Mouni Sadhu

Mouni Sadhu (17 August 189724 December 1971) was the pen name of Mieczyslaw Demetriusz Sudowski, a Polish-born author of spiritual, mystical, and esoteric subjects. He lived in Poland until World War II and eventually settled in Australia. He primarily wrote about Western and Eastern spirituality, as well as occultism, Hermeticism, and the Yoga traditions of India. Sadhu's greatest personal influence was Ramana Maharshi. The name "Mouni Sadhu" means "silent monk" in Sanskrit.

His literary estate was left to the Australian Society of Authors, which he was a member of.

Early life and education

Reliable information about Mouni Sadhu's early life is sparse due to his reluctance to share details about his background. Different commentators have presented conflicting accounts of his early life often based on alleged hearsay, both unsupported and unreferenced. In Dr. M. Hafiz Syed's foreword to ''In Days of Great Peace'', he described Mouni Sadhu as a dedicated speaker who explored various paths of Yoga, occultism and mysticism, before becoming a disciple of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

The pseudonym 'Mouni Sadhu' (Silent Monk) indicates that Mouni Sadhu's books are about the practical teachings embodied therein and the purpose and message entrusted him, and on a number of occasions he indicates that he felt that it was his "spiritual master" who was directing his pen and the spiritual messages found in his work.

Mouni Sadhu studied Hermeticism exclusively between 1926 and 1933, based to a large degree on the lectures of G.O. Mebes, which were obtained 'from a Russian refugee who brought the book with him in 1919, when fleeing his country which had just fallen into Communist hands.'

Early career

At age 25, he became interested in Theosophy. He found its theories logical and appealing, and corresponded with key figures such as Annie Besant and Mr. Leadbutter.

In the chapter 'A Wish Fulfilled' of ''In Days of Great Peace'', Mouni Sadhu reflected on his life as a young man:

"Many years ago, under the sky of far-off country of Europe, in the third year of the terrible conflagration of the first World War, a young man in military uniform was sitting on the platform of a small railway station waiting for his train. It was to take him to the front line, where the fire of battle was then raging, a fire from which so many never returned. Compelled by the storm of war to leave his family and his studies, he sat there brooding over the fate that awaited him in a few days. It was the beginning of Autumn, a season when the dark night skies are often cut by the fiery lines of 'falling stars', of meteors."

Travels

In 1935, Mouni Sadhu visited France. In Paris, he visited the headquarters of the Association of Spiritual Friendships (Amities Spirituelles), founded by Paul Sédir. Mouni Sadhu's last book, published in 1967, was an English translation of Paul Sédir's French book, ''Initiations''. In the forward to the translation, Mouni Sadhu stated that the author's descriptions of the mysterious places in North-Eastern France are based on personal experiences, rather than imagination or fiction.

In Mouni Sadhu's application for Australian citizenship, he states that he was born in Warsaw, Poland. In 1933, he married Catherine Gunt. She died six years later in September 1939, in Vilno, Poland during the Battle of Wilno (1939), a bomb-attack coinciding with the outbreak of the Second World War.

On 19 September 1939, Mouni Sadhu was taken as a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union during the Battle of Wilno. He remained there until November, when he was transferred to Germany until his release in 1945. After his release, he served with the US Army in France until November 1946.

Between 1946 and 1948, he lived for two years in Brazil before emigrating to Australia. During this time he was involved in the, 'Arunachala Group' there and that his booklet ''Quem Sou Eu'' is a Portuguese translation of notes typed by him. He arrived in Sydney, Australia on 17 September 1948 aboard the SS Bernhard and then proceeded to Melbourne, arriving on 1 September 1948. Mouni Sadhu settled in Melbourne the remainder of his life. On the 7/5/1949 he left Australia to visit India, having received an invitation to stay some months at the Ashram of Sri Ramanasramam, founded around the contemporary spiritual Master, Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950). His experiences there are beautifully described in the first book of his Mystic Trilogy entitled 'In Days of Great Peace'. He returned to Australia arriving 23 September 1949. In 1953 Mouni Sadhu in his 'Application for Naturalization as an Australian Citizen' declares,"Since his return he has resided continuously in Melbourne and is employed as an Electrical mechanic by the Melbourne City Council". In the same document he states that his further occupation is that of "part-time writer."

Esoteric involvement

As a young man in Europe, from 1926 to 1933, Mouni Sadhu belonged to an order of Rosicrucian Hermetists and published a number of articles on Tarot Hermetic philosophy as well as spirituality. Some believe that Mouni Sadhu reverted from spirituality back to occultism and that he was 'obsessed with occultism' in his books. Anyone who has seriously studied his books in total would understand those assertions to be false in every way. One has to understand what Mouni Sadhu meant by occultism and also the underlying purpose behind his writing about occultism in his works.

