K a b i r , the great mystic w h o
had both Hindu and Muslim disciples and
refused to belong to either. W h a t Nanak
wanted was not to build a n e w enclosure
between that of the Hindus and that of the
Muslims, but to m a k e a bridge b e t w e e n
those t w o , showing that in essentials they
agreed and that the accidentals w e r e not
w o r t h fighting about. He sang :
The L o r d is the Truth Absolute,
True is His N a m e .
His language is l o v e infinite ;
His creatures ever c r y to H i m :
' Give us more, O L o r d , give m o r e ' ;
The Bounteous One gives u n w e a r y i n g l y .
What then should w e offer
That w e might see His K i n g d o m ?
With what language
Might w e His l o v e attain ?
In the ambrosial hours of fragrant d a w n
Think upon and glorify
His N a m e and greatness.
Our o w n past actions
Have put. this garment on us,
But salvation comes only through His
Grace.
O Nanak, this alone need w e k n o w ,
That G o d , being Truth, is the o n e Light
of all. 1
There could hardly be a broader and m o r e
n o n - c o m m i t t a l creed than that — that G o d is
Truth and L o v e and bestows His Grace on
us for our salvation ; and y e t Sikhism
hardened into a religion. This serves to
illustrate h o w careful M R A has to b e to
avoid doing so too. It has to d e n y itself a
philosophy and a creed, because t h e y w o u l d
immediately shut out all those w h o f o l l o w
any different philosophy or creed. T h e r e f o r e
M R A has to b e unintellectual — but that
does not mean that those w h o f o l l o w and
1 No. 4 of the hymns of Nanak in Selections from
the Sacred Writings of the Sikhs, Allen and Unwin,
UNESCO collection of representative works.
January
propagate it are necessarily unintellectual.
W h a t is required of them is that they should
b e m e n of g o o d will and initiative, intelligent
enough to see that t o - d a y ' s situation is p e r i -
lous and dedicated enough to w o r k at m e n d -
ing the dykes b e f o r e the flood sweeps in. If
they are intellectual as w e l l , so m u c h the
better, but it is good will and initiative that
c o m e first.
In restoring moral barriers philosophy is
not v e r y important. Religion is m u c h m o r e
potent. Then w h y not leave it to religion ?
Simply because the religions t o - d a y h a v e
b e c o m e too enfeebled to do it. If t h e y r e c o -
v e r e d sufficient vitality to l e a v e n the l u m p
and u p h o l d a m o r a l code not only among a
f e w scattered adherents but in the c o m m u -
nity as a w h o l e , thus making M R A u n n e c e s -
sary, that w o u l d be the sign that M R A had
succeeded.
But ethical control, it m a y be said, is only
one aspect of religion, and perhaps not the
highest. Granted, but it is one, and it is not
being done, or not at all adequately.
It could be said that religion has t w o
functions or aspects, one horizontal and the
other vertical. T h e w o r d is said to derive
f r o m a Latin root meaning ' to bind '. H o r i -
zontally it binds m e n together in a w a y of
living w h e r e each has his rights and duties,
his functions and obligations — not o n l y his
rights, as so m a n y m o d e r n idealists seem to
suppose. Rights entail obligations. A s one
w i t t y philosopher is said to have put it, y o u r
right of m o v e m e n t ends w h e r e m y nose
begins.
A fully living and nourishing religion—•
for instance Christianity before the R e f o r m a -
tion ( a n d b e f o r e the corruption that called
for the R e f o r m a t i o n ) — b i n d s the w h o l e of
society together in a living h a r m o n y . It also
organizes each person's life in a pattern or
h a r m o n y . A m a n g r o w s u p with the k n o w -
ledge w h a t h e can d o and w h a t h e must n o t
do. T h e pattern m a y not b e perfect, there
m a y b e dark smudges in it, social injustices,
but b y and large it w i l l b e f o u n d that sins
and uncharitable actions are listed among
J 964 BUCHMAN AND
what a man must not do. There m a y be
situations w h e r e he can do them and get
a w a y with it — e v e r y h u m a n pattern is
stained b y imperfections and I am far f r o m
wanting to idealise the past — but in general
he is liable to the censure of his religion,
and to a large extent this is effective, often
bringing w i t h it social ostracism or legal
condemnation. But t o - d a y there is no valid
condemnation ; the fences are d o w n . W h o
cares ?
The vertical aspect of religion is its b i n d -
ing m e n to G o d or, perhaps better, providing
a lifeline b y w h i c h a m a n can climb u p to
God. Horizontally a religion produces a h a r -
monious w a y of life ; vertically it produces
saints. A n d the t w o dimensions constantly
interweave, since the harmonious w a y of
life facilitates a man's g r o w t h to sanctity,
while the saints, b y the radiation of their
influence, harmonise the life of a c o m m u n i t y .
Sainthood doesn't just happen. A saint is
no m o r e a l u c k y freak than is a concert
pianist or an O l y m p i c athlete. There is
doubtless a strong natural disposition in all
three cases, but there is also hard w o r k and
arduous training. H e is something m o r e than
a v e r y g o o d man. H e is also something m o r e
than a mystic. Neither is enough alone. It
might b e said that he is a combination of
the t w o . . A mystic m a y receive spontaneous
visions and experiences like unearned l a r -
gesse ; but so long as he is i m p u r e his egoism
will cloud or distort his experiences, u l t i -
mately to frustrate them. W h o l e - h e a r t e d
dedication and severe training are necessary.
There is p o w e r as w e l l as goodness in a
saint.
The training m a y take various forms. It
m a y consist m o r e of mortification or l o v i n g
service of one's f e l l o w s or solitary prayer
and meditation, but w h a t e v e r its f o r m s they
have always been p r o v i d e d b y religion. In
Hinduism and Islam this is clear to see.
A m p l e records remain of the gurus, their
ashrams, their m o d e s of training ; and some
of their successors still practise t o - d a y , w h e -
ther or not with the full p o t e n c y that the
great teachers of the past had. In Christia-
BHAGAVAN 47
nity it was the same, though m o r e c o n c e a l -
ed. One a n o n y m o u s 14th century classic,
' T h e Cloud of U n k n o w i n g even describes
its f o r m of training in some detail. C h a -
racteristically, the author prefaces it with a
stern warning to those w h o are not pledged
to the training but m e r e l y inquisitive not to
read it.
A n d t o - d a y ? T o - d a y the religions have
g r o w n ineffectual in their vertical training
no less than in their horizontal. That is not
to say that n o b o d y ever obeys the moral
injunctions of his religion or undergoes s p i r i -
tual training, but b y and large the hedges
are d o w n and the ladders broken, A n d just
as F r a n k B u c h m a n instituted a m o r a l d i s c i p -
line independent of any religion on the h o r i -
zontal plane, so did Ramana Maharshi a
spiritual discipline on the vertical. He was
w e l l versed in Hindu philosophy, but in e x -
plaining to n o n - H i n d u s h e used neither
Sanskrit terminology nor Hindu philosophical
concepts but simply told them to seek the
essential self of them ; just as B u c h m a n w a s
a devout Christian b u t n e v e r tried to thrust
his Christianity on others.
I have no doubt that if some one had c o m e
and told Frank B u c h m a n : " I am f o l l o w i n g
the moral injunctions of m y religion and I
feel that that is enough. I don't feel that I
need Moral R e a r m a m e n t , " he w o u l d h a v e
replied : " S p l e n d i d ! I wish m o r e people
could say that." Similarly, I have no doubt
that if some one w h o was f o l l o w i n g a t r a d i -
tional discipline under a realized guru in
his o w n religion had told the Maharshi so,
the Maharshi w o u l d have a p p r o v e d just as
fully. But such cases must b e v e r y rare.
W h a t paths are still valid, and w h e r e are the
guides ? There are some w h o t r y to f o l l o w
guides w h o are not realized m e n , but that
c a n t take them far ; it is not m u c h better
than play-acting. S w a m i Brahmananda ( w h o
was the principal successor to Sri R a m a -
krishna in the training of disciples, as S w a m i
Vivekananda w a s in organization and p r o p a -
g a n d a ) has expressed this v e r y clearly.
" Ordinary people understand b y the term
' Guru ' a person w h o whispers some mantra
48 THE MOUNTAIN PATH January

