Author: Arthur Osborne
Publisher: Sri Ramanasramam
Year: 2013
Language: English
Pages: 217
ISBN/UPC (if available): 9788188225207
Description
Arthur Osborne, one of the most ardent and well known of the devotees of Sri Bhagavan, was the founder editor of The Mountain Path, the spiritual journal published by the Ashram. He is well known as the Editor of Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi and the author of Ramana Maharshi and the Path of self-Knowledge and other works.
We are happy to bring out this autobiographical account of Arthur Osborne which should be of immense value to serious seekers since it carries a wealth of information on the spiritual path. The author’s portrayal of the spiritual ministry of Sri Bhagavan is particularly moving.
We are thankful to Katya Douglas, the author’s daughter for her kindness in giving the manuscript to us and permitting us to bring it out as an Ashram publication.
Many years after my father’s death in 1970, I opened an old suitcase and found several of his unpublished manuscripts. It is strange that they remained buried and unknown for so long, but perhaps now is the time for this story to be told. Reading through them it was intriguing to see how true his voice was, and how it endured over the years. One of these documents was his autobiography that he had entitled “The Mountain Path, My Quest”.
Later when he founded the quarterly magazine for Ramanasramam he used the title “Mountain Path” for that, so we decided to leave it out of this work in order to avoid confusion.
It is an apt title for the chronicle of his life which was dedicated firstly, to finding the path, and once he was sure that he had found the right one he was utterly committed to it. His poetry as much as his prose show what a struggle it was for him at times, how he fought with darkness and despair, but, as he points out, a man who is climbing Mount Everest does not stop to play the violin. Through all his vicissitudes his faith in Bhagavan was unwavering, and Bhagavan recognized in him his humility and dedication. Sometimes when he was sitting in the hall with his eyes closed in meditation Bhagavan would look at him with such love that it could move one to tears. Even as a child I recognized this as something very special.
REVIEW
“There is one flank of the mountain where the ascent is sheer, with no pleasant groves to rest in on the way, where, to compensate for this, the path is direct and the crest already visible from the plains below and throughout the ascent. This is the direct path taught by Bhagavan.”
- Arthur Osborne
Contents
Publisher’s Note
Foreword
1. Beginnings
2. A Station Passed Through
3. Change of Course
4. Oxford Rejected
5. Down to the Nadir
6. Marriage
7. The Quest Begins
8. Adventures on the Path
9. Tribulation
10. Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi
11. I Become a Writer – and Cease to Be One
12. Brief Eternity
13. Retirement
14. Continued Quest
Addendum - POEMS
A Testament
The Guru
To Arunachala
To Bhagavan
Brief Eternity
The Tiger
The Indewller – II
The Initiatic Death
The Dark Night
Desolation
The Lady of Shalott
Complete Your Work!
The Sleeping Beauty
Anatta
The Two Windows
To Whom?
The World
The World – II
The Shakti
Ergo Non Sum
The Expanse
Fantastic Things
To Christians
What Remains?
The Song
This Dream
The Poet
Day and Night
The Waning Moon
The Elixir of Youth
Otherness
The Wind