"The Extraordinary Life of Maurice Frydman" (Biographical Collection)

Mar 6

BIOGRAPHY #1

Maurice Frydman is one of most extraordinary people I’ve ever come across and virtually nothing is known about him. And because of his connection with Ramana Maharshi, Krishnamurti, Gandhi, Nisargadatta, the Dali Lama I kind of view him in my own mind as a Forest Gump of 20th century spirituality. He was in all the right places in all the right times to get the maximum benefit of interaction with some of the greats of Indian spirituality… He was a Gandhian, he worked for the uplift of the poor in India, he worked with Tibetan refugees, he edited extraordinary books [like] “I am That,” probably one of the all time spiritual classics.

This man for me a shining beacon of how devotees could and should be with their teachers. He was just absolutely an extraordinary man. And went out of his way to cover his tracks; to hide what he actually had accomplished in his life. So I’ve enjoyed the detective work of looking in obscure placers, digging out stuff that he personally tried to hide, not because it was embarrassing, but because he didn’t like to take credit for what he’d done. So I see this as an opportunity to wave the Maurice flag and say “look look, this is one of the greatest devotee, sadoc seekers from the West whose been to India in the last 100 years, and I think more people should know about him.”

~David Godman

Both of David Godman's interviews are found at:

THE INTERVIEW #1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xayU4f5--I

THE INTERVIEW #2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyC3yBRsBt8

BIOGRAPHY #2

Maurice “Bharatananda” Frydman: The great karma yogi you never heard of…

“We ripen when we refuse to drift, when striving ceaselessly become a way of life, when dispassion born of insight becomes spontaneous. When the search ‘Who Am I?’ becomes the only thing that matters, when we become a mere torch and the flame all important, it will mean that we are ripening fast. We cannot accelerate that ripening, but we can remove the obstacles of fear and greed, indolence and fancy, prejudice and pride.”

You might have come across his name on the cover of the classic giant “I Am That.” He was the man who tape recorded conversations in the Marathi dialect with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and then translated and pushed to publish the book. What you might not know is that he carried out that deed late in his life after five decades of service to India directly and to the world of spiritual seekers at large. The people that he came across and was in deep relationship with included J. Krishnamurti, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Mahatma Gandhi besides Maharaj. Furthermore, he was also involved with the liberation of India from English rule in the state of Aundh by writing the constitution there, as well as being active in the villages of the state. Later on, he spent years pushing the Indian government for and receiving land and money to create the settlements where thousands of uprooted Tibetans escaped the Chinese invasion.

Maurice Frydman was born in the Jewish ghetto of Krakow, Poland in 1894. Being an exceptionally bright student, he excelled in school and studied electrical engineering. He was fluent in Hebrew, English, French, Russian, German and added to that Hindi later in life. His seeking started at a young age and involved delving into Judaism and studying the Talmud. He followed this by becoming a monk in the Russian Orthodox church. This path did not free his thirst and he was said to have been fed up with all dogmas. His brilliance in his school did pave the way for him to drastically change his life from his humble beginning. He had many patents to his name, by the age of twenty when he moved to Europe for his studies and started work.

During this time he came across his first teacher J. Krishnamurti in Switzerland. This meeting was prior to Krishnamurti’s break with the Theosophical Society and the relationship lasted many decades. Maurice was known to be a fierce debater with Krishnamurti whom he held in high regards. He would organize meetings for him as well as translate some of his work into French. After a period of several years, in 1928 he made a more permanent move to Paris to start a job at an electrical factory. In Paris he came across Paul Brunton’s book Conscious Immortality: Conversations with Sri Ramana Maharshi that started a burning desire to go to India.

His wish came true several years later when in 1935 he was offered a job to set up an engineering firm in Mysore, which he accepted. In his early years in India in the late 1930s he found Ramana Maharshi and spent time with the Bhagavan. As one of the regular devotees, many of his questions and the master’s response were recorded in Maharshi’s Gospel. Ramana said of Frydman “He belongs only here to India. Somehow he was born abroad, but has come again here”.

Concurrently he came into relationship with Mahatma Gandhi and was involved with his struggle to free India from British rule. It was during this time in 1938 that he asked the Raja of Aundh province to help Gandhi’s cause by freeing his control of seventy two village properties which the Raja agreed to. He then drew up a draft of declaration of independence which then was given to Gandhi. He in turn wrote the constitution of the state, giving full authority to the people of the state, a rare event in pre-independent India. An interesting side fact is that during his time with Gandhi Frydman worked on and improved the design of the cotton spinning wheels that became synonymous with Gandhi and his movement.

Frydman’s family perished in Poland during WWII and he never returned there after that.

At this juncture in his life he gave up on his job and worldly possessions. He took on the robe of a sannyasi under Sri Swami Ramdas who named him Bharatananda; a robe he later gave up as being meaningless while living the spirit of it to his death. From this time on, he did give up his salary to the needy around him. He had no room for symbols and spiritual materialism that did not reflect true ripeness; he found them to be shallow and counter productive. He regretted his inability to take further use of Ramana Maharshi’s teachings while the Bhagavan was alive. He wrote after Ramana Maharshi’s death, “Now He is still with us, but no longer so easily accessible. To find Him again we must overcome the very obstacles which prevented us from seeing Him as He was — and going with Him where he wanted to take us. It was Tamas and Rajas – fear and desire that stood in the way – the desire for the pleasure of the past and fear of austere responsibility of a higher state of being. It was the same old story— the threshold of maturity of mind and heart which most of refuse to cross”.

Maurice Frydman died in Bombay on March 9th of 1976 with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj by his side. A beautiful event ends this incredible life. During his last days of life Frydman gets a visit by a professional nurse he does not know. The nurse had been visited in a dream by an old man in a loin cloth telling her to go and take care of Frydman. Frydman refuses to accept the nurse’s offer. As the nurse is leaving she walks past a picture of the old man that had visited her in her dream. Upon telling Frydman this, he accepts her offer and allows her to take care of him. The picture: it was Ramana Maharshi who had left his body over three decades prior.

Excerpts taken from:

Dr M. Sadashiva Rao Vol. 19, No. 5 The Maharshi

Apa B Bant, 1991 Volume of Mountain Path

Written for Namrupa Issue 10 Volume 05, November 2009

http://www.namarupa.org/volumes/1005.php

Here are two Extracts from Maurice Frydman’s poetry:

POEM #1

I am at the end of the tether
and can’t break the cord

All my going ahead
is a deceitful dream,

All my thinking not true,
all my feeling not pure,

All my doing not right,
all my living not clear.

I am tied to myself
by myself through myself,

The knot out of reach,
I am in your hands.

There is a Heart and a mind,
and a body and soul
Waiting for you.

You will come when you choose,
And whatever you like
you are welcome to do.

♦️♦️♦️

POEM #2

Heavy with the mud of many lands
I was flowing lazily,

Making obstacles of myself
out of my unholy accumulations.

Suddenly I awakened
to the freshness of endless beauty,

And felt the eternal environment
of endless peace.

My beloved I have found you,
and yet never were we separated,

Every drop of my being is you
and yours is the force of my flow,

Never are we apart
and yet I always strive after you.

The flow of creation will go on
with me or without me,

Only do not make me forget
that I am none

and that you only exist and create
in ever-changing mobility.

~~~

Poetry by Maurice Frydman (1901-1977)

~~~

♦️ Maurice Frydman’s poetry is from the book:
‘Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi’ – by Laxmi Narain – (Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad)

BIOGRAPHY #3: Maurice Frydman

by Barrry Gordon

"Your own being is your definitive master, the external teacher is simply a sign on the path, only your inner teacher will go with you to the goal, since he is the goal." — Nisargadatta Maharaj, from the book I Am That.

If you mention the name of Maurice Frydman to spiritual practitioners who are familiar with Advaita Vedanta and Tibetan Buddhism, not many would recognize it. Even so, Maurice was a key factor in the dissemination of the teachings of Ramana Maharshi , Nisargadatta Maharaj , Swami Ramdas, Anandamayi Ma, Mahatma Ghandi; And in supporting the Tibetan Buddhists. It was because of Maurice that I was able to stay in Ramana Maharshi's ashram, meet Nisargadatta, J. Krishnamurti , Mother Krishnabai and (indirectly) Douglas Harding.

I met Maurice for the first time when he was an energetic man of seventy-six, and instantly felt that he had found a friend and grandfather long lost. I had gone to India earlier in 1971 to stay at Baba Muktananda's ashram in Ganeshpuri, not far from Bombay.

When my six-month visa expired, I wanted to stay in India. I gave my passport to a Hindu politician (MP) from Bombay, whom I had met at Muktananda's ashram and who said that I could get a permanent residency status. Since this was India, several months passed without resolution in sight. One day, two friends and I decided to go to Bombay for the purpose of satisfying our cravings for ice cream and mango lassi, but the hotels did not admit us without a passport. One of my friends had heard of Maurice Frydman and suggested that we go to his house for help.

Maurice lived on Nepean Sea Street, at the home of Ms. Hirubhai Petit, a former devotee of Sri Ramana Maharshi. Mrs. Petit was a wonderful lady Parsi, a little younger than Maurice and almost deaf. It was usually seen at meal times. Maurice and she had been constant companions for many years. Maurice said that when Maharshi left his body, Ms. Petit saw a star cross the skies of Bombay and said, "There goes Bhagavan." He had made the right moment.

Mrs. Petit lived in the rooms in front of the apartment and spent most of her time meditating. In her youth she had been a piano performer, playing professionally in Europe, which was sometimes considered improper behavior for a Hindu woman in those days.

Education was a rare option for a woman. I remember a woman Parsi, perhaps in her forties, friend of Maurice and Mrs. Petit, who came to lunch one day. She was one of the first women to graduate from a college in India — and was active in social work. She told me that Maurice had been instrumental in helping her get a better education. He then gave her great spiritual and emotional support when she was experiencing difficulties in accepting the world of work, which was totally dominated by men.

Maurice welcomed and fed everyone at his door - and there were many people. After questioning me sharply (as he did with many of his guests - a skill for which Maurice was famous), he offered me an exchange. I could stay with him if I helped him to pack and send to Poland the books he had published. I do not think Maurice needed to question people, because he already knew the answers. It felt as if he held your heart in the palm of his hands and could examine it in detail. From the spark of his eyes, however, he obviously enjoyed it. He saw everyone clearly and allowed no dishonesty. A lot of deflated egos left their table being better people. That was the beginning of an 18-month relationship during which I helped Maurice with many of his social projects, but mostly to pack books for the Hindu-Polish Library, to interview Nisargadatta, and later to edit the manuscript to be published as I am That. Although he did not really need to help with the book, as he was a brilliant writer in many languages, this work became one of the ways he taught me the importance of making every detail look good.

Together, we were going to interview Nisargadatta once a week, though I think Maurice had started the interviews about a year before I knew him. Maurice spoke Marathi (the local language) fluently, as well as Hindi, Polish, Russian, French, English and many others. Maharaj was very fond of Maurice. Once, Maurice was injured in a collision with a scooter and could not leave the house for a few weeks. We were surprised by a spontaneous visit by Maharaj, who walked all the way, with the help of one of his sons, worried that Maurice would not be able to continue his regular visits. Maharaj must have walked for more than an hour to get to Maurice's house.