into the ear of the disciple. T h e y do not care
whether he possesses all the qualifications of
a true Master. But t o - d a y such a conception
is losing ground. It is n o w recognized that
none but a realized soul is qualified to b e a
spiritual teacher. He who does not know the
path himself cannot show it to others." 1
(italics a d d e d ) .
If, then, as this article contends, Frank
B u c h m a n and Ramana Maharshi w e r e p e r -
forming identical functions in providing a
universal substitute for the fast vanishing
guidance f o r m e r l y offered b y the religions,
the f o r m e r on the horizontal plane and the
latter on the vertical, w o u l d it b e possible
and advantageous for the t w o m o v e m e n t s to
c o m b i n e ? T h e y cannot do so completely. In
the first place, M R A is likely to appeal to
far greater numbers, since m o r e people are
d r a w n b y nature to outer activity than to
inner effort. A t the same time, it does seem
that the Maharshi's path of S e l f - e n q u i r y ,
being b y nature independent of the creed
and ritual of any religion, could supply that
intellectual element w h i c h is so conspicuously
lacking in M R A , without the danger of tying
it d o w n to any one religion and thereby
shutting it off f r o m others. In doing so it
w o u l d r e m o v e its greatest, though perhaps
not most apparent, weakness and increase its
p o w e r . It could not, of course, be m a d e c o m -
pulsory, any m o r e than M R A itself can, for
the Spirit b l o w e t h w h e r e it listeth ; but f o r
those w h o did take it up it w o u l d supply
what m a y be lacking n o w . This w o u l d i m p l y
no change in the injunctions given b y the
Maharshi, since he encouraged his followers
to practise S e l f - e n q u i r y in the life of the
w o r l d and not in solitude and renunciation.
S o far as the opposite influence is c o n c e r n -
ed, the Maharshi's training does naturally
presume high moral standards. Being a w a r
on the ego, it is ipso facto a w a r on egoism.
Arthur Osborne explains that succinctly in
The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi in His
Own Words. " Sin and evil of e v e r y kind are
the result of egoism unrestrained b y c o n s i -
deration for the injury caused to others or
the deleterious effect on the sinner's o w n
character. Religions guard against them b y
moral and disciplinary codes and emotional
appeals, seeking to keep the ego within
bounds and prevent its trespassing into f o r -
bidden places. H o w e v e r , a spiritual path that
is so radical and direct as to d e n y the ego
itself does not need to attend specifically to
the various excesses of egoism. A l l egoism
has to b e renounced. Therefore n o n - d u a l i t y
turns the attack on the ego itself, not o n its
specific manifestations." 2

1 Spiritual Instructions by Swami Brahmananda, 2 Pp. 41-2 of the edition by Rider & Co*, London;
quoted in Prabuddha Bharata, Oct. 1963 issue. pp. 45-6 of the Sri Ramanasramam edition.

A l l that has to be done is to disrealize unreality and Reality will

remain.
— R A M A N A MAHARSHI.

It is One without a second ; it is not the o b j e c t of perception ; it is

one's v e r y Self. So one can say that it is not to b e expressed or described.
— Shankara, Commetnary on the Gita y X I I I , 2.

THE G R E A T TRANSITION
' On Friday (April 14th, 1950) the doctors and
attendants knew it was the last day. In the
morning he again bade them go and meditate.
About noon, when liquid fcod was brought for
him, he asked the time, punctual as ever, but
then added, " But henceforth time doesn't
matter."
' Delicately expressing recognition of their long
years of service, he said to the attendants, " The
English have a word * thanks' but we only say
santosham (I am pleased)
' In the morning the long crowd filed past the
open doorway, silent with grief and apprehension,
and again between four and five in the evening.
The disease-racked body they saw there was
shrunken, the ribs protruding, the skin blacken-
ed ; it was a pitiable vestige of pain. And yet
at some time during these last few days each
devotee received a direct, luminous, penetrating
look of recognition which he felt as a parting
infusion of Grace.
1
After darshan that evening the devotees did
i\ot disperse to their homes. Apprehension held
^Bulletin
them there. At about sunset Sri Bhagavan told
the attendants to sit him up. They knew already
that every movement, every touch was painful,
but he told them not to worry about that. He
sat with one of the attendants supporting his
head. A doctor began to give him oxygen but
with a wave of his right hand he motioned him
away. There were about a dozen persons in the
small room, doctors and attendants.
' Two of the attendants were fanning him, and
the devotees outside gazed spell-bound at the
moving fans through the window, a sign that
there was still a living body to fan. A reporter
of a large American magazine moved about rest-
lessly, uneasy at having been impressed despite
himself and determined not to write his story
till he got away from Tiruvannamalai to condi-
tions that he considered normal. With him was
a French press-photographer.
' Unexpectedly, a group of devotees sitting on the
veranda outside the hall began singing 'Aruna^
chala-Siva On hearing it, Sri Bhagavan's eyes
opened and shone. He gave a brief smile of in-
describable tenderness. From the outer edges of
his eyes tears of bliss rolled down. One more
50 THE MOUNTAIN PATH January

deep breath, and no more. There was no strug- I am here." The word here' does not imply
4

gle, no spasm, no other sign of death : only that any limitation but rather that the Self is, that
the next breath did not come. there is no going, no changing, for That which
is Universal. Nevertheless, as devotees felt the
' For a few moments people stood bewildered.
inner Presence of Bhagavan and as they felt the
The singing continued. The French press-photo-
continued Divine Presence at Tiruvannamalai,
grapher came up to me (Editor) and asked at what
they began to regard it as a promise full of love
precise minute it had happened. Resenting it as
and solicitude.
journalistic callousness, I replied brusquely that
I did not know, and then I suddenly recalled * During the night of vigil a decision had to
Sri Bhagavan's unfailing courtesy and answered be taken as to the burial. It had been thought
precisely that it was 8.47. He said, and I could that the body might be interred in the new hall,
hear now that he was excited, that he had been but many devotees opposed the idea. They felt
pacing the road outside and at that very moment that the hall was, in a sense, an adjunct to the
an enormous star had trailed slowly across the temple and would make the shrine of Sri Bha-
sky. Many had seen it, even as far as Madras, gavan seem subordinate to that of the Mother,
and felt what it portended. It passed to the reversing the true order of things. Next day, by
north-east towards the peak of Arunachala. general agreement, a pit was dug and the body
interred with divine honours in the space bet-
' After the first numbness there was a wild burst ween the old hall and the temple. The crowd,
of grief. The body was carried out on the packed tight, looked on in silent grief. No more
veranda in a sitting posture. Men and women the beloved face, no more the sound of his voice ;
crowded up to the veranda railing to see. A henceforth the lingam of polished black stone,
woman fainted. Others sobbed aloud. the symbol of Siva, over the tomb was the outer
sign, and inwardly his footprints in the heart,
' The body was placed garlanded upon a couch
in the hall and the devotees thronged there and CONTINUED PRESENCE
sat around it. One had expected the face to
be rock-like in samadhi, but found it instead so ' The crowds dispersed and the Ashram seem-
marked by pain that it gripped one's heart. Only ed an abandoned place, like a grate with the
gradually during the night the air of mysterious fire gone out. And yet there was not the wild
composure returned to it. grief and despair that has so often followed the
departure of a Spiritual Master from earth. The
' All that night devotees sat in the large hall normality that had been so pronounced still con-
and townsfolk passed through in awed silence tinued. It began to be apparent with what care
Processions streamed from the town and back and compassion Sri Bhagavan had prepared his
singing ' Arunachala-
Siva'. Some of the
devotees in the hall
sang songs of praise
and grief; others sat
silent. What was most
noticeable was not the
grief but the calm
beneath it, for they
were men and women
deprived of him whose
Grace had been the
very meaning of their
life. Already that first
night and much mere
during the days that
followed, it became
clear how vital had
been his words : " I
am not going away.
Where could I go ? The last photograph
1964 ASHRAM
devotees for this. Nevertheless, during those first
days and weeks of bereavement few cared to
remain at Tiruvannamalai, and some who would
have cared to could not.
' Many years previously a will had been drawn
up stating how the Ashram was to be run when
the Master was no longer bodily present. A group
of devotees had taken this to Sri Bhagavan and
he had read it through very carefully and shown
approval, after which they all signed as witnessss.
Briefly, it stated that puja (ritualistic worship)
should be performed at his tomb and that of the
mother, that the family of Niranjanananda Swami's
son should be supported, and that the spiritual
centre of Sri Ramanasramam should be kept alive.
' Everywhere his Presence is felt, and yet there
are differences of atmosphere. Morning and even-
ing there is parayanam (chanting of the Vedas)
before the tomb, as there used to be before his
bodily presence, and at the same hours. As the
devotees sit there in meditation it is the same
as when they sat before him in the hall, the
same power, the same subtlety of guidance. Dur-
ing parayanam, puja is performed at the tomb and
the 108 names of Bhagavan are recited. But in
the old hall is a softer, mellower atmosphere
breathing the intimacy of his long abidance. Some
months after the Mahasamadhi (leaving the body)
this hall was damaged by a fire that broke cut,
but was fortunately not destroyed.
' There is also the little room where the last
days and hours were spent. A large portrait
which hangs there seems to live and respond to
devotion. Here are the various objects that Sri
Bhagavan used or touched — his staff and water
vessel, a peacock fan, the revolving book-case,
many little objects. And the couch now forever
empty. There is something infinitely poignant,
inexpressibly gracious about the room.
1
In the new hall a statue of Sri Bhagavan has
been installed. It was one of the terms of the
will that a statue should be set up, but no sculp-
tor has yet been found to make one adequate. He
would have to feel the mystery of Sri Bhagavan,
to be inspired by him, for it is not a question of
rendering human features but the divine power
and beauty that shone through them.
' Not only the Ashram premises are hallowed
but all the neighbourhood around. The peace that
abides there encompasses and permeates : no pas-
sive peace but a vibrant exhilaration. The very
air is redolent with his Presence.
BULLETIN 51
AN APPEAL
The Managing Committee of SRI R A M A -
N A S R A M A M has now resolved to open a
roll of Donors and Life Members, the con-
tribution being Rs. 1,000/- and upwards for
the former and Rs. 100/- and upwards for
the latter ( £ 100 & $300 and £ 10 & $ 30).
Such contributions will be deposited in a
Bank and the interest realised thereon uti-
lised for the upkeep of the Ashram and
for providing facilities for its members and
visitors.
The Members who so contribute will have
the satisfaction of helping the Ashram
build up a capital fund and also of for-
warding its activities by enabling it to avail
itself of the interest thereon.
The Management request you kindly to
enrol yourself as a Donor or Life Member
and also to recommend such of your friends
to do so as may feel an urge.
May the Grace of Sri Maharshi be ever
with you and yours.
T. N. V E N K A T A R A M A N ,
President.
B. S. R A N G A N A T H A M ,
Secretary.
' True, his Presence is not confined to Tiru-
vannamalai. It never was. The devotees, wherever
they may be, find his Grace and support, his
inner Presence, not merely as potent but even
more potent now than before. And yet, now as
before, the solace of a visit to Tiruvannamalai
sinks into the soul and residence there has a
beauty hard to describe.
NO RETURN
' There have been Saints who have promised to
return to earth for the renewed guidance of their
devotees in life after life, but Sri Bhagavan was
the complete Jnani in whom there is not even
that vestige of an ego that may indicate rebirth,
and the devotees understood this. His promise was
different. " I am not going away. Where could I
go ? I am here." Not even " I shall be here " but
" I am here ", for to the Jnani there is no change,
no time, no difference of past and future, no going
away, only the eternal " Now " in which the whole
of time is poised, the universal, spaceless " Here ".
52 THE MOUNTAIN PATH January

