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GEORGE BURCH
Survey of Upanishadic Philosophy. Material for his study of Marathi mysticism is gathered in the four-volume Source Book of Maharashtra Saints. His most important work is a series of books on the mystical literature of the three vernacular languages with which he is familiar: Mysticism in Maharashtra, dealing with Marathi mystics, appeared in 1933; Pathway to God, dealing with Hindi mystics, appeared in 1954; the third volume, dealing with Kanarese mystics, is still in progress.
As a philosopher Professor Ranade teaches a doctrine which he calls beatificism. Speculative philosophy, he says, is uncertain and of little value. All we know of metaphysics is that all things emanate from God and tend to, but do not always actually, return to God. The search for beatitude, which is "as far beyond Socrates's happiness as that is beyond the pig's pleasure,” is selfrealization—the unfolding and realization not of our faculties but of the Atman within us. We should not ask premature questions, such as whether the Self is one or many, but should try to know the Self. This is not accomplished by yoga exercises, or by the Advaita way of knowledge, which is opposed to true mysticism and dangerous. The world is not illusory, or even morally bad, since it may lead us to God. We are of the same substance as God, but finite, and nowise identical with God. The means to self-realization include morality, meditation, the company of good people, and a guru. Meditation is threefold-intellectual (on: various concepts of God), moral (on the virtues), and "practical" (that is, mystical). The all-important thing is love of God. 'Love of neighbor is secondary, and sexual love is helpful (marriage being best for most people). Not action or knowledge but the love of God is what leads us to beatitude.
As a mystic Professor Ranade understands mysticism in a theistic and conservative way (like Evelyn Underhill, for example), and finds his models in the commonly recognized great mystics of India and the West. The faculty of mystical intuition, he says,
11 While I was at the ashram, one of the disciples recited a humorous poem he had just composed on Ten Great Saints, in which the praise of each saint was qualified by pointing out the flaw in his sanctity. In the case of one of these (Suka), the flaw was that he was an Advaitin in philosophy