443 pages.
Published by Sri Arunachala Nilayam

11-B, Manakkula Vinayakar Street, Tiruvannamalai, 606603, India.

Guru Vachaka Kovai

By Sri Muruganar

Translation and commentary by Sadhu Om and Michael James

In the 1920s and 30s Muruganar recorded many of Bhagavan’s teaching statement in the form of short Tamil verses. These were arranged in a thematic order by Sadhu Natanananda in the 1930s and brought out in book form under the title Guru Vachaka Kovai (A Garland of the Guru’s Sayings). Bhagavan himself edited and corrected this book and added many extra verses to the text. This is the single largest collection of Bhagavan’s teachings that was edited and corrected by Bhagavan himself. This gives it a unique authority.

     In the later 1970s and early 1980s Sadhu Om and Michael James made a translation of this work. Their manuscript languished unpublished for more than twenty years since Michael was not satisfied that the work was complete. He has recently agreed to have it published as a ‘work in progress’ rather than a complete translation since he intends, at some future date, to revise the text and improve some of the translations.

     This is the same version of the text that appears elsewhere on this site. More information about the book and the complete text can be found here.