Rating *****

192 pages
published by Samuel Weiser
ISBN 0877289077

«Every living being longs always to be happy, untainted by sorrow; and everyone has the greatest love for himself, which is solely due to the fact that happiness is his real nature. Hence, in order to realize that inherent and untainted happiness, which indeed he daily experiences when the mind is subdued in deep sleep, it is essential that he should know himself. For obtaining such knowledge the enquiry 'Who am I?' in quest of the Self is the best means.

'WHO AM I?' I am not this physical body, nor am I the five organs of sense perception [the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin, with their respective corresponding functions of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch]; I am not the five organs of external activity [the vocal organs that articulate speech and produce sound, hands and feet that govern the movements of the physical body, anus that excretes faecal matter, and the genital organ which yields pleasure], nor am I the five vital forces [which control respiration, digestion and assimilation, circulation of blood, perspiration, and excretion], nor am I even the thinking mind. Neither am I that unconscious state of nescience which retains merely the subtle vasanas (latencies of the mind), while being free from the functional activity of the sense-organs and of the mind, and being unaware of the existence of the objects of sense-perception.

Therefore, summarily rejecting all the above-mentioned physical adjuncts and their functions, saying 'I am not this; no, nor am I this, nor this' - that which then remains separate and alone by itself, that pure Awareness is what I am. This Awareness is by its very nature Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss).»

- Who am I, page 39

From the table of Contents:

• Preface
• ORIGINAL WORKS:
  • Self-Enquiry
  • Who am I?
  • Five Hymns to Sri Arunachala
  • Upadesa Saram (The Essence of Instruction)
  • Miscellaneous Verse
• ADAPTATIONS AND TRANSLATIONS
  • The Song Celestial
  • Translations from the Agamas
  • Poems from Shankaracharya
  • Vivekachudamani from Shankaracharya
  • Drik Drisya Viveka from Shankaracharya
• Notes on Pronunciation
• Glossary
• Index

Sri Ramana Maharshi was born in 1879. In his 17th year he attained enlightenment through a remarkable experience, as if undergoing death of the physical body while remaining in full consciousness. Following this transformation, he left his home and was drawn irresistibly to the sacred hill of Arunachala, where his ashram was formed.

Last Updated Saturday, February 13, 1999