Who Am I Prose English Transliteration
Who Am I Prose English Transliteration
Who Am I Prose English Transliteration
Nāṉār?
WHO AM I?
with Original Tamil text, English
transliteration and English meaning
Sri Ramanasramam
Tiruvannamalai
INDIA
WHO AM I?:
Sri Ramana Maharshi’s Nāṉār.
Original prose version of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi,
English transliteration and English meaning by Dr. T.M.P.
Mahadevan
Price: ₹ 10
Published by
V.S. Ramanan
President
Sri Ramanasramam
Tiruvannamalai 606 603
Tamil Nadu, INDIA
Email : [email protected]
Website : www.sriramanamaharshi.org
Publisher’s Note
We are happy to bring out this edition of Who am
I? that contains for the first time the original Tamil
text, its transliteration and the English translation
(by T.M.P. Mahadevan) in a single booklet.
Who am I? is the title given to a set of questions
and answers on Self-enquiry. The questions were
asked by Sri M. Sivaprakasam Pillai to Bhagavan
Sri Ramana Maharshi in 1902. These answers are
based on His own experiences and clearly set forth
the central teaching of Self-enquiry and the manner
in which this enquiry is to be made.
We have pleasure in placing this booklet in the
hands of all earnest seekers of Truth and hope that
the readers unfamiliar with the original Tamil text
will appreciate the transliteration of the text.
l like l in Lord
ṛ like r in the Spanish Señor
r like r in the American pronunciation of
park
zh like r in the American pronunciation of
worry
Please note the following:
1. A consonant between v and w is transliterated by some
as v and others as w, as for instance in Ishvara and Ishwara.
2. A consonant between s and sh is rendered by some as s
and others as sh as for instance in Siva/Shiva. This consonant
is contained in both Siva and Vishnu, but is often rendered as s
in the former and sh in the latter. That usage is followed here.
Shanti and shakti for example have been rendered with h while
sunya, without it.
3. The word jnani is pronounced nyani.
4. An h after a letter other than s or c does not change the
letter but the consonant becomes slightly aspirated.
5. A g in Tamil is glottal, with a percussive h sound from
the throat, somewhere between k and hard g in English.
6. Double consonants such as in chumma are especially
emphasized. (Note: in word breaks between lines, the first
consonant has been omitted.)
?
Nāṉār?
WHO AM I?
,
,
,
.
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Sakala jīvargaḷum dukkham eṉbadiṉḍṛi eppōdum
sukhamāy irukka virumbuvadālum, yāvarukkum
taṉṉiḍattilēyē paramap priyam iruppadālum,
priyattiṛku sukhamē kāraṇam ādalālum, maṉamaṭṭṛa
nittiraiyil diṉam aṉubhavikkum taṉ svabhāvamāṉa
accukhattai aḍaiyat taṉṉait-tāṉ aṛidal Vēṇḍum. Adaṛku
nāṉār eṉṉum jñāṉa vicāramē mukkiya sādhaṉam.
Every living being always longs to be happy,
untainted by sorrow; and everyone has the greatest
love for himself, which is solely due to the fact
that happiness is his real nature. Hence, in order
8 ?
* i.e., simple and nutritious food which sustains but does not stimulate
the physical body.
† Purity of heart, self-restraint, evenness of temper, tenderness towards
all beings, fortitude and freedom from desire, hatred and arrogance are
the outstanding virtues of the sattvic mind.
26 ?
* i.e., the fruits of past actions which are being worked out in the
present life.
Nāṉār 37
* These are the physical, vital, and mental sheaths, and the sheaths of
Knowledge-Experience and of Blissful-ignorance.
Nāṉār 39
OM TAT SAT
SRI RAMANARPANAMASTU