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.

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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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