Nisargadatta welcomed the visitors into a small room above the house of his family. He sat near the front window, with a bidi (cigarette) in his hand, and excitedly answered our questions, which were recorded by Maurice. In a recent video about Nisargadatta Maharaj (produced by Inner Directions), it looked as if the room had been reorganized since those days.

Maharaj and Maurice were alike in many ways. Both were inflexible as to truth and had a similar intensity that could be mistaken for anger - but it was more the fire of their enlightened compassion. In fact, all the masters with whom Maurice had been implicated were thus, except perhaps Swami Ramdas. Although Maharaj is famous as a Vedantic, I was struck by the intensity of his puja (devout worship). When the time came for the puja, all talk ceased; Maharaj took his great cymbals and began to worship and sing to the utmost of his lungs - an example of true devotion.

Maurice spoke very little about his past. The only extensive biographical material I know of is an article by Apa B. Pant, a retired Hindu diplomat (and Prince of Aundh), who was Maurice's disciple for forty years. In addition, material has been published in The Mountain Path, a magazine published by Sri Ramanasramam (the ashram of Sri Ramana Maharshi). In the house of Maurice I met Eva Moimir, from Krakow, Poland. His father, now about ninety years old, was a friend of Maurice's early days in the Theosophical Society. Eva stayed with Maurice for about six months and contributed to this article with some of her memories.

Maurice was born in 1894 in the Jewish ghetto of Krakow, Poland, from a very poor family. At that time, it was very difficult for Jews to receive public education. My grandmother (from Odessa) told me that only five percent of Jewish children were allowed to attend school. Maurice's father was a very devout man and wanted Maurice to become a rabbi, so Maurice began to learn Hebrew. I think he ended up speaking fourteen or fifteen languages altogether. At the age of ten, he spoke fluent Russian, Polish, French, English and Hebrew. Maurice went on to study electrical engineering, and at twenty, he had received patents for more than a hundred electrical and mechanical inventions, one of which was a talking book. Maurice's skills for invention and his ingenuity later would be very beneficial to the villages of India. Maurice told me that he designed all the hand tools used in the Khadi movement of Ghandi (hand-knit clothing), such as the small and famous hand-wheel.

Maurice's services were in demand in many parts of Europe. However, around the age of twenty-five, he had an overwhelming desire to see God, and this intense desire helped determine the balance of his life. Maurice was allergic to dogma. He studied Judaism seriously and even became a Russian Orthodox monk. He once told me a story that represents his character very well. AB Pant describes it beautifully: "One day, Satan tempted Maurice to jump out of a great waterfall to 'prove his faith' in Jesus Christ and the church. Then this intrepid seeker of truth immediately jumped from a precipice of over a hundred Feet! He was barely saved by some bushes in which his cassock tangled. " Maurice's impetuosity would later become a saving grace for thousands of people. Maurice, however, did not last long in the church.

Around thirty, Maurice discovered the Theosophical Society, its founder Annie Besant (1), and the rising star of the Theosophical movement, J. Krishnamurti, becoming one of Krishnaji's most serious inquirers. Maurice was also friends with Wanda "Umadevi" Dynowska, an aristocrat and notable spiritual seeker. Together (in 1944), they founded the Polish-Indian library. Umadevi also founded the Polish branch of the Theosophical Society.

Maurice introduced AB Pant to Krishnamurti. Pant describes Maurice's dialogues with Krishnaji: "I marveled at Maurice's incisive brilliance and vision by challenging almost every point with Krishnaji." It was not the challenge of the arrogant or of a confident pandit. Which Krishnaji explained through his own immediate experience. In the "duel" between the two of them, there was no memory of the past or no conjecture about the future.”

Pant continues the story and tells that Maurice immigrated to France to accept a job in a new electrical factory from which he would soon become the general manager. Reading voraciously and absorbing books of religion, mysticism and occultism in the National Library, he soon encountered Vedanta (the non-dualistic wisdom of India, especially revealed in the Upanishads, the great metaphysical part of the Vedas) and immersed in the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads and the Mahabharata. Greatly attracting him were books about Sri Ramana Maharshi, especially India Secret of Paul Brunton. For Maurice, this was the greatest revelation, the inquiry: "Who am I?"— a question that I think was answered in his last stay in India.

During his stay in France, a great desire to visit India arose in Maurice. Around this time, the Diwan (Chief Officer) of Mysore, Sir Mirza Ismail, arrived for a tour of the factory where Maurice worked. Quickly recognizing the genius and skill of Maurice, Sir Mirza remarked: "Mr. Frydman, I wish you could come and visit us in Mysore and advise us on development." Diwain wanted to make a replica of the Paris factory in Bangalore (South India). Maurice told him that his bags were ready.

It is noteworthy that just as Maurice was keen to go to India, the Diwan of Mysore would arrive and invite him — not only to India, but to Bangalore, which is quite close to Tiruvannamalai — so that Maurice could spend the weekends at the ashram of Ramana Maharshi. Maurice soon became a passionate disciple of Maharshi and later compiled a series of conversations with Ramana, later published with the title The Gospel of Maharshi. Maurice asked Ramana to initiate him as a Hindu monk (sannyasi), but Maharshi refused. Once Maurice was decided there was nothing that could dissuade him. While living and working in Bangalore, Maurice visited Swami Ramdas at the Ananda ashram in Khanangad, Kerala. During one of these visits, Maurice made the resignation vows, shaved his head, and began to wear the saffron robes of the Hindu monks. Swami Ramdas gave Maurice the name "Bharatananda". This change, reflecting Maurice's inner conviction, caused him some difficulties with Sir Mirza, his boss in Bangalore.

When Sir Mirza learned that Maurice had begun the sannyas, who wore saffron robes, who went out to beg for food and gave all his wages to the poor, he became enraged. I think Sir Mirza never really understood how to work with Maurice. When Maurice was ordered to wear normal clothing, Maurice immediately offered his resignation and said: "I am free to live my personal life as I see fit, as long as it satisfies everything concerning the quality of my work as an engineer and manager.” Soon they reached an agreement in which Maurice would only have to wear a traditional dress when a very important person went to the factory. AB Pant was one of those people, and the meeting between them marked the beginning of the end of Maurice's time with Sir Mirza. Although Maurice spent much time in the company of Ramana Maharshi and J. Krishnamurti, he managed to cling to strict fidelity to external renunciation for another ten or twelve years.

The father of Apa Pant was Diwan of Aundh, a small and poor state of Maharashtra. Pant was Maurice's first and closest disciple. When Pant asked Sir Mirza to "lend" Maurice for a period of six months, he quickly denied his request. This action, of course, caused Maurice to leave permanently for Aundh. As Sri Pant tells us in his story, Maurice carried Mahatma Ghandi's inspired message to the villages of Aundh, as neither the Rajas or British autocrats of other states were very adept at decentralized democracy. Maurice and Sri Pant were called to the famous mud hut of the Mahatma and Ghandi welcomed Bharatananda with a: "So you have taken the poor Raja of Aundh and left the rich man in Mysore to his fate?" This meeting began a close association between Mahatma and Maurice. Maurice became a Hindu citizen and was deeply involved with Ghandi's work and movement for national independence. He was also active in the Sevagram movement, which continued after independence with Britain. Maurice played a key role in the invention of several hand tools, such as spinning equipment, which were then employed by the village industries movement.

Sri Pant wrote about the meeting between Maurice and Mahatma Ghandi in the books A Moment in Time and An Unusual Raja, both published by Orient Longman.

For three years Maurice lived under an acacia tree in the fields of Aundh. Although the daily temperature ranged from 48 degrees during the day to 6 degrees Celsius at night, he slept only with blankets and bamboo rugs. During this time Maurice was personally responsible for the abolition of the death penalty and the release of many prisoners to a democratic and open penal colony. In fact, he created the city of Swatantrapur, originally located in the fields of Aundh. It still exists today.

Although Maurice was already in his mid-seventies, when I spent time with him he was very active in various charities, most of which had been started and completed by him. In addition to publishing spiritual books, she also opened orphanages, centers for training prostitutes, and an organization to find gifts for them so they could get married. It was closely associated with Chetana Books, a publishing house and bookstore located in Bombay (Chetana was the first editorial of “Yo Soy That,” the collection of conversations with Nisargadatta Maharaj).

Maurice experimented with many things and was especially attracted to natural cures and special diets. I was being successfully treated by a homeopath for something that I later realized was poisoning Agent Orange, which I contracted during my days as a Marine Officer in Vietnam. Maurice convinced me to change him for fasting, which began with three days of bananas, followed by three days of oranges, then three days only of water; And then the same, but in reverse. Homeopathy worked better. There were always bizarre concoctions on the table - dark liquids with unusual fragrances, etc. This must have been true for years, because Pant also describes Maurice's fascination with food experiments. Ghandi also had this predilection. Maurice believed firmly in fasting and loved to tell the story of the Italian Count who lived during the Renaissance. The count was a great sybarite who, because of his excessive indulgence, was very overweight. As a result of his weight problem, the Count became ill to death. However, by simply cutting his food intake in half, the count successfully restored his health.

When the Chinese invaded Tibet and thousands of Tibetans fled to India, they found themselves without shelter in the land of Buddha. Maurice took charge of his cause and without help became an "Indian-Tibetan refugee program". The history of the Tibetan refugees reflects the determination and tenacity of Maurice; It was these qualities that helped him move mountains. Maurice literally sat in the prime minister's office until Nehru spoke to him. When he finally gained access to Nehru, Maurice advocated the cause of the Tibetans. Nehru, along with the government of India, were very concerned that if they granted land to the Tibetan refugees, then China could invade India. This was the reason why there was no official position on the refugee problem. However, Nehru found in Maurice the last of his shoe. Maurice refused to leave the prime minister's office without an official letter that could be taken to several peripheral states of India and to authorize the use of a land of more than 3500 feet that can be used by Tibetan refugees. Maurice left the meeting with the letter and sought land that was appropriate for the Tibetan settlement. What is now “Dharmsala" owes its birth to Maurice, who was instrumental in procuring most of the land and financing the settlement of the villages.

In 1976, Maurice had a second accident. As he walked through the crowded streets of Bombay, he was hit by a motorcycle. She never completely recovered from this accident and later died in the apartment where she lived for so many years, of which Mrs. Petit was the owner. Nissargadatta Maharj was at his side at the end and proclaimed Maurice a free man. Maharaj respected Maurice so much that he added his photograph to that of other saints and gurus whom Maharaj worshiped daily.

WEBSITE: https://www.innerdirections.org/maurice-frydman/

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Barry Gordon holds a BA in Physics and is a Feng Shui consultant and educator, and an advanced student of Professor Thomas Yun Lin, one of the most renowned philosophers of our time.

While serving in the United States Army, a death experience in Vietnam led him to a broad and extensive spiritual path.

With extensive experience in Western psychotherapy and Homeopathy, he also lived in Hindu ashrams, Buddhist monasteries, studied with a Sufi master and with a Hawaiian Kahuna.

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BIOGRAPHY #4

Maurice Frydman was an engineer, humanitarian and a close associate to notable spiritual teachers when he spent the later part of his life in India.

