Getting to Know Ramana David Godman is perhaps the best “interpreter” of Ramana’s teachings (in English), editor of Be as You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (Penguin paperback). A good place to start. It’s 244 pages include a glossary and index. Don’t skip the Introduction. The late Arthur Osborne was a Western student of Ramana, and edited The Collected Words of Ramana Maharshi (Weiser Books paperback). Not a lot was written by Ramana himself, and Osborne explains much about what was. Again, don’t skip the Preface. The 192 pages include glossary and index. Ramana wrote in Tamil, and many references are to Vedanta. These are good preparation for Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, the major source for his direct teachings; some 650 brief, transcribed Q-and-A on many topics (with students or with visitors) over about four years (late 30’s). 640 pages, hardcover, with extensive glossary and index, it is best read with the above preparation. A thorough Bibliography, at the back, will lead you to choices of the many other books, of many sorts, to follow with. Now in its 13th printing since publication in 1955, Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi was produced by Maharshi’s ashram in India. From 1935-39, a disciple acted as a recorder of Maharshi’s dialogues with visitors—somewhat like journal entries. Maharshi was evidently well-read in classical Indian spiritual literature (after his enlightenment), so—in speaking frequently to Indians—he often used Sanskrit phrases.
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