David Godman interviews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpIvtq55pgE

Points touched upon

  • A short history of Tiruvannamalai, with Guhai Namasivaya, his fellow devotee Virupaksha Deva (after whom Virupaksha Cave is named), his disciple Guru Namasivaya, and what drew them there.
  • Isanya Desikar, Lakshmana Swamy on why he felt pulled to Tiruvannamalai, and how and why David himself ended up there.
  • Reliable sources of Ramana Maharshi’s teachings, with Guru Vachaka Kovai as authentic because Bhagavan checked and corrected it himself.
  • Who Am I? as an example of a text with some content Ramana Maharshi never said, and Talks with Ramana having mistakes and being less reliable than Guru Vachaka Kovai.
  • Michael James’s thorough translations of the original writings, worth looking into.
  • Lakshmana Sharma learning the teachings directly from Ramana Maharshi so he could render Ulladu Narpadu in Sanskrit.
  • Ramana Maharshi never watering down his teachings, always giving the highest practical teaching directly.
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