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The Collected Works Of Sri Ramana Maharshi/Eleventh Edition

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This book is the best on Jnana Marga or Jnana Yoga. It is a collection of almost everything written or translated by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, one of the greatest sages of the twentieth century.

This book can very well be considered the gold standard on Jnana Marga or the Path of Knowledge, just as Narada's Bhakti sutras is for the Path of Divine Love and Patanjali's Yoga sutras is for the Path of Meditation. The book consists of his most famous teachings, 'Who am I?', 'Self-enquiry' and 'Spiritual instruction'. These three chapters are in a question and answer format. This is Jnana Marga simplified and presented to modern age. Maharshi acknowledges that Jnana Marga is not for everyone and so in addition to discussions on Jnana Marga, there are also beautiful summaries of other paths to Self-Realization like Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of Divine Love) and Dhyana Yoga (Yoga of meditation). One can see how the eight steps of Dhyana (Yoga Ashtanga) compares with the eight steps of Jnana (Jnana Ashtanga).

His original writings, Upadesa Undiyar and Ulladu Narpadu follow, which have been translated into very good English. These contain the essence of his teachings.

Next follow translations of important texts on advaita & jnana marga like Atma Saksatkara (instructions of Lord Siva to his son Guha), Devi Kalotarra (instructions of Lord Siva to his wife Parvathi) and major original works of Sankara (including the famous Vivekachudamani). The section on Gita contain the important verses of Bhagavad Gita selected and rearranged by Bhagavan.

Towards the end, Maharshi guarantees Self-realization if one is to read this book and puts its words into practice.

If there is only one book you can afford to read on Sanatana Dharma (the Vedic Religion or Hinduism), this is the one.

The Collected Works contains all the major written works of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi in a single volume. It consists of both prose and poetic compositions of the Maharshi. His prose works explain in detail his instruction in the path of inquiry, while many of his poems express truth in a devotional tone. Combined with another title (Talks with Ramana Maharshi) this book can give the reader all (s)he would want to read about the Maharshi and his teachings.

Ramana's words still the mind and expand the heart. He never spoke often, but when his words were captured, it becomes very clear these are the words of an enlightened being. This book is great because it is a complilation of his writing. I have gone back to it many times and it always brings a great sense of clarity and peace. His words pull you into the reality of the moment and out of the circles of mundane mind.

If I had a zillion bucks...

I would give a free copy to everyone on Earth who wanted one. The content in this book is that profound and great. If you are not spending your money buying this book, you are saving it for the wrong purpose. Get your copy today. It may change your life.