In chapter 3 of ''Samadhi'' entitled, 'Occult Theories about the Higher Worlds' (indicating higher than purely physical) Mouni Sadhu says "But the title of this chapter is clear: it speaks about the theories which occultism offers, in order to explain phenomena which otherwise cannot be explained."

Mouni Sadhu further explains his conception of both occultism and spirituality in the 'Foreword' to his book ''Ways to Self-Realization: A Modern Evaluation of Occultism and Spiritual Paths'' where he says "Occultism is neither a synonymous term nor a substitute for spirituality, and spiritual men do not necessarily come from the ranks of occultists. They are two different things. The first term, occultism, calls for the supremacy of the invisible to transcend the narrow framework of the physical manifestation of matter. But efforts of an occultist still revolve around his personal (that is egoistic) gains, even if they belong to planes of being more subtle than the physical. He still lives dies and reincarnates. The second term, spirituality, transcends this world of illusion, and for a spiritual man the pronoun I becomes identical with the consciousness of the Whole. There is no more birth nor death for the fully spiritualized being."

Mouni Sadhu often uses the term 'occult psychology' especially referring to aspects of the developing field of modern psychology since its inception and so on. He refers the reader to William James's book ''The Varieties of Religious Experience'' a number of times.

In ''Meditation: an Outline for Practical Study'', he elucidates his view thus :

'You must clearly realize, that the popular (but how fallacious!) idea, propagated by certain pseudo-occult and pseudo-philosophic organizations:' ''Anyone can meditate!'' is sheer nonsense.
Can you swim the English Channel without the ability to swim? Can you use a car, even after using dozens of manuals about motor construction and driving, without spending several hours on practical lessons with an experienced tutor?
At the present time the terms 'occultism' and 'occult psychology', 'initiations', and so on, are fairly well known to most intellectuals. But there is a lot of chaff among what is supposed to be occult wheat. I wrote at length about this sad fact in Chapter XLIV of my ''Ways to Self-Realization''. But for firm discrimination, even a brief rule will suffice: seek for COMMON SENSE throughout a book, and if you cannot find it reject the work, as then it is of no value to you or anyone else.
There exists an unfortunate disproportion between materialistic knowledge and that of ''practical psychology'', which latter is simply another name for true occultism.'

In his preface to ''Concentration'' Mouni Sadhu introduces the reader to the works of Yogi Ramacharaka and Yoga, stating:

'More than half a century ago ouni Sadhu was writing in the mid to late 1950sa gifted and experienced American- William Walker Atkinson, writing under the pen-name of Yogi Ramacharaka, published a series of very useful books on Eastern philosophy and Yoga, which were wisely and purposefully based on his 'Eclectic Method'. His main works are ''Hatha Yoga'', ''Raja Yoga'', ''Gnani Yoga'', ''Fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism'', and his 'final message' under the title of ''Philosophies and Religions of India''. These are perhaps the best of their kind and are unique, filled with practical advice.' In ''Ways to Self-Realization'' Mouni Sadhu dedicates Part I of that book to the memory of William Walker Atkinson, the other Parts being dedicated to ''Sri Ramana Maharshi'', Paul Sédir, Dr Brandler-Pracht, and Dr Gérard Encausse (Papus) respectively.

Mouni Sadhu's writing often touches on aspects of Indian philosophy and Greek philosophy, which at certain times and instances could be viewed as esoteric. It is apparent from his writing that Mouni Sadhu at the time of his writing and with regard to the first half of the twentieth century leading up that point, felt and indicated that what was formally known as occult, hidden or secret knowledge restricted to those initiated into particular systems or schools, was now open to the world at large.

In chapter IX of 'Concentration', Mouni Sadhu states, "Perhaps in no other subdivision of human knowledge does their reign such disorder or lack of a system, as in occult problems." In chapter XX of ''Ways to Self- Realization'' entitled 'Maha Yoga and Its Value for the World', Mouni Sadhu says 'The very multiplicity of expositions on Yoga and the various treatises written by different interpreters of the ONCE "Secret Wisdom" are the very best proof that in not one of them can be found the fulkness of Truth. Also, the highly complicated "teachings" of many contemporary Yogis is another doubtful point I wish to stress. In reference to this in the same chapter Mouni Sadhu goes on to say "the Direct Path, also called Maha Yoga, the Highest Yoga or Path of Self-Realization, as taught by the Maharishi." indicating that the term 'Maha Yoga' was being used to describe the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and was above any particular system of Yoga adding that, "Things that are often obstacles when dealing with various systems of Yoga are immaterial to the latest revelation of Truth, given to us by the Great Rishi in our own era. In describing the relevance of 'Maha Yoga', he continues, "It became evident in this time of innumerable sects, religions, and philosophic and occult systems that a synthesis was urgently needed that could explain the one basis of them all, and at the same time infinitely transcend them. Indian Yogi, Muslim haji, Christian devotee, religionless occultist, nameless seeker of God or Truth, farmer, minister, engineer, sailor, merchant, for one and all of these men a unifying message had to be created: one that did not deny their former creeds but gave them a common luminous ideal whose peak could not be transcended by any previous theories and conceptions. It had to be something common to each man, referring to the immortal core of his life, beyond all racial and social differences, his unique and real treasure. And the Maharshi did just this. He came to us in the midst of our twentieth-century materialism with its breath-taking discoveries and inventions. He did not condemn any of them. He was not a religious leader whose role is limited to a few generations of men, but all religious truths became clear and understandable in the light of his revelation.
He seldom spoke about God, pointing out that men should know themselves, who they are, before they can be in a position to realize the state of Infinite Being, the Absolute, which they call God."