What he affirmed was his continued, uninterrupt-
ed Presence, his continued guidance. Long ago he
had told Sivaprakasam Pillai, " H e who has won
the Grace of the Guru shall undoubtedly be saved
and never forsaken," and when devotees spoke
during the last sickness as though he was forsak-
ing them and pleaded their weakness and con-
tinued need of him he retorted, as already men-
tioned, " You attach too much importance to the
body."
' They quickly discovered how true this was.
More than ever he has become the Inner Guru.
Those who depended on him feel his guidance
mere actively, more potently, now. Their thoughts
are riveted on him more constantly. The vichara,
leading to the Inner Guru, has grown easier and
more accessible. Meditation brings a more imme-
diate flow of Grace. The repercussion of actions,
good and bad alike, is more swift and strong.
dancy to have some person there as a guru.
Instructions for meditation are given in his writ-
ings and sayings; spiritual support comes direct
from him ; all that is needed is practice.' 2
M A N A G E M E N T A N D ORGANIZATION
During the lifetime of the Maharshi the
Ashram had been run by his younger brother
Sri Niranjanananda Swami, known also as Chinna-
swamy or 'the Little S w a m i ' and entitled the
Sarvadhikari or Governor. He took sannyasa after
the early death of his wife, while the Maharshi
was still living in a cave on Arunachala; and
when the Maharshi came down to the foot of the
hill after his mother's death and took up his abode
there, it was he who organized the Ashram that
we now know. After the death of the Maharshi
a Committee of devotees was formed to advise him
but he continued the Ashram management.

After the first shock of bereavement devotees

1

began to be drawn back to Tiruvannamalai. The

mystery of Arunachala Hill also has become more
accessible. There were many formerly who felt
nothing of its power, for whom it was just a hill
of rock and earth and shrubs like any other. But
from the time when the Spirit left the body and
a bright star trailed towards the Hill devotees
have felt more directly that it is holy ground ;
they have felt in it the mystery of Bhagavan.* i

SHRINE A N D A S H R A M

Naturally, there are not the same crowds at

1

the Maharshi's Ashram at Tiruvannamalai that

there were during his lifetime. Many of these
were visitors eager to have a sight of the holy
man. Many also, especially from Western coun-
tries, were intellectuals, students of philosophy or
psychology, who came to pose academic questions.
It is possible that a higher percentage of these
who come now are genuine seekers or true devo-
tees.

' The tomb of the Maharshi was made just out-

side the old meditation hall where he sat with his
devotees for so many years. The beginnings have
been made of a shrine over it of beautiful polish-
ed black and grey stone from Arunachala, but
funds are awaited to complete it.
The Sarvadhikari
' There is no spiritual head of the Ashram in
The Sarvadhikari did not long outlive the
human form. The Presence of the Maharshi is so
Maharshi. He died on January 29, 1953. By the
powerful and pervading that it would be a redun-
general wish of the devotees he was buried in

1 Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-Know- 2 Sri Ramanasramam, Yesterday and Today, pp,
ledge, pp. 185-192, by Arthur Osborne, Rider & Co. 5-6. Sri Ramanasramam.
1964 A S H R A M BULLETIN
the Ashram precincts and a small shrine erected
where he lay. He was succeeded by his son, T. N.
Venkataraman, who is the present President of
the Ashram. Even before becoming the President,
he had been serving in the Ashram from 1938.
He is fondly addressed by fellow-devotees as
' Venkatoo'.
' T h e premises are kept clean and tidy, meals
are served punctually, all are free to sit and medi-
tate, and apart from that the Ashram manage-
ment is of little concern to visitors. It is better,
however, to write to the President before
coming because now also, as in the lifetime of the
Maharshi, there is often difficulty in finding ac-
commodation. As a reflection of the informality
of the Maharshi's teaching and method of train-
ing, the Ashram has never undertaken precise
or ample arrangements for visitors. Even for those
who stay in its guest-house there is no tariff of
charges. They are expected to make a donation
when they leave, but it is up to them.
TIRUVANNAMALAI
' I t is no accident that the Maharshi made
Tiruvannamalai and its sacred mountain of
Arunachala his home. Each of the spiritual cen-
tres of India has its own character and its own
line of tradition ; and among them all it is Tiru-
vannamalai (or Arunachala) that represents the
highest and most direct, the most formless and
least ritualistic, of paths, that is the path of Self-
Enquiry, the gateway to which is the silent initia-
tion. This is expressed in the old Tamil saying :
" To see Chidambaram, to be born at Tiruvarur,
to die at Banaras or even to think of Arunachala
is to be assured of Liberation." " E v e n to think
of" because in the case of the direct path physi-
cal contact is not necessary.
' Tiruvannamalai is a medium sized South Indian
town, 120 miles south-west of Madras. There is
railway connection but journey by bus is more
direct and convenient, taking less than five hours.
There are very good buses, including one State
Government Express bus, plying between Madras
and Tiruvannamalai. The prefix ' T i m ' means
* blessed ' or auspicious ', like the prefix • Sri* in
1
the names of North Indian towns. ' Malai' means
'.mountain' and 'Anna* 'supreme', so that the
name signifies, ' T h e auspicious supreme moun-
tain '. It is an ancient town with a large and
splendid temple. There are certain yearly festi-
vals when it is crowded with pilgrims from all
over South India. Especially is this so at Karthigai
(known also as Deepam), falling usually in
53
November (It is impossible to give the exact date
of an Indian festival, as they vary with the phases
of the moon, like the Christian Easter). On this
occasion a beacon of clarified butter contributed
by devotees and pilgrims is lit at nightfall on the
summit of the mountain and burns the whole
night, often indeed the whole of the following day
and, night also. A t the Ashram itself, of course,
the greatest festivals are the anniversaries of the
birth and death of the Maharshi (Jayanti and
Aradhana), falling respectively at the winter sols-
tice and the spring equinox.'3
PUBLICATIONS
During his lifetime the Maharshi showed great
interest in Ashram publications and himself
revised proofs and made revisions. One of the
signs of the continued vitality of the Ashram
since his death is the number of its books that
have needed new editions and the number of new
books it has published. Below is a complete list
of books published by the Ashram.
ADVAITA BODHA DEEPIKA: Translated into
English for the first time from an ancient classic
at the instance of Sri Maharshi.
BHAGAVAN RAMANA : A Sketch of Maharshi's
Life—By DR. T. M. P. MAHADEVAN.
CRUMBS FROM HIS T A B L E : Teachings and
Talks of Sri Maharshi — Reprinted after 20
years — Gives useful hints in understanding
Maharshi's teachings.
DAY B Y D A Y WITH B H A G A V A N : From the
Diary of A. Devaraja Mudaliar—a recording of
the enchanting talks by the Maharshi with
numerous devotees from far and near, covering
a period of two years (1945 & 1946). Vol. I,
covering May to July 1946.
Volume II covering the rest of the above
period, 1945-46.
FIVE H Y M N S TO SRI A R U N A C H A L A : English
translation of the five famous Hymns compos-
ed by the Maharshi, four in Tamil and one in
Sanskrit.
GLIMPSES OF THE LIFE A N D TEACHINGS
OF R A M A N A M A H A R S H I : By FRANK H .
HUMPHREYS. The earliest European to meet
Bhagavan, in 1911, now reprinted after 36 years.
GOLDEN JUBILEE S O U V E N I R : Commemo-
rating the 50th year of the Maharshi's advent
in Tiruvannamalai, in 1946, Contains 54
articles of permanent interest by eminent d e -
votees and admirers, both Eastern and Western,
GURU-RAMANA-VACHANA-MALA: A neck-
let of sayings of Guru Ramana by " WHO " , the
author of M A H A Y O G A . Fit for study and
meditation.
3 Ibid., pp. 6-8.
54 THE MOUNTAIN PATH January