He was a Polish Jew who subsequently converted to Hinduism.

He became a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, lived in his ashram, and took an active part in India's fight for independence. He was also very close to Nehru.

He was associated with the great spiritual teachers Sri Ramana Maharshi and J. Krishnamurti and a longtime friend to the famous Advaita guru, Nisargadatta Maharaj, who considered him a Jnani. He edited and translated Nisargadatta Maharaj's tape-recorded conversations into the English-language book "I Am That", published in 1973. Nisargadatta Maharaj was by his bedside when he died in 1976 in India.

According to David Godman, Nisargadatta Maharaj, in response to the question "'In all the years that you have been teaching how many people have truly understood and experienced your teachings?" replied: "One. Maurice Frydman”.

Using his engineering skills, he made the spinning wheel that Gandhi himself used. Frydman created several new types of spinning wheels for Gandhi, which piqued his interest in finding the most efficient and economical spinning wheel for India.

He took an active part in India's fight for independence —notably in helping to draft a new constitution for the State of Aundh that became the Aundh Experiment.

Frydman came to India in the late 1930s as a Jewish refugee from Warsaw. A successful capitalist, he was managing director of the Mysore State Government Electrical Factory in Bangalore. Eventually he was won over by Hindu philosophy and became a sannyasi. Frydman was instrumental, along with Gandhi and the Raja of Aundh, in helping to draft the November Declaration, which handed over rule of the state of Aundh from the Raja to the residents in 1938-9.

He visited Swami Ramdas in the 1930s and Ramdas apparently told him that this would be his final birth. That comment was recorded in Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi in the late 1930s, decades before he had his meetings with Nisargadatta Maharaj. He was at various stages of his life a follower of Ramana Maharshi, Gandhi, and J. Krishnamurti.

A senior Indian government official told David Godman in the 1960s that it was Frydman who persuaded the then India Prime Minister Nehru to allow the Dalai Lama and the other exiled Tibetans to stay in India. Frydman apparently pestered him continuously for months until he finally gave his consent. None of these activities were ever publicly acknowledged because Frydman disliked publicity of any kind and always tried to do his work anonymously.

ALSO SEE:

Maurice Frydman - His Life Story: http://life-after-joining-ishayoga.blogspot.com/2014/09/maurice-frydman-his-life-story-your.html

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BIOGRAPHY #5

Maurice Frydman (Maurycy Frydman or Maurycy Frydman-Mor in Polish), aka Swami Bharatananda (1901 in Warsaw, Poland 9 to March 1977, India), was an engineer and humanitarian who spent the later part of his life in India. He lived at the ashram of Mohandas Gandhi and took an active part in India's fight for independence—notably in helping to draft a new constitution for the State of Aundh that became the Aundh Experiment. He was a Polish Jew[5] who subsequently converted to Hinduism.

He became acquainted with one of the sons of the Raja of Aundh, and was well regarded by the Raja himself. According to the Raja's son, Apa Pant, "Frydman had great influence with my father, and on his seventy-fifth birthday he said, 'Raja Saheb, why don't you go and make a declaration to Mahatma Gandhi that you are giving all power to the people because it will help in the freedom struggle.'"

As a sympathizer with the Indian independence movement, the Raja accepted this idea. Frydman wrote a draft declaration, and the Raja and his son, Apa Pant, travelled to see Gandhi in Wardha, where the Mahatma drew up a new constitution for the state. The constitution, which gave full responsible government to the people of Aundh, was adopted on 21 January 1939. This "Aundh Experiment" was a rare event in pre-independence India, where the rulers of princely states were generally reluctant to give up their power. After some initial hesitation among the populace of the state it proved to be very successful, lasting until the merger of the princely states into India in 1948.[7]

While in India, Frydman became a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and lived in his ashram, where he made the spinning wheel that Gandhi himself used. Frydman used his engineering skill to create several new types of spinning wheels for Gandhi, which piqued his interest in finding the most efficient and economical spinning wheel for India.[8]

He was close to Nehru, and was associated with Sri Ramana Maharshi[9] and J. Krishnamurti.[10]

A longtime friend to Advaita guru, Nisargadatta Maharaj, who considered him a Jnani, Maurice Frydman died in 1976 in India, with Sri Nisargadatta by his bedside.[11] Frydman edited and translated Nisargadatta Maharaj's tape-recorded conversations into the English-language book I Am That, published in 1973.

Frydman helped Wanda Dynowska, a Polish theosophist who came to India in the 1930s, to establish a Polish-Indian Library (Biblioteka Polsko-Indyjska). The library holds a collection of books aimed "to show India to Poland and Poland to India", containing translations from Indian languages to Polish and from Polish to English. During the 2nd World War he helped with the transfer of Polish orphans from Siberia, displaced there by the Soviets after their annexation of Eastern Poland to Siberia in 1939-1941. They were moved from Siberia via Iran (with the Polish army of Gen. Władysław Anders) mainly to India, Kenya and New Zealand. After 1959 he helped Wanda Dynowska with Tibetan refugees in India.

SOURCE:: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Frydman

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BIOGRAPHY #6 by Apa Pant (part 1)

Maurice Frydman's personal biography is no less exceptional.

The following is Sri Pant's account of his guru's early life and their subsequent relationship. Apa B.Pant,retired Indian diplomat and Prince of Aundh, who was Frydman's intimate friend and disciple for forty years writes…

I must indeed have earned a great deal of punya (spiritual merit) in many a past life to have deserved to meet with such a unique guide, friend and philosopher as Swami Bharatananda, alias Maurice Frydman. Although he ever kept his personality in the background, his influence on events and individuals, always operating simultaneously at different levels of consciousness, has been incalculable.

It has been Maurice who was the active instrument for me to meet four of the greatest sages of our times. He propelled me to Sri Ramana Maharshi within a few months of my arrival from England in 1937 after the completion of my studies. With Sri J. Krishnamurti, an encounter that was to last over fifty years started at the instigation of Maurice. It was also Maurice who introduced me to Mahatma Gandhi and I thenceforth became a regular visitor at Sevagram. And finally in 1975, only a few weeks before he left the body, his last act was that of taking me to Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.

His life of experimentation and of experience was linked up with the message and work of these four great souls. But Maurice made us all

— his friends and devotees — fellow-pilgrims on his path, urging, advising, often brow-beating us to be sincere, simple, truthful. He would steadily gaze at you, look into you, through you, with those kindly, piercing eyes silently, compassionately, and uncover instantly all your quirks and problems, physical, emotional, mental, spiritual.

He would then relentlessly take you to task for your lapses and immediately offer correct, direct, but often undigestible and even disturbing advice. Revolutionary changes have been brought into many lives after a moment's contact with Maurice Frydman.

That is exactly what happened to me that November in 1937 when I was unexpectedly confronted with Maurice Frydman in Bangalore. I had just returned from a four-and-a-half-year study period at Oxford and London, a very bright-eyed young lad who imagined himself to be a "revolutionary communist". I wanted to fight the British Raj and establish communism in India — in fact, a new Utopia! I was my fathers,-Raj Bhawanrao's, eldest surviving son. He was 61 years old then, and I was 25. He understood my enthusiasm and also my impulsiveness. He arranged for me to get a 3-month "training" in administration in Mysore State, then the most ideal and well-run of the 675 princely states of India.

Father also gave me a private secretary to look after me, a chauffeur together with a new car, and a servant. Within one week of my arrival in Bangalore I was in full form and thoroughly enjoying myself with this period of "princely" training.

A strict timetable of "visits to institutions and factories", followed by "briefings and discussions" was arranged. One such visit was to the Government Electrical Factory on the outskirts of Bangalore. Sri Bharatananda — Maurice Frydman — had been its Director and Chief Executive since 1935.

Being "foreign returned" and a Prince, I was habituated to being treated very deferentially. I, on my side, always wore my best Oxford accent and a condescending princely smile with assumed courtesy. Maurice, on the other hand, was in a very bad mood. A year before, he had taken sannyas and had begun to live according to his vows. When it was reported to Sir Mirza Ismail that his brilliant and efficient Engineer-Director had shaved his head and taken sannyasa that he went to work in saffron robes, begged for his daily bread, and gave away all his wages (Rs.3,000 per month) to the poor and needy, the

Grand Vizier was furious.

He sent for "that Mr. Frydman" to remind him that he had hired an engineer, not a sannyasi and forbade him henceforth to wear gerua.

Maurice, on his side, offered his resignation on the spot, saying that how and what he ate or wore was his personal matter, and that he must be free to follow his own pattern of life so long as "I satisfy all those concerned with the quality of my work as an engineer and manager." A compromise was finally reached according to which Maurice would have to wear European or Mysore dress only when a VIP visited the factory. As he had to put on a suit for my sake, Maurice was in his darkest mood!

As I got out of the car, Maurice was waiting at the doorstep, but instead of returning my smile, he gruffly said, "Well, young Prince, do you know anything of electricity or will I be wasting my time on you?"

I, of course, quickly stepped back into the car and started to slam the door shut, when Maurice realized his mistake and almost dragged me out of the car. "I did not mean to offend you. Forgive me", he apologized, and I saw for the first time that winning smile spread over his suntanned face. Within five minutes of all this drama our vibrations had clicked. And they remained clicked for forty years, until his death on 9th March 1976, and further, till this present time.

From the word go, I was deeply impressed by Maurice's systematic, well-ordered, highly disciplined personality. His intelligence was overpowering; his simplicity scintillating; his spontaneous, genuine love overwhelming. There was nothing false, superficial or superfluous about Maurice. His response to his environment was always razor-sharp and instantaneous, always compassionate. There was never a gap between what he saw and felt and his immediate action. If he saw a beggar in rags he gave him all his food and his shirt as well without ever theorizing about it. There were no dogmas, no theories, no hypotheses; only spontaneous, direct action. He belonged to no political party, religion or "ism".

Once, in Bombay in 1943, my wife Nalini, who was then practicing surgery (gynaecology) in the villages of my father's state, Aundh, was talking with him of her work-plan. She spoke of the financial difficulties of poor Aundh in acquiring even the necessary rudimentary equipment. Maurice asked, "How much money do you require immediately?" Nalini said offhand, "Ten thousand rupees", which was then a large sum. Next morning in walks Maurice with Rs.10,000/- in Rs. 100 notes! "Nalini, start work!" he said. That was the way my guru taught: direct, compassionate action, by practical example.

Maurice Frydman was born in 1894 in the Jewish ghetto of Krakaw in Southern Poland,then a part of tsarist Russia. From the accounts that Maurice gave out grudgingly from time to time during our long and close association, it seems that his family was very poor. His father, a devout Jew, worked in the synagogue. His mother sewed, washed clothes and cooked, and brought up her children as best she could, though there was hardly any money to do so. Maurice did not taste white bread until he was thirteen. He acquired his first toothbrush when he was fifteen!

But Maurice was a born genius. He was reading and writing in the Cyrillic, Roman and Hebrew alphabets and speaking fluent Russian, Polish, French, English and Hebrew before he was ten. His father wanted Maurice, his eldest son, to become a rabbi and lead a secure, holy and useful life of service to the "chosen people",who were suffering under the heel of tsarist authority and thus help them survive the persecution generated by the prevalent racial intolerance.