Spirituality

In 1949, Mouni Sadhu spent several months at the ashram) in Tiruvannamalai situated at the foot of the sacred mountain Arunachala in South India, worshiped since ancient days as the physical manifestation of Siva. He had spent the years since 1946 earnestly pursuing the quest of the Self ( Overself) as taught by the Maharshi. That coupled with the earlier years of his inner striving in pursuit of Truth and Realisation qualified him as one well prepared to sit at the feet of the Great Rishi whose life and teaching were those of a genuine spiritual Master decreed to humanity in this our modern world. He describes his experiences beautifully in his book ''In Days of Great Peace''. There Mouni describes how his contact with the Maharshi and his earnest striving for attainment caused him to attain nirvikalpa samadhi. In all of Mouni Sadhu's subsequent books, he paid tribute to Ramana Maharshi describing him as "the last Great Rishis of India." 'the modern Great Rishi of India' etc.

Mystic trilogy

The first three books widely published by Mouni Sadhu form part of what he calls his 'Mystic Trilogy'. Furthermore, in the foreword to his last book (not including ''Initiations'' which was a translation) ''Meditation: an Outline or Practical Study'', in describing that works relationship to ''Concentration'' and ''Samadhi'', he says:
"....the present work is like a continuation of the two just mentioned, and I writing on the assumption, that its two forerunners are well known to you. It would be impossible to repeat in ''Meditation'' the material previously expounded in other books."

1967 letter to Thomas Merton

In a letter to Thomas Merton in 1967, requesting him as a spiritual brother, to consider writing a foreword to a planned book of his to be published as ''Contemplation: an Outline for Practical Study'' one can see both the development of a continuous theme and the intrinsically practical nature of these works dealing with the deeper and inner aspects of spirituality. Thomas Merton was not in a position to accept such an offer and the book was not published. It was Mouni Sadhu's translation of ''Initiations'' that was to be his last published work.

Reception

A number of reviewers and sources who have not understood or appreciated the practical nature of Mouni Sadhu's works, have described him as self-promoting. The fact is that he was completely anonymous and some of the books are connected, like any practical manual on a specifically technical subject, and are linked to, and sometimes prerequisites for, particular areas of study or levels of development. For example, he says in ''Samadhi: the Superconsciousness of the Future''; "I mentioned a 'new' type of consciousness, a wider and brighter one, in two former books, which form the first and second parts of my mystic trilogy, being respectively: ''In Days of Great Peace'' and ''Concentration''. An extensive study of both these books is necessary before one can attempt to make a start with the present work, which is the culminating point for its two predecessors. ''In Days of Great Peace'' deals with the experiences leading to the enlargement of consciousness, while ''Concentration'' gives the necessary explanations and techniques for the first step, that is, domination of one's mind. This book speaks about the ultimate aim, the achievement of Superconsciousness-Samadhi, and the way to it"

In the second book ''Concentration.an Outline for Practical Study'', specific aspects of the spiritual Christian Tradition start to emerge, especially in the chapter IX ''The Western Tradition (Heart before Mind)'' were for example Mouni Sadhu explains,
"As the Eastern occult schools treat concentration as a means for achievement for the highest goal, so the mind takes precedence over the heart. But in the Western spiritual tradition this is reversed. The best exponents, apart from a few dissentients, fix attention first and foremost on the ''moral purification'' of man and his religious, devotional sense. I am not including here the numerous and usually short-lived occult societies and groups, most of which were and still are occupied with aims which have practically nothing in common with the great task of transformation and purification of the human mind.
My interest has been directed to the places where men's inner work has always produced the greatest results. When I studied the lives of the first and later Christian saints of the Egyptian desert, the caves of Anatolia, the catacombs of Rome, and the monasteries of Kiev and Western Europe, I reached the firm conviction that ''Western adepts knew as much, if not more'' about the value of a one-pointed mind in spiritual achievement, than their Eastern brothers."