LETTERS FROM SRI RAMANASRAMAM: SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTION: Being the

Translated from the Telugu original of Soori Maharshi's teaching given to his disciple Nata-
Nagamma, a lady devotee: Delightful pen nananda. Published originally in Tamil with
pictures of day-to-day life of the Maharshi. the title " Upadesa Manjari" in the form of a
bringing out His humour, humanity and Uni- dialogue. Revised translation.
versal love.
SRI M A H A R S H I : A brief Sketch of the Sage's
M A H A R S H I ' S GOSPEL ; Books I and I I : Talks life with 1 1 7 illustrations of the Master in dif-
with the Maharshi by several disciples on many ferent periods of life, various personalities who
important problems of Sadhaks. Practical ad- came into touch with him, the different spots
vice throughout. he lived in etc. A valuable album to treasure.
MAHA YOGA : By " WHO " . A treatise of sup-
SRI R A M A N A , the SAGE OF A R U N A G I R I : A
reme interest to every student of Advaita,
subjective study of the Maharshi's Life, by
lucidly explaining Sri Ramana Maharshi's
" Aksharajna" with a supplement containing
teachings in the light of Upanishadic lore.
valuable extracts from the Maharshi's teachings.
M Y RECOLLECTIONS OF B H A G A V A N : By
the author of " Day by Day with Bhagavan SRI R A M A N A G I T A : Containing the teachings
A delightful and instructive book describing of the Maharshi composed into 3 0 0 Sanskrit
the Magic of Bhagavan's Personality and Grace. verses ( 1 8 Chapters) by Sri Kavyakanta
GANAPATI M U N I with English translation by
POEMS OF R A M A N A M A H A R S H I : Rendered Prof. G. V . Subbaramayya. Contains very use-
into English by Sadhu Arunachala (Maj. A. W . ful hints on Bhakti, Yoga and Jnana Mar gas
Chadwick). with special stress on the Maharshi's unique
method of " Self-Enquiry " .
RAMANA ARUNACHALA : By ARTHUR OSBORNE.
T A L K S W I T H SRI R A M A N A M A H A R S H I : A
R A M A N A M A H A R S H I & HIS PHILOSOPHY OF
faithful record of talks with the Maharshi by
EXISTENCE : By D R . T. M. P. MAHADEVAN :
numerous devotees, some of them from far-off
Translation with commentary on ' Ulladu Nar-
lands, on their personal spiritual problems.
padu* (Reality in Forty Verses) and The 1

The records cover a period of about four years.

Supplementary Forty Verses ' with a sketch of
1 9 3 5 to 1 9 3 9 .
Bhagavan's Life and Reflections of the Author.

REFLECTIONS ON "TALKS WITH SRI TECHNIQUE OF M A H A Y O G A : A handy and

RAMANA MAHARSHI" : By S. S. COHEN. practical guide to Sadhaks treading the Path of
author of " G U R U RAMANA'\ Elucidating Self-Enquiry, written from the personal expe-
various important points raised during the rience by N. R. NARAYANA IYER.
T A L K S with the Maharshi. A helpful guide
to Sadhaks. THUS S P A K E R A M A N A : Selected Gems from
the sayings of Bhagavan. (Second Edition).
A SADHU'S REMINISCENCES OF RAMANA
MAHARSHI: By SADHU ARUNACHALA (Maj. TRIPURA R A H A S Y A or The Mystery Beyond
A. W . Chadwick), who came to see Bhagavan the Trinity : An ancient Sanskrit work trans-
in 1935 and never went back. lated into English at the instance of Bhagavan
by the Recorder of " Talks with Sri Ramana
SAT DARSHANA BHASHYA : By " K " (T. V. Maharshi" explaining the mystic Doctrine and
Kapali Sastri) : Sanskrit rendering of Mahar- Practice of Advaita Sadhana. Lucid, interest-
shi's Tamil " Ulladu Narpadu " (Reality in Forty ing and instructive.
Verses) with English translation and commen-
tary, a detailed introduction to the Subject and TRUTH REVEALED : Translation of the
also a record of Talks with the Maharshi. Maharshi's Forty Verses " Ulladu Narpadu"
and the Forty Supplementary Verses, and con-
SELF-ENQUIRY: Instructions given to G a m - taining a Synopsis of the " Ulladu Narpadu"
bhiram Seshayya by the Maharshi in his days and a preface by Grant Duff. The quintes-
of Silence about the year 1901. Translated from sence of Maharshi's philosophy.
the Tamil original.
UPADESA SARAM : English translation of the
SELF-REALISATION or Life and Teachings of Maharshi's THIRTY VERSES, a detailed com-
Sri Ramana Maharshi by B. V. NARASIMHA mentary and also a translation of the Thirty
SWAMY, with an epilogue by S . S. COHEN : Verses in Sanskrit by the Maharshi himself,
Graphically describes the fascinating life of the and in English by Major A. W. Chadwick
Maharshi from his birth in 1879 to his Maha- (Sadhu Arunachala).
nirvana in April 1950.
W H O A M I ? : Translation from the Tamil of
SONG CELESTIAL : 42 Verses selected by the the Maharshi's teachings given in writing to
Maharshi from the Bhagavad Gita: Sanskrit one of his earliest disciples, Sivaprakasam Pillay,
text with English translation, with an Expla- about the years 1 9 0 1 - 1 9 0 2 . Contains the essence
natory Note giving the significance of the verses of the Maharshi's teaching which is the path
in this selection. of Self-Enquiry.
1964 ASHRAM BULLETIN

Apart from our own publications, the following

books also are available :

GURU R A M A N A : By S. S. COHEN. Personal

reminiscences and delightful notes of chats of
Sri Bhagavan recorded by the writer on various
dates from 1938 to 1950, and also excerpts from
the author's diary graphically describing the
last two years of the Master's life.

THE QUINTESSENCE OF W I S D O M or The

Thirty Verses of Sri R a m a n a : Freely render-
ed into English with an Introduction and Com-
mentary by M. Anantanarayanan, I. C. S., and
with a Foreword by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan,
President of India.

RAMANA MAHARSHI A N D THE P A T H OF

SELF-KNOWLEDGE : By ARTHUR OSBORNE.
(Rider & Co., London and Jaico Publishing
House, Bombay).
COLLECTED WORKS O F RAMANA MAHAR-
SHI : Edited by ARTHUR OSBORNE. (Rider & Co.,
London and Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvanna-
malai).
TEACHINGS OF R A M A N A M A H A R S H I IN HIS
OWN WORDS: Edited by ARTHUR OSBORNE.
(Rider & Co., London and Sri Ramanasramam,
Tiruvannamalai).

