Paul Brunton (1898-1981) Author of A Search in Secret India made Ramana Maharshi well known

Paul Brunton and Ramana Maharshi (Part 3)
by
Dr. J. Glenn Friesen

©2005

d) Brunton, Iyer and Jung

In August 1937, Brunton and Iyer were in Paris. Iyer represented India at the International Congress of Philosophy at the Sorbonne. It was while they were in Europe that they met C.G. Jung. Jung invited Iyer and Brunton to Küsnacht, Switzerland, where they discussed problems of Indian philosophy. It was at this meeting that Jung told Brunton that he was a mystic but could not acknowledge this, because he wanted to preserve his scientific reputation. Both Brunton and Iyer influenced Jung's ideas about Ramana Maharshi, as I have shown in my article "Jung, Ramana Maharshi and Eastern Meditation" [87].

As I have also shown, Brunton and Jung had very similar criticisms of Ramana. The fact that Jung criticized Ramana is also not generally known. This is partly due to the fact that Jung's introduction to the book The Spiritual Teachings of Ramana Maharshi [88] gives the impression that Jung agreed with Ramana. But that introduction was taken from Jung's introduction to Heinrich Zimmer's book about Ramana, Der Weg Zum Selbst: Lehre und Leben des indischen heiligen Shri Ramana Maharshi aus Tiruvannamalei. The English translation of Jung’s introduction is contained in Jung's Collected Works, Volume 9, under the title, "The Holy Men of India." Only excerpts of that introduction appear in the Shambhala edition. When Jung's full introduction is read, it is clear that he had serious disagreements with Ramana, at least as he understood him.

9. Discover Yourself [The Inner Reality] (1939)

In 1938, Brunton also wrote Discover Yourself [the U.S. title for The Inner Reality] [89]. It was published the next year, 1939. The book is addressed to Christians, and it does not directly refer to Ramana.

Brunton frequently quotes from the Bible in this book. He says that the best advice is "Be still and know that I am God" (Discover, 15). As we have seen, this verse was also one of Ramana's ways of characterizing his teaching of Self-Enquiry. In Discover, Brunton uses other Christian language. He refers to the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven and the words of the Lord's prayer (Discover, 53), and the Beatitudes and their emphasis on being called the "children of God" (Discover, 75, 103) and the Gospel of John (Discover, 269). Brunton says that thought is secondhand, but we must have immediate knowledge by unifying ourselves with God:

Brunton uses the analogy of the unity of the Self refracted into phenomenal reality, like white light in a prism:

Brunton says that meditation is the process of interiorization, withdrawal, and ultimately reaching "the original white lamp." Now the idea of temporal reality being a refraction of a prism is not unique to Brunton. But did he take it from Ramana? Humphreys refers to the prism and the White Light. He says that Jesus was utterly unconscious when He worked His miracles. “It was the White Light, the Life, Who is the cause and the effect, acting in perfect concert. “My Father and I are One” (Glimpses, 25).

Later, in his Notebooks, Brunton admitted that in Discover, he had used Christ's teachings as a peg for his own ideas:

In The Inner Reality, I have used the words of Jesus as mere pegs on which to hang my own teaching. This follows the example on the ancient religion makers. It has thus helped thousands of Christians, who might otherwise not have been reached by my words, to a higher concept of Truth [90].

So it was not only Ramana’s teaching that Brunton used as a peg. He also acknowledges using Christ’s teachings in this way!

10. Indian Philosophy and Modern Culture (1939)

Brunton spent the winter of 1937/38 in London (Cahn Fung I, 39). In May 1938, Brunton went to the United States. Then from the west coast of the U.S., he sailed back to Asia.

Brunton published Indian Philosophy and Modern Culture [91] at the request of the Maharaja of Mysore (Essential, 14). It was dedicated to Iyer. Brunton later referred to this work as his doctoral thesis (Hurst, 79). As early as 1937, Brunton had begun referring to himself as having a doctorate. Brunton’s 1937 book The Quest for the Overself gives the author’s name as “Paul Brunton, Ph.D.” Masson says the thesis (if it was a thesis), is 45 pages long. Brunton told him that his Ph.D. was from Roosevelt University in Chicago. Masson says that he checked, and that university has no record of Brunton. And Masson, who studied Sanskrit, says that Brunton had no knowledge of Sanskrit (Masson, 161).

11. The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga (1941)

In January 1939, Brunton returned to Ramana's ashram. He had expected to stay there three months, and then spend three months in Mysore. He left Ramana’s ashram after only three weeks, and says he was forced to leave [92]. Ramana’s serious disagreements with Ramana and the ashram are not well known, and we will look at these in some detail.

Instead of staying with Ramana, Brunton went to Mysore to stay with the Maharajah. He remained at Mysore until 1947 (although the Maharajah died in 1940). While at Mysore, Brunton published The Hidden Teaching Behind Yoga.

In Hidden Teaching, Brunton changes the question “Who am I?” to “What am I?” He says that "Who Am I" was a question which emotionally pre-supposed that the ultimate 'I' of man would prove to be a personal being, whereas "What Am I?" rationally lifted the issue to scientific impersonal enquiry into the nature of that ultimate 'I.' (Hidden Teaching, 17).

In Hidden Teaching, Brunton says that he still regards Ramana as “the most eminent South Indian yogi.” But he also says something quite surprising: that he had known about meditation and yoga before he came to Ramana's ashram, and that his experience with Ramana was no new experience. He makes the “confession” that when he first came to India, he was "no novice in the practice of yoga," Even as a teenager

Brunton claims that he not only had practiced yoga, but that he had experienced the abnormal phenomena, or siddhis. He refers to the experience of being seemingly extended in space, an incorporeal being.

Brunton says that Ramana only confirmed his earlier experiences. Is Brunton being honest here? Or has he invented this story of previous experience in view of his disenchantment with Ramana? Surprisingly, the independent record seems to show that Brunton may be telling the truth. There is evidence that Brunton had had earlier experiences. The 1931 independent report of his first meeting with Ramana reports Brunton (then known as Hurst) as telling Ramana that he had earlier experienced moments of bliss [94].

It is in Hidden Teaching that Brunton says that he used the story of Ramana as a “peg” on which to hang his own theories of meditation:

It is also in Hidden Teaching that Brunton made public his criticisms of Ramana. Brunton says that there were “threats of physical violence” against him. He says he left the ashram “abruptly.” He refers to “threats of physical violence” and "malicious lying ignorance." He speaks of being “harshly separated by the ill-will of certain men.” He speaks of “hate” and “low manners”, which he attributes to jealousy over his success (Hidden Teaching, 18). Brunton did not return to see Ramana at all in the 12 years before Ramana’s death, even though he passed within a few miles of the ashram (Notebooks 8, s. 6:233.)

Brunton had many disagreements with Ramana and with the way the ashram was run. We will examine them in detail.

a) The allegation of plagiarism

An article in The Maharshi gives the following reason for Brunton’s disagreements with the ashram. It says that after the success of his book A Search in Secret India, Brunton had published many books without acknowledging that Ramana was the source of his ideas. Therefore Ramana’s brother, Niranjanananda Swami, who as the Sarvadikhari managed the ashram, objected to Brunton continuing to take notes of what Ramana said to disciples. In 1939, Niranjananda asked Munagala Venkataramiah to tell Brunton that he could not longer take notes in the hall. Brunton asked whether this was also Ramana’s own view. Venkataramiah did not reply. Ramana overhead Brunton’s question, but he did not make any response, either. That was the last time that Brunton took notes in the hall, and it is said that this was when Brunton began distancing himself from the ashram.[95]

As we have seen, there certainly appears to be truth in the allegation that Brunton did not sufficiently acknowledge Ramana as his source for many ideas. Chadwick says that Brunton was “a plagiarist of the first water” (Chadwick, 16). But there were also other disagreements with Ramana, at least as noted by Brunton.

b) Management of the ashram

Brunton disagreed with Ramana's brother, who was the Sarvadhikari in charge of the ashram. Brunton describes the situation at the ashram as:

He says that Ramana’s ascetic indifference meant that he could not control the ashram:

The ashram had turned out to be “a miniature fragment of the imperfect world I had deserted” (Hidden Teaching, 43).

c) Comments made about Ramana

Masson says that Brunton had given interviews in the Indian papers about Ramana, which the brother had not found satisfactory (Masson, 25). Were these disagreements even earlier than 1939? Brunton had not been at the ashram since early 1936. In September 1936, Ramana was asked about "some disagreeable statements by a man well known to Maharshi." Ramana replied,