However, Maurice's capabilities were early recognized by his teachers, who thus enabled him to accomplish the all-too-rare feat of a Jew entering the tsarist Russian school in his area.

He proved himself exceptionally brilliant and, having stood first amongst 500 boys in his high school final examinations, he sat for the Central Scholarship Examination and got 95%, standing first in the province of Poland. For this he received a State scholarship, and opted for what was then his strongest urge, a course in electrical engineering. Before he was 20 he had about 100 patents to his name for his electrical and mechanical inventions, of which a "talking book” was one.

Soon he was picked up by the laboratories and then research institutes, and by 1925 had travelled over much of Europe and worked in German, Dutch and Danish industrial establishments.

By the age of 25, however, what was to be his life-long urge had come desperately to the surface. He wanted to "see God". For a few years he had seriously studied the Talmud and other Jewish religious books. Judaism, however, did not satisfy for long the incisive, logical, courageous, non-dogmatic mind of Maurice.

———————————
BIOGRAPHY #7. by NK Srinivasan

Preface

Maurice Frydman is one of those numerous westerners who sought spiritual wisdom of India and stayed in India for their entire lives. His life is extra-ordinary for the devotion he showed towards serving the poor and the needy in India, besides his special skills as an electrical engineer and a manager of modern factories. At once modern and a highly technical person, he could feel the pulse of his adopted country and serve at the grass root level.

Maurice Frydman sought spritual wisdom being a close disciple of Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi and later with Nisarga datta Maharaj . The book "Maharshifs gospel" compiled by him [published by Sri Ramanasramam [Sri Ramana Ashram] and "I Am That" —talks of Nisargadatta Maharaj edited & translated by him are too well known and have remained spiritual classics of 20th century.

He was intimately associated with the rural development programs in an impoverished princely state of Aundh in Maharashtra. He travelled on foot , among the villagers in 70 villages to introduce simple technologies for their development. Many would remember that he was the general manager of a modern factory , Government Electric Factory, Bangalore, set up by Maharaja of Mysore.

He introduced many judicial and prison reforms in that tiny state of Aundh. What is more, he drafted a new constitution for this state with the help of Mahatma Gandhi ; Raja of Aundh transferred power from himself to the people, thus created the first republic within British India!

During that time ,he had the unique opportunity to work closely with Mahatma Gandhi at Sevagram, Wardha. Maurice Frydman designed the charkha or hand-operated spinning wheel that became the symbol of Gandhiji's fight against the British rule. He made many devices for village industries with local materials and skills, much before the "Appropriate Technology" movement became a prominent approach for underdeveloped countries.

There was another phase of his work after 1959. He saw hundreds of refugees from Tibet without any support or livelihood or homes. He would work as a single-man brigade to procure lands for them and build settlement villages , literally begging Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister at that time, much against the indifferent attitude of Government machinery towards these refugees.

As Providence would design, the last phase of his life was spent at the feet of Nisargadatta Maharaj in the latter’s loft-like apartment in crowded Mumbai, to gather his wisdom from his talks and edit the book 'I Am That’. The book became instant success and brought many foreigners to Maharaj’s tenement.

Maurice Frydman, steeped in the knowledge of Vedanta, had earlier become a Hindu monk, initiated by Swami Ramdas of Ananadashram, Kanhangad. Towards the end, he had a beatific vision and breathed his last in the presence of Nisargadatta Maharaj.

I first came to know about Maurice Frydman from Ramana literature.I was drawn to his multi-faceted life with deep devotion to spiritual quest.As far as I know, a full length biography of this saintly sage does not exist. Being self-effacing and humble, Frydman did not leave much documents or photos. I had to gather information from numerous sources, aided by Internet. I hope this long narration would serve an an introductory book on this sage who made India his home. I have provided the needed background material about the times and the milieu he lived to help a modern reader.I shall be obliged for feedback to improve the book and to correct the mistakes.

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—N K Srinivasan

Pleasanton, California

6th June 2012

Chapter 1 Early Life

Maurice Frydman was born in 1894, in Kracow, Poland. His family, being Jewish, lived in a poor ghetto colony. At that time, Poland was a part of Tsarist Russia. The Jewish community had very few privileges from the state-only less than 10 precent of Jewish boys would get public education.

Maurice Frydman was a genius and a polymath. By the age of 10, Maurice was a polyglot— proficient in these languages: Hebrew,Russian, French , Polish and English.[He later spoke about 14 languages, including several Indian languages like Marathi, Tamil and Kannada]. His father wanted him to become a rabbi being the eldest son in the family but he would not become one.

Maurice stood first among 500 students in his final year at school. Standing first in a scholarship exam by the state , Maurice would enroll for a course in electrical engineering. He was employed in several electrical factories in Europe before he came to France seeking a job.

While working in an electric factory in Paris, he had already received several patents for electrical devices; he was around 20 years at that time. He had also invented a "talking book”.

Maurice Frydman

By the age of 25, a divine discontent erupted in him. He wanted to "see God". He studied Talmud and other Jewish scriptures. He got converted to Russian Orthodox Church and became a monk and even joined a solitary monastery in Poland. { Unfortunately not much information is available regarding this phase of his life.} But religious dogma and rituals of organized religions did not interest him.

When he came to Paris to work, he discovered 'Vedanta* through books in the National Library. He poured over the Gita, the Upanishads and the Mahabharata. He found the Vedantic path suitable to quench his spiritual thirst, away from dogmatic precepts. He resolved to go to India and seek spiritual wisdom

there.

Chapter 2 Call of India

Like many seekers of the west of his generation, Maurice was introduced to the esoteric wisdom of the East through Theosophical Society. He met Annie Besant and her protege J. Krishnamurti in Swiss Alps. [J K was still considered the chosen Messiah under the banner of Theosophical Society.] He became a close friend of J K for nearly 40 years. Maurice, however, was always a serious questioner of J K 's thoughts and they had several verbal 'duels’ in later years too. Maurice organized meetings for J K in Paris and also translated some of J K’s works into French.

Again like many of his generation, Maurice learned about the venerable sage Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi through Paul Brunton's book : "A Search in Secret India". Maurice was now burning with desire to meet the sage at Arunachala or Thiruvannamalai , Tamil Nadu, and follow the path of Jnana. He was still tied to his work in Paris.

As a divine intervention, the following incident would took place.

Sir Mirza Ismail, the Diwan or Prime Minister of Mysore State [one of the princely states within British India] was a man of progressive ideas. To improve the industrial base of his state, Ismail was touring the European countries to find engineers. One factory he visited was the electrical works where Maurice was the manager. After a short discussion with Maurice , Ismail was impressed with the technical talents and managerial ability of young Maurice and immediately extended an invitation; he asked Maurice whether he could spare six months to visit India to set up similar factories in Mysore or at least advise the government on industrial development. For Maurice this was a welcome offer. He jumped at the opportunity and told that his suitcases were already packed to leave for India.

After arriving in Bangalore, Maurice was busy with the setting up of the "Government Electric Factory" at Bangalore. This factory would produce electrical transformers, switch gears and insulators.[The first electrical transformers in India were produced in this factory in 1936.] Mirza Ismail offered him a salary of Rs 3000 — a fabulous sum those day— a car and a house.

But Maurice's inner agenda was to meet Ramana Maharshi at Thiruvannamalai [ Arunachala] at a distance of only 250 kilometers [ 150 miles] from Bangalore. The first visit was in 1935. Maurice travelled on week ends to the ashram of Bhagwan Ramana and became an ardent disciple of Maharshi. Later Maurice stayed in the ashram for three years. Maurice learned the Vedanta principles and the path taught by Ramana—-‘atmavichara' or self-inquiry— directly from the master. Steeped in Vedanta and with a very sharp mind, Maurice was evolving into a mature Jnani, under the gaze of Ramana Maharshi. Later he would compile Ramana's teachings and write a small book in English— "Maharshif's Gospel" which is popular even today [published by Sri Ramanasramam]. Many of the questions posed to Ramana and compiled in the Gospel were those of Maurice's . True to his humility, Maurice wrote this book anonymously —his name did not appear in print. Ramana told his devotees: "Maurice Frydman belongs only here--to India. Somehow he was born abroad , but has come again here!”

The spirit of renunciation burned in the heart of Maurice. He would soon renounce everything. He wanted to take sannyas vows —vows of monkhood according to Hindu traditions. He approached Ramana with his requesst to initiate him into sannyas. But Ramana refused. Ramana told that he offered no sannyas diksha or initiation or gerua robe [saffron colored robe cotton cloth dyed in natural dyes those days formally worn by Hindu monk]. Ramana's traditions are different. Ramana was not a sannyasin of the traditional category —not formally initiated by another swami or pontiff of one of the mathas [monasteries], like Shankara mutt or peetam. Ramana was ‘atiashrami". This needs a little explanation.

In Hindu tradition, one follows the four stages or 'ashramas' o life sequentially: first brahmacharya [student life with strict celibacy, serving the teacher or guru], next 'grihastha [family life, earning wealth, begetting children, serving parents, needy persons and supporting monks], next one "vanaprastha" [literally 'entering forest', to lead a contemplative life away from family and friends like a hermit, while teaching the young ones]and finally, 'sannyas' or renouncing everything and wander around as a monk. According to this tradition, every one should go through these four stages so that his mind would gradually mature after experiencing life's trials and tribulations, joys and sorrows, at the same time discharging the duties of one's mundane life. Only a rare few can skip one or two of the ashramas and enter into sannyas the examples being Gautama, the Buddha and Adi Shankara.

But sages like Ramana are considered 'above all these ashramas” ['atiashrami']—meaning that they do not fall into the normal category of persons and have transcended the four stages. For instance, normal sannyasins belonging to one of the monastic orders would be expected to follow the strict rituals and observances of that order.But not one like Ramana ,who can wander at will and associate with people of all castes, sects and religions. This factor is not commonly understood by many in India and in the West. For instance, Ramana used to eat food offered by various persons in Arunachala — a strict sadhu or pontiff of a mutt would not even touch such food.

Therefore Ramana was averse to sannyas ceremonies/diksha and also wearing a saffron robe. He used to initiate disciples only by look and by touch.

Ramana Maharshi

Maurice was in a fix now. He was much against dogma and rituals of organised religions. He spoke clearly against them. Yet he had decided to follow the life style of a Hindu monk and Ramana would not accede to this.

Maurice and Swami Ramdas

Maurice was keen in getting into sannyas and though he was a staunch Jnani, soon delved into Bhakti or devotional path. After all he had initial exposure to Jewish faith and Russian Orthodox Church and was familiar with formal religious practices. He was not averse to them.

Swami Ramdas, affectionately called "Papa" Ramdas, was a devotee of Lord Ram and was a self-realized saint and jnani, but preaching all the time the devotional modes of chanting the name of Ram and singing hymns or bhajan with cymbals and drums. Hestarted his career as a textile engineer in Mumbai; soon renounced family life, leaving behind his wife and a daughter, wandered around the country seeking spiritual wisdom. He met Ramana and had meditations in the holy hill of Arunachala. After intense tapas and self-realization, he returned to his native place near Mangalore and built an ashram first at Kasargod and later shifted the ashram to Kanhangad. This ashram, "Anandashram" ['Abode of Bliss' ] is a place of serene atmosphere, resounding with the sweet name of Lord Rama ,chanted throughout the day. [Kanhangad is at a distance of about 100 km from Mangalore, in Kerala state.]