MILESTONES

Not only the Sarvadhikari but a number of

other devotees also have been snatched away by
death since the Maharshi left the Ramana body
he had worn. • •
In particular we must mention Major Alan
Ohadwick, widely known as Sadhu Arunachala.
He was not the first European to come here but
he was the first to settle down and make the
Ashram his home. He came as far back as
1935 and was here together with Paul Brunton.
The difference was that he stayed on, obtaining
permission from the Sarvadhikari to build him-
self a small house in the Ashram premises, in-
cidentally the first private room to be built with-
in4 the Ashram.
He became a familiar figure in the Ashram
and a comfort to many, especially to visitors who
had never seen Bhagavan in the body.
It seemed at first that the chanting of the Vedas
which had been practised morning and evening
in Bhagavan's lifetime might come to an end
simply because there was no one to carry it on.
People regretted this, since it had been and still
was a welcome occasion for meditation, the
chanting itself helping to still the mind. It was
Mr. Chadwick who averted the danger by orga-
nising a Patasala, that is a traditional boarding
MAJOR ALAN CHADWICK
school where the boys learn Vedic chanting as
well as Sanskrit, English and some general edu-
cation, with tuition, board, clothing, all provided.
It was an expense, but Mr. Chadwick collected
donations for it so that it should not be a burden
on the Ashram. Since his death it has been
ably carried on by Mrs. F. Taleyarkhan. Dona~
tions for its upkeep are always welcome.
Remarkably enough, it was also Mr. Chadwick,
a European, who started the Sri. Chakra Poojas
These are beautiful and impressive services anr?
are widely appreciated. They are held every
Friday and full moon day and on the 1st of e v e r y
Tamil month. Devotees who wish a special prayer
to be made on their behalf write to the President
to be included in one of them, enclosing a fee
of Rs. 10.
Another prominent devotee whc has left us is
Swami Ramanananda Saraswatbi. During Bha-
gavan's lifetime, it was he who, while still a
householder under the name of Sri Munagala
Venkataramiah, compiled the " Talks with Sri
 THE MOUNTAIN PATH January

Ramana M a h a r s h i t h e largest record of Bha-
gavan's teachings. Since then also he has added
several valuable titles, like, ' Tripura Rahasya'
and ' Advaita Bodha D e e p i k a t o cur book list.
His profound knowledge of scriptures and western
philosophy and his austere life, and childlike
ways made others revere him as a gem among
the disciples of Bhagavan. His death caused, out-
wardly, a vacuum in the Asramam.
his privilege to sign on behalf of Sri Maharshi
(actually Maharshi drew a line and Sambasiva
Rao signed on his behalf, since Bhagavan had no
name to sign). After the Mahanirvana of Sri
Maharshi he was made secretary of the Ashram
managing committee and he continued to serve
the Ashram with the same whole-hearted zeal
till his death on. Nov. 5th, 1962, The loss was a
personal one to many of the inmates of the
Ashram. His devotion to Sri Maharshi was com-
plete. May he rest in peace at the feet of Bhaga-
van !
Sama Iyer was a deaf old man, who had
served Bhagavan for a long time until, due to
old age and physical debility, he asked Bhaga-
van to let him go, since he could no longer phy-
sically serve him. Bhagavan, laughing, .said:
u
For such long service you deserve a pension
which will be in the form of eating and keep-
ing quiet." He also has passed away and our
very old devotees still miss him in the Ashram.

GRIDALUR SAMBASIVA RAO

Gridalur Sambasiva Rao of Nellore, a lawyer,

first came to Sri Maharshi as early as 1923, with
his brother Sri Narayana Rao and his siter Smt.
Lakshammal. The power and grace of Bhagavan's
look overwhelmed him at one stroke, as it were.
All his worries vanished and devotion surged up
in him. He remained a staunch devotee till his
last days. Not only that, but through him nume-
rous families from Andhra Pradesh came to know
of Sri Maharshi and received his blessings. He
V. NARAYANASWAMI IYER
was a great support to the Ashram management
in all its various activities. One particularly great V. Narayanaswami Iyer, popularly known as
honour was that when Sri Maharshi accepted the 1
Chellam Iyer \ the cashier of the Ashram
terms of a will drawn up for him in 1938, it was (incidentally, he is also related to the Maharshi)
1964 ASHRAM
who served the Ashram for 17 years, also pass-
ed away this year.
A number of new people have come and new
houses been built to add to our small colony.
There is also a constant flow of visitors from
India and abroad, the majority of whom nowa-
days are people who never saw Bhagavan in his
lifetime.
Apart from private residences, two new guest
houses have also been put up, thanks to the
donations of Sri K. Padmanabhan and Sri H. C.
Khanna. This is particularly useful for lady visi-
tors, as they are not allowed to stay in the
Ashram premises. For single-men a number'
of self-contained rooms have been built.
Work is proceeding with a shrine and medita-
tion-hall over the Maharshi's Samadhi Shrine.
The plan is ambitious but the work has to keep
pace with available funds.
LIFE MEMBERS — SRI RAMANASRAMAM
H. C. Khanna, Kanpur.
D. Subbanna, Bangalore.
K. S. N. Rao, New Delhi.
M. Sadasiva Setty, Chikmagalur.
A. R. Narayana Rao, Madras.
V. Venkatakrishniah, Nellore.
C. Padmanabha Rao, Tirupathi.
G. Sesha Reddi, Nellore.
Y. Ramakrishna Prasad, Madras.
Narendra C . Amin, Man galore.
A. R. Natarajan, Bangalore.
Vegi Venkateswara Rao, Visakhapatnam.
G. V. Subbaramayya, Nidubrolu.
Penmacha Jegannatha Raju, Jirmur.
* A. K. Ramachandra Iyer, Madras.
Bh. Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha Raju, Jinnur.
Rayavarapu Sankarayya, Nellore.
A . Dasaradha Rami Reddi, Nellore.
M. Suryanarayana Iyer, Nellore.
R. V. Raghavan, Calcutta.
S. Krishnamurthy, Neyveli.
T. R. G. Krishnan, Bangalore.
Tupili Ramana Reddy, Nellore.
Mr. & Mrs. Suresh Chandra Khanna, Kanpur.
THE JOURNAL, ITS BIRTH
A short note might be added on the genesis of
' The Mountain Pathsince this also is Ashram
news. It had been felt long back, even in the
lifetime of Bhagavan, that there should be
an Ashram journal. It was even suggested to
him, but he did not respond; his face showed
no interest, so the matter was allowed to drop.
BULLETIN 57
Bhagavan very seldom said no, but so tremen-
dous was the power of his presence that if he
did not show interest and encouragement none
would presume to undertake a project.
After he left the body the idea was again con-
sidered but again came to nothing. It was men-
tioned to the present editor who replied, as he
then felt, that he had neither the ability nor
the interest to undertake such a task.
As late as September 1963 it occurred indepen-
dently to both the editor and the managing edi-
tor that there should be an Ashram news bulletin
published annually at the time of Sri Bhagayan's
Jayanti (birth anniversary) and distributed free
to devotees, as so many who were not able to
come here liked to be kept in touch with deve-
lopments. A preliminary draught of this was
written and shown to a member of the Ashram
managing committee, and he immediately suggest-
ed that it should be not an annual but a quar-
terly and should contain articles also. That, of
course, raised questions of writing, organization
and finance.
In a clear intuition from Bhagavan it occurred
to those concerned that this was the solution,
that the time had now come and an Ashram
journal was now appropriate, and before the end
of September the project of ' The Mountain Path'
was agreed upon. There are times when nothing
goes right, the wheels are not greased, a project
cannot move forward,; this was just the oppo-
site. From the very beginning every one co-
operated, and gladly, not grudgingly. Blessings
and messages of goodwill flowed in the imme-
diate financial problems were surmounted, the
printer took the work up in a spirit of service
to Bhagavan, with a short but impressive puja
a newly constructed office was opened for the
journal at the Ashram, people contributed articles,
encouragement came from all sides, hundreds of
people took out advance subscriptions, purely
on trust, so that in December, a bare three
months from its first conception, it is already a
full grown reality. If we feel confidence now
that it is due to come before the public, it is not
confidence in our own work or powers but in the
Grace of Bhagavan which we feel so strongly to
be on this venture.
THE M O U N T A I N P A T H — LIFE SUBSCRIBERS
V. Subramanian, Durgapur.
B. S. Ranganathan, Nellore.
Dr. T. N. Krishnaswami, Madras.
Miss Elezabeth Merston, Sri Ramananagar.
K. K. Nambiar, Bombay.
58 THE M O U N T A I N PATH. January

Dwarakanatha Reddy, Chittoor. K. Gopalrao, Bombay.

A. S. K. R. Trust, Madras. V. Seshadri, Calcutta.
Satyanarayan Tandon, Kanpur. Lieut. D. Subbanna, Bangalore.
M. A . Chidambaram, Madras. Bhupen Champaklal, Bombay.
M. M. Varma, Jaipur. G. J. Yorke, Gloucester, England.
S. S. V. S. Muthiah Chettiar, Tiruvannamalai. Mrs. Banoo J. H. Ruttonjee, Hong Kong.
A . R. Narayana Rao, Madras. Dinshaw S. Paowalla, Hong Kong.
D. S. Sastri, Madras. Miss Gertrude Fugert, Mum h, Germany.
Mukund M. Thakore, Ahmedabad. Trudel Elasaesser, Waldhof, Germany.
N. Balarama Reddi, Vutukuru. Prof. Dr. Friedrich W . Funke, Seelscheid, Ger-
Ashok Pal Singh, Bombay. many.
Rani Padmawati Devi, Bhopal. Louise Trachsler, Coppet, Switzerland.
Miss Mahalakshmi, Madras. Henri Hartung, Paris.