Perhaps this is not a reference to Brunton. But the dates fit with his trip to the Himalayas “in exile.” Brunton did write an article in September 1936 in The Leader. The article concerned the Maharaja in Pithapuram (in northeastern India), of whom Brunton spoke very favourably (Cahn Fung I, 38). And I am not aware of anyone else who was making money from books about Ramana. In Conscious Immortality, the reference to the “vilifier’ of Ramana is indicated to be someone from the town, and to a pamphlet that this person has printed, and not to a newspaper interview. It is unclear why this reference was changed from what is reported in Talks. The changed version makes it much less likely that the reference was to Brunton.

Chadwick reports that when Ramana was asked why so many things happened at the ashram of which he did not approve, Ramana replied,

d) Lack of guidance by Ramana

Brunton says that with Ramana, he experienced intermittent satisfactions of mental peace. But these entered into conflict with “an innate, ever-enquiring rationalism” (Hidden Teaching, 21). He had hoped to obtain more guidance from Ramana:

Brunton complains about a lack of guidance. He certainly had Ramana's instruction of the method of self-enquiry. Now what more did Brunton want? It seems to me that perhaps he wanted the magical powers or siddhis associated with yoga. Brunton wanted initiation. That is the only meaning that I can give to his statement that Ramana “never instructed any other person.” Examples are the power of telepathy or of foreseeing the future. We know that Brunton was interested in such powers. And he refers to the "higher mysteries of yoga."

e) Insufficiency of trance

We have seen that Brunton’s book Search emphasizes Ramana’s trances, and that Brunton regarded these trances as evidence of Ramana’s enlightenment. But in Hidden Teaching, Brunton criticizes trances. Brunton refers to the “sheer shrivelled complacency” of some of Ramana's followers, and their “hidden superiority complex.” He refers to this mystical attitude as a “holier than thou attitude,” and an assumption that total knowledge had been reached when in fact it was only a partial knowledge (Hidden Teaching, 16). He says that without the healthy opposition of active participation in the world’s affairs, they [mystics] have no means of knowing whether they were living in a realm of sterilized self-hallucination or not (Hidden Teaching, 19).

Brunton’s change from emphasizing trance to criticizing it as insufficient seems to be based on Iyer’s neo-Hindu emphasis on helping others.

Brunton says that meditation on oneself is a necessary and admirable pursuit but it does not constitute the entire activity which life is constantly asking of us.

Furthermore, the ecstasies of meditation were not lasting. They had to be repeated if one wanted to live again in the original condition (Hidden Teaching, 26).

Brunton cites Aurobindo with approval:

Brunton refers to Zen as more sensible and practical. Young men are trained for 3 years; during that time they are given active tasks. They are not allowed to pass the day in lazy, futile or parasitical existence.” A half hour of meditation daily is sufficient after their departure from the monastery to keep them in contact with spiritual peace; their worldly life did not suffer but as enriched (Hidden Teaching, 28).

And yet Ramana himself was opposed to trance in the sense of loss of consciousness. Ramana distinguished between nirvikalpa samadhi (trance) and sahaja samadhi. See my discussion of this in Jivanmukta.

Swarnagiri reports that Ramana said that the practitioner of self-enquiry must be ever on the alert and enquire within as to who has this experience:

This is the point of divergence between the road to salvation and yoga nidra, which is merely a long trance or deep sleep.
Trance and unconsciousness also are only for the mind; they do not affect the Self (Crumbs, 40). And

Even talk of “killing the mind” is rejected, for mind is also part of reality:

And Ramana also says, “Absence of thought does not mean a void. There must be one to know the void” (Conscious Immortality, 77).

f) The lawsuit

Brunton says that someone published a statement that he had started a lawsuit against Ramana. He felt compelled to deny the allegation (Notebooks, vol. 10: 2:462). But a legal action had been commenced for control of the ashram. K.K. Nambiar says that the lawsuit was started by one of Ramana’s attendants, named Perumalsami, claiming the right to the land (Crumbs, 26). The action was commenced some time in 1936. Brunton was at the ashram for part of 1936, so it is possible that even if he did not commence the lawsuit that he expressed some sympathy for it. We know that he was opposed to the way that the ashram was being run.