Swami Ramdas, a gentle saint who gave initiation to several sadhaks or aspirants, was the guru for many well known saints in India, including Yogi Ram Surat Kumar of Thiruvannamalai, [ aka, 'visiri' swami or fan swami as he held a large hand fan all the time.]It should be noted that Maurice was still clinging onto Jnana ,but the charisma of Papa Ramdas appealed to him.[Anandashram was ably maintained by Mother Krishnabai, the chief disciple of Ramdas, who built the ashram along devotional path, with emphasis on Universal love and social service.]

Swami Ramdas

Maurice reached Anandashram and after staying for a few months, wanted to take sannyas vows. Papa Ramdas could immediately discern the deep vairagya or spirit of renunciation of Maurice. He gave sannyas to Maurice and offered the gerua cloth with the monastic title " Swami Bharatananda"-- a name Maurice would use in later writings.Swami Ramdas told prophetically that this was the last life for Maurice—meaning thereby that he would have no rebirth or he would be a liberated soul after this earthly visit.

Maurice was physically transformed now with a shaven head, saffron robe draped over his shoulders, seeking alms with a begging bowl-- a native bowl made of dried gourd which he bought. He would also give away much of his salary for the poor and the needy.

He continued to be the General Manager of Govt Electric Factory at Bangalore , attired like a monk. Sir Mirza Ismail, the Diwan of Mysore state, was irritated and fumed; He told " Frydman, I hired an engineer, not a sannyasin" .His dress and manners were not acceptable to him as an officer of the state. Maurice quickly replied that his dress and manner of eating and so on are his private matters. Ismail should consider only his work at the factory. The controversy between the two blew up into a crisis. But Ismail would not like to lose a great engineer and manager who had already elevated Mysore state in electrical industry. Mirza Ismail relented . A compromise solution was found: Maurice would wear the formal British dress [ pant , suit, neck-tie, boot and hat] only while receiving important visitors to his factory.

Soon enough, an important visitor, a young prince, did enter Maurice's factory. Maurice would receive him in his dress of pant and suit. This would change the course of Maurice's life again.

Chapter 3 The Karma Yogi

Aundh is a postage-stamp size Princely state under the suzerainty of the British Crown. There were 671 such princely states, big and small at that time in British Raj. The rulers of these states called Rajas, Maharajas, Nawabs and so on, depending on the size of their estates, had considerable freedom to govern their kingdom as they wished. Raja Bhawan Rao Pant, Raja of Aundh, was an enlightened ruler, trying to preserve the cultural and spiritual heritage of his small kingdom. [The princely states were annexed with India or Pakistan after the Independence between the years 1947 and 1949.]

His princely state was only 1300 square kilometer,say 35 km by 35 kilometer square. Further it was a poor state, already had a plague epidemic in 1911 and suffered from frequent famine conditions. It consisted of nearly 70 tiny impoverished villages.

Raja Bhawan Rao [Balasaheb, titled 'Pant Prathiniti'] sent his eldest son Apa Pant to England for study. Apa studied at Oxford and London and returned after 4 years and would enter the bar later. Raja sent him to Mysore state for 'training' in general adminstration since Mysore was considered a model state with excellent administration. As part of the training, Apa was asked to visit several factories in Mysore state. In that list, Maurice's electric factory was included.

The young prince Apa Pant arrived at the factory premises and Maurice was ready to receive him in British attire. Maurice, however, made a discourteous remark: He asked, "Young Price, do you know anything about electricity or I would be wasting time on you ?" This sharp remark turned Apa away. He went back to his car .Maurice realising his mistake, went after him and grabbed him out of the car and apologized. Maurice then took him inside the factory and showed him around.In a few moments, Maurice captivated Apa so much they became very close friends at the end of the visit. They remained close friends for the rest of their lives.

Apa Pant wanted Maurice to visit Aundh and spend three months there to improve the condition of the villages. He requested Sir Mirza Ismail to lend his services; Sir Mirza told that his father should write to him for such a request. Raja of Aundh duly sent a letter, drafted by Apa. But Mirza gently declined stating that he could send Maurice only at a later time.

After some time, Apa Pant found Maurice entering his palace at Aundh with a sack of ochre robes on his back.! Maurice told that he was not a slave of Sir Mirza and that he had chosen to stay at Aundh and work for the impoverished people. Apa implored that his kingdom could pay only very little, since the highest paid state official, the Diwan, received a monthly salary of only Rs 75. Maurice had apparently decided to renounce his high salary of Rs 3000 at Mysore he had chosen poverty as a true monk. Thus his life of Karma Yogi began in Aundh.

The various activities and social and political reforms Maurice started in that tiny state are truly remarkable. He set up his project office for rural upliftment under an acacia tree. He would stay there in biting cold covered with blankets. He walked on foot to almost all the 70 villages to initiate rural projects. That was his 'tapasya" or penance.

He did an exciting social experiment at that time. He freed the prisoners from Aundh prison and made them work for village projects like digging wells and building schools. One of the early achievement was digging a large well, in the sandy soil and lifting a stream of sweet water .

In 1939, he established a 1 free prison' or open jail and established a "City of the Free" called "Swatantrapur". In this village, prisoners could stay with their families and work on the farms. This experiment inspired the writer Madgulkar and the film director V Shantaram to make the famous Hindi movie " Do Aanken Barah Hath " ['two eyes and twelve hands'] which received the Golden Globe Award. Swatantrapur is still functioning as an open jail and has become a tourist attraction. Maurice convinced Raja Saheb to abolish capital punishment in the state.

After some time, Maurice drafted a new constitution for the state by which the political power could be transferred from the Raja to the people--forming the first state to implement a republic within the Indian Union. More about this in the next chapter.

The village work took on other aspects—such as improving the sugar industry and textile production among other things with the inventive skills of Maurice. The local population almost revered Maurice as a saint who had come to uplift them with 'Karuna' or compassion.

Wanda Dynowska

Maurice did not forget his native Poland which was still dormant with dogmatic religious concepts. He would help to translate his favourite Vedantic works and publish books for Poland.There was no free excahnge of information in those days. Nazi Germany had already occupied Poland. So Maurice teamed up with his friend Wanda Dynowska, who was already in India.

Wanda Dynowska took on the name of Uma Devi. She was a wealthy lady from Poland.She was the secretary of Theosophical Society in Poland. She came to India in 1935 and had visited Ramana and Mahatma Gandhi. She was, of course, in constant touch with J. Krishnamurti who had left the Theosophical Society and was a freelance teacher. She would help in the translation of vedantic works, nearly 50 books, and sending them to Poland with an organization called Indo-Polish Library' which she founded in Chennai in 1944.This institution had the editorial responsibility for all the translations. Books were smuggled into Poland because of communist regime there after World War II. Uma Devi would work with Maurice for rehabilitating Tibetan refugees , as we will see later. {She became a Hindu and Indian citizen and died in Mysore in 1971.]

Chapter 4 With the Mahatma

Mahatma Gandhi was organising the rural programs from Sewagram [' Service-village' ] near Wardha ashram. He housed himself in a mud hut covered with bamboo slats and thatched roof. Charkha or the hand spinning wheel would become the tool and the symbol for India's resurgence and independence from not only British rule but British textile industry as well. In 1923, Gandhi announced a contest for Rs 1 lakh {Rs 100000]—a large sum as the award for the best charkha-an easy and low cost solution. Maurice would design several charkhas for Gandhiji. Among the many, Maurice Frydman offered one charkha called "Dhanush Takli”.

[Maurice's charkha would use the following materials: wood or bamboo strips [1 inch wide, 2 feet long], a rubber strip made from waste cycle tube, a spindle from umbrella or bicycle [7inches long] and 2 feet long wooden piece.]Gandhiji found Maurice's invention too efficient and remarked that while he was trying to increase jobs, Maurice was making less jobs with more efficiency.!

It was Apa Pant, the Prince of Aundh, who took Maurice to Mahatma Gandhi. After entering the hut, Gandhi greeted them and having been told that Maurice had left Mysore , he quipped: "So you have caught hold of the poor Raja of Aundh leaving behind the rich Raja of Mysore to his destiny!." Inwardly the Mahatma was happy that Maurice would serve the rural folks in Aundh and develop technologies for them.

The association with Gandhiji continued for several years almost till the end of Mahatma's life in 1948. Maurice made many devices which were introduced through Sewagram. Unfortunately details are not available. Maurice also learned much about nature cure and native, herbal medicines during his stay at Gandhi's ashram.

Maurice's association with Gandhi for freedom struggle brought many westerners into conflict with him—either directly or indirectly. But Maurice ,however, did not directly take part in non-cooperation movement or other political actions of Gandhi . He focussed on helping the rural poor—along Gandhiji?s line of thinking. While in Aundh, Maurice wrote two books published in 1944: "Gandhiji-His life and work" (pub :Karnataka pub house, Mumbai; " The world federation and the Indian National Congress",Aundh Publishing Trust.]

The Aundh Experiment

A major 'revolution' Maurice would usher in was the transference of power from the Raja of Aundh to the people of that state. Mahatma Gandhi's trusteeship concepts were responsible for this initiative from Maurice. Maurice thought of this concept of making people govern themselves at the village level in Aundh.

Apa Pant later told:" Frydman had great influence on my father. On his 75th birthday, Maurice said: "Raja Saheb,why don't you go and make a declaration to Mahatma Gandhi that you are giving all power to the people because it will help in the freedom struggle". The Raja readily endorsed the idea of self-government by the people. Maurice immediately wrote the draft declaration and a new constitution. The Raja and Apa Pant traveled to Wardha ashram to meet the Mahatma. Gandhiji gave his sign of approval and dictated the final draft in one sitting. It was called "Swaraj Constitution of Aundh-1939". It was sent to the state assembly for ratification which was done on Jan 21st 1939.

Raja of Aundh was declared as " the first servant and the bearer of conscience of the people of Aundh". Thus the 'Aundh Experiment" started to operate.

Note that the Princely states were autonomous states,each having made a treaty with the British Crown. So they were free to make such changes in their own state constitution. It was obvious that such a move would be thwarted by the British government . The British governer reprimanded the Raja, fearing that mass uprising would start in many princely states for similar moves. Many eye brows were raised ,especially in other Princely states. It caused some shock waves in the halls of power in Delhi, in Whitehall in England and in the courts of other feudal states like Travancore with Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer as the Diwan, a man who would try to uphold a Princely rule even after independence. But the Congress party supported such a move, which already had the blessings of Gandhiji.But, fortunately the Bombay legislative Assembly ratified the new constitution of Aundh!

It looked like Maurice Frydman had done his job and would oversee the new developments. After the declaration, the state of Aundh was reorganized from the village level. The Panchayats in each village had five elected representatives voted to power by all adults who were given voting rights. Aundh had four taluks -Aundh,Kundal, Gundal and Atpadi where the open prison existed. Each taluk council chose a president and two representatives to a central assembly presided by the Raja.

The panchayats had full responsibility for eduation, health, justice system, irrigation, sanitation, road and public buildings. Between 1939 and 1945, 27 new primary schools were built, with 14 middle schools and three high schools. Adult education classes doubled. Several national leaders assisted in executing the Aundh experiment. Achyut Patwardhan who organized Quit-India movement in 1945 operated from Aundh villages. He went underground in one the villages there.Apa Pant held secret meetings with him.

The Aundh experiment triggered by Maurice Frydman and executed by Bhawan Rao [Bala Saheb] and his son Apa Pant was watched with excitement by all Indians. The experiment proceeded till 1947 when the state of Aundh was annexed with the Indian Union.

[Apa Pant later became a diplomat in various places when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister East Africa,Indonesia, Norway,UAR and London. From 1951 to 1956, he became the political officer for the independent state of Sikkim when problems with Tibet would brew. The story of his relationship with Maurice Frydman is continued in the next chapter.]

{Brief life sketches of the Raja of Aundh and that of his son, Apa Pant are given in the appendices. ]

Chapter 5 With Tibetan Refugees

Mahatma Gandhi was shot by Nathuram Vinak Godse during an evening prayer meeting in Delhi in 1948. After that Maurice left Aundh and would spend sometime in Chennai and Varanasi. During the next few years, he was managing and coordinating activities for Jiddu Krishnamurti Foundation. With S Balasundaram, he established the Rishi Valley school at Madanepalli, Chittor, AP, near Bangalore. He also served as the secretary of J K Foundation which had extensive activities at Rajghat Center in Varanasi[Benaras]. He met J K many times and would carry on intellectual duels on his philosophy and Vedanta. Maurice was already a matured Jnani and could delve into the depths of Hindu philosophy and practices. It is a moot point whether Maurice learned anything at all from J K except for some intellectual stimulation.

Sometime in 1944 Maurice organized the Indo-Polish Library, a publishing house founded by his Polish friend ,Wanda Dynowski ,with her Indian name of Uma Devi. Uma was already deep in Hindu philosophy and had became an Indian citizen. She was keen on making Poland know India and India know Poland.She wrote a book on Polish tales and also a book of poems. She translated into Polish and edited many Vedantic works with the help of Maurice:the Gita, the Upanishads and the epics [Ramayana and Mahabharata] as already stated in the previous chapter. Information is scanty regarding the actual involvement of Maurice in these efforts, though the two worked together in Chennai and Mysore for a few years.

Refugees from Tibet

Around 1959, tension was building up in Sikkim and Bhutan due to Chinese incursion into Tibet. Thousands of Tibetan refugees were entering these places from Tibet after arduous journey across the Himalayas. They were without food and shelter. Indian government was taking an cautious approach to this refugee problem—not to affront the Chinese government which was outwardly on friendly terms with India. Nehru, the then prime- minister, was promoting the friendship with slogans like "Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai". The government wanted to soft pedal the issue with the Chines authorities. China was making religious and cultural changes in occupied Tibet.

Who should enter the picture to crystallize the refugee problem from Sikkim Apa Pant who was stationed as political officer there by the Nehru government. Apa invited his long term friend Maurice to stay for a few months in Sikkim as his guest. Maurice, with his characteristic approach, wanted to rehabilitate the Tibetan refugees in various villages at altitudes above 3500 feet as it would provide suitable climate for Tibetan people. It was indeed a herculean task to find villages for nearly 80000 refugees. No single state would receive all of them. Maurice worked out a plan to settle them in various states with the help of central government.

Maurice met with the prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, a close friend of Apa Pant . He requested Nehru to write to various states to provide settlement villages for these refugees and he himself would organize for their welfare. Nehru would not make a quick decision. But Maurice was almost adamant; met him several times and waited on Nehru for several hours and finally got an official letter signed by him to various state governments. With this letter, Maurice travelled to several states for Tibetan refugee villages from Delhi to Karnataka. In fact in Karnataka, where he was a familiar figure with local officials and widely respected, he could obtain three villages. They are thriving Tibetan communities even today.[We are also told that it was Maurice who made Nehru to provide asylum to the 14th Dalai Lama when he entered Sikkim from Tibet. I am not able to confirm this, however.]

Uma Devi also came to Sikkim and joined Maurice to organize refugee relief camps and educational facilities for children with great zeal. Her contribution matched and complemented the efforts of Maurice. The Central Tibetan Schools Administration was established in 1961 by the government to preserve Tibetan language and culture. Uma Devi worked in Dharamshala where the 14th Dalai Lama who came as a boy to India, had settled and established the exile government.Dalai Lama would tell later that she helped " like a second mother" to the children there.The Tibetan community owes a lot to these two Poles-- Maurice and Uma Devi who had made India their home.

This refugee rehabilitation work would occupy the attention of Maurice for several years—from 1959 to 1965. When faced with apparently insurmountable difficulties with official machinery, Maurice would remark that "ekagrata"—single-pointedness can achieve anything. The Indo-China conflict arose in 1962, with Chinese occupation in part of Himalayan territories. Thousands of Tibetan refugees landed near Nepal and Sikkim to be housed in Dharamshala.

Chapter 6 With Nisargadatta Maharaj

Nisargadatta Maharaj was a jnani and a sage in the advaitic tradition, much like Ramana Maharshi. He was of humble disposition who made a living selling beedies [native cigarettes having tobacco stuffed in a fold of a dried leaf and tied with a string] and resided in a loft-like tenement in a crowded part of Mumbai.He was a chain smoker of beedies.

Nisarga was a disciple of Siddharameshwar Maharaj, a self-realized master and belonged to "Nath-nath Sampradaya" or lineage, ('nine masters’ tradition). Gorakhnath and Matsyendranath were two early Nath gurus. Nath tradition derives much from Shankara's advaitic or non-dual philosophy, but also includes several features of Bhakti or devotional path. Navnath tradition is a lineage of gurus who are householders. Nisarga was married and had children. Maharaj himself would do puja and bhajan five times a day because his guru asked him to do so.

Nisargadatta Maharaj

Nisarga Maharaj had no ashram or matha [monastery] or peeta [seat of learning in Hindu style]. He had just a small tenement or loft house above the petty shops in Khetwadi [10th lane] in Mumbai. He would receive 'sadhaks' or seekers of his wisdom there and speak only in Marathi. But he was accessible to all seekers without charging any fee for such satsanghas or discourses unlike many other teachers then and now. Those drawn to Advaitic path and self-inquiry Ramana style flocked to him. Maharaj would elicit questions from foreigners who were keen to learn advaita from such a great master. Maharaj had no school education.He did not quote from scriptures, but spoke from his own understanding and experience.

Maurice became his disciple in early days of Nisarga's ministry, around 1965. [Maurice was staying with a Parsi lady, Ms Hirubhai Petit near Nisarga’s tenement in Colaba. Ms Petit owed much to Maurice for her getting higher education when very few women went to college.] Maurice had another advantage; he could speak Marathi very well.He would be a translator of Maharaj’s talks and answers for Indians without knowledge of Marathi and also for foreign seekers. Maurice took upon himself the task of compiling the talks in the form of question-and answer sessions, recorded in tapes, and publish a great book “ I Am That". This book has become a classic in this field. It became so popular in the west that many seekers would flock to the small lane in Khetwadi,Mumbai . Hundreds of foreigners would crowd into his tenement that Maharaj himself remarked: " I used to have a quiet life; but the book "I AM That" by Maurice has turned my house into a railway station platform.”

Note that Maurice had already compiled a slim volume:

"Maharishi's Gospel". These two works alone would ensure his place in spiritual literature. The publication of 'I Am That’ proved difficult at first since many well-known publishers declined to publish. But Maurice would promote a small publisher. 'Chetana Books1, to undertake the publication. The book became a huge success.! The book carries the title: "I Am That—Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj"—Nisargadatta (the author) Sudhakar Dixit[editor] Maurice Frydman [translator] (Original edition Chetana Books 1973.]

It is not easy to follow or understand the teachings of Nisarga; but Maurice's compilation made a big difference it is eminently readable, given the abstruse nature of the subject. [In later years many others would also publish Nisarga's talks in several volumes, including Alexander Smit, Jean Dunn, Robert, Powell,Mark West, Pradeep Apte and Ramesh Balsekar. But Maurice's book would be considered as more authentic and well structured than many other books on Nisargadatta Maharaj.]

Maurice wrote an article ,titled " Nisarga Yoga"; he wrote : "The astonishingly rich spiritual heritage of India is implicit in him [Nisarga] rather than explicit. The Nisarga Yoga ['nisarga' — natural state] of Maharaj is disconcertingly simple-the mind ,which is all-becoming must recognize and penetrate its own being , not as being this or that, here or there, then and now but just timeless being. This timeless being is the source of both life and consciousness. The dwelling on the sense of "I AM" is the simple, easy and natural yoga—the Nisarga Yoga. There is no secrecy in it and no dependence, no preparation or initiation required.”

What did Nisarga say about the qualification of Maurice Frydman ? Much later, in an interview , David Godman asked Maharaj: " In all these years you have been teaching, how many people have truly understood and experienced your teachings?" Maharaj replied: " One, Maurice". Nisargadatta Maharaj considered Maurice a fully realized Jnani. Though Maurice had little or no interest in rituals and religious observances [he had already given up the saffron robe of early sannyas years] he was truly someone who understood and respected the Hindu traditions and could flow with the traditional Hindu practices. Though he was a close associate of J. Krishnamurti for many years, he would not take JK's philosophy or "no guru" approach seriously. Inwardly Maurice was a jnani, bhakta and karma yogi all rolled into one. May be his karma yoga for greater part of his life had purified his mind and led his heart to the center of " I Am". Nisargadatta told once : " The only time a Jnani truly rejoices is when someone becomes a jnani". Knowing Maurice to be a jnani, Maharaj should have rejoiced in his company. There is also the dictum that only a Jnani can recognize another Jnani. Therefore Maharaj's pronouncement that Maurice was a jnani rings true.

The End

Maurice continued to visit Maharaj almost daily. He also experimented with various foods , native herbs and mud packs for nature cures—a trait imbibed from the Mahatma. He continued to stay in the same apartment with Petit and her adopted daughter Babulal.

In 1976, Maurice was hit by a speeding motor cycle in Mumbai. Though he partially recovered from this accident ,he became weak and died later on 9th March 1976, in the presence of Apa Pant and Nisargadatta Maharaj.

An interesting anecdote had been told by Dr Sadashiva Rao. During his last days, Maurice got caring service from a professional nurse whom he did not know. Initially Maurice refused her services. The nurse had a dream in which an old man in loin cloth asked her to go to Maurice and serve him. That was how she had come to Maurice’s apartment. While looking around , she saw the picture of the old man —the picture of Ramana on the wall. Startled , the nurse related the dream to Maurice. Maurice then accepted her services.

Before his last moments, Maurice Frydman told: "Apa, I hear the music; I see the bright light. Who dies? No one is dying. This diseased body is keeping me away from that Harmony and Beauty.

Do not let them keep me in this body. Go now in Peace!" Nisargadatta Maharaj declared that Maurice was a liberated soul.He had reached the state of Shunyata — emptiness or nothingness.

Nisargadatta Maharaj had many pictures adorning the wall of his loft-tenement; he used to perform pooja five times a day offering flowers and putting kum-kum [vermillion] paste on the foreheads of the saints and sages in those pictures. There was a picture of Ramana on the wall too, along with the gurus of Navnath Sampradaya and other saints. Two more photos were added to the gallery those of Maurice Frydman.

Bibliography

1. Apa Pant —Maurice Frydman 'Mountain Path' journal 1991

2. Apa Pant — Unusual Raja and Mahatma Gandhi

3. Indira Rothmund — The Aundh Experiment Somaiya Publishers

Mumbai 1983

4. Ramana maharshi Maharshi's Gospel --Sri Ramanasramam

Thiruvannamalai

5. Sri Nisargadatta, Murice Frydman — I Am That —Chetana Books Mumbai 1971

6. Maurice Frydman —Gandhiji—His life and work Karnataka pub

Mumbai 1944

7. Maurice Frydman — The world federation and the Indian National Congress.Aundh Pub Trust 1944

8. Luis S R Vyas — editor—[Maurice Frydman - " The Basic Truth "] in "The mind of JK" Jaico Publishers, Mumbai

9. Dalton Dennis —Mahatma Gandhi-non-violent power in action — Columbia Univ Press,1993

BIOGRAPHY #8

From: Ramana Periya Puranam (Inner Journey of 75 Old Devotees)

by V. Ganesan, grand nephew of Sri Ramana Maharshi.

Maurice Frydman was a genius.

He was born in a Jewish ghetto in Poland.

He came from such a poor family, that he tasted white bread only at the age of thirteen.

He could read and write Russian, Hebrew and Cyrillic by the age of ten, and could speak fluent Russian, Polish, French, English and Hebrew.

He stood first in his class right from his school days to the time he was a student of electrical engineering.

An extraordinary genius, he had nearly a hundred patents for his engineering inventions by the time he was just twenty.

At the age of twenty five, Maurice had a strong inner urge to seek God.

In the process, he gave up Judaism and took to Russian Orthodoxy.

He became a monk, leading an austere life in a solitary monastery.

On one of the rare occasions he ventured out, he found himself on top of a mighty waterfall. Here, Satan tempted him by saying, “If you have real faith in Jesus Christ and if you really love the church, jump into this waterfall.”

Maurice, very characteristically, jumped immediately into the deep chasm, wearing his monk´s robe. Would Arunachala let anything happen to him? His robe got entangled in some of the shrubs on the precipice, and he was saved! Proof, that when there is earnestness, a thirst to know the truth, the truth will guide us.

All the orthodox dogmas he was practicing failed to lead him to the truth and he became vexed. He sought freedom from bondage of every kind.

This quest led him to the Theosophical Society and to Annie Besant.

The meeting with J. Krishnamurti impressed him the most.

All these meetings took place in 1926.

Krishnamurti declared, “Truth is a pathless land.” And that truth can be arrived at only by applying oneself diligently without being dependent on any kind of external authority.

This approach appealed to Maurice and he had lengthy dialogues on the subject with Krishnamurti. It is on record that Krishnamurti always obliged Maurice whenever he wanted to talk to him.

Maurice had a seething desire to see God and know the truth, but all the while, from 1928 to 1934, he continued working in the electrical industry. He became the general manager of a well known electrical goods manufacturing factory in France.

Yet, his aspiration to know the truth never left him and he started reading the French and German translations of Vedantic treatises like the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.

1935 proved to be the turning point in his spiritual life. This was when he started reading Paul Brunton‟s books. The teaching „Who am I?‟ proved to be tremendously enlightening. The teaching that truth exists within oneself, rather than outside of the Self made him turn within. Paul Brunton´s books kindled the burning desire to visit India and meet the living sage, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

In all these, providence guided him. The diwan of Mysore (a diwan is akin to the chief minister of a state or even, the prime minister of a country) wanted to modernize his state and was touring Europe and England to learn more about the facilities available in these countries. One day, he visited the factory that Maurice Frydman was in charge of. He was so impressed by Maurice‟s sincerity, application and hard work that he requested him, “Will you please come to our state and advise us on how to develop our state?”

In the 1930´s, India was in a very backward condition and technology had really not found a place here. Maurice shot back characteristically, “My bags are packed, sir. I am prepared to leave for India with you.” Such was the beauty of Maurice.

Maurice Frydman arrived in India, the country of his dreams in 1935. He was put in charge of setting up a big electrical goods manufacturing factory since he was an expert in the field. His aspiration, however, was to meet Bhagavan. Despite his busy work schedule, he went to meet him.

From the very first instance, he was prepared to surrender himself to Bhagavan. He would work day and night at the factory. So much so, he became very successful within a short time. On weekends, he would go to Arunachala, where people would greet him with, “Here comes our Maurice.”

During his sojourn, he would talk to his friends and to Bhagavan, questioning Bhagavan often, and Bhagavan would tolerate it all. Bhagavan was spontaneous and natural, reflecting you like a mirror. When someone was totally immersed in spirituality, he too responded by giving himself to them.

People in Ramanasramam commented on his frequent weekly visits, “Maurice, why do you not come once a month or maybe once in two months? You have to spend so much to come here.” Maurice would reply, “What can I do? My battery can take only so much. Within a week it dries up. I have to come here every week to be in Bhagavan´s presence and get it recharged!”

Maurice was extremely close to Bhagavan. He gathered as much as he could about Vedanta, had discussions with others and read up as much as possible about the Hindu scriptures. He read that if one wanted final emancipation, one had to take sanyas. He approached Bhagavan and enquired, “Bhagavan, this is what the Hindu scriptures say. Will you please give me sanyas?”

Bhagavan remained silent - but you know our dear Maurice.

He was persistent in his appeal.

One day, he approached Bhagavan on the hill and said, “Bhagavan, give me sanyas. I want to renounce the world and strive towards enlightenment.”

Bhagavan, in a very compassionate tone, answered,

“Sanyas is taken from within; not from without.”

Maurice‟s face fell at the response.

Bhagavan, like a mother, looked at Maurice and explained,

“You are already a sanyasin. Why do you want to take up ochre robes?”

Maurice did not give up. He kept asking Bhagavan for sanyas, and Bhagavan repeatedly answered, “There is no need for sanyas.”

So, what did Maurice with his ingenious, inventive brain do?

He went to Swami Ramdas - a realized soul - in Anandashram.

Somehow, he convinced Swami Ramdas to give him sanyas.

Swami Ramdas gave him the outward sanyas that he so desperately desired. Maurice was given a new name. He was called Swami Bharatananda, which means „one who delights staying in India.‟

Maurice became close to Swami Ramdas.

Once, Swami Ramdas told him, “Maurice, Swami Bharatananda, this is your last birth.” Being a great sage, he could understand the greatness of Maurice Frydman.

One day, while Bhagavan was coming down the hill, Maurice came and stood in front of him, dressed in the ochre robes and beads of a Hindu monk. Maurice was rather anxious because he wanted his master to approve of what he had done. Seeing him, Bhagavan started laughing. Then, Bhagavan smilingly said to his attendant, “Hey, he looks like a buffoon in a circus.”

Maurice understood. All his life he had been a true sanyasin from within. Consequently, his attachment to wearing ochre robes continued only for a few more years. That is what Bhagavan meant when he said, “Sanyas is to give up attachment,” because Maurice never had any kind of attachment.

Even while working in the factory, Maurice led a very austere life. He refused to accept his monthly salary of three thousand rupees - an incredibly huge amount in those days. He declined the amount, saying, “I do not want it. Give it to the workers fund.”

As for sleeping, once the shops closed for the night, he slept on the porch of one of the shops. And what did this big boss, this top man working at the factory have for lunch? While all the other workers trooped into the dining hall to eat the lunch that they had brought from home, Maurice would stand at the dining hall´s entrance, clad in his ochre robes and with his begging bowl in his hands. This was in the spirit of a true sanyasin. The workers, who loved him very much, would first put something in the begging bowl before going into the dining room to eat. Not only that, Maurice stitched his own clothes. He wore only khadi pyjamas and kurtas made out of cloth from the yarn that he himself had spun on the charkha, a traditional, Indian spinning wheel. Even his footwear was stitched by him! He led a remarkably simple life, but he was happy and content. He didn’t gloat about his way of life or relent from it - he was just tremendously happy.

Maurice´s association with Bhagavan remained close and regular. Just like the child questions the mother, so too, Maurice put forth a lot of incisive questions to Bhagavan on the practical aspects of sadhana. It was not to satisfy his intellectual curiosity that he asked them. Bhagavan would patiently answer his questions. Maurice used to record these exchanges and then show the record to Bhagavan and get it corrected. This was later published as Maharshi‟s Gospel on the occasion of Bhagavan‟s sixtieth birthday in 1939. From that year onwards, this book has been guiding true seekers.

Even today it remains a beautiful guide for serious seekers. I always recommend three books to sincere seekers for study - The Maharshi and His Message, Words of Grace and Maharshi´s Gospel.

It was during such close interaction with Bhagavan, that Maurice wrote a series of moving verses. Bhagavan read them with great interest. In two of these verses Maurice says:

“So long I have been on this stage to please thee.

My eyes are blinded by the light of thy play.

My ears are deafened by the rolling thunder of thy laughter.

My heart is turned to ashes by the flame of real sorrow.

My lord, to please thee I have made a fool of myself.

And now I am unable to stop the agony of the play.

My lord, drag me down from this stage.

Master, I have forgotten the way in and the way out.”

Bhagavan was happy to read through the verses. He said that this was exactly what had been written by Appayya Dikshitar, a sage who lived several centuries ago. His verses in Sanskrit were written on palm leaves and many people were not aware of them. Bhagavan said that Appaya Dikshitar‟s verses describe the situation of the court dancer performing in the presence of the king. She cannot stop dancing unless it pleases the king to tell her to stop. The dancer´s limbs may ache but she cannot stop of her own accord. She cries, “Oh lord, I am weary of the many births and deaths that I have endured. One glance from you, oh lord, is sufficient to put an end to this dance of birth and death and grant me release.”

Bhagavan paused before saying,

“Maurice Frydman belongs here.

Somehow, he was born abroad but he has come here again.

Otherwise, how is it possible for him to compose verses similar to Appayya Dikshitar?”

Bhagavan made Maurice continue his dance by not asking him to come down.

As we are going to see, he had to continue performing on the world stage because he was a karma yogi who still had a lot of good deeds to perform. So, Maurice flowed along with the state of things and continued working busily in the factory. Apa Pant, the prince of Audh, who had studied in England, was sent to the Maharaja of Mysore for training in the art of governance. In the course of his training, he was asked to visit the factory in which Maurice was the managing director. When he went to the factory, Apa Pant, himself a calm and collected person, could not help being drawn to Maurice‟s brilliance and dedication. Likewise, Maurice too took a great liking to Apa Pant and started guiding him spiritually. He also impressed upon the young prince, the need to focus on development in the villages of his state and to take science and technology there so that life became easier and smoother for the peasants. Apa Pant then told Maurice, “Please come to our state and stay there for at least five or six months and guide us.”