SRI RAMANASRAMAM CHARITIES

SRI R A M A N A S R A M A M , TIRUVANNAMALAI

AN ANNOUNCEMENT
" SRI R A M A N A S R A M A M C H A R I T I E S , T I R U V A N N A M A L A I " is a n e w l y registered
b o d y under the Societies Registration A c t X X I of 1860 w i t h the f o l l o w i n g objects : —
1. To construct an A u d i t o r i u m and L i b r a r y and a Reading R o o m .
2. T o h o l d discourses periodically, sometimes daily, on Indian Philosophy and
Culture including those relating to B h a g a v a n Sri Ramana Maharshi.
3. T o b e a centre for the diffusion of Spiritual Knowledge.
4. T o house b o o k s and periodicals on Eastern and Western Philosophy and d e p i c t -
ing different cultural aspects of life in India and other countries.
5. T o run a school w h e r e the students are taught Sanskrit, English, Tamil, Vedas
and Upanishads and Mathematics etc. and lodging.
6. T o r u n a dispensary w h e r e medical attention is given free of charge.
In carrying out the a b o v e objects of general public utility, the Association shall
not undertake the carrying on of any activity for profit.
T h e benefits of the Association will be open to all without any disqualifications
b y reason o n l y of religion, c o m m u n i t y , caste, creed, race or sex.
O n this b o d y being registered on 28-10-1963, the Central B o a r d of R e v e n u e , G o v -
ernment of India, N e w Delhi, in their Notification, F. N o . 6 8 / 1 7 / 6 3 - I . T . dated- 19th
N o v e m b e r 1963, h a v e decided that donations m a d e to SRI R A M A N A S R A M A M C H A -
R I T I E S , T I R U V A N N A M A L A I , M A D R A S S T A T E , w o u l d be entitled to the benefit of the
exemption under Sec. 88 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in the hands of donors, subject to
the limits specified therein and the donations w i l l also b e exempted from Gift Tax.
T h e M a n a g e m e n t of Sri R a m a n a s r a m a m appeal to the public in general and to
the devotees of B h a g a v a n Sri Ramana Maharshi to contribute liberally to the " SRI
R A M A N A S R A M A M C H A R I T I E S , T I R U V A N N A M A L A I " so as to enable t h e m to carry
on the objects specified a b o v e , particularly i t e m ( 1 ) , the construction of w h i c h is on hand.
It m a y please b e noted that all remittances to Sri R a m a n a s r a m a m Charities b y
Cheques, Drafts or M o n e y Orders should b e m a d e payable to SRI R A M A N A S R A M A M
C H A R I T I E S only.
T. N V E N K A T A R A M A N ,
President.
 BOOK REVIEWS
GOD-EXPERIENCE : By Swami Ramdas (Bha-
van's Book University, Chaupatty, Bombay.
Rs. 2 ; 3s. 6 d . ; $ 0.90.)
The late Swami Ramdas was that rare pheno-
menon of a bhakta or devotee who won through
by sheer force of devotion to at least glimpses of
Identity, There was a spirit of love and purity
and an all-pervading happiness in his ashram.
Fittingly was it called * Anandashram'. Many
appreciated particularly the evening hours when
he would sit amid his disciples, talking to them
(in English), laughing and joking, mingling r e -
miniscence with upadesa (spiritual instruction).
Fortunately a disciple took down these talks
over a period and made a book of them which
was published under the name of ' God-Expe-
rience.' just about the time the Swami left us.
He taught a path of devotion expressed in
invocation of the Divine Name, and into this he
initiated aspirants, Hindu and Western alike, in-
different to the outer forms of orthodoxy. In
reading his instructions, however, it must be r e -
membered that he considered, this initiation
necessary and that without it the invocation has
not the same potency that he gave it. And he
did give potency. There was no doubting his
power as a guru.
Sometimes he speaks as a pure bhakta : " U n -
less you have a burning aspiration for God, the
mind cannot be fixed on Him. Where your love
is, there your mind is. Just as a miser con-
stantly thinks of money and money alone, so a
devotee has exclusive devotion to God When
you have intense love for God, everything else is
forgotten. Then you will realise God."
Sometimes again he speaks from the point of
view of Identity and shows how devotion can
lead to it by its very intensity. " Your search
for God is your search for the Atman or Self.
At the end of your search you will realize that
you are He. You start with duality and end in
non-duality. Then you know that you have been
seeking your own Self, thinking that the Self was
i All unsigned Reviews are by the Editor.
1
different from you. Ultimately you know you
are that Self itself. There ends your quest."
This is a book full of love and understanding,
the outpourings of a true saint. Aspirants are
recommended to keep it by them and dip into it
again and again for solace in moods of depres-
sion and for invigoration when the way seems
hard. There is very little in it that is techni-
cally Hindu, so Jewish, Christian and Muslim
seekers will also find it helpful.
CRUMBS FROM HIS T A B L E ; By Ramana-
nanda Swarnagiri. (Sri Ramanasramam,
Tiruvannamalai. Re. 1.)
1
Crumbs from His T a b l e ' is the first book of
reminiscences about the Maharshi ever written.
The author, who is now unfortunately no longer
with us, came to him as early as 1934. In 1936
he published this record for free distribution to
any of the then limited number of devotees who
cared to ask for it. Next year a second free
edition was issued and then it was allowed to
go out of print. The Asramam is certainly well
advised in reviving a little work which will have
a strong appeal to devotees of Bhagavan and
students of his teaching. It contains a number
pf characteristic incidents showing how Bhaga-
van's devotees were drawn to him and a number
of useful expositions. In particular, there is a
fuller and clearer exposition of the danger of
manolaya than is to be found in any of the
other books.
In editing the new edition, the Ashram has
respected the author's aversion to the use of the
first person singular pronoun, although at times
it makes the style rather involved. It is not un-
common to meet an aspirant who refuses to refer
to himself as ' I b u t Bhagavan did not encou-
rage any such eccentricity. It is also characte-
ristic of him that he did not forbid it. He liked
his devotees to be normal in speech, as in dress
and behaviour, but the urge had to come from
within; as a general rule he avoided giving
orders. Actually, if there is no ' I ' there can be
no * y o u ' or * h e ' , so intercourse would be pretty
difficult. One has to play the game of indivi-
dual beings, so one might as well use its lan-
guage.
60 THE MOUNTAIN P A T H January

THE W A Y OF L I G H T : By T. V . Kapali Sastri. at Allahabad University. However, his books

(Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, Rs. 8.) also appealed to a far wider public. In parti-
cular, many find interest in his 'Pathway to
Kapali Sastri was a disciple of Ganapati
God' series (in Marathi literature, in Kannada
Muni,2 and both of them were devotees of Sri
literature and in Hindi literature, all three pub-
Ramana Maharshi. Ganapati Muni was respon-
lished in a uniform edition with this life of him)
sible for ' Sri Ramana Gitabesides composing
giving accounts of the lives, experiences and tea-
Sanskrit hymns to the Maharshi, while Kapali
chings of the saints.
Sastri composed ' Sat Darshana Bhashya' a com-
mentary on the Maharshi's ' Forty Verses' pre-
More than all this, however, he was a lifelong
ceded by a very informative series of talks.
sadhaka or seeker. He was a disciple of the
Both master and disciple, however, were inte- eminent guru Sri Bhausaheb Maharaj, who pres-
rested rather in the Divine Mother and the inter- cribed the discipline of meditation on the Divine
mediary worlds with the powers and experiences Name. Using this, he grew in sanctity and en-
therein accessible than in the direct path of joyed many spiritual experiences. Indeed, he
Advaita taught by the Maharshi. Kapali Sastri declared that in his ' Pathway to G o d ' books he
actually said of himself: "I am a Tantric had described no experience of the saints which
through and through—to m y marrow I was a he himself had not known. In later years, after
Tantric I know the Tantra Sadhana in a the death of Sri Maharaj and of the latter's i m -
very familiar way and can utilise my knowledge mediate successor, he himself became a guru,
of the World-Power in an effective manner." It prescribing the same path of meditation on the
is natural, therefore, that on the death of Gana- Divine Name.
pati Muni he found the sadhana of Sri Aurobindo
and the Mother more congenial and transferred It is on this last phase of his life that his dis-
himself to their Ashram at Pondicherry. There ciple, M. S. Deshpande, most concentrates, refer-
he could hear statements such a s : " By occult ring to him reverentially as Gurudev.
training one can enter the Psychic world and e x -
plore it as one does a country " instead of being There is no doubt about the saintliness of
told: " To have powers there must be others to Dr. Ranade or about the beneficent influence he
whom to display t h e m ; therefore the wise man exerted on his disciples. Nevertheless, a follow-
does not give them a thought," or: " Even if er of the direct path laid down by Bhagavan
powers come spontaneously they should be r e - Ramana Maharshi cannot but wonder at this
jected. They are like ropes to tether a beast; pre-occupation with experiences. What do they
sooner or later they drag a man back from his matter ? Whether physical experiences enjoyed
pursuit of Moksha (Liberation)." through the senses or subtle ones coming inde-
pendent of them, they are alike on the individual
As he grew older and more mature, Kapali
plane. There is still the trinity of seer-sight-
Sastri began to give advice and guidance to
seen. That is not the way to Liberation from
others, and notably to M. P. Pandit, the compiler
form into the Reality of Oneness, the Supreme
and editor of this book, while at the same time
Identity.
himself remaining a devoted disciple. This book
is made up of fragments of diary and corres-
pondence, advice, obiter dicta and tributes to Sri LIFE A N D TEACHING OF BRAMAGNA MA:
Aurobindo and the Mother. There is. much to be By Swami Prabuddhananda. (Oxford Book
found in it that is interesting and significant. Co., Park St., Calcutta-16. Rs. 5.50).

