Mouni Sadhu (17 August 189724 December 1971) was a Polish-born author (born Mieczysà Âaw Demetriusz Sudowski). He wrote about Western and Eastern spirituality, occultism, Hermeticism and Yoga traditions in India. He regarded Ramana Maharshi as his greatest personal influence. The name "Mouni Sadhu" is commonly translated as "silent monk" in Sanskrit.
Reliable information about Sadhu's early life is limited. Different commentators have presented conflicting accounts of his early life.
Mouni Sadhu's books focus on practical teachings and the purpose and message he believed were entrusted to him. On several occasions, he stated that he felt it was his "spiritual master" who was directing his pen and the spiritual messages found in his work.
At the age of 25, he became interested in Theosophy. He found corresponded with Annie Besant and Charles Webster Leadbeater.
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 foreword to the translation, Mouni Sadhu stated that the author's descriptions of the mysterious places in northâÂÂeastern France are based on personal experiences.
Between 1946 and 1948, he lived in Brazil before emigrating to Australia. During this time he was involved in the Arunachala Group. His booklet Quem Sou Eu is a Portuguese translation of notes typed by him. He arrived in Sydney, Australia, aboard the SS Bernhard on September 17, 1948 before proceeding to Melbourne where he settled for the remainder of his life. In the spring of 1949, he visited India, having received an invitation to stay for several months at the ashram of Sri Ramanasramam, founded around the contemporary spiritual master Ramana Maharshi (1879âÂÂ1950). He described his experiences in the first book of his Mystic Trilogy, In Days of Great Peace. He returned to Australia on 23 September 1949. In 1953, in his "Application for Naturalization as an Australian Citizen", he declared: "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 stated that his further occupation was that of "part-time writer".
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, though this assertion is controversial.
In chapter 3 of Samadhi, entitled "Occult Theories about the Higher Worlds", Mouni Sadhu states: "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 explained his conception of both occultism and spirituality in the Foreword to his book Ways to SelfâÂÂRealization: A Modern Evaluation of Occultism and Spiritual Paths, where he wrote: "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..."
Mouni Sadhu often used the term "occult psychology", referring to aspects of the developing field of modern psychology. He refers the reader to William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience a number of times.
In his preface to Concentration, Mouni Sadhu introduced the works of Yogi Ramacharaka and Yoga, stating: "More than half a century ago... a gifted and experienced American, William Walker Atkinson, writing under the pen name Yogi Ramacharaka, published a series of very useful books on Eastern philosophy and Yoga..." He dedicates Part I of Ways to SelfâÂÂRealization to Atkinson, with subsequent parts dedicated to Sri Ramana Maharshi, Paul Sédir, Dr BrandlerâÂÂPracht and Dr Gérard Encausse (Papus).
In chapter IX of Concentration, Mouni Sadhu states: "Perhaps in no other subdivision of human knowledge does there reign such disorder or lack of a system as in occult problems." In chapter XX of Ways to SelfâÂÂRealization, entitled "Maha Yoga and Its Value for the World", he wrote that the multiplicity of Yoga teachings demonstrates that none contains the fullness of Truth, and that "The Direct Path, also called Maha Yoga... as taught by the Maharishi" transcends all systems. He continued that, "It became evident in this time of innumerable sects, religions, and philosophic and occult systems that a synthesis was urgently needed..."
In 1949, Mouni Sadhu spent several months at the ashram of Ramana Maharshi (Sri Ramanasramam) in Tiruvannamalai, situated at the foot of the sacred mountain Arunachala in South India, worshipped since ancient times 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. Combined with his earlier inner striving, this prepared him to sit at the feet of the Great Rishi, whose life and teaching he regarded as those of a genuine spiritual master for the modern world. He describes his experiences in In Days of Great Peace, where he recounts attaining nirvikalpa samadhi. In all of his subsequent books, he paid tribute to Ramana Maharshi, describing him as "the last Great Rishis of India" and "the modern Great Rishi of India".
The first three books widely published by Mouni Sadhu form what he calls his "Mystic Trilogy". In the foreword to his last book (excluding Initiations, which was a translation), Meditation: An Outline for Practical Study, he notes the relationship of that work to Concentration and Samadhi, stating: "â¦the present work is like a continuation of the two just mentioned, and I am 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."
In a letter to Thomas Merton in 1967, requesting him as a spiritual brother to consider writing a foreword to a planned book 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 the offer and the book was not published. It was Mouni Sadhu's translation of Initiations that became his last published work.
A number of reviewers and sources have described Mouni Sadhu's works as selfâÂÂpromoting. However, he remained completely anonymous, and some of his books are connected like practical manuals, being linked to particular areas of study or levels of development. For example, in Samadhi: The Superconsciousness of the Future he writes: "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... This book speaks about the ultimate aim, the achievement of SuperconsciousnessâÂÂSamadhi, and the way to it."
In the second book, Concentration: An Outline for Practical Study, specific aspects of the spiritual Christian tradition begin to emerge, especially in Chapter IX, "The Western Tradition (Heart before Mind)", where Mouni Sadhu explains:"As the Eastern occult schools treat concentration as a means for achievement of the highest goal, so the mind takes precedence over the heart. But in the Western spiritual tradition this is reversed..." He then describes his study of the lives of the early and later Christian saints of the Egyptian desert, the caves of Anatolia, the catacombs of Rome, and the monasteries of Kiev and Western Europe.
Mouni Sadhu speaks with an admiration of particular saints, such as St Seraphim of Sarov, St Jean Vianney (St John Vianney), the Indian saint Sri Ramakrishna, St Vincent de Paul and St Francis of Assisi. His devotion to Christ and his commitment as a Christian are reflected in his description of Christ as the "Master of Masters", an expression he said was used by both Sri Maharshi and P. Sédir. This attitude pervades all of his works. In addition, his books express that Ramana Maharshi never advised conversion from one religion to another, but rather a conversion from ignorance to wisdom. The final book in the Mystic Trilogy, Samadhi, bears the dedication: "To the Light which illumines every man who comes into the World".
Mouni Sadhu highly appreciated The Imitation of Christ and the Vivekachudamani ("Crest Jewel of Wisdom") of Sri Shankaracharya (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. He continued to quote both works throughout his books, particularly as themes for meditation. Around this time, he came into contact with the head of the Ramakrishna Mission in Paris, the eminent Swami Siddheshwarananda, whom the Ashram of Sri Maharshi recommended him to visit.
His literary estate was left to the Australian Society of Authors, of which he was a member.