Keywords of Vedanta in the Light of the Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharishi

About the Book John Grimes (1948-2022) received his B.A. in Religion from the University of California, then studied for his M.A. and Ph.D. in Indian Philosophy at the University of Madras under the tutelage of the renowned scholars T.M.P. Mahadevan, P.K. Sundaram and R. Balasubramanian. He has taught at Universities in India, Canada, Singapore, and the United States.

Among his numerous publications are The Vivekachudamani: Sankara's Crown Jewel of Discrimination; Ganapati: Song of the Self The Naiskarmya Siddhi of Suresvara, An Advaita Perspective on Language, The Seven Great Untenables: Sapta Vidha Anupapatti; Sankara and Heidegger: Being, Truth, Freedom; Ramana Maharshi: The Crown Jewel of Advaita and the useful A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. He was a passionate scholar who lived what he believed and this made all the difference.

During his academic retirement in Chennai he wrote (from 2004 to 2019) various articles for The Mountain Path, the official quarterly journal of Sri Ramanasramam, which investigated significant concepts in Advaita in the light of Sri Ramana Maharshi's teachings. They are incisive and apparently simple as only a master of the subject could write. There was no obscuration or unnecessary technical complexity to hide a lack of understanding. His command of the subject is evident. Because of his intelligent grasp of the tenets of Advaita his articles are not just orthodox in their authenticity but also accessible to the common reader who with a little effort can easily follow the arguments. A compilation of these articles is now published here.

Foreword From October 2004 to January 2019 John Grimes contributed twenty-nine articles on Advaita Vedanta and various other topics of Vedanta for the Mountain Path, the official quarterly journal of Sri Ramanasramam. The range and depth of his studies are impressive. John was not just an Advaitin scholar, he was also a bhakta who lived and breathed the Sanatana Dharma and Vedanta in particular. He loved the wealth of India's spiritual tradition and fearlessly dived into the ocean of its wisdom. Because of his intelligent grasp of the tenets of Advaita his articles are not just orthodox in their authenticity but also accessible to the common reader who with a little effort can easily follow the arguments. He was a passionate scholar who lived what he believed and this made all the difference.

John Grimes was born in 1948 in Berkeley, California. His father was a lawyer who eventually became city attorney of Beverley Hills. John was a junior tennis champion in California. One local newspaper described him as having "the stamina of a horse." He became a sophomore at the University of Washington on a full tennis scholarship. Shortly after, there was a crisis at the university when his tennis ability was inhibited by a knee injury. He remembered the advice given by his father: "Do what you want in life, be true to your heart. I don't care what you decide to do so long as you do it to the best of your ability." It was also during this time he had an existential experience of Oneness that radically shifted his values and intentions.

**Contents and Sample Pages**