Happiness and The Art of Being, by Michael James, is a brilliant overview of the true philosophy and spiritual practice which Sri Ramana Maharshi taught, bringing forth the Ultimate Truth that Happiness lies deep within us, not in the gross and subtle objects that we ceaselessly pursue in the hopes of completing ourselves.
Ramana’s great gift was his simple and direct method for discovering and confirming this Truth for ourselves through rational and logical analysis of our own direct experience with reality.This approach, called Atma Vichara in Sanskrit is, thus, science and not a philosophy.
Michael James’s work is unique in that its clarity and authenticity are impeccable. Like this author, James came to believe that many of the people who translated Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings into English did not have a clear understanding of their practice which he taught. In fact, Michael classified some of the more popular texts as “confusing and misleading”, particularly in their discussions of Atma Vichara, the method of self inquiry, which he felt had been mercilessly reduced to the over simplified mantra, “Who am I?”
To his great credit, Michael James translated from Tamil and published many works by Ramana ( including what many consider his most important work, “Nan Yar?”, meaning, ‘Who am I?’ available at this website here under The Ramana Maharshi Books Section) and English translations of books of some of his students, including the remarkable Sri Sadhu Om, who studied with Ramana for more than five years and later with Sri Muruganar .
Happiness and The Art of Being will help you begin one of the clearest journey into the remarkable teachings of Ramana Maharshi. You can either download a free e-book by clicking here OR you can buy your own copy at Amazon. Please visit www.happinessofbeing.com for all of the other books written by Michael James, Sri Sadhu Om, Muruganar, and the elusive Michael Langford.
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