Spirituality Studies 9-2 Fall 2023 3 Martin Dojčár Michael James is one of the most prominent contemporary promoters of the teachings of the Indian sage Śrī Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950). His approach is based on the primary sources’ scholarship and experiential practice of contemplation (self-investigation). Michael’s understanding of Śrī Ramana’s teachings has been shaped by the direct influence of his close friendship and association with Sadhu Om (1922– 1985), a Tamil jñānī, poet, writer, editor, and devotee of Ramana Maharshi. Michael can be reached by email at mdajames@gmail.com. Doc. Dr. Martin Dojčár PhD. serves as Professor of Religious Studies at Trnava University and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Spirituality Studies. His research interests include comparative mysticism, yoga, and interfaith dialogue. He authored numerous publications from these areas and can be contacted at info@martindojcar.com. At the age of nineteen Michael James travelled overland to India in search of something that would give a meaning and purpose to his life. After travelling around India, Nepal, and Śrī Lanka for eighteen months, walking in the Himalayas and visiting many holy places, temples, ashrams, Buddhist monasteries, and meditation centres, during which time he first heard about Śrī Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950), in September 1976 he eventually came to Tiruvannamalai (where Śrī Ramana had lived for fifty-four years) hoping to learn more about him and his teachings. After arriving there, the first book he read was Who am I?, an English translation of Nāṉ Ār?, the most significant work written by Śrī Ramana in prose, and as soon as he read it he knew that he had found what he was looking for, because it became clear to him that more than knowing anything else, the most important thing for us to know is what we ourself actually are. To understand more about the teachings of Śrī Ramana, particularly about how to put them into practice, Michael began to read other books, which he found interesting but not entirely satisfactory, until he read The Path of Sri Ramana by Sadhu Om (1922–1985), which in those days was the only English book that clearly and correctly explained the practice of self-investigation (Sa. ātma-vicāra). Seeking further clarification, Michael began to frequently visit Sadhu Om, who was one of the foremost disciples of Śrī Ramana and a Tamil poet who had composed thousands of verses and songs on him and his teachings. Knowing that Sadhu Om had been entrusted by Muruganar, Śrī Ramana’s closest disciple, to edit all his unpublished verses, and had written in Tamil prose an explanatory paraphrase of Guru Vācaka Kōvai, a collection of more than 1250 Tamil verses in which Muruganar had recorded many of the important oral teachings of Śrī Ramana, Michael wanted to know more about it, so Sadhu Om suggested that together they could translate it into English. Over the course of the next eight years, till the end of Sadhu Om’s bodily life in March 1985, Michael assisted him in translating not only Guru Vācaka Kōvai but also all the original Tamil writings of Śrī Ramana and several other texts, which gave Michael the opportunity to learn classical Tamil and to gain a deep understanding of the simple but extremely profound and subtle teachings of Śrī Ramana, who is generally referred to by his devotees and followers as Bhagavan.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjkyNzgx