Compass

Ramana Maharshi was one of the most significant spiritual teachers to emerge from India during the first half of the century, and remains widely admired. This recent collection of conversations between him and the many seekers who came to his ashram for guidance contains the essence of his teaching. His concern throughout his long life of imparting his experience to others was to convince his listeners that self-realisation - or enlightenment - is not an alien or mysterious state, but the natural condition of man. This state can be easily discovered by undertaking the self-investigation clearly described in these talks. The lucid instructions to each section provide further illumination of this greater seer's message.The Teachings of Sriramana MaharshiAcknowledgments
Introduction

Part One: The Self
1. The nature of the Self
2. Self-awareness and Self-ignorance
3. The jnani

Part Two: Enquiry and Surrender
4. Self-enquiry—theory
5. Self-enquiry—practice
6. Self-enquiry—misconceptions
7. Surrender

Part Three: The Guru
8. The Guru
9. Silence and sat-sanga

Part Four: Meditation and Yoga
10. Meditation and concentration
11. Mantras and japa
12. Life in the world
13. Yoga

Part Five: Experience
14. Samadhi
15. Visions and psychic powers
16. Problems and experiences

Part Six: Theory
17. Creation theories and the reality of the world
18. Reincarnation
19. The nature of God
20. Suffering and morality
21. Karma, destiny and free will

Glossary
Notes and references
Bibliography
Index

Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950) was an Indian sage and spiritual instructor, and is regarded by many as an enlightened being. He was a proponent of meditation and self-inquiry to remove ignorance and thought-illusion.

David Godman was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England. In 1976, he went to India to briefly visit the Tiruvannamalai ashram of Ramana Maharshi, but stayed to become the ashram’s librarian. He went on to research and write about the teachings and life of Ramana Maharshi and his followers.