David Godman

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David Godman (born 1953 in Stoke-on-Trent, England) is the author of a number of significant books on Ramana Maharshi's teachings and disciples.

While attending Oxford University in the early 1970s, he found himself being attracted to the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi. In 1976 he traveled to India, intending to make a brief visit to Ramana Maharshi's ashram. He is still there to this day. After a period of intense meditation that lasted almost two years (1976-78) he started and ran the ashram's library, leaving it in 1985 to devote himself to writing and research. He has now published eleven books on Ramana Maharshi, his teachings and his direct disciples. He plans to write more books.

He currently lives near Tiruvannamalai, which is the South Indian town where Sri Ramana Maharshi spent all his adult life.

[edit] Works

Be As You Are (edited)^[1]: dialogues between Ramana Maharshi and visitors. This is the most widely read book on Ramana Maharshi's teachings.
No Mind - I am the Self^[2]: biographies and teachings of Lakshmana Swamy and Mathru Sri Sarada. Lakshmana Swamy is a direct disciple of Ramana Maharshi who realised the Self in his presence in 1949. Mathru Sri Sarada is his disciple. She realised the Self in Lakshmana Swamy's presence in 1978.
Living by the Words of Bhagavan^[3]: a biography of Annamalai Swami, a devotee of Ramana Maharshi who worked closely with the Maharshi in the 1930s and early 1940s. The book also contains dialogues that Annamalai Swami had with visitors in the late 1980s.
Papaji Interviews (edited)^[4]: a collection of interviews that various visitors had with Papaji (H. W. L. Poonja) in the early 1990s. Papaji is an enlightened disciple of Ramana Maharshi. The book also contains a lengthy introductory account of Papaji's early life and his association with Ramana Maharshi.
Nothing Ever Happened^[5]: A three-volume biography of Papaji (H. W. L. Poonja)that chronicles his life up to the early 1980s.
Final Talks (edited)^[6]: dialogues between Annamalai Swami and visitors to his ashram that took place in the last six months of his life.
The Power of the Presence (edited)^[7]^[8]^[9]: A three-volume series that contains first-person accounts from devotees whose lives were transformed by Ramana Maharshi.
Sri Ramana Darsanam (translated and edited)^[10]: originally written in Tamil by Sadhu Natanananda, a devotee of Ramana Maharshi, this books gives little-known incidents from Ramana Maharshi's life, along with comments on their significance.
Padamalai (translated and edited)^[11]: This is derived from a long Tamil poem of the same name that was written by Sri Muruganar, a devotee of Ramana Maharshi. It contains teachings of Ramana Maharshi recorded by Muruganar in Tamil, along with extensive supporting quotations from other sources that contain Ramana Maharshi's teachings.