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The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi
This work contains almost everything written by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, his inspired compositions, and a number of translations from ancient Advaitic texts, representing the essence of his teachings. They fall into two categories-those which exemplify the path of surrender through love and devotion to the Divine, and those which are more doctrinal. The first group included the Five Hymns to Sri Arunachala, of which the first poem, The Marital Garland of Letters, "is among the most profound and moving poems in any language" and expressses the attitude of the soul aspiring for union with God. Sri Bhagavan has affirmed that seekers who study these works are certain to attain the Bliss of Liberation.
229 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
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About the author
Ramana Maharshi
254 books603 followersBhagavan Sri Ramaṇa Mahārṣi (Tamil: ரமண மஹரிஷி) born Venkataraman Iyer, was probably the most famous Indian sage of the twentieth century, he was born on December 30, 1879 in a village called Tirucculi about 30 miles south of Madurai in southern India. His middle-class parents named him Venkataraman. His father died when he was twelve, and he went to live with his uncle in Madurai, where he attended American Mission High School.
At age 16, he became spontaneously self-realized. Six weeks later he ran away to the holy hill of Arunachala where he would remain for the rest of his life. For several years he stopped talking and spent many hours each day in samadhi. When he began speaking again, people came to ask him questions, and he soon acquired a reputation as a sage. In 1907, when he was 28, one of his early devotees named him Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, Divine Eminent Ramana the Great Seer, and the name stuck. Eventually he became world-famous and an ashram was built around him. He died of cancer in 1950 at the age of 70.
Ramana Maharshi was born 30 kilometers south of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, India.
His Self-Realization
At age 16, he heard somebody mention "Arunachala." Although he didn't know what the word meant (it's the name of a holy hill associated with the god Shiva) he became greatly excited. At about the same time he came across a copy of Sekkilar's Periyapuranam, a book that describes the lives of Shaivite saints, and became fascinated by it. In the middle of 1896, at age 16, he was suddenly overcome by the feeling that he was about to die. He lay down on the floor, made his body stiff, and held his breath. "My body is dead now," he said to himself, "but I am still alive." In a flood of spiritual awareness he realized he was spirit, not his body.
His Guru
Ramana Maharshi didn't have a human guru (other than himself). He often said that his guru was Arunachala, a holy mountain in South India.
His Teachings
Ramana Maharshi taught a method called self-inquiry in which the seeker focuses continuous attention on the I-thought in order to find its source. In the beginning this requires effort, but eventually something deeper than the ego takes over and the mind dissolves in the heart center.
At age 16, he became spontaneously self-realized. Six weeks later he ran away to the holy hill of Arunachala where he would remain for the rest of his life. For several years he stopped talking and spent many hours each day in samadhi. When he began speaking again, people came to ask him questions, and he soon acquired a reputation as a sage. In 1907, when he was 28, one of his early devotees named him Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, Divine Eminent Ramana the Great Seer, and the name stuck. Eventually he became world-famous and an ashram was built around him. He died of cancer in 1950 at the age of 70.
Ramana Maharshi was born 30 kilometers south of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, India.
His Self-Realization
At age 16, he heard somebody mention "Arunachala." Although he didn't know what the word meant (it's the name of a holy hill associated with the god Shiva) he became greatly excited. At about the same time he came across a copy of Sekkilar's Periyapuranam, a book that describes the lives of Shaivite saints, and became fascinated by it. In the middle of 1896, at age 16, he was suddenly overcome by the feeling that he was about to die. He lay down on the floor, made his body stiff, and held his breath. "My body is dead now," he said to himself, "but I am still alive." In a flood of spiritual awareness he realized he was spirit, not his body.
His Guru
Ramana Maharshi didn't have a human guru (other than himself). He often said that his guru was Arunachala, a holy mountain in South India.
His Teachings
Ramana Maharshi taught a method called self-inquiry in which the seeker focuses continuous attention on the I-thought in order to find its source. In the beginning this requires effort, but eventually something deeper than the ego takes over and the mind dissolves in the heart center.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 19, 2013
I quite love Ramana Maharshi, and much of these works nicely express his views, often times endearingly. Occasionally the translations were at odds with the core teachings, many of these works were prepared by his followers and hence don't quite reflect the views of non-duality. While the metaphors can be beautiful, the tendency for a human to get lost in metaphor and misunderstanding is perhaps a reason to avoid expressing metaphors when discussing spirituality, especially when grasping onto ancient texts and bridging historic metaphors to the present. That said, there was some wonderful teachings mixed in, free from the silly metaphors and imbued with the simplicity and bliss that Ramana Maharshi was most known for
March 29, 2013
I liked the thought behind the book- an effort to understand the absolute or the ultimate.Certain things like the magnetic influence of Arunachala on Maharshi, the concept of universal truth and the importance of spirituality are indeed interesting and ring true as well but i felt it could have been a much much better read had it not maintained a serious , didactic tone and an intricate web of words to put forth the message and the wisdom acquired by the sage.May be i am not prepared for such a high level of language as yet but i liked the essence presented in the book.
