Be As You Are

Edited by David Godman

In our opinion this superb collection of extracts from Ramana Maharshi's writings
and dialogues is the best single-volume introduction to his teachings. This is the
book we recommend to people who want to read about Sri Ramana for the first time.

The editor, David Godman, is probably the foremost living expert on Sri Ramana's
teachings. David has gone through dozens of books by and about Sri Ramana and
collected passages which most clearly state various points of his teaching. These
extracts are organized thematically into chapters with higher teachings first and
less important ones last.

David has also provided informative introductions to each chapter and to the book
as a whole as well as a glossary and notes.

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Be as You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi

Published by Penguin

272 pages

ISBN-10: 0140190627

ISSBN-13: 978-0140190625
Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Edited by Sri Munagala Venkataramiah

For serious students of Ramana Maharshi there are two Bibles, one written in prose
and the other in verse. This one is prose. (The verse Bible is Guru Vachaka Kovai.)
It contains 724 pages of conversations that occurred from 1935 to 1939 between Sri
Ramana and his visitors who traveled to south India from all over the world to ask
for advice from the man whom many regard as the greatest realized teacher of the
twentieth century. The text consists not of transcripts, as one might expect, but
summaries and paraphrases recorded mostly from memory by the compiler. The reason
for this strange format is that the compiler was prohibited by ashram rules from
writing in the hall where Sri Ramana spoke. As a result the book's prose is
unnatural but nonetheless lucid, direct, literate, and pleasant to read.

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Sri Ramanashramam

Free PDF edition

Talks With Sri Ramana Maharshi

Published by Sri Ramanasramam

724 pages

ISBN-10: 8188018074

ISSBN-13: 978-8188018079
Living by the Words of Bhagavan
Edited by David Godman

This book is an autobiography of Annamalai Swami who became Self-realized after

many years of effort and close association with his guru, Ramana Maharshi. It
paints an unusually intimate portrait of the Maharshi based on Annamalai Swami�s
ten years of interactions with him, first as his personal attendant and then as
supervisor of building projects at Sri Ramanasraman. The book is sober and free of
the sentimentality that colors many memoirs of this type. This is not a
hagiography; Annamalai's Maharshi is a surprising figure who does quirky and
sometimes puzzling things. The final section of the book contains transcripts of
conversations that Annamalai Swami held with seekers in the 1980s. Annamalai Swami
worked hard for many years to realize the Self, making his advice especially useful
to seekers for whom Self-realization does not come easily. We think this is a
wonderful book, one of the best about Sri Ramana, and we recommend it very highly.

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AHAM

Avadhuta

David Godman

InnerQuest

Sri Ramanashramam

Living by the Words of Bhagavan

Published by Sri Annamalai Swami Ashram Trust

Hardcover

367 pages

(No ISBN number)

Annamalai Swami: Final Talks
Edited by David Godman

This small book is one of a half dozen that we recommend most strongly to people
who want to practice self-enquiry in order to realize. It contains transcripts of
talks that Annamalai Swami held with seekers during the last six months of his
life. His advice about how to practice Self-enquiry is unusually valuable because
he worked for a long time to become Self-realized. Annamalai Swami spent nearly ten
years with Ramana Maharshi, first as his personal attendant and later as
construction manager at Sri Ramana's ashram.
Where to Buy

AbeBooks

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AHAM

Avadhuta

David Godman

InnerQuest

Sri Ramanashramam

Annamalai Swami: Final Talks

Published by Annamalai Swami Ashram and AHAM (2000)

99 or 162 pages

ISBN-10: 0971137181 and 1888599170

ISSBN-13: 978-1888599176
Path of Sri Ramana Part One
by Sri Sadhu Om
translated by Michael James

The definitive version of Ramana Maharshi's teachings is contained in his writings

such as Ulladu Narpadu and Sri Muruganar's Guru Vachaka Kovai. Unfortunately, his
works aren't easy to read. Most of them are written in a terse, classical style of
Tamil poetry which is not easily understood even by many educated Tamils. In order
to understand him, most of us must therefore rely on translations and commentaries.
This book is one of the best of that kind because it was written by a skilled Tamil
poet who was Sri Muruganar's literary executor and a close disciple of Ramana's. It
contains 145 pages of exact instructions for practicing self-inquiry plus literal
English translations of several of Ramana's works. In this volume, part one of the
work, the author covers Jnana Marga (self-enquiry); part two deals with Bhakti
Marga (surrender).