David Godman

Last updated

David Godman (born 1953) has written on the life, teachings and disciples of Ramana Maharshi, an Indian sage who lived and taught for more than fifty years at Arunachala, a sacred mountain in Tamil Nadu, India. In the last 30 years Godman has written or edited 16 books on topics related to Sri Ramana, his teachings and his followers.

Contents

Biography

Early life

David Godman was born in 1953 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. His father was a schoolmaster and mother a physiotherapist who specialised in treating physically handicapped children. He was educated at local schools and in 1972 won a place at Oxford University. [1]

It was sometime in his second year there that he became interested in Ramana Maharshi after reading about his teachings in a book that had been compiled by Arthur Osborne. Godman has said:

It wasn't that I had found a new set of ideas that I believed in. It was more of an experience in which I was pulled into a state of silence. In that silent space I knew directly and intuitively what Ramana's words were hinting and pointing at. Because this state itself was the answer to all my questions, and any other questions I might come up with, the interest in finding solutions anywhere else dropped away. I suppose I must have read the book in an afternoon, but by the time I put it down it had completely transformed the way I viewed myself and the world. [1]

Life and work in India

Godman first visited the Tiruvannamalai ashram of Ramana Maharshi in 1976. [2] For eight years, between 1978 and 1985, he was the librarian of the ashram. [3] In the 1970s, Godman frequented Nisargadatta Maharaj’s satsangs in Mumbai. [4]

In the early 1980s Godman started to visit Lakshmana Swamy, a disciple of Ramana Maharshi, in his ashram in Andhra Pradesh. At the instigation of Lakshmana Swamy he wrote No Mind – I am the Self, [5] about the lives and teachings of Lakshmana Swamy and Saradamma, the latter being Lakshmana Swamy's own disciple. [6] When Lakshmana Swamy and Saradamma moved to Tiruvannamalai in the late 1980s, Godman looked after and helped to develop their new property, which was located close to Sri Ramanasramam. [7]

In 1985 his edited anthology of Ramana Maharshi’s teachings, Be As You Are, was published by Penguin. [8]

In 1987 Godman conducted extensive interviews with Annamalai Swami, a devotee of Ramana Maharshi who worked at Sri Ramanasramam between 1928 and 1938. The interviews were the primary source for his book, Living by the Words of Bhagavan, a biography that chronicled Annamalai Swami's relationship with Sri Ramana. [9]

Godman has contributed to a scholarly debate on the true identity of Larry Darrel, a character who appeared in Somerset Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge . [10] [11] Maugham visited Ramanasramam in 1938 and later wrote an essay entitled "The Saint" about his visit. Maugham used the character of Darrel as a follower of a Hindu guru featured in the novel; the guru's physique and teachings were based on those of Ramana Maharshi. [12]

In 1993 Godman moved to Lucknow at the invitation of H. W. L. Poonja, [13] [ page needed ] Poonja, a devotee of Ramana Maharshi who subsequently became a well-known spiritual teacher. In his later years Poonja was more generally known as ‘'Papaji’'. Godman made a documentary on Poonja’s life and teachings, [14] edited a collection of interviews [15] that various visitors had had with Poonja in the early 1990s, and compiled an authorised three-volume biography entitled Nothing Ever Happened. [16] In 2006, he edited a collection of conversations that had taken place in Poonja’s home in the early 1990s. [17]

After the death of Poonja in 1997, Godman returned to Tiruvannamalai.[ citation needed ] A year later he edited and published a collection of dialogues that had taken place between Annanalai Swami and visitors to his ashram in the 1980s. [18]

Between 2000 and 2002 Godman brought out The Power of the Presence, a three-volume anthology of mostly first-person accounts that chronicled the experiences that visitors had had with Ramana Maharshi between 1896 and 1950. [19]

Between 2004 and 2008, in collaboration with T. V. Venkatasubramanian and Robert Butler, he translated, edited and published three books of Tamil poetry, [20] [21] [22] composed by the Tamil poet Muruganar, which recorded the teachings of Sri Ramana along with Muruganar’s own experiences.

In 2012, Venkatasubramanian, Butler and Godman translated and published a bilingual (Tamil and English) edition of Sorupa Saram, a Tamil philosophical work composed several hundred years ago by Sorupananda. [23] The three have also collaborated on translations of other Tamil mystic poetry. Among their subjects were Manikkavachakar, [24] Thayumanuvar, [25] and Tattuvaraya. [26]

In 2014, in collaboration with the Whole Life Foundation, Godman filmed a twenty-seven episode, 15-hour series of talks on Ramana Maharshi's life, teachings and followers.

In 2017 Venkatasubramanian and Godman collaborated on The Shining of my Lord, a published anthology of verses composed by Muruganar. These originally appeared in Sri Ramana Jnana Bodham, a nine-volume collection of Muruganar's Tamil verses.

