Ramdas - The Essential Swami Ramdas

Swami Satchidananda, the Managing Trustee of Anandashram, graciously granted me permission to quote extensively from the various publications of Anandashram. I am most grateful to him for his help, cooperation and advice.

The facts for my Introduction (The Life of Swami Ramdas) have been taken from various books, notably Passage to Divinity: The Early Life of Swami Ramdas by Chandra Shekhar, which work incorporates the fine autobiographical essay by Swami Ramdas entitled The Early Life.

Vishwamata Krishnabai (Some Glimpses) by Swami Satchidananda is a very useful source of information on both Mataji Krishnabai and Swami Ramdas.

I thank Mr. V. Thanabalasingham for his extreme kindness in correcting and revising the manuscript.

World Wisdoms website offers many free e-Products of the worlds great spiritual traditions, including Hindu wallpaper, screen savers, e-cards, and e-stationery. Readers with email can request free daily inspirational quotations, including only Hindu quotes. The publisher and the editors hope these products will provide a source of daily inspiration.

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The Essential Swami Ramdas,
compiled by Susunaga Weeraperuma, 2005

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Fortunately the message of Swami Ramdas is being widely spread via his books. His works have been published not only in Western languages such as English, Italian and French but also in Indian languages such as Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Sindhi, and Bengali.

Arranged chronologically according to the dates when they were first published, all the books listed below are in English. Each of these items was published by Anandashram, P.O. Anandashram 671531, Kanhangad, District Kasaragod, Kerala, India.

In Quest of God (1925). This book vividly describes the experiences of Ramdas during the first year of his travels throughout India as a wandering monk, culminating in his spiritual Liberation.

At the Feet of God (1928). This book consists of the inspired utterances of Ramdas during the early years of his travels as a God-mad monk who saw Ram in everyone and everything. In her Preface Elizabeth Sharpe remarks: Ramdas has found that happiness; that intense, never-fading joy; that perfect bliss which comes from God-realization.

Gita-Sandesh (Message of the Gita) (1933). The Bhagavad Gita holds forth before mankind the highest and the loftiest ideal by attaining which the soul is liberated from all limitations and enjoys the peace and bliss of his inherent state of immortality. With these words Ramdas commences his commentary on the Gita. The different kinds of Yoga are discussed and difficult points are elucidated.

Krishnabai (1933). This beautiful though short sketch from the worthy pen of the Swamiji records the life of a seraphic soul who combines at once the divinity of the Mother with that of a radiant child of God, pure, innocent and ever blissful (an excerpt from the Foreword by Rama Bai C. T.).

The Sayings of Ramdas (1933). This book was compiled by Dr. M. K. Shukla from the early letters of Ramdas to various devotees. It is replete with spiritual instructions, such as, A cheerful mind cures and wards off all mental and physical diseases.

The Vision. In October 1933 Ramdas began an international monthly entitled The Vision, which is dedicated to universal love and service. He personally edited this periodical during the first two years of its existence. Now in its 66th year of publication, this magazine consists mainly of interesting excerpts from the works of Ramdas.

The Divine Life (1934). This large collection of essays on various spiritual subjects contains the essence of Ramdas teachings. His insights gained from Self-realization stimulate readers to lead divine lives themselves.

In the Vision of God: Experiences in Continuation of In Quest ofGod (1935). Whereas In Quest of God (1925) covered only one year of Ramdas experiences as an itinerant religious mendicant, In the Vision of God is a narration of his later experiences during the subsequent nine years, until the founding of Anandashram in 1931. This latter book supplements the former one.

Letters of Swami Ramdas, 2 volumes (1940). Words of loving concern and advice to spiritual aspirants are aplenty in these letters which were written during the period 192832.

Poems (1940). His mystical emotions have been expressed in simple and rapturous words. Born of his direct experience of the Absolute, these poems are ecstatic and intensely devotional in nature.

Glimpses of Divine Vision (1944). A devotee by the name of T. Bhavani Shanker Rau selected these significant passages from the unpublished letters of Ramdas for the years 193335 and arranged them under appropriate headings, such as Sorrow and Pain, Faith, Peace, and Meditation.

The Pathless Path (1947). Formerly published as Guide toAspirants, this book is a very useful collection of quotations from Ramdas works. Gurudas, the compiler of this book, states that, These extracts represent the several rungs of the ladder of spiritual evolution.

Ramdas Speaks, 5 volumes (1955). These books of inestimable value, which cover Ramdas talks and discourses during his 1954 world tour, were painstakingly and faithfully recorded by Swami Satchidananda.

World is God (1955). Ramdas has carefully chronicled his impressions of his 1954 world tour. He has described the remarkable people he met and the interesting places he visited.

Call of the Devotee (in continuation of In the Vision of God) (1959). In response to the invitations of several devotees, Ramdas traveled in different parts of India during 193638 and 1949. All his spiritual instructions to various questioners are of perennial interest and some of the happenings he reports are full of humor.

Hints to Aspirants (1959). This book is a collection of excerpts from Ramdas letters to his devotees the world over. His words are a great encouragement to all who are seeking after the Divine.

Ramdas Talks (1959). This work was published for Anandashram by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. It contains selections from Ramdas talks during his Indian tours in 195152.

Stories as Told by Ramdas (1959). Ramdas Foreword states: The book contains 108 stories. Many of the stories were either heard or read by Ramdas on various occasions. The reader will find in the book also stories told by Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramana Maharshi, and other saints of India and abroad. The collection is by no means exhaustive. But the stories presented here will no doubt prove to be a source of instruction and enlightenment to the spiritual aspirant.