Maurice Frydman --Jnani and a Karma Yogi
A Biography
N K Srinivasan
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Dedicated to My Lord Shirdi Sainath
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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 "Maharshi's gospel" compiled by him [published by
Sri Ramanasramam] 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 an 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.
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 elctrical 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 organised
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. Muarice organised
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---'atma-
vichara' 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--
"Maharshi'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 spririt 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' of
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. He
started 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 adminstration. 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 apologised. 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 '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,2feet long], a rubber strip made from
waste cycle tube, a spindle from umbrella or bicycle [7inches
long] and 2feet long wooden piece.]
Gandhiji found Maurices' 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..]
Gandhiji's hut in Wardha
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 reorganised 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 organised
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 trigerred 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.
Uma Devi [Wanda Dynowska]
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 organise
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 knowldege 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 Books', 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 recognise 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 recognise 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.
--------------------------------------------xxxxxxx-----------
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Bibliography
Apa Pant --Maurice Frydman 'Mountain Path' journal 1991
Apa Pant ---Unusual Raja and Mahatma Gandhi
Indira Rothmund ----The Aundh Experiment Somaiya Publishers
Mumbai 1983
Ramana maharshi--- Maharshi's Gospel --Sri Ramanasramam
Thiruvannamalai
Sri Nisargadatta, Murice Frydman -- I Am That --Chetana Books
Mumbai 1971
Maurice Frydman ---- Gandhiji--His life and work Karnataka pub
Mumbai 1944
Maurice Frydman --- The world federation and the Indian
National Congress.Aundh Pub Trust 1944
Luis S R Vyas -editor--[Maurice Frydman - " The Basic
Truth "] in "The mind of JK" Jaico Publishers, Mumbai
Dalton Dennis --Mahatma Gandhi-non-violent power in action --
Columbia Univ Press,1993
Appendices
Raja Bhawanrao Shrinivas, Pant Prathiniti,called Bala Saheb was the
benign ruler of Aundh.The Princely state was founded in 1699 by
Parshuram Triambak, who fought against the local Mughal rulers and
captured the Panhala Fort.
The state was a small one with about 1300 square kilometer area
of parched land without much irrigation. The state had a
rectangular orange flag.
Raja Bhawanrao was born in 1868. He ruled the state from 1909 to
1947. He was a great lover of paintings and sculpture. He was
himself a great artist. He collected a lot of pictures and
sculptures from Europe and also within India. Bhawani Museum in
Aundh, a fine arts museum, houses all his collections and is a
major tourist attraction today.
The Raja was an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi and supported the
freedom struggle to the extent he could without affronting the
British authorities. The best part of his initiative was to
accept the suggestion of Maurice Frydman to abdicate his powers
to the people through a new declaration and written
constitution--the "Aundh Experiment" --as narrated in the text.
True to the title as Pant Prathinithi, he would give autonomy to
village councils or Panchayats. [There were 72 villages in that
state ,divided into four taluks.]
The Raja was interested in Yoga practices and wanted all school
children to learn "Surya-Namaskar" or sun salutation. He died in
the year 1951.
Apa Pant
Apa Pant was the eldest son of Raja Bhawanrao. He was born in
1912. He was sent to England for studies and returned to India
after four years with M A degree from Oxford. He entered
the bar as a lawyer in the year 1937.
He spent all his time in improving the economic and social
conditions of his people in Aundh. In this he enlisted the
efforts of Maurice Frydman. He married Dr Nalini, MBBS,
FRCs a surgeon at the Poona hospital.
He was a yoga master and learned the methods from his father.
When he was a diplomat in Cairo, in 1969 he was requested by
local teachers to write a book on surya namaskar, now
called "Sun salutations"-- to be translated into in Arabic. He
wrote a small book which became very popular. A documentary film
was also produced for television later.
In August 1942, Gandhiji announced the " Quit India Movement"
with the mantra "do or die" for the followers. Gandhi and other
leaders had been arrested. Apa Pant lent support to the congress
workers joining the agitation.
He had secret meetings with Achyut Patwardhan who had gone
underground and operated from the villages of Aundh with the
support of Apa Pant. Some violent acts were perpetrated, such as
dismantling train tracks near Pune. Mahatma was much against
these acts of violence. But Apa Pant was caught up in the
uncontrollable frenzy. The British Governer at Bombay noted in
Sep 1942 : " I have not the slightest doubt that the State of
Aundh is being used as a base by mischief makers ,nor have I any
doubt that they are being actively encouraged by the Diwan,
Appasheb Pant." Apa Pant was also worried that these
developments might be linked to the Aundh experiment of
decentralisation of powers to village panchayats and this
experiment might be terminated by the British.
Gandhiji was also upset and admonished Apa Pant in mild terms.
But soon the Quit India movement ended with the escalation of
World War II . In the final analysis, the Aundh experiment was a
success and even got some appreciation from the British
government.
After India's independence, Pandit Nehru called Apa Pant and
offered diplomatic posts in many places, including that of High
Commissioner of London. His notable work came much later in
1959. He was the political officer representing India in the
independent kingdom of Sikkim in the Himalayas. The Chinese had
already made inroads in Tibet and thousands of Tibetan refugees
came to Sikkim,Bhutan and Nepal in surges. Initially Sikkim gave
asylum to about 3000 refugees. Soon the number would swell to
20000 .Almost all the refugees were sent to India.
Apa Pant also received the 14th Dalai Lama when he was a young
boy who came on foot from Lhasa. Apa Pant became an intimate
frined of Dalai Lama and would help his exile government in
Dharamshala. With his close contact with Pandit Nehru, Pant
played a big role in the rehabilitation of refugees.It was at
this time Maurice Frydman would also visit Sikkim and plan the
refugee programs with Apa Pant. Wanda Dynowska ,aka, Uma Devi
also received much help from Apa Pant in these efforts.
Later Apa Pant settled in Poona and would organise many rural
programs.He wrote his autobiography " Moment in Time" in 1974.He
passed away in 1992.
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