Godman is married to Miri Albahari, [27] [28] a philosophy lecturer who is based in Perth, Australia. [29]

Works

Books

Documentaries

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramana Maharshi</span> Indian Hindu sage (1879–1950)

Ramana Maharshi was an Indian Hindu sage and jivanmukta. He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muktananda</span> Yoga guru who founded Siddha Yoga (1908–1982)

Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa, born Krishna Rai, was a yoga guru and the founder of Siddha Yoga. He was a disciple of Bhagavan Nityananda. He wrote books on the subjects of Kundalini Shakti, Vedanta, and Kashmir Shaivism, including a spiritual autobiography entitled The Play of Consciousness. In honorific style, he is often referred to as Swami Muktananda, or Baba Muktananda, or in a familiar way just Baba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yogaswami</span>

Jnana guru Siva Yogaswami of Jaffna was a 20th-century spiritual master, a śivajnani and anatha siddhar revered by Hindus. However, he had several Catholic and Buddhist devotees as well. He was the 161st Jagadacharya of the Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara. Yogaswami was trained in and practiced Kundalini yoga under the guidance of Satguru Chellappaswami, from whom he received guru diksha (initiation).yogaswami.org

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seshadri Swamigal</span> Indian saint

Sri Seshadri Swamigal, also known as the "Saint with a Golden Hand", was a male Indian saint born in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, who predominantly lived in Tiruvannaamalai where he attained Samadhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. W. L. Poonja</span> Indian philosopher

Hariwansh Lal Poonja was an Indian sage. Poonja was called "Poonjaji" or "Papaji" by devotees. He was a key figure in the Neo-Advaita movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abhishiktananda</span> French-Indian monk

Abhishiktananda, born Henri Le Saux, was a French-born Indian monk. He moved to India in 1948 in search of a more radical form of spiritual life, adopted sannyasa in accordance with Indian tradition and became one of the pioneers of Hindu-Christian dialogue. Multiple contacts with prominent saints such as Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Gnanananda Giri and Sri H.W.L. Poonja, led him to profound advaitic experience as well as to final recognition of the truth of advaita during the last years of his life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-enquiry (Ramana Maharshi)</span> Psychological technique

Self-enquiry, also spelled self-inquiry, is the constant attention to the inner awareness of "I" or "I am" recommended by Ramana Maharshi as the most efficient and direct way of discovering the unreality of the "I"-thought.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arunachala</span> Hill and holy site in Tamil Nadu, India

Arunachala is a hill in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, and one of the five main Shaiva holy places in South India. The Arunachalesvara Temple to Shiva is located at the base of the hill. The hill is also known by the names Annamalai, Arunagiri, Arunachalam, Arunai, Sonagiri, and Sonachalam.

Yogi Ramsuratkumar was an Indian saint and mystic. He was also referred to as "Visiri samiyar" and spent most of his post-enlightenment period in Tiruvannamalai, a small town in Tamil Nadu which is famous for attracting spiritual seekers worldwide and has had a continuous lineage of enlightened souls. He acknowledges the contribution of three of the most well known saints of his time in his evolution to enlightenment. These individuals were Sri Aurobindo, the founder of Integral yoga, Ramana Maharshi, one of the "spiritual supermen" of his time, and Swami Ramdas, Yogi's eventual guru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nome (spiritual teacher)</span> American spiritual writer

Nome is a spiritual teacher at Society of Abidance in Truth, known by the acronym SAT, which established and maintains a temple for nondual Self-knowledge in California. He expounds the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi and Advaita Vedanta. He, along with Dr. H. Ramamoorthy, translated into English the essential and classic work of Advaita Vedanta, "Ribhu Gita", which was highly recommended by Sri Ramana Maharshi. The English translation has been published by Society of Abidance in Truth and has since then been re-published by Sri Ramanasramam and translated into Hindi, Italian, Korean and German.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society of Abidance in Truth</span> Spiritual organization

The Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT) is a spiritual nonprofit organization consecrated to the teachings of Advaita Vedanta, especially as revealed by Sri Ramana Maharshi.

Ethel Merston was one of G. I. Gurdjieff’s first students at his Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man, at the Prieuré in Fontainebleau-en-Avon, France. Gurdjieff had recently come to the West to introduce an esoteric teaching called the Fourth Way. She wrote a memoir based on her diaries giving a keen insight into many of the seminal teachers of her times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anandashram, Kanhangad</span> Spritual retreat in Kasaragod, Kerala

Anandashram is a spiritual retreat located in Kanhangad, a city and a municipality in Kasaragod district in the Indian state of Kerala. Anandashram was founded by Swami Ramdas and Mother Krishnabai, also called Papa Ramdas and Pujya Mataji, in 1931.

Sri Ramana Ashram, also known as Sri Ramanasramam, is the ashram which was home to modern sage and Advaita Vedanta master Ramana Maharshi from 1922 until his death in 1950. It is situated at the foot of the Arunachala hill, to the west of Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, where thousands of seekers flocked to be in his presence. His samadhi shrine continues to attract devotees from all over the world.