December 22, 2015
A wonderful book about various writings from Ramana Maharishi, the silent sage from Thiruvannamalai. The silent saint has written some manuscripts like Ulladu Narpadhu and has translated works of others like Adi Shankaracharya into Tamil.
This book is a collection of manuscripts authored by Ramana Maharishi and his translations. It a very good book to read to understand that thoughts of this silent sage. His philosophy is one of introspection. Mindful meditation is what he suggests. Just observe what you are doing and do not react to situations. This is the message he gives repeatedly in each translation.
The translations of Atma Sakshatkara (an exposition of philosophy by Shiva to his son Shanmukha) and Devikalottara (an exposition of philosophy by Shiva to his consort Parvati) were the highlights for me. Completely blew my mind apart.
Read the book to understand the true philosophy of Hinduism.
This book is a collection of manuscripts authored by Ramana Maharishi and his translations. It a very good book to read to understand that thoughts of this silent sage. His philosophy is one of introspection. Mindful meditation is what he suggests. Just observe what you are doing and do not react to situations. This is the message he gives repeatedly in each translation.
The translations of Atma Sakshatkara (an exposition of philosophy by Shiva to his son Shanmukha) and Devikalottara (an exposition of philosophy by Shiva to his consort Parvati) were the highlights for me. Completely blew my mind apart.
Read the book to understand the true philosophy of Hinduism.
August 24, 2012
There is no one in my life influenced me so deep than Sri Ramana Maharshi. This book is one of the best book I ever read in my life, this book is easy reading, even for a beginner of Advaita-Vedanta. A very complete edition of his original works, containing an early teachings of his, and a translations of other works of Advaita-Vedanta, this a book is a really treasure.
December 11, 2012
Original prose and poetry by Ramana, contains essential Advaita advice, and reinforces other works written by followers and transcribers.
January 4, 2026
Sri Ramana Maharshi‘s works are arguably one of the clearest, timeless, and most direct when it comes to expounding our true being as the Self. Except some of the poetic writings in the book, Maharshi‘s conversations with disciples and his translations of Sri Shankaracharya‘s teachings are worth reading. The book’s editor does an excellent job of scrupulously documenting and distinguishing Maharshi‘s own work from his translations.
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May 5, 2025This one is way above my level, too much philosophy / religion.
December 18, 2023
A hard one to rate. Full of wise pointings yet the way the works were collected, introduced and captured in the book didn’t fully work for me. Maybe it was because I attempted to read it cover to cover rather than open it ‘at random’ to read a paragraph. As such it felt repetitive which given the pointings may be just what is needed to fully tune into the wisdom.
November 15, 2023
I Am
This is a very good book that encapsulates (possibly) all of Ramana Maharshi's work and provides an in-depth overview of Self-Realization according to Ramana Maharshi's view.
The book is well-written and provides many conversations between the disciple and the guru. However, I find it, as a western-minded reader and seeker, that this book while trying to appeal to the western reader (by being translated to English) does not do the best job in making every sanskrit term understandable.
I can understand that explaining every Sanskrit term used here is beyond the scope of the book however, due to the knowledge of all these sanskrit terms that is needed to fully understand Maharshi's words, the reading experience was a bit overwhelming.
This is a very good book that encapsulates (possibly) all of Ramana Maharshi's work and provides an in-depth overview of Self-Realization according to Ramana Maharshi's view.
The book is well-written and provides many conversations between the disciple and the guru. However, I find it, as a western-minded reader and seeker, that this book while trying to appeal to the western reader (by being translated to English) does not do the best job in making every sanskrit term understandable.
I can understand that explaining every Sanskrit term used here is beyond the scope of the book however, due to the knowledge of all these sanskrit terms that is needed to fully understand Maharshi's words, the reading experience was a bit overwhelming.
