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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Will the Truth elude you?, May 22 2003
By the relentless pursuit of this question, "Who Am I?" Maharshi believes the ego can break through to the Self. And if anyone should know it is he.
Ramana Maharshi is one of the great Hindu saints and certainly the most authentic of the last century. Many gurus have come and gone with mixed messages, one of them being that a guru should live lavishly (cf. the experience of the Beatles). Maharshi served no one, not even himself. He was as truly detached as it seems a human being can get. In contrast to so many teachers, he didn't even prattle on about the universe, the soul, and Brahman. If he did speak to issues it was usually in pithy responses to well-formed questions. And, almost always, he ended by encouraging the seeker to follow the question above. In short, his message was simple.
So why did he get it and we don't? Maharshi taught the quintessence of Vedanta. Like a powerful acid he burned down to the bedrock of Hindu thought-the teaching of nonduality. For Maharshi, as for the Hindu sages throughout time, all was Maya-illusion-including the self itself. The core mythology is this: Brahman-the All-plays a game, the Cosmic hide-and-seek. By forgetting itself, Brahman can come to rediscovery and delight, just like a child at play. One of the many obfuscations in this game is the ego. Question it, ask oneself again and again, "Who Am I," and the ego will, like a cornered child in the game of tag, eventually relent. Underneath all the vestiges of ego, as one undresses it with the question, lies Brahman smiling.
The philosophy is lucid, elegant, and incredibly simple-typical characteristics of the Truth-but I find it elusive still. So must most seekers because though they ask the question, they do not end up like the Bhagavan, Maharshi.
Maharshi, after his realization at the age of 16, made his way to the sacred mountain of Arunachala and never left its shadow. His life was simple and devoid of any attention-seeking behaviors, though a great flock settled around him. He participated in the daily round of food preparation, sweeping, etc. and lived an austere life. Eventually, as his reputation spread, people came to visit from all parts, first Indians and then cosmopolitans. Among others, W. Somerset Maugham visited. He was not quite so struck as others by the Bhagavan's presence but still retained him as the prototype for the guru in The Razor's Edge.
Though he avoided speaking much, the many who visited professed a very powerful influence by witnessing the man's gentle radiance. With a look into Maharshi's eyes, most peoples' questions would resolve themselves. He eventually died from a cancer and yet his reputation remains.
Such a being kindles mystery but is not a great teacher unless one, presumably, is a great student.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Biography, Nov 28 2002
By A Customer
This book is a bio of a being who never claimed to be the body. It is written for beings who still think they are their bodies. The majority of the book is about Ramana and his life around the ashram with devotees and interactions with visitors and even the local wildlife. Most books about Ramana are question and answer format so this one shows how an enlightened being interacts with life and people in everyday situations.
One of the most amazing parts was when Ramana was dying. The doctors knew he would die before the day was done and so did all the devotees. They sang songs outside his room. Even though he said he was not the body but the SELF, the ONE SELF in all of us, the drama was being played out on the physical plane. As the devotees sang, Ramana had tears in his eyes and then he just stopped breathing. I had tears in my eyes too, just reading about those last moments.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
my viscera are eternally thankful !, Jul 17 2001
when it comes to indian holy men , its often hard to separate the dross from the sublime . books on indian mystics abound , most just end up stretching credulity . its not uncommon to come across a book which portrays some indian "saint" that leaves me shaking my head in an almost visceral disgust .it therefore comes as a relief ( especially to my viscera ) when you read a neatly written book about an indian saint . i'm sure its next to impossible to please everyone when it comes to writing about someone no less a phenomena than ramana maharishi , but messrs osborne seems to have done a commendable job of it . i know he's done just such a commendable job of it because the book left me wanting to know more about the maharishi . not many books do that . i can therefore , unreservedly , recommend this book .
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