Arthur Osborne was an English writer on spirituality and mysticism, and an influential disciple and biographer of Ramana Maharshi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advaita Guru Paramparā</span> Traditional list historical teachers of Advaita Vedanta

The Advaita Guru-Paramparā is the traditional lineage (parampara) of divine, Vedic and historical teachers of Advaita Vedanta. It begins with the Daiva-paramparā, the gods; followed by the Ṛṣi-paramparā, the Vedic seers; and then the Mānava-paramparā, with the historical teachers Gaudapada and Adi Shankara, and four of Shankara's pupils. Of the five contemporary acharyas, the heads of the five Advaita mathas, four acharyas trace their lineage to those four pupils and one to Adi Shankara himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neo-Advaita</span> Religious movement

Neo-Advaita, also called the Satsang-movement is a new religious movement, emphasizing the direct recognition of the non-existence of the "I" or "ego," without the need of preparatory practice. Its teachings are derived from, but not authorised by, the teachings of the 20th century sage Ramana Maharshi, as interpreted and popularized by H. W. L. Poonja and several of his western students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Adams (spiritual teacher)</span> American spiritual teacher (1928–1997)

Robert Adams was an American Advaita teacher. In later life Adams held satsang with a small group of devotees in California, US. He mainly advocated the path of jñāna yoga with an emphasis on the practice of self-enquiry. Adams' teachings were not well known in his lifetime, but have since been widely circulated amongst those investigating the philosophy of Advaita and the Western devotees of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. A book of his teachings, Silence of the Heart: Dialogues with Robert Adams, was published in 1999.

Ayyala Somayajulu Ganapathi Sastry, also known as Ganapati Muni (1878–1936), was a disciple of Ramana Maharshi. He was also variously known as "Kavyakantha", and "Nayana" by his disciples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manavasi Ramaswami Iyer</span>

Manavasi Ramaswami Iyer was a devotee of Ramana Maharshi. He composed the well-known song Saranagati in his devotion to Ramana Maharshi, which is still sung by devotees of Ramana Maharshi today.

References

  1. 1 2 "An Interview with David Godman". Realization.org. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  2. "An Interview with David Godman". Integral Yoga Magazine. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012.
  3. Godman, David. "David Godman". Realization.org. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  4. Archer, Rick (15 October 2013). "David Godman". Buddha At The Gas Pump. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
  5. Reninger, Elizabeth. "Guide Review: David Godman's "No Mind, I Am The Self" – The Lives & Teachings Of Sri Lakshmana Swamy & Mathru Sri Sarada". Taoism.about.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  6. "Interview with David Godman". Realization.org. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  7. "An Interview with David Godman". Realization.org. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  8. "Book Review of Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi". Parabola. 10: 94–97. Winter 1985.
  9. David Godman, Living by the Words of Bhagavan p. 4-5
  10. "Somerset Maugham and The Razor's Edge". The Mountain Path: 239–245. 1988.
  11. Shaftel, David (22 July 2010). "Somerset Maugham's Swami". The New York Times. The New York Times.
  12. "Somerset Maugham and the guru". The Telegraph. 10 August 2014.
  13. Davis, Leesa (2011). Advaita Vedanta and Zen Buddhism: Deconstructive Modes of Spiritual Inquiry. Bloomsbury Academic.
  14. 1 2 3 "Papaji – H. W. L. Poonja". Avadhuta Foundation. Archived from the original on 26 September 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  15. Papaji Interviews ISBN   978-0-96380-220-0
  16. David Godman, Nothing Ever Happened Volume One, page 9
  17. The Fire of Freedom, Satsang with Papaji volume 1 ISBN   978-0-9638022-6-2
  18. Final Talks ASIN   B001DQ4P1A
  19. Viswanathan, Susan (2010). The Children of Nature: The Life and Legacy of Ramana Maharshi. Roli Books.
  20. Padamalai ISBN   0-9711371-3-7
  21. Guru Vachaka Kovai 9780971137189
  22. "Ramana Puranam, composed by Sri Ramana Maharshi and Sri Muruganar". The Mountain Path: 51–58. July 2006.
  23. Venkatasubramanian, T. V.; Butler, Robert; Godman, David (2012). Sorupa Saram by Sorupananda. ISBN   978-0-98852-850-5.
  24. "Bhagavan, Manikkavachakar and the Tiruvachakam". The Mountain Path: 67–80. October 2005.
  25. "Bhagavan and Thayumanavar". The Mountain Path: 49–65. October 2004.
  26. "Tattuvaraya". The Mountain Path: 55–71. October 2011.
  27. "David Godman".
  28. "351. David Godman, 2nd Interview". 28 June 2016.
  29. "Miri Albahari".
  30. Be As You Are, ISBN   0-14-019062-7
  31. Papaji Interviews, ISBN   0-9638022-0-8
  32. Nothing Ever Happened, ISBN   0-9638022-5-9
  33. Final Talks, ISBN   0-9711371-8-1
  34. The Power of the Presence (Part 1), ISBN   0-9711371-1-0
  35. The Power of the Presence (Part 2), ISBN   0-9711371-0-2
  36. The Power of the Presence (Part 3), ISBN   0-9711371-2-9
  37. Padamalai, ISBN   0-9711371-3-7
  38. Guru Vachaka Kovai ISBN   978-0-9711371-8-9
  39. "About us". Whoamidocumentary.com. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  40. "Talks on Sri Ramana Maharshi: Narrated by David Godman". YouTube. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2016.