Rob:: The technique of Self enquiry

[Guest guest]

Rob wrote:

> That's why he is called maharishi, which means

> "great seer."

 

Dear Rob; We watched the Ramana video of his life last night and it

was said that Maharshi means divine one. Does it have more than one

meaning or was the moderator wrong?

TIA.

 

Loving Ramana aka Alton

[Guest guest]

Dear Alton,

 

Is the video good? I haven't seen it.

 

> ...it was said that Maharshi means divine one.

 

"Bhagavan" means "divine one" or "God." Here's

the definition of that word from the glosssary of

Arthur Osborne's "Ramana Maharshi and the Path

of Self-Knowledge:

 

.. Bhagavan. The same word as 'Bhagavad' with a

.. different case ending; the commonly used word for

.. 'God.' Terms such as Isawara, Brahma, Vishnu,

.. Siva and names for the various Aspects of God are

.. more technical or philosophical. In ordinary

.. conversation a man says either 'Bhagavan' (God) or

.. 'Swami' (the Lord).

.. The term 'Bhagavan is used by general consent

.. of those few supreme Sages who are recognized as

.. completely One with God.

.. Both the B and the g are aspirated. The middle

.. vowel is slurred over and scarcely heard.

 

Here's the definition of "rishi" from the same book:

 

.. Rishi. Sage, literally seer.

 

And here's the definition of "maharshi" from the same

book:

 

.. Maharshi. Maha Rishi, the Great Rishi or Sage.

.. The name is used for one who opens a new path to

.. Realization. It is also a name of Vishnu as the fountain-

.. head of initiation and paths to Realization.

 

While we're on the subject, "Sri" is either a term

of respect (as you can see from this list it can be used

like "Mr.") or an epithet applied to saints meaning

"beatific" or "blessed."

 

"Ramana" is a name. (Sri Ramana's given name as a

boy, before his realization, was Venkataraman.)

 

While we're on the subject, let me mention something

I learned from email received at my website. In a few

instances the website referred to Bhagavan simply as

"Ramana," and this generated some incredibly angry

email from Indian readers who interpreted this as a sign

of disrespect. Actually, to Westerners, nothing

disrespectful is implied by this. In the West, we

normally refer to revered religious figures simply by

their first names. To take the most extreme example,

Westerners often refer to Jesus Christ simply as Jesus

even in church.

 

But I learned from my email that to some Indian ears,

this practice sounds extremely disrespectful, so I

adopted the habit of referring to Bhagavan as Sri

Ramana, Ramana Maharshi, etc., but never simply as

Ramana.

 

Cheers,

 

Rob

 

-

"Atlon Slater" <leenalton

<RamanaMaharshi>

Saturday, September 14, 2002 5:17 PM

[RamanaMaharshi] Rob:: The technique of Self enquiry

 

 

>

> Rob wrote:

> > That's why he is called maharishi, which means

> > "great seer."

>

> Dear Rob; We watched the Ramana video of his life last night and it

> was said that Maharshi means divine one. Does it have more than one

> meaning or was the moderator wrong?

> TIA.

>

> Loving Ramana aka Alton

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Post message: RamanaMaharshi

> Subscribe: RamanaMaharshi-

> Un: RamanaMaharshi-

> List owner: RamanaMaharshi-owner

>

> Shortcut URL to this page:

> /community/RamanaMaharshi

>

> Your use of is subject to

>

>

[Guest guest]

Alton:

 

Actually, Maharshi means "great seer." Bhagavan means divine one or the

divine itself.

 

Mark

 

 

 

Rob wrote:

> That's why he is called maharishi, which means

> "great seer."

 

Dear Rob; We watched the Ramana video of his life last night and it

was said that Maharshi means divine one. Does it have more than one

meaning or was the moderator wrong?

TIA.

 

Loving Ramana aka Alton

 

 

 

 

 

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