It is not the nature or destiny (the two are

DR. RANADE'S LIFE OF LIGHT: By M. S.
the same) of every saint to be well known. It
Deshpande. (Bhavan's Book University,
may be that one less advanced is impelled to
Chaupatty, Bombay-7. Rs. 2 ; 3s. 6 d . ; $0.90.)
greater publicity. Bramagna Ma was a Bengali
Dr. Rambhau Ranade's long life ended as r e - woman saint of the highest Realization, teaching
cently as 1957. He was esteemed in the world pure Advaita (Identity). The instructions she
of professional philosophers, being for a number gave were of the most profound, but she re-
of years head of the department of philosophy fused to accept more than about half a dozen
disciples and would not let them write about
2 For whom see chapter X of my ' Ramana
Maharshi and the Path of Self-Knowledge,' Riders her or make her known. That was not her des-
and Jaico. tiny, she said.
1964 BOOK REVIEWS 61

After her death in 1935 her disciple and
attendant, Swami Prabuddhnanda, came to live
for' some time at Sri Ramanasramam. Major
Chadwick was interested to learn about her life
and teaching, so, as the Swami was at the time
maintaining silence and could not give an oral
account, he wrote one out. It is this which,
preserved in typescript for many years, forms
the nucleus of the present book. It has a quiet
certitude and pure beauty which will captivate
true seekers. So will the frontispiece photo-
graph of Bramagna Ma.
SWAMI V I V E K A N A N D A : A Forgotten
ter of His Life. B y Beni Shanker Sharma.
(Oxford Book Co., Park St., Calcutta-16.
Rs. 10).
Even before setting forth for America and fame,
Swami Vivekananda was already a dominating
figure. He travelled, often on foot, the l e n g h
and breadth of India, impressing high and low
alike with his eloquence and magnetism. One
of his first friends and staunchest disciples was
the Raja of Khetri. Mr. Sharma has discovered
and edited a considerable correspondence bet-
ween them in the archives of the former prince-
ly state. This will be a welcome addition to the
libraries of all students of the Swami.
ESSAYS IN PHILOSOPHY: Presented to
Dr. T. M. P. Mahadevan on his Fiftieth Birth-
day. (Ganesh, Madras. Rs. 25).
L'ESOTERISME DE D A N T E : fr. 200; L E ROI
D U MONDE: fr. 350; L A GRANDE T R I A D E :
fr. 590: all three by R£ne Gu£non, Published
• by Gallimard, Paris.
It was a very different world into which Bene
Gu£non burst in the early decades of this cen-
tury, a world which still believed in progress, and
where there seemed no escape from materialism
and superficiality. With vast erudition, dazzling
lucidity, ruthless logic and scathing sarcasm for
any who differed, he challenged the whole edi-
fice of modern civilization. In book after Ibook,
article after article, he exposed the brittle shams
Chap- of our world and in contrast pointed to the pro-
found symbolism and traditional wisdom of the
past and the East. For the individual also he
showed how tawdry are all modern ideals com-
pared with the traditional striving for Realiza-
tion.
His campaign was not mere theory. If it had
been it would have remained impotent. Centra]
to it was the proclamation that Being is one ;
therefore you cannot be other than the One, b e -
cause there is no other ; therefore to realize your
true Self is to realize the Supreme Identity;
and this can be done. To many, includirijg the
writer of this review, he showed the possibility
of escape from the suffocating frustrations of
modern life to the deep inner contentment of the
Spirit. He had his limitations and blind spots,
none knows it better ; but in spite of that Lt was
through him that my feet were set on the moun-
tain path and that Grace became abundant.

Prof. Mahadevan, Head of the Philosophy D e - If there are many in the West to-day, dlespite
partment of Madras University, is an Advaitin the still accelerating superficiality and materia-
among the philosophers and a philosopher lism, who understand that there is a meaning and
among the Advaitins. While a profound student purpose to life and' set forth upon its quest by one
of Sanskrit and of classical Indian philosophy, he path or another, it is to a very large extent
is also thoroughly at home with Western philo- due to his influence, direct or indirect. Even the
direct influence is still working, as w e see here
sophy, with whose exponents he can argue on
at Arunachala from the many who owe their
their own terms. He is, however, grounded in
first awakening to him out of those who turn to
the Eastern concept that philosophy is to be not
Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. He himself, un-
merely learned but lived. Therefore he is not
fortunately, never understood that Bhagavain had
only a professor of philosophy but also a devo-
opened a new path for mankind, free fr-o:m the
tee of Ramana Maharshi.
outer forms of orthodoxy, but remained "to the
end like those who failed to recognize Christ
The 52 essays, contributed by as many writers,
because he had not come in the form they ex-
in this presentation volume fittingly therefore pected.
range over the field of Hindu, Western and
Buddhist philosophy. They also branch out to Out of print for some years, his books are now
cover a religious thinker such as Simone Weil, a being reprinted and new ones compiled from the
social idealist such as Gandhi, and a mystic such articles he wrote. The first of those here under
as Tayumanavar. notice points out the esoteric symbolism of the
62 THE MOUNTAIN P A T H January

