The Path of Sri Ramana PART ONE The Jnana aspect of the teaching BY Sri Sadhu Om An expositiorl of the path of self-enquiry as taught by Bhagavan Sri Ramana with a Brief Life History of Sri Ramana and an English translation of Nan Yar? Sri Ramana Kshetra (Kanvashrama Trust) TIRUVMAWAI INDIA The Path of Sri Ramana-Part One -English by Sri Sadhu Om, Printed & Rlblished by Sri Kamana Kshetra, Kanvashrama 'Trust, Tiruvannamalai - 606 603. OMichael James First Edition 1971 Second Edition 1981 Third Edition 1988 Fourth Edition 1990 Fifth Edition 1997 Sixth Edition 2005 : 1000 Copies Price : Rs. Typeset and Printed by Aridra Printers, Bangalore-560 003. Acknowledgements To Sri Michael James for his kind permission to publish this PDF e-book of 'The Path of Sri Ramana Part 1' on our website. To Sri. N. Sankaran for his constructive advice and permission to use a hard copy of 'The Path of Sri Ramana Part 1' to produce a PDF e-book version of the book. This e-book is available for free download from: Copyright 02007 Michael James All rights reserved. No part of this PDF e-book publication, other than for personal use, may be reproduced, printed or transmitted in any form or by any means, except for brief quotations embodied in articles and critical reviews, nor may it be circulated with any modification or in any form without due acknowledgement and the prior consent in writing of the publisher and copyright owner. Publisher's Note (To Fourth Edition) We should not be astonished that "The Path of Sri Ramana" needs a fourth printing in a relatively short time. Readers find and describe this book as "precise and useful", the "Do it yourself" manual for doing one's duty : to Be . . . happy. On one occasion Bhagavan Sri Ramana is reported to have said - on the subject of sadhana -That it cannot be done : the ego cannot want Liberation (its own disappearance) and the Self needs neither the ego nor "sadhana". What remains to be done is to let Self do the sadhana. How'? By relaxing, by "doing nothing". How? By submitting, which is devotion. How? By knowing how? That's what this book gives : new clues, most valuable insights. These have been enlarged upon, from the bhukti approach as also for those wondering what to do with all this in our day-to-day life. Those two separate parts will soon see the English translation, also by Sri Michael James, now an author in his own right, and our trustee. Have a nice "suicide", or rather "ego-cide". R.E. Hamsananandan (J.J.d e Reede) Mahasivaratri, 23.2.'90 President , KANVASHRAMA 'TKUST "Mounalayam" Sri Ramanasramam P.O. Tiruvannamalai-606 603. A Fifth Edition Most cultures teach about the SIX SACRED ARTS: - Sculpture, Painting, Dance, Music, Recitation, Architecture as leading to the Seventh Art: to Be Self. Here is Sad-Guru Ramana's Short-cut. R.E. Hamsanananda (J.J.d e Rcede) President ,KANVASHRAMA TRUST Publisher's Note Sixth Edition We are very happy to bring forth this newly typesetted sixth edition of "The Path of Sri Ranlana" - Part One - by Sri Sadhu Om Swamigal; now for the first time with a new cover design, rnuch the saxlie as the Tamil Edition "Sri Ranlana Vazhi". The text and structure of the contents remains unchanged as in the previous fifth edition. We are very grateful to the members of - Sri Arunachala Ramana Trust - for their precious collaboration of seeing through the press and the proofs reading of this work. Many thanks! Last but not least our humble thanks to the late Sri Hamsanandanji (Mr. J.J. De Reecle) our Founder-President, who expired on 28.01.2000, who has given us the means, the love and the inspiration to continue this service for the seekers on the Path of Sri Ramana ..... Thank you! Bhagavan's Aradhana Day Skanda Uhakta C. Rossi 6th hlay 2005 Kanvashrama Trust Contents Prefi ce A Brief Life History of Sri Ramana The Path of Sri Ramana (Part One) 1. Eternal Happiness is The Goal 2. What is Happiness? 3. Self-enquiry is The Only Way To Happiness 4. Who AmI? 5. The Enquiry, 'Who Am I?' And The Four Yogas 6. "Who Arll I?' is Not Soharn Bhavancl 7. Self-Enquiry 8. The Technique of Self-Enquiry Appendix One Who Am I? (An English translation of Nan Yar?) Appendix Two a) Atina Vichara Patiknnl (Eleven Verses on Self-Enquiry) b) Yar Jnani? [Who is Jnani?) c) Sandehi Yarendru Sarldehi ! (Doubt the Doubter !) (1) Japa Appendix Three Sadharla And Work 01x1Namo Bhagavate Sri Arunachalara~nanaya Preface to the Fourth Edition Bhagavan Sri Rarnana Maharshi has taught two principal paths for the attainment of Self-knowledge, which is the state of eternal, perfect and unalloyed happiness. The first path He taught is the path of Self-enquiry, 