The lawsuit is very interesting, since in 1936 Ramana was himself compelled to testify in the case. A fascinating excerpt is given recorded in Talks. (Talks 237-240; November 15, 1936).) The plaintiff’s argument was that if Ramana was truly a sannyasin, he could not own any property. The same issue was to arise later when Ramana made a will. There was a real issue whether Ramana owned any property that he could dispose of by his will [97].

Even if Brunton was not involved in any legal action to take control of the ashram, he certainly had strong objections to the ashram management. And he blamed Ramana for not caring how the affairs in the ashram were being managed. He says that Ramana’s ascetic indifference to the world had rendered him “temperamentally disinclined to exercise the slightest control.”

g) Ethical disagreements

Brunton had ethical disagreements with Ramana. Brunton’s concern about Ramana’s indifference to the way that the ashram was being managed was really only one issue within the larger issue of how the realized person is to interact with the world. And it is this larger ethical issue that is really the basis of Brunton’s ultimate dissatisfaction with Ramana’s teaching. For Brunton, it is not sufficient for a realized person to meditate. Interaction and involvement with the outside world is necessary.

Brunton says that meditation on oneself is a necessary and admirable pursuit but it does not constitute the entire activity which life is constantly asking of us. Meditation apart from experience is “inevitably empty.” He says the price of yoga is world-renunciation–fleeing from wife, family, home, property and work; taking refuge in ashrams, caves, monasteries, jungles or mountains. But Brunton says that we were meant to live actively in the world. The field of activity is in the external world, not in the trance-world (Hidden Teaching, 20).

Brunton felt that Ramana took no stand on issues like the coming war. Brunton seems particularly upset by an incident when news was brought to the ashram that Italian planes had gunned undefended citizens on the streets of Ethiopia (the Italians invaded Ethiopia in October, 1935). Brunton reports that Ramana said:

Brunton’s criticisms of Ramana are quite different from what he said in Search:

Chadwick also made some criticisms of Ramana. He says that Ramana used to chew snuff, and that when Chadwick knew him he still chewed betel nut (Chadwick, 35). A more serious ethical shortcoming is that caste was observed in the ashram dining room. On one side the Brahmins were seated, on the other side the rest. Ramana insisted on it (Chadwick, 34). And Ramana seemed unconcerned regarding World War II. He is reported to have once remarked, “Who knows but that Hitler is a Jnani, a divine instrument.” (Chadwick, 35).

Ramana seemed to believe that a realized person was above ethical obligations of right and wrong. For the jñani there is no good or evil, only spontaneous activity or actionless-activity of Tao:

Ramana took the view that our concern is to be with our own self-realization, and that if good results, we will be unconscious in performing it:

Ramana said “Self-reform automatically brings about social reform” (Conscious Immortality, 14). Ramana referred to Tayumanavar for support:

Humphreys refers to Vivekananda for interpretation of this view. “You do not help the world at all by wishing or trying to do so, but only by helping yourself.” (Glimpses, 21).

I believe that Brunton's criticism of Ramana is correct, at least with respect to ethics. Ken Wilber also says that, however realized Ramana was, he had ethical shortcomings [99].

I see the problem as an inconsistency in Ramana's teachings between different views of the self. On the one hand, the self is seen as static and unmoving, uninvolved in the world. On the other hand, there is the view of the self as dynamic and participating in the world.

h) God as an illusion.

Brunton also criticizes Ramana’s view that even God is an illusion:

This criticism reflects a rather naïve view of Vedanta. Brunton had discussed this issue with Ramana as early as December 1935 (Talks, 106, par. 112). Brunton’s own later teaching moves from a personal to an impersonal Absolute. And instead of “Who am I?” Brunton refers to “What am I” as being more scientific (Hidden Teaching, 17).

i) Lack of Originality

Finally, Brunton seems to criticize Ramana for a lack of originality. He says, "some years after I met Maharshi I discovered in an old Sanskrit text the same Who Am I method" [101]. This is also a strange criticism, in view of the fact that Brunton was not really interested in Ramana’s ideas at all, except as a peg for his own ideas. Nevertheless, there is some point to the criticism, for Ramana’s disciples have often assumed more originality in Ramana than is warranted by the facts. Ramana relied on many previously written works, including some tantric works, as I have shown in Jivanmukta.