West's greatest Mediaeval poet, showing his " Karma is an apparent cause that produces an
Divine Comedy to be an allegory of the indirect apparent effect in the apparent world of sam-
spiritual path of Hermetism, struggling upwards sara."
stage by stage.
The book is based mainly on the Chinese
The second tries to avoid being too explicit on Ch'an Masters from whom Japanese Zen derives.
a concealed topic: the secret spiritual guidance Also on the Maharshi. Really, like every book
of the world. Those interested in cosmic and of intrinsic understanding,
it is based on the
mundane organization will find it fascinating. For^ author's own perception.
those, however, who follow the Jnana-marga
(Path of Knowledge), seeing the whole universe He calls it ' The Negative W a y ' because it pro-
as a projection of the mind, the same applies that ceeds not by asserting what is but what, includ-
Bhagavan said about studying the subtle aspects ing his phenomenal self that makes the asser-
of the individual: " Just as it is futile to e x - tion, is not. It is a way characterised by Hindu
amine the rubbish that has to be swept up only Sages as stripping an onion. Skin after skin
to be thrown away, so it is futile for him who you peel off, to see what is in the centre, and
seeks to know the Self to set to work enume- when you get there, there is nothing.
rating the tattvas that envelop the Self and e x -
amining them instead of casting them away. He What characterises the book is the author's
should consider the phenomenal world with r e - ruthless, consistent refusal to make any com-
ference to himself merely as a dream."3 promise with duality, to accept anything at all
apart from Advaita—which means anything at all,
The third is a compilation of articles on symbo- because Advaita is not anything. Constantly he
lism. It may be asked how reading about the comes back to the assertion that there is no ob-
symbolism of the spiral and the pyramid, the jective reality: there just IS.
swastika and the three-dimensional cross, helps
a man towards Liberation. The answer perhaps
is that constant hammering away at the true SOME CHRISTIAN FESTIVALS: By Elfrida
meaning of symbolism and the symbolical nature Dupont. (Michael Joseph, 16 s.)
of the universe gradually tears a man's mind
How many Christians there are who no longer
away from the crude materialism to which it had
remember the traditional festivals of their
been conditioned and orientates it to a true
Church! What, for instance, is Candlemas ?
sense of values, thus enabling him eventually to
And what Lammastide ? What does Maundy
rise beyond symbolism to That which is symbo-
Thursday commemorate ? What is the feast of
lised. Happy are those who need no such wean-
Michaelmas at the autumn equinox ? W h y are
ing.
pancakes eaten on Shrove Tuesday ? Who was
Santa Claus and how did he become Father
Christmas ? W h y does Whitsuntide bear its pre-
A S K THE A W A K E N E D , THE N E G A T I V E W A Y :
sent name, and what was it formerly known as ?
By Wei W u Wei. (Routledge and Kegan Paul,
30s.)
It is quite possible to strive in the way of
Christ without knowing any of these things.
Ask the Awakened' forms a trilogy with the
Nevertheless, for a member of a Christian com-
author's previous two books, ' Fingers Pointing
munity they give a warmth and colour and sense
Towards the Moon ' and ' W h y Lazarus Laughed '.
of belonging. Contingent though they' may be,
It is written in the same style, that is the anci-
they add a richness to the Christian way of life.
ent form of sutras rather than the modern form
They also carry echoes of earlier literature which
of logical deduction.
are otherwise lost on modern readers — a ballad,
Examples : " Form is the seeing of form : it for instance, beginning: " It fell about the
has no independent existence. Form as the Lammastide."
object of seeing is inexistent. The thought itself
In this book the festivals are described in a
of form is the seeing of form."
pleasant style, informative but without unneces-
sary padding, and with a sense of reverence.
3 The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi,
The book has also a useful glossary of ritualistic
p. 41, Sri Ramanasramam edition, p. 47 Rider's
edition. and theological terminology now strange to many
1964 BOOK REVIEWS
Christians. It is not confined to the viewpoint
of any one church or sect.
SAGITTARIUS.
THE UPANISHADS: Translated by Swami
Nikhilananda. (Allen and Unwin, 45s.).
The condensation of Swami Nikhilananda's
four-volume annotated translation of the 11 prin-
cipal Upanishads into the present single volume
will probably increase its attraction for the
Western general reader, for whom it is primarily
intended. The translation is in clear, straight-
forward English, though it is a pity that the
absolete word verily
1
is dragged in, to give it
a pseudo-biblical flavour. A number of technical
Sanskrit terms which have no exact English
equivalent are very wisely left in Sanskrit and
explained in a glossary. A 50-page introduction
gives a very good outline of Upanishadic teach-
ing for the Western reader, without getting In-
volved in the complexities of Sanskrit termino-
logy and philosophical viewpoints.
ISLAM : By Alfred Guillaume. (Cassell, 15 s.)
It is surprising how much information about
Islam the author manages to pack into this 200-
page book, and without any sacrifice of clarity.
No trace remains of the animosity common to
Western writers on Islam of an earlier genera-
tion. On the contrary, the new tendency to inter-
religious appreciation is well exemplified. The
early chapters on Muhamad, the Quran, the foun-
dation of Islam present a very fair picture which,
indeed, makes it seem remarkable that the author
continues to use the prejudicial and inaccurate
terms ' Muhammadan ' and ' Muhammadanism '
instead of what he must know to be the correct
designations : ' Muslim' and Islam \
4
There is an appreciative survey of the great
age of Islamic culture and civilization and also
a satisfactory chapter on Sufism.
As in most modern works on Islam, a great
part of the book is devoted to the question of
adaptation to modernism. In 'Buddhism and
Christianity in the Light of Hinduism', Arthur
Osborne points out a very significant distinction
between ' world-renouncing' and * world-sancti-
fying ' religions. Islam is an example of the latter
type. It does not tell a man to give his property
to the poor and become a religious mendicant
but to do business honestly, how much to give
in charity and who to, who to leave his property
63
to when he dies, and a host of other matters
which a world-renouncing religion at its origin,
dismisses as * the things that are Caesar's'. There-
fore it set forth on its career with a divinely
sponsored code of civil and criminal law. In some
ways this may be an advantage, but it gravely
complicates the question of adaptation to the
changed circumstances of a new age. To mention
only one point, a Buddhist or Christian may see
no harm in taking interest on capital in modern
financial conditions, but a Muslim is forbidden
to do so by the Quran. A s the present book shows,
questions of law, faith, theology, the infallibility
of the Quran, the status of the hadiths, are so
interwoven that the question of degrees and
modes of modernisation is almost insoluble. He
also describes very sympathetically what is being
done to solve it in various Islamic countries and
by various Islamic writers to-day.
ABDULLAH QUTBUDDIN.
VALMIKI MAHA RAMAYANA OR Y O G A
V A S I S H T A : Translated by S. V. Ganapathi.
Published by the translator at 9-D, Edward
Elliotts Road, Madras-4.
This is the translator's second volume on Nir-
vana. The first volume was published in Tamil
in 1948. Sage Vasishta presents to Sri Rama the
state of Nirvana through many illustrations and
anecdotes. Typical of them is the following :
" T h e r e is no trace of the sprout in the seed.
The essence of seed pervades the seed ; likewise
the world phenomena are not experienced in
Brahman. Brahman is without substance, form or
activity. Hence the world cannot be derived from
Brahman. Expecting to see the world in Brahman
is like expecting Mount Meru within the Atom.
The wise as well as the ignorant perceive the
world phenomena. The wise know they are all
subject to constant changes and dissolution. They
are dependent upon our imagination and are mere
percepts. Hence we cannot call them Real or u n -
real. They appear before us like dreams and
disappear when wisdom dawns." " Discard all
doubts and with a courage bordering on reckless-
ness, be a Great Doer, a Great Enjoyer and a
Great Renouncer. Then one is established in great
Renunciation."
It may be a useful book for those on the Path
of Knowledge as taught by Bhagavan Sri Ramana
Maharshi. The English is passable.
T. K. S.
64 THE MOUNTAIN
THE INCREDIBLE SAI B A B A : By Arthur O s -
borne. (Orient Longmans, Calcutta, Rs. 5.00
and Riders, London, 12s. 6d.)
Sai Baba has become a legend. It is now nearly
fifty years since he shed the physical sheath but
his name and Samadhi continue to be an irresis-
tible Power in the circle of his devotees. Many
have claimed to be incarnations of Sai and deve-
loped rituals and practices which were unknown
to the Baba of Shirdi. What was Baba really
like ? What was his teaching ? What was his
upasana, practice ? These are some of the ques-
tions that have been answered in a satisfactory
manner by Mr. Osborne in this interesting bio-
graphy of the saint.
Apart from the many biographical details the
author has assembled together from various ac-
counts, this book gives an intimate glimpse into
the saint's personality and the ways of working
which were peculiarly his own. He used his super-
natural powers in profusion and gave his devotees
all they desired. He continues to do so even now
in a spectacular way. Learned men who shake
their heads at these ' miracles' have something to
ponder over in a remark of his on the matter :
' I give people what they want in the hope that
they will begin to want what I want to give
them.' (p. 100)
Sai Baba had no elaborate philosophy to teach,
no intricate yogic discipline to prescribe. All that
he asked for, as the author points out, was devo-
tion to the Guru, self-surrender to the Guru who
thereupon took charge of the aspirant and did
what was needed to lead him to the Goal. In a
brief analysis of the Teachings of three of the
modern spiritual teachers, viz. Sri Ramakrishna,
Sai Baba, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Mr. Osborne
draws attention to certain common features which
are significant: All three upheld the ecmal vali-
dity of all religions; provided for simple and
direct paths that can be pursued in the conditions
of modern life without formal renunciation of life
in the world; and laid stress on utter devotion
and surrender to the Guru as the main process,
(pp. 92-93)
The book is both absorbing and instructive.
M. P. PANDIT.
PATH January
THE R H Y T H M OF H I S T O R Y : By Arthur O s -
borne. (Orient Longmans. Rs. 2.75)
In this revealing study of the rise and fall of
civilizations during the last two millenniums and
a half, the author shows how there is a pattern
in history on a global scale. Historians are not
all agreed on the precise significance of this pat-
tern and Mr. Osborne is content to note that it
only implies that there is a divine or cosmic
1
harmony shaping the affairs of man and that the
ambitions of the great and the bungling of the
unwise are merely instrumental, not causal.' (p.
129)
Beginning his survey with the founders of great
Religious Systems about the fifth century B.C.,
e.g. Buddha, Confucius, Pythagoras, he records the
rise of classical Empires all over Asia and Europe
followed by their decline culminating in what is
known as the Dark Age ; another curve of rise
of civilizations through the Ages' of Medievalism
and the Renaissance was again followed by a
downward movement which may be said to have
reached its apogee in the last century. What is
the likely outcome of all this mighty effort of
Nature ? How far have the East and the West,
which seemed to have diverged from each other
at one stage, come closer ? These are some of the
questions that are taken up for discussion in these
pages.
While it may not be possible to agree with the
writer in all his conclusions, it is certainly true
— as he says — that 1
the present materialistic
civilization is not the final answer because it has
no inherent stability ; it is plundering the earth's
resources too recklessly to endure, and the cur-
rent of history has already begun to swing away
from it.' (p. 130) What then is to replace this
civilization ? A New Order which has been fore-
seen in all the traditions of the world and whose
advent is very close to our present age.
An able work persuasively written.
M. P. PANDIT.
 THE GOLDEN MASTER

(Composed by the eminent poet Harindranath Chattopadhyaya

in the Ashram Hall, crowded with devotees on the night when
death had claimed the body of Sri Ramana.)

Grief hath grown silent with its own excess

And will not weep lest it betray his trust;
Even in this dark hour of dire distress
He lights the flame of knowledge through our dust.

Illumining its blindness wide and far

He glitters from his heaven of deathless grace.
In every speck and stone, in every star
We see the lonely wonder of his Face.

Ignorance rumours that our King departs;

Where can he go, O where ? — the being moans,
He who has made rich kingdoms of our hearts
And of our thoughts his countless jewelled thrones ?

May he forgive our wavering faith, forgive

The folly of our doubts whose eyes are dim ;
How dare we move or breathe except through him ?
How could we live if he should cease to live ?