Talks With Ramana Maharshi: On Realizing Abiding Peace and Happiness by Ramana Maharshhi Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Talks With Ramana Maharshi: On Realizing Abiding Peace and Happiness
Book Review: have a chat with the maharishi!
Summary: 5 Stars
i've seriously studied indian philosophy/spirituality for many years and this book is amongst those few which are truly valuable from a spiritual/experential sense. this book can be highly informative and useful to those interested in spirituality or even those who would like a glimpse of traditional indian culture. ramana, who apparently attained enlightenment while only in his teens, had the special capability to impart even the subtlest of truths in a most direct and experential manner - as one would expect of a truly realized sage. so all of ramana's works are highly engaging and instructive - unlike most other books on the subject (even the classical ones). but what makes this book even more interesting is that this is not a typical dry exposition of spirituality/philosophy - but real life conversations that ramana had with many of those who sought his instruction. so over a period of few years, somebody kept an account of actual conversations between ramana and whoever came to meet/talk with him. this makes the book so very interesting - because many of those who met ramana are people whose backgrounds are varied and interesting in itself (his visitors even included famous personalities like somerset maugham and swami yogananda of autobiography of a yogi fame) and raise questions ranging from the most mundane to the subtlest, which ramana patiently/aptly answers. and it is a living sage full of knowledge and compassion, who answers so clearly. the more you read the book the more you feel that it is you who is asking such questions and receiving instruction from ramana. so it is almost a personal spiritual experience reading this book, which you would never get out of a standard book on the subject. but beyond the philosophical issues we can also have a glimpse of the person that ramana was and the times he lived in - his views on culture (caste, vegetarianism etc), popular religion, human psychology, his deep compassion, his wry sense of humour etc. one instance i remember from the book is about a guy who was so full of himself that he had the gall to ask ramana whether he (ramana) had anything to teach him! to which ramana is supposed to have answered : yes i do, but you're not ready for it yet!
exceptional book this!
Book Review: Dave from San Diego
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not going to write a lot about this book, as other reviewers have illustrated the finer points very well. In fact, one reviewer sums it up perfectly when he says..."you simply can not go deeper." I completely agree with this; "Talks" will take you as far on the spiritual path as books can take you.
That being said, anyone can read this book and gain some benefit from it, but I feel it will be most effective for the person who is already familiar with the basic concepts of Advaita and is already practicing the method of self-enquiry. The main reason I say this is because there is A LOT of repeated material here. This is excellent for helping to control and strengthen the mind, which will give it the ability (eventually) to turn its focus inward to its own origin. But, for the person who may be new to this path or is not very familiar with this method, it may bring a loss of interest.
This book has been more influential for me than any other book I have ever read, but I am glad I read many other books of the Maharishee before so. I recommend starting with a few of the other, shorter, books about Ramana Maharshi, such as "The Path Of Self Knowledge" or "Collected Works" or any of the many others. Read a few of these, digest them, work to assimilate them into your life, then pick up "Talks."
For the beginner, read a few others before. For controlling the mind, "you simply can not go deeper."
Book Review: Rock bottom
Summary: 5 Stars
A devotee comes along and asks "why is there no meditation during dreaming?" Ramana's response: "Ask it in the dream."Most of the answers from Ramana Maharshi in this huge volume of ultimate spiritual Q&A are as disconcerting as this one -- which by the way has a double entendre for those who know the advaita equalization of waking life and dreams (the devotee did not get he WAS INDEED asking "in the dream"...). What strikes the reader first is the brilliance of this humble man, his razor-sharp intelligence. But as we turn the pages and ponder his words in hundreds of dialogues, little by little we realize we are dealing here with the real thing: a man who has crossed over to the other shore, a jivanmukta ("liberated while alive"). I have read quite a lot in the last few years on philosophy and spirituality, and my feeling regarding this book is one of reaching rock bottom: you simply cannot go deeper.
The question "Did you exist in deep sleep?", for example, sounds to me the best argument for the unreality of the ego, which Ramana sometimes call the "small I". Very ingenious. No one denies, while awake, his own existence in deep sleep. But whence comes our certainty, if we where unconscious? It comes from a silent witness. If you understand that the same witness is the indestructible background of the bundle of thoughts we call "mind", it is game over for the ego and the suffering it brings to you.
My limited exposure to advaita vedanta suggests that it may not be suitable for some (perhaps most) spiritual seekers, because it may be misconstrued as nihilistic. If you want to take the risk, this may be one of the best books to read. Overall, a very fine edition, compleat with sanskrit glossary, anotated vedanta bibliography and full thematic index. A work of love.
Book Review: The only book that never leaves my side
Summary: 5 Stars
Ramana Maharshi's technique of Self-realization is simplicity itself. This should already be indication enough that he has discovered the profoundest truth. This book is a bit like a Mozart score. When you look at the pages there doesn't seem to be very much there. It all seems so simple. Yet when you play the Mozart, as when you apply the principle of Self-Inquiry, something very unexpected and altogether miraculous happens.When one correctly applies the single and singular principle he expounds in these talks, the result is well-nigh infallible. Which is not to say that one sees bright lights or is consumed with ecstasy or anything of the sort--that's not what is supposed to happen anyway. What happens simply is that the mind is stilled, and the true nature of mind, ego, and Self is glimpsed. With practice, this glimpse turns into a gander and then turns into a wide open view.
Alas, as one very wise reviewer below put it, many people "enjoy being lost." What Maharshi makes absolutely crystal clear in these talks is that Realization is right there for taking, and always has been, and always will be. In other words, "The Kingdom of Heaven is within." Those who do not realize do so because, in the final analysis, they either enjoy being lost or they are profoundly afraid of what realization implies--even those who claim to be seeking the way. And so the endless rounds continue: the books, the tapes, the discussion groups and meditation retreats, the trips to India and Tibet, the fumbling attempts at Tantric Yoga, the crystals, the gurus, etc. This is all well and good: the Self is always still there, watching, and will still be there when one has tired of the spiritual circus.
My own words crumble and dissolve in the face of Maharshi's very modest-seeming but singularly pure and profound wisdom. I don't know what else to say except that Maharshi's words show the way, and then provide the guidance and inspiration to abide in the Self that is always already there. I give this book all the stars in the cosmos!
Book Review: This is it!
Summary: 5 Stars
The best book on Spirituality, Advaita and Ramana Maharshi. Reading the book itself takes one close to his true nature (Self). Ramana Maharshi is the greatest teacher of our time. Every page in the book is witness to that. I will be reading that book many many times.A great book to read again and again and contemplate!