November 26, 2022
lots of translations
The book starts with some written works by Sri Ramana Maharshi but then continues with translations of ancient texts. Some of the texts are enjoyable but others are dragging. I believe reading is to be enjoyed, not enforced, so i skipped some translations.
Regardless there is some wisdom in this book to ingest. Maybe not everyone will enjoy the translations and maybe some will find there exactly what they are looking for.
Also keep in mind that the sage was a silent teacher. So there isn’t too much content available from him besides these writings
The book starts with some written works by Sri Ramana Maharshi but then continues with translations of ancient texts. Some of the texts are enjoyable but others are dragging. I believe reading is to be enjoyed, not enforced, so i skipped some translations.
Regardless there is some wisdom in this book to ingest. Maybe not everyone will enjoy the translations and maybe some will find there exactly what they are looking for.
Also keep in mind that the sage was a silent teacher. So there isn’t too much content available from him besides these writings
May 21, 2024
This collection of works by one of the most revered Indian Saints is very hard to review.
Ramana Maharshi was known as The Silent Saint, so as you can imagine - he was not known for his excessively documented teachings.
However, during his life he did discuss some key teachings with his devotees which were documented and translated. Further, The Marharshi himself translated key Indian Vedic texts which harmonised with his own teachings.
All of the above have been lovingly compiled and translated in this complete text.
Due to the compilation of the teachings, coupled with Maharshi’s simple to understand but hugely challenging to master form of non-dualist teaching on the inquiry to to self - the book often repeats key messages in similar, same or slightly different wording.
I would highly recommend reading this book from start to finish. At unexpected moments during reading, I had to close the book and meditate, as I began to experience the dissolution of Maya.
The last third of the book is much more densely formed than the first 2/3rds. The paragraphs are massive and deal with a weighty translation of an ancient Indian text. I won’t lie and say it was the best part of the text… it’s a much more difficult to read and tiresome (in my opinion) conveying of the messages previously provided in the book.
This book is not for a casual audience, no do I think it would ever end up in the hands of a casual reader.
It’s a book that, under the right set of circumstances can invoke a state of ego dissolution.
This book will forever be on hand and referred to by me from here out.
A simple set of teachings which may take many lifetimes to master. 😉
Ramana Maharshi was known as The Silent Saint, so as you can imagine - he was not known for his excessively documented teachings.
However, during his life he did discuss some key teachings with his devotees which were documented and translated. Further, The Marharshi himself translated key Indian Vedic texts which harmonised with his own teachings.
All of the above have been lovingly compiled and translated in this complete text.
Due to the compilation of the teachings, coupled with Maharshi’s simple to understand but hugely challenging to master form of non-dualist teaching on the inquiry to to self - the book often repeats key messages in similar, same or slightly different wording.
I would highly recommend reading this book from start to finish. At unexpected moments during reading, I had to close the book and meditate, as I began to experience the dissolution of Maya.
The last third of the book is much more densely formed than the first 2/3rds. The paragraphs are massive and deal with a weighty translation of an ancient Indian text. I won’t lie and say it was the best part of the text… it’s a much more difficult to read and tiresome (in my opinion) conveying of the messages previously provided in the book.
This book is not for a casual audience, no do I think it would ever end up in the hands of a casual reader.
It’s a book that, under the right set of circumstances can invoke a state of ego dissolution.
This book will forever be on hand and referred to by me from here out.
A simple set of teachings which may take many lifetimes to master. 😉
April 8, 2022
Great book to know and understand the Self.
I liked this beautiful collection of various writings by Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. These are messages and guidelines help any serious seeker of Truth. Heart touching, an inner journey to reach the Heart.
I liked this beautiful collection of various writings by Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. These are messages and guidelines help any serious seeker of Truth. Heart touching, an inner journey to reach the Heart.
September 24, 2019
Great work
A very enlightening read. This book will keep the reader enthralled from beginning to end. It is a liberating book.
A very enlightening read. This book will keep the reader enthralled from beginning to end. It is a liberating book.
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December 12, 2021....
February 2, 2023
Most of it if not all of it is way beyond my comprehension. I did finish it. Gave 5 stars because I didn't want to lower any due to my lasck of understanding.
September 20, 2025
Only read the “Marital Garland of Letters,” which I think is a masterpiece. I’ll have to read the rest of this collection.
September 5, 2017
This book is sacred. Read it twice already. Full of spiritual wisdom.
October 31, 2023
A must read book for all Sri Ramana Maharishi devotees.
March 18, 2013
Doesn't get any better than this!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews