For bibliophiles and those interested in spiritual literature, we are pleased to offer a couple of the rarest First Editions on the revered saint Sri Ramana Maharshi.
The first book is an extremely rare First Edition of Paul Brunton's A Message from Arunachala. Born in London in 1898, Paul Brunton was the pen name of the British author Raphael Hurst. In 1936, Brunton's interactions with the great saint Ramana Maharshi inspired him to write extensively during his stay in Tiruvannamalai. These writings were published the same year in his book — A Message from Arunachala. First published in London in 1936, this book was dedicated to Ramana Maharshi. The dedication page in this rare book was printed in Tamil as well as in English. This rare First Edition is extremely hard to find, particularly in such excellent condition as the one we are offering.
The second rarity is an extremely precious booklet on Sri Ramana Maharshi that was published in 1946 to mark the golden jubilee of Ramana Maharshi's pilgrimage to Tiruvannamalai, which became his permanent abode for the rest of his life. This rare booklet on the great master's teachings was published in English by Ramana Maharshi's younger brother Sri Niranjanananda Swamy (also known as Chinna Swamy). This booklet contained the English translations of two of the most profound essays (studies) on Ramana Maharshi. The first essay was written by Rama Varma Appan Thampuran, a scion of the royal family of Cochin. Appan Thampuran was one of the foremost scholars of Malayalam and had originally written this essay in Malayalam soon after his visit to Ramanasramam in 1938. The second essay was written by Joice Hiddingh, a French writer who visited India in 1940 and stayed in Ramanasramam. Originally written in French, her article was rendered into English for the publication of this precious booklet in 1946. The concluding pages of this rare booklet contain a poem on Ramana Maharshi by Joice Hiddingh that was composed during her second visit to Ramanasramam in 1944. First published in 1946, this booklet was not reprinted and is rather unheard of. It is particularly hard to find, let alone in such excellent condition as the one we are offering. The cover of this booklet features a pink–monochrome, mounted plate of the reclining Maharshi.
Many images of these precious rarities are attached herewith for the perusal of those interested.
1] A MESSAGE FROM ARUNACHALA
Author: Paul Brunton
Foreword by: Sir Vepa Ramesan, Retired Acting Chief Justice, High Court of Madras
Publisher: Rider & Co., London, undated (1936 *) — Highly Rare First Edition
Printed at: The Mayflower Press, Plymouth, Great Britain
Format: Hardcover; professionally bound in full brown leather with the title embossed in golden lettering on the front and on the spine.
Size: 19.2 cm x 13 cm
Pages: 223 pages + 1 frontispiece of the Arunachala hill.
Condition: Pre-owned. Excellent — Near Pristine. Pages clean and unmarked. Binding tight and firm. Natural yellowing/foxing of some of the pages owing to age.
* Remarks: Please note that later reprint editions of this book would be available for a much lesser price. The value of this particular book that we are offering lies in its extreme rarity for being the very First Edition that was originally published in London in 1936 in excellent condition. The year of publication was not printed in the First Edition of this book; the year of publication has been ascertained from the publisher's catalogues and from various other bibliographical references.
2] SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI — Studies by Rama Varma Appan Thampuran & Joice Riche Hiddingh
Author: Rama Varma Appan Thampuran & Joice Riche Hiddingh
Published by: Sri Niranjanananda Swamy, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai, 1946 — Extremely Rare & Out-of-Print Original First Edition
Printed by: Chhaganlal Yogi, Aruna Press, Bangalore
Format: Original soft-cover booklet.
Size: 18 cm x 12.4 cm
Pages: 18 pages.
Condition: Pre-Owned. Excellent. Pages clean and unmarked. Binding tight and firm. Natural toning of the covers and slight natural yellowing of some pages owing to age. The inner margins of a select few pages have been professionally restored/treated for future protection.
Please email us on kumarclassicbookpoint@gmail.com for cost and availability, or for any further queries in order to serve you better. Delivery in Mumbai is free.