'Who am I?', which is the path of knowledge or jnana, while the second path is the path of self-surrender, which is 'the path oS love or bhakti. This book, The Path of Sri Ramana-Part One, is 2n exposition of the path of Self-enquiry, while the path of self-surrender is expounded in the The Path of Sri Ralnana- -Part Two. How this book came into existence is briefly as follows: After Bhagavan Sri Ramana cast off His mortal body in 1950, many of His devotees from both India and abroad gradually came to recognize Sri Satlhu Om Swamigal, the author of this book, not only as one of the foremost disciples of Sri Bhagavan, but also as a person endowed ~iitha rare gift to elucidate His teachings in a clear and simple manner which could easily be understood and followed in practice by all seekers of true knoluledge. Thus nlany devotees used to approach Sri Swarnigal seeking clarification from him about all aspects of Sri Bhagavan's teachings, especially about the method of practising Self-enquiry. Finding the lucid explanations given by Sri Swamigal in answer to their various questions to be of great help in their spiritual practice, some devotees used to make notes of the replies he gave orally, while others used to collect and preserve the letters which he wrote to them in answer to their doubts. Knowing how useful the explanations given by Sri Swamigal would be to all sincere seekers of truth, one of the devotees of Sri Bhagavan, the late Dr R. Santananl, took great pains over several years to gather together many of the letters written by Sri Swamigal and many of the notes taken by those who had visited him, and requested Sri Swamigal to edit all the letters and notes into the form of a book. Since the material thus galhered by Dr Sailtanam ~onsisted of repliewhich were given under various different circum- stances to devotees who were on various different levels of understanding, and which were dealing with various diverse scbjects such as devotion, Self-enquiry, yoga, karma, God, world, soul, birth, death, liberation and so on, Sri Swamigal felt it ~vouldn ot be appropriate to form a book consisting of so many miscellaneous ideas, and hence he selected only those ideas which were centered around the direct path of Self-enquiry and edited then1 in such a manner that their ideas would floxv in a coherent sequence. What he thus edited was published by Dr Santanam in 1967 in Tamil under the title Sri Rarr~ar~Iahzhi (The Path of Sri Ramana), Part One. Later, at the request of many devotees who did not know Tamil, an English version of Part One was published in 1971. When Part One of The Path of Sri Hallluna in both Tamil ant1 English began to reach the hands of many devotees of Sri Bhagavan living in various corners of the lvorld, some of them began to ask Sri Sadhu Om Swamigal, "Why does this book deal only with the direct path of Self- enquiry? Why have you not written about the path of self- surrender and various other aspects of Sri Bhagvan's teachings, such as the truth He has revealed about the nature of God, world, creation, karma and so on?" Therefore Sri Swamigal once again took up the material gathered by Dr Santanam, and from the various replies which he had set aside while editing Part One, he compiled Part TWO, consisting of three chapters namely (1) 'God and the World', (2) 'Love or Bhakti', and (3) 'firinn', followed by a numl~er of explanatory appendices. Part Two was first published in English in 1976, and though it is now out of print, it is hoped that a new edition will later be brought out after the translation has been thoroug-hly revised. While replying to the questions on spiritual practice put to him by Tamilians, Sri S~vamigals ometiines used to reply by writing verses and songs, which Dr Santanam gathered together under the title Sadhunai Sararn (The Essence of Spiritual Practice). In 1983 Sadhnnai Sai,clrn was published in Tamil as the third part of Sri Ramancl Mizhi. English translations of some of the verses from Sadhantri Saiam are included in this book as Appendix One. In 1984-85, when the third Tainil edition of Sri Ramana I'azhi (parts One and Two) was being printed, Sri Swamigal revised both parks, adding many fresh explanations which he had given in reply to questions raised by devotees who had read the earlier editions in Tamil and English. hlany of the new explanations added in the third Tamil edition of Part One and Two, and many of the verses in Sadhunai Saram, are ye1 to be translated inlo English, but if it is the will of Sri Bhagavan a co~nplete English translation of all three parts of The Path of S1.i Ramuna will later be published.