One fine day soon after this, the prince found Maurice in his palace. Maurice told the prince, “I have come to you. I have resigned my job in Bangalore. I would like to serve the villages of the Audh state!” The poor prince (poor, not literally) did not know what to say. He could only say, “This state cannot afford to pay an engineer like you.” Maurice, in his very characteristic manner said, “I will sleep on the floor in that room. Just give me an Indian desk to work on. I have got legs to walk and I will take you on my walks. We will both work together in the villages of Audh. Now, if you could give me some food, I am hungry.”

Maurice was always telegraphic, but very, very clear!

Wherever he was, Maurice remained in correspondence with Bhagavan.

We have to understand that inside he was all the time in the presence of Bhagavan.

In one of his letters to Bhagavan, he wrote,

“The Maharshi is with me not only when I think of him, but also when I am not thinking of him. Otherwise, how do I live?”

Apa Pant and Maurice started working together. You will be surprised to know that Maurice´s office was under the shade of a huge tree in a village. He lived in the villages he visited and worked very hard for them. Maurice heard about Mahatma Gandhi´s deep interest in bringing decentralized democracy into the villages in order to empower them. He set out to meet Mahatma Gandhi to learn more about the process. Mahatma Gandhi took to Maurice immediately; he addressed Maurice only as Bharatananda; everyone in his Sevashram addressed him in the same manner. Gandhi found that Maurice was not only a hard worker but also an inventor who was using the Indian charkha. By way of blessing, Mahatma Gandhi asked Maurice, “Why do you not invent something by which we can produce yarn more quickly?” Maurice immediately invented a new charka called Dhanush Takli. The extraordinary thing about the new invention was that one could produce three times the yarn with the same energy that was spent on the traditional charka. Mahatma Gandhi was, needless to say, extremely pleased!

Whether Maurice was with Bhagavan, Mahatma Gandhi or J. Krishnamurti, his method of first questioning, experimenting and experiencing the truth at every level, and only then accepting and following it, remained the same. Such was his nature. This is exactly how he led the seventy five villages that he was reforming. He loved the poor, uneducated villagers and was so compassionate towards them that they felt purified in his presence; in fact, they addressed him as „Swami‟. Maurice was successful in his venture in the villages and very soon the whole of India became aware of the kind of life Maurice was leading. By this time, Bhagavan and Mahatma Gandhi had dropped their bodies. This was a great setback for Maurice but he decided to rededicate himself to the cause they had taken up because he felt he was still on stage and had to play the outward game.

Maurice went to Varanasi to stay in the Krishnamurti institution there. He implemented the reform programmes in the surrounding villages. Krishnamurti‟s followers were also great admirers of Buddhism since the teachings of the Buddha and Krishnamurti were similar in many aspects. Senior followers of Krishnamurti like Achyut Patwardhan became very close to Maurice. This also happened to be during the Tibetan turmoil, when the communists in China were in the mood for seizing power. When Maurice heard about the tumult, he swung into action because at that time Apa Pant had just become the governor of Sikkim. Without wasting time, he immediately went to Sikkim and met Apa Pant.

He told Apa Pant, with gusto, “You are going to be of great use to me! We have an important mission to accomplish here because we have to save His Holiness the Dalai Lama, all the old Buddhist manuscripts and thousands of Tibetans.” Characteristic of him, Maurice immediately took Apa Pant to Delhi to meet Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India. Maurice, the diligent worker, already had by this time the road map to successfully carry out the rescue plan. Both Maurice and Achyut Patwardhan related to me how they had worked a plan for the escape of His Holiness.

It was eventually the blueprint laid down by Maurice that Nehru followed in getting His Holiness out of Tibet. They fed the Chinese government with wrong information on the flight of His Holiness and ultimately the Indian government acted in a contrary manner. The day His Holiness escaped to India, so did hundreds of fellow Tibetans. His Holiness came with many old Buddhist manuscripts, now preserved in the museum in Sarnath. Thus, thousands of priceless manuscripts were saved from the destructive hands of communist China. When the Dalai Lama entered India, Maurice planned it in such a manner, that Achyut Patwardhan would meet the Dalai Lama and give him the details. Yet, there is no mention of Maurice in any of the books related to either the Dalai Lama‟s escape or the smuggling in of Buddhist manuscripts from Tibet.

I have never seen a person as self effacing as Maurice.

Similarly, there was no mention of Maurice‟s name in the Maharshi´s Gospel originally; only now is his name being mentioned.

At the time of the Tibetan struggle, Jawaharlal Nehru very bluntly said, “My hands are tied.” Maurice immediately travelled all over India, spending his own money, in order to find refuge for hundreds of Tibetan refugees. Maurice sought cooler places for the refugees and established five settlements. If the Tibetans enjoy a peaceful existence in India today, it is because of this Jewish mystic saint, whose name is not mentioned anywhere!

Discovering the capability of this man in bringing a semblance of order even in the most chaotic situations, Nehru requested Maurice to take over the khadi movement. It had initially been started by Gandhi, but was later in total disarray. This meant that Maurice had to go to Mumbai. Here, he stayed with an old friend of his, Miss Petite.

Bhagavan gave me the opportunity to meet Maurice in Mumbai.

I had earlier met him at the ashram in the 1960´s during the rare visits that he made. Again, I met him when I went to Mumbai in the 70´s to collect funds for the advertisements for Ramanasramam´s journal, The Mountain Path.

Maurice then told me, “While your body is engaged in running the ashram, your heart should be totally settled in that pure awareness of truth.

Never miss that, whatever you are doing.”

We used to have beautiful private conversations. Once, Maurice confessed to me in all seriousness, “The burning regret for us is that probably full advantage was not taken of those happy and precious days when Bhagavan was with us physically - eating, talking, laughing and openly available to us all. Reality was there in abundance in our midst for the taking, and anyone could take it. But, we enclosed ourselves in our false humility, in procrastination, and false excuses. We took therefore, a cupful, when the ocean was at our feet!”

On yet another occasion, he prodded me on, just to give me a push:

“See, Bhagavan is not the person. He is the teaching. As the teaching, he is fully available to you. In addition to whatever work you are doing, plunge within and taste awareness inwardly. That awareness is our Bhagavan.”

Maurice used to take me for long walks in Mumbai. He would tell me,

“I will not provide you with a car; I will not even take you by bus; you have to walk wherever you go, along with me. Are you prepared?” With hands folded in a namaste, I would answer, “Would I hesitate to be in the proximity of the truth of reality?”

Maurice was a spiritual giant, but physically he was less than five feet tall.

Surely no one would hesitate to walk next to him!

On one of these walks, Maurice said, “Ganesan, today I am going to take you to the place where I met a simple man selling beedis.”

As we were walking towards the place, Maurice narrated,

“I saw a group of people smoking beedis; they were relating their woes of life. This simple man answered them exactly in the manner of Ramana Maharshi. Had Ramana Maharshi spoken in Marathi, it would have been the same! I stopped in my tracks and listened intently. It was astounding to see an ordinary man selling beedis talking so spontaneously! I started going to the place every day and noting down what he says. I would then go home and translate all the questions and answers into English.”

However, Maurice was ridden with guilt because he had not sought the permission of this person. He informed the man what he had been doing and read out all his writings, translating them into Marathi.

The man was delighted and told Maurice, “Go on recording, go ahead!”

This was later published as I am That -

a publication that shook the entire spiritual world.

This man was none other than Nisargadatta Maharaj.

Later on, after I had met Maharaj, I told Maurice,

“Whatever you say is absolutely true. I can feel Bhagavan´s presence in his presence. The teaching of Bhagavan comes from him spontaneously.”

Maurice always used to encourage me, “Come on and narrate to me the dialogue that you had with Maharaj.” He would add, “Being a spiritual seeker, associating with sages and saints will deepen your understanding; it will help you go deeper and experience it. Reading improves only intellectual understanding. This experience oriented understanding will happen, whether you have understood it or not, only in the presence of realized masters.”

Saying this, he encouraged me to go to Maharaj.

I was unable to be with Maurice Frydman in his last days.

But I was happy to understand from a devotee of Bhagavan who was also Nisargadatta Maharaj´s devotee, that Bhagavan himself looked after him. The devotee told me about a nurse in Mumbai who normally charged a huge fee for her services. This nurse had a dream, in which a sadhu wearing only a loin cloth told her very clearly, “My devotee is suffering. Go and attend on him.” The sadhu also gave her precise directions to reach Maurice´s residence. The nurse went to the place described in the dream the next day and found Maurice Frydman in bed. Miss Petite was older than Maurice and she too was helpless and unattended. The nurse immediately offered her services. Maurice´s austere attitude would not allow him to accept her services and so he refused. Disappointed, the nurse was leaving the room when she saw a picture of Ramana Maharshi there. She turned to Maurice and exclaimed, “This is the sadhu who appeared in my dream.” Maurice, visibly moved, said, “So, my master has come to look after me.” The nurse served him till the end. Apa Pant, who looked upon Maurice as his guru, was present during Maurice‟s last days. I would like to quote Apa‟s own words: “The sage is dying,” whispered a soft voice over the phone from Mumbai. “The sage is asking for you. Apa, come as soon as you can.” When I arrived, Miss Petite, the doctor and the nurse complained to me that Maurice was refusing to eat and take medicine. They implored me to make Maurice eat and take medicine - as if anyone could make Maurice do anything that he did not want to! There he lay in his familiar room, with everything meticulously clean and in its proper place. As I approached him reverentially, he shouted, „Apa, who is dying?‟ The next day, he drove everyone out of the room, ordering them to leave him alone with me. Then, he said beautifully, „Apa, I hear music. I see the bright light. Who dies? No one is dying. This diseased body is keeping me away from that harmonious beauty. Do not let them keep me in this body. Go now in peace.‟ The next day, we were all at his bedside as he breathed his last. Three breaths, “Hari Om, Hari Om, Hari Om,” and he was gone.

Nisargadatta Maharaj was also at his bedside, so I asked him, „Maharaj, where is Maurice going? What is happening to him?‟ Maharaj replied, „Nothing is happening. No one is dying, for no one is born.‟ Then I asked him, „Then why this sorrow, this emptiness, this loss, Maharaj?‟ Maharaj graciously turned to me and said, „Who is feeling the sorrow? Who is feeling the emptiness? Who is feeling the loss?‟ I remained silent.

Within hours, in the presence of Nisargadatta Maharaj, the remains of what we called Maurice Frydman were consumed in the fire. The remains had returned to their original order. The great devotee, Maurice Frydman, had returned to the source, Arunachala.

Once, I went to Nisargadatta Maharaj´s house because he had asked me to stay with him. I stayed there for eight days. In the morning, from eight to ten, he would ask me to be seated while he did pooja. There were photographs of saints such as Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the Buddha, Jesus Christ, Ramana Maharshi, and yes, even Maurice Frydman, in his room. Maharaj would apply sandal, vermillion powder and perfume to the photographs and garland them. As he was doing this ritual one day, I was asking myself, “Why is he doing this?” He turned to me and said in a compassionate tone,

“Maurice Frydman was a jnani. He was a saint, a sage.”

This is undeniably true.

Maurice Frydman has blessed us all by bringing to us the essence of the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj.

How fortunate we are to be able to share the life of such a great person, a person who wanted to remain unnoticed and unseen.

So much so, that the first edition of The Maharshi‟s Gospel compiled by Maurice did not even bear his name!

We sincere seekers of truth must cling to him in our Heart.

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