Mouni Sadhu speaks with deep admiration of particular saints, such as those in more recent history like St Seraphim of Sarov and St Jean Vianney (StJohn Vianney) of France, as well as the Indian saint Sri Ramakrishna and also of St Vincent De Paul and St Francis of Assisi. Mouni Sadhu's devotion to Christ and his unwavering commitment as a Christian, can be summed by his description of Christ as the Master of Masters, an expression he said was used by both Sri Maharshi and P. Sedir. This attitude pervades all of his works. In addition, all his books clearly express the fact that the contemporary spiritual Master, Ramana Maharshi, unquestionably never advised any conversion from one religion to another, but rather a conversion from Ignorance to Wisdom. The final and culminating book in the 'Mystic Trilogy', ''Samadhi'', has the dedication, 'To the Light which illumines every man who comes into the World'.

''In Days of Great Peace''

Of his first widely published book ''In Days of Great Peace'', Mouni Sadhu says of it in his 'Introduction to the First Edition'; "I have not tried to write down any of the 'teachings' of Maharshi, as they can be found in many books. My purpose is to record that which the latter do not yet contain, namely, the real experiences of an average man, who wanted to know for himself what the presence of a great Sage means and what its influence is. I had read so many descriptions by pupils who were clever in classifying the qualities and teachings of their Masters, that I should have known at least in theory, what may be expected in the presence of one of Them. But all theories, all acquired knowledge, falls into dust when one stands face to face with a perfect man."
In fact Mouni Sadhu was very careful, accurate, thorough and specific in his references in regard to the teachings of the Maharshi; "As well as the words of Sri Maharshi spoken in my presence, I have used quotations from the published teachings of the Sage, which were revised and acknowledged by him." All quotations and sources of Sri Maharshi's teaching given by Mouni Sadhu can be relied upon and proven to be completely accurate and authentic, despite false claims to the contrary.

In the chapter IX, 'My Path to Maharshi', of 'In Days of Great Peace' he claims during this time in Paris, he was given the book ''A Search in Secret India'' by Paul Brunton. He wrote: "Soon after my visit to France, family life, and later the Second World War, brought me a period of darkness. I forgot all my previous endeavours. Not earlier than spring of 1945 an elderly lady, with whom I sometimes spoke of Theosophy, lent me Paul Brunton's ''A Search in Secret India''. She literally forced me to take the book, for I was by no means eager to read it; but the last two chapters, where the author describes his visit to Maharshi, were decisive. At last I had found my true Master." From there began the process of putting the Teaching of the Maharshi into practice, specifically in the form of Vichara, the Self-enquiry, (also called The Direct Path) or Quest of the Self, ( Overself in the Vedantic sense), and of beginning the process of preparation that enabled Mouni Sadhu to reach the ashram of the great Rishi in 1949. To help facilitate the practice of Vichara and meditation in general, Mouni Sadhu during this time in Paris, and being 'Catholic born and bred' visited the Saint Vincent de Paul Monastery (Headquarters at Rue Sèvres), the Prior there knowing of his interest in Maharshi.

Similarly, in the chapter, 'My Path to Maharshi' he explains, "A friend in Paris, a Roman Catholic priest, a well-educated and elderly man with whom I sometimes corresponded, knew of my endeavours without in any way attempting to dissuade me from them. I wrote saying to him that I wanted to find a place in which to live for some months, where quiet meditation would be possible. He kindly recommended his own monastery. Anyone, he said, who is a Roman Catholic and feels a need for spiritual concentration can go there for a time, take part in the simple life of its inmates according to his own inner capacity. Intuitively I felt that this is what I was seeking.".'In Days of Great Peace' 2nd edition revised and enlarged 1957, Chapter IX 'My Path To Maharshi' page 54 He goes on to say, "Another priest visited me and asked what books I would like to read. Very gently he suggested a study of The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. He was immensely pleased when I told him that was the very book for which I would have asked."

Influences

Mouni Sadhu highly appreciated 'The Imitation of Christ' and also the ' Vivekachudamani' ('Crest Jewel of Wisdom') of Sri Sanakaracharya (Adi Sankara) the classic treatise of Advaita Vedanta, both of which he quoted extensively in his first published booklet 'Quem Sou Eu' ('Who am I?') published in Curitiba, Brazil, in 1948. Both of these works he subsequently quotes in all of his books and particularly as themes for meditation. About this time, Mouni Sadhu came into contact with the head of the Ramakrishna Mission in Paris, the eminent Swami Siddheshwarananda, whom the Ashram

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