Although Brunton left the ashram, and wrote publicly about his disagreements with Ramana, he nevertheless expressed his "loving devotion and profound reverence for him”:

It should be noted that even in this appreciative comment, Brunton is emphasizing special occult powers, such as telepathy.

In his Notebooks, Brunton wrote that he regretted saying some of the things he did about Ramana. He says that he regrets the criticism of Ramana, and says that this criticism was occasioned “more by events in the history of the ashram than by his own self.” [102] But although he continued to admire Ramana as a mystic, Brunton did not change his views about the importance of ethics.

12. The Wisdom of the Overself (1943)

From 1939, and throughout World War II, Brunton remained as a guest of the Maharajah of Mysore. Brunton was still there when his own disciple Jacques Masson visited him in December 1945 (Masson, 9).

Brunton completed the book The Wisdom of the Overself in 1942; it was published the following year [103]. In it, Brunton stresses his idea of mentalism. He says that the whole world is rejected by our own minds. And the world outside of us has been projected as a thought by the World Mind.

I have earlier shown how Thurston had a similarly mentalistic view of the world in Dayspring.

13. The Spiritual Crisis of Man (1952)

In 1946, Brunton wrote to Ramana. The letter was read to Ramana on March 29, 1946. A disciple of Ramana reports this:

Brunton stayed in Mysore until 1947, when he moved to the Masson home in Los Angeles (Masson, 27). In 1954, Masson lived in Hawaii, with Brunton as guest (Masson, 47).

In 1952, Brunton published The Spiritual Crisis of Man [104]. That same year, he went back to Ramana’s ashram:

14. Essays on the Quest

After Brunton's death, his book Essays on the Quest was published [105]. In one of the essays, he sets out his views against black magic or "evil occultism" (Essays, 12). And he speaks about the unity of Mind:

This shows that Brunton continued his mentalist or idealist view of the world

In these essays, Brunton also refers to meditation. The following words surely have reference to Ramana:

A person who merely meditates is "a complacent recluse and nothing more." The true sage "is the man who has finished all three stages of religion, yoga and philosophy, has realized the Overself and has come in consequence to a wide compassion for his fellow creatures" (Essays, 118). And, contrary to what he says in his first book, A Search in Secret India, Brunton says that the aura of peace radiated by a mystic is not a sign of perfection:

It is this lack of ethical concern for others that was Brunton's primary criticism of Ramana, and the reason that he chose V. Subrahmanya Iyer as his guru instead of Ramana.

VII. Conclusion

Brunton is the one who is most responsible for introducing Ramana Maharshi's ideas to the English speaking world. For that we must be grateful. But a review of Brunton's writings raises serious issues regarding what Brunton says about Ramana. Brunton says that he used Ramana as a “peg” on which to hang his own ideas. His own ideas were very much influenced by Madame Blavatsky’s theosophy. I have shown that Brunton’s idea of the Overself, although related to Emerson’s idea of the Oversoul, is also related to ideas that were developed in this kind of theosophy. These ideas of the Overself, and Brunton’s mentalistic interpretation of it, appear to have influenced the way that he reported his experiences with Ramana. And throughout the time that he wrote about Ramana, Brunton had an interest in occult powers or siddhis. The powers that Brunton was interested in included telepathy, and the silent radiating power of self-realized persons. Brunton reports both with respect to Ramana.

Apart from his own ideas, Brunton relied on previous biographies of Ramana by Humphreys and by Narasimha. Humphreys, whose biography was also used by Narasimha, was himself influenced by theosophy.

As we have seen, Ramana read many of Brunton’s books, including A Search in Secret India, The Secret Path, A Search in Secret Egypt, and A Hermit in the Himalayas: The Journey of a Lonely Exile.

Ramana recommended these books for others to read, and he seems to have used Brunton’s ideas to interpret his own teachings. This seems particular evident in the idea of teaching by silent radiations of power.

Ramana’s disciples were also influenced by Brunton’s ideas. Many of them came to see Ramana only because they first read about Ramana’ in Brunton’s books. And Brunton’s ideas like the Overself also appear in these disciples’ own writings.

Brunton's works as a whole are also important in showing how his initial idealization of Ramana was tempered by his subsequent experience. Devotees of Ramana need to ask whether Ramana's ethical stance is beyond criticism. I have explored some of these issues in my article "Jung, Ramana Maharshi and Eastern Meditation."

