Arunachala

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-213
Author(s):  
Shirley du Boulay
Keyword(s):  
Religious Imagination ◽  
Ramana Maharshi

Abstract"Arunachala" is a slightly edited version of chapter six of The Cave of the Heart, a Biography of Swami Abhishiktananda, published by Orbis Books in 2005. It tells of Abhishiktananda's heart being opened to the Vedic tradition by his encounter with Ramana Maharshi and how he subsequently realized that, just as Ramana had been drawn by the Mountain of Arunachala itself, so was he. In a curious sense he was, indeed, in love with a mountain. Abhishiktananda is an excellent subject for the discussion of the "inter-religious imagination" for three reasons: First, because he was a pioneer of extraordinary courage in exploring the boundaries of Hinduism and Christianity. Secondly, because despite having a good theological mind, he was more heart than head, and his determination to explore everything in the light of experience rather than theory give his conclusions an exceptional immediacy and value. Thirdly, because few people have ever experienced "double-belonging" so acutely: he was torn apart by the tension he felt between the two, a tension he only resolved towards the end of his life. The author refers to him initially as Henri in this essay, as he did not adopt the name of Abhishiktananda until 1950.

scholarly journals Ramana Maharshi and the Colonial Encounter

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alan Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
The Political ◽  
Colonial India ◽  
Politics And Religion ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
Ramana Maharshi ◽  
Colonial Encounter ◽  
Modern Era ◽  
Historical Periods

<p>Recent scholarship on Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) follows the romanticism of hagiographical literature, presenting him as a purely spiritual and timeless figure, thus ignoring the political contours of colonial India. Scholarly literature, then, has effectively deracinated this internationally acclaimed figure from one of the most fascinating and transformative historical periods of the modern era. The current study seeks to correct ahistorical representations of Ramana Maharshi by considering the historical processes that determined his status as a Maharshi (Great Vedic Seer) and Advaitin. I aim to show that Ramana Maharshi's image as a timeless and purely spiritual figure actually locates him in his historical situation, and further, that his status as a Maharshi (Maharṣi) and Advaitin reflects the ways in which "the political‟ and "the spiritual‟ interacted during colonial India. This thesis will delineate the process by which Ramana's status as a Maharshi allowed his religious identity to shift from an unorthodox, localised, and ethnic-sectarian form to one in which he symbolised a religious authority in an orthodox and pan-Hindu way. In a broader context, then, this thesis seeks to address the following question: how, and to what extent, did colonial dynamics affect the ways that Hindus interpreted and represented their religious figures during the nationalist period? Here I will demonstrate that Ramana Maharshi represents a compelling case study in the ways in which Orientalist stereotypes about a "mystical East‟ affected the intersection of politics and religion in colonial India.</p>

Ramana Maharshi

2020 ◽  
pp. 1934-1935
Author(s):  
Nicholas Grant Boeving
Keyword(s):  
Ramana Maharshi

scholarly journals Ramana Maharshi and the Colonial Encounter

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alan Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
The Political ◽  
Colonial India ◽  
Politics And Religion ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
Ramana Maharshi ◽  
Colonial Encounter ◽  
Modern Era ◽  
Historical Periods

<p>Recent scholarship on Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) follows the romanticism of hagiographical literature, presenting him as a purely spiritual and timeless figure, thus ignoring the political contours of colonial India. Scholarly literature, then, has effectively deracinated this internationally acclaimed figure from one of the most fascinating and transformative historical periods of the modern era. The current study seeks to correct ahistorical representations of Ramana Maharshi by considering the historical processes that determined his status as a Maharshi (Great Vedic Seer) and Advaitin. I aim to show that Ramana Maharshi's image as a timeless and purely spiritual figure actually locates him in his historical situation, and further, that his status as a Maharshi (Maharṣi) and Advaitin reflects the ways in which "the political‟ and "the spiritual‟ interacted during colonial India. This thesis will delineate the process by which Ramana's status as a Maharshi allowed his religious identity to shift from an unorthodox, localised, and ethnic-sectarian form to one in which he symbolised a religious authority in an orthodox and pan-Hindu way. In a broader context, then, this thesis seeks to address the following question: how, and to what extent, did colonial dynamics affect the ways that Hindus interpreted and represented their religious figures during the nationalist period? Here I will demonstrate that Ramana Maharshi represents a compelling case study in the ways in which Orientalist stereotypes about a "mystical East‟ affected the intersection of politics and religion in colonial India.</p>

When a Movement Is Not a Movement

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-114
Author(s):  
Phillip Charles Lucas
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Cultural Setting ◽  
The North ◽  
Cultural Spaces ◽  
Ramana Maharshi ◽  
Bear Witness

This article examines the influence of the Hindu teacher Ramana Maharshi on Neo-Advaita groups in North America. These groups constitute a growing segment of North America’s liberal spirituality subculture and bear witness to the transposability of the Maharshi’s teachings and the portability of his method of self-inquiry into non-Indian cultural spaces. I use three teachers as representative examples of Neo-Advaitin strategies for adapting the Maharshi’s Advaitic message to the North American cultural setting.

Ramana Maharshi

2010 ◽  
pp. 754-754
Author(s):  
Fredrica R. Halligan ◽  
Nicholas Grant Boeving ◽  
John Pahucki ◽  
Ginette Paris ◽  
Charlene P. E. Burns ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ramana Maharshi
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