Tuesday, December 25, 2007

to learn self-inquiry

RS: If someone wants to learn self-inquiry, what should they read?



DG: I don't know what book I would recommend to new people who want to start self-inquiry. Be As You Are is certainly a good start since it was designed for Westerners who have had no previous exposure to Bhagavan and his teachings. There is also a book by Sadhu Om: The Path of Sri Ramana Part One. It is a little dogmatic in places but it covers all the basic points well. Self-inquiry is a bit like swimming or riding a bicycle. You don't learn it from books. You learn it by doing it again and again till you get it right.

http://davidgodman.org/interviews/rs1.shtml

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

In the six years since I did that interview with David, I've learned enough about enquiry to have a few opinions of my own.

I agree with David that two of the best books are Sadhu Om's "The Path of Sri Ramana Part One" and David's own "Be As You Are."

In addition, two new books have come out since that interview that I would add to the list. One is "Happiness and the Art of Being" by Michael James who is the English translator of Sadhu Om's book. You can download it free from this link:

http://www.happinessofbeing.com/happiness_art_being.html

The other is "The Most Rapid and Direct Means to Eternal Bliss" by Michael Langford. (Disclosure: I gave editorial advice about this book to its author prior to publication of the fifth edition):

http://www.amazon.com/DIRECT-RAPID-MEANS-ETERNAL-BLISS/

Michael James's book is very long, and Michael Langford's book is written in a idiosyncratic style which may alienate some readers, but both of them can be very valuable.