Swami Atmamannda - (1883-1959) An IIntroduction to His Teachings !

[Guest guest]

Dearest Advaitins :

 

A member asked me off list to cite the links where he could find

Swami Atmananda's Teachings - he was curious to learn about this

Great Swamiji als known as Sri Krishna Menon !

 

here are some links :

 

www.sunyaprajna.com/Advaita/Atmananda.html - 524k

www.geocities.com/skknair_tvm/philo.htm

www.advaita.org.uk/discourses/atmananda/atmananda1.htm

www.wave.net/upg/dmission/writings.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Atmananda

www.bluedove.com/Advaita_Atmananda.htm

 

There is a sanskrit saying that even an axe whhen it cuts the

Sandalwood tree gets the fragrance of the Sandalwood ; similarly

even an impure student when he comes in contact with a 'pure ' soul

gets purified ! such is the mahima of a great guru ! AFTER ALL SAGE

VALMIKI WAS A ORDINARY ROBBER CALLED RATNAKARA WHO GOT PURIFIED WITH

THE TARAKA MANTRA OF SRI RAMA !

 

LOVE AND REGARDS

[Guest guest]

Namaste Shrimati Dhyanasaraswati,

 

In your message #36213 of Jun 4, you refer to Shri Atmananda

(Krishna Menon) as " Swami Atmananda " . A little bit of a problem

arises here.

 

Shri Atmananda was very much a householder, not a sannyasi. He never

took sannyasa, nor did he encourage his disciples to do so. His

teaching was most decidedly individual, without setting up or

involving any organized institution that could be called an

" ashram " . So those who knew him did not address him by the title

" Swami " , which tends to imply both sannyasa and an instituted ashram

of some kind. In fact, he was emphatically clear that he did not

teach as an instituted swami, and I am pretty sure that he did not

wish to be called a swami. He specifically asked to be known as Shri

Atmananda, without any further honorifics or titles.

 

There are of course sannyasi teachers who are specifically called

" Swami Atmananda " . In fact you mentioned a website which provides

access to one such teacher. This website is as follows:

 

www.wave.net/upg/dmission/writings.htm

 

So it needs to be clarified that this Swami Atmananda is quite a

different person from the Shri Atmananda who was a householder with

the worldly name of Krishna Menon.

 

From checking the websites you provide, I find that Shri Atmananda

is very briefly described in a Wikepedia article entitled " Swami

Atmananda " . I've made a comment there (at the Wikepedia website)

that this is a misleading title. Let's hope that Wikepedia the

article gets corrected accordingly.

 

I suppose this sort of confusion is inevitable. Thanks for providing

the links that have brought the confusion to light. And please be

patient with my attempts to correct it.

 

Ananda