Brunton's criticism of Ramana was based largely on the ideas he learned from his subsequent guru V. Subrahmanya Iyer. Iyer's philosophy was not based on traditional Hinduism, but on neo-Hinduism–a Hinduism that has been influenced by western philosophy. It seems that Brunton and Iyer did not see how Ramana himself was influenced by at least some ideas of neo-Hinduism. At the very least, Ramana was influenced by Hindu traditions that are different than traditional Vedanta. Ramana was also influenced by Christian ideas. He had a good knowledge of many Biblical passages, and he quoted them freely, a fact that is often forgotten. I have explored these issues in my work "Ramana Maharshi: Hindu and Non-Hindu Interpretations of a Jivanmukta."

The use of western ideas, whether in neo-Hinduism or in the western mystical tradition can be of help in interpreting Ramana and in even correcting some of his views. I believe that Franz von Baader's Christian theosophy, and Baader’s interpretations of Meister Eckhart and Jakob Boehme are useful in attempting to bridge eastern and western nondual traditions. But I do not think that Brunton's reliance on Madame Blavatsky's occult theosophy is useful. Nor do I agree with Brunton's attempted synthesis between western idealistic mentalism and Hindu advaita. Brunton's solution alternates between a dualism and a mentalistic monism. Brunton’s philosophy is not nondual. And his emphasis on seeking occult powers is not in accord with either nondualism or with Ramana’s own ideas.

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Narasimha, Swami B.V.: Self Realization: The Life and Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (Tiruvannamalai, 1993, first published 1931) [‘Narasimha’].

Osborne, Arthur: Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-Knowledge (York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser, 1997, first published 1970) [‘Osborne’].

Perovich Jr., Anthony N.: “Does the Philosophy of Mysticism rest on a Mistake?” in The Problem of Pure Consciousness, ed. Robert K.C. Forman (Oxford, 1990).

Purucker, Gottfried de: Fundamentals of the Esoteric Philosophy (Pasadena: Theosophical University Press, first published 1932), chapter 48. (Available online [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/fund/fund-1.htm].

Ramana Maharshi: Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, (Tiruvannamalai: Sri Ramanasramam, 1994, first published 1939).101-103 [‘Talks’].

Ramana Maharshi: The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, ed. Arthur Osborne (New York: Samuel Weiser, 1978, first published 1962 [‘Teachings’].

Ramana Maharshi, The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi, ed. Arthur Osborne (York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser, 1997, first published 1972).

Ramana Maharshi: The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi (Tiruvannamalai: Sri Ramanasramam, 2001).

Ramana Maharshi: Maharshi’s Gospel (Tiruvannamalai: Sri Ramanasramam, 1969).

Ramana Maharshi: Erase the Ego (Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1996).

Ramana Maharshi: Website for Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi [http://www.Ramana-maharshi.org/books.htm].

Reddy, N. Balaram: “The Recollections of N. Balaram Reddy,” The Maharshi, Nov/Dec 1995, Vol. 5, No. 3. Online at [http://www.arunachala.org/NewsLetters/1995/nov_dec.html].

Sarma, Lakshmana [“Who”]: Maha Yoga or The Upanishadic Lore in the Light of the Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana (Tiruvannamalai: Sri Ramanasramam, 1961, first published 1937)

Scholem, Gershom G.: Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (New York: Schocken, 1961).

Swarnagiri, Ramananda: Crumbs from His Table (Tiruvannamalai: Sri Ramanasramam, 1995, first published 1963) [‘Crumbs’].

Thurstan, Frederic W.: "The Visit of Apollonius to the Mahatmas of India," Theosophist 11 (Feb. 1890).

Thurstan, Frederic W.: "Ordeals & Mysteries of Ancient Egypt," Theosophist 16 (Jul 1895).

Villars, Nicolas Pierre Henri de Montfaucon, Le Comte de Gabalis: Discourses on the secret sciences and mysteries, in accordance with the principles of the ancient magi and the wisdom of the Kabalistic philosophers, Newly rendered into English with commentary and annotations (London : William Rider & Son, 1922, originally published circa 1914).

Vivekananda, Swami: Practical Vedanta (Calcutta: Ananda Press, 1978, first published 1896).

Wilber, Ken: One Taste (Boston, Shambhala, 1999).

Wright, C. Richard: “The Spread of Self Realization Fellowship (Yogoda Sat-Sanga) over the Earth” [www.ananda.it/yogananda/india1935/india19.html].

Other Articles:”
“Alan Bennett: "A Biographical Sketch of a Friend and Acquaintance of Aleister Crowley,” [http://www.redflame93.com/BennettAlan.html].

“From the Early Days," The Maharshi 7, No. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1997, online at [http://www.arunachala.org/NewsLetters/1997/sep_oct.html].

A review of T.V. Kapali Sastri’s The Way of Light, in The Mountain Path 1 (January, 1964), 55, online at [www.Ramana-maharshi.org/downloads/m_p_january_1964.pdf].

Endnotes

[87] J. Glenn Friesen: "Jung, Ramana Maharshi and Eastern Meditation” (2005). Online at [http://www.members.shaw.ca/cgjung/JungRamana.html].

[88] C.G. Jung: “Sri Ramana and His Message to Modern Man,” Foreword to The Spiritual Teachings of Ramana Maharshi (Boston: Shambhala, 1988). This Foreword contains only very selective excerpts from Jung’s introduction to Heinrich Zimmer’s book on Jung, Der Weg Zum Selbst: Lehre und Leben des indischen heiligen Shri Ramana Maharshi aus Tiruvannamalei (Zurich: Rascher, 1954). Jung’s introduction was translated into English and included in Volume 9 of his Collected Works as "The Holy Men of India."

[89] In 1938, Brunton also wrote Discover Yourself [formerly called The Inner Reality] New York: Samuel Weiser, 1939 [‘Discover’].

[90] Cahn Fung II, 98, citing Notebooks VIII, 5, 199.

[91] Paul Brunton: Indian Philosophy and Modern Culture (New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1939) [‘Modern Culture’].

[92] George Feuerstein is clearly wrong in his view that these disagreements arose only after publication of The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga in 1941. See “Paul Brunton: From Journalist to Gentle Sage” at [http://www.yrec.org/brunton.html].

[93] Paul Brunton: The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga (London: Rider and Co., 1941) [‘Hidden Teaching’].

[94] "From the Early Days," The Maharshi 7, No. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1997)[http://www.arunachala.org/
NewsLetters/1992/mar_apr.html]

[95] “The Recollections of N. Balaram Reddy,” The Maharshi, Nov/Dec 1995, Vol. 5, No. 3. Online at [http://www.arunachala.org/NewsLetters/1995/nov_dec.html].

[96] Letter from Brunton to Iyer; copy in Brunton Archive (Cited in Fung I, 40).

[97] Yet Ramana did sign a Power of Attorney in 1933 in favour of his brother, the sarvadhikari, and Ramana executed a will. Excerpts from the will appear in The Maharshi, May/June 93, Vol. 3, No. 3. www.sentient.org/maharshi/mayjun93.htm. Chadwick also describes the circumstances of the signing (Chadwick, 99-102). The book is excerpted at [www.beezone.com/Ramana/ramanas_will.html]. Chadwick raises the issue whether Ramana was duped into signing the will “by a management that feared loss of its executive powers after his demise.” Chadwick says that just before Ramana’s death, his brother asked him to sign a new will because the old one might have some legal loopholes, but Ramana refused to sign another will.

[98] Paul Brunton: The Notebooks of Paul Brunton (Burdett, NY: Larson, 1984), vol. 10,”The Orient”, s.2:441.

[99] Ken Wilber: One Taste (Boston, Shambhala, 1999), 201.

[100] Paul Brunton: The Notebooks of Paul Brunton (Burdett, NY: Larson, 1984), Vol. 10, s. 2:366.

[101] Paul Brunton: The Notebooks of Paul Brunton (Burdett, NY: Larson, 1984), Vol. 18, 212.

[102] Notebooks, vol. 10 “The Orient,”s. 2:459.

[103] Paul Brunton: The Wisdom of the Overself (London: Rider & Co., 1943).

[104] Paul Brunton: The Spiritual Crisis of Man (York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser, 1984).

[105] Paul Brunton: Essays on the Quest (London: Rider & Co., 1984) [‘Essays’]