Part 1 - Ramana Maharshi Devotee Maurice Frydman

Born a Polish Jew in Warsaw in 1901, Frydman learned Russian, German, Polish and Hebrew in school until he migrated to Paris to take up study at the Sorbonne,
where he learned French and English in order to complete his degree in electrical engineering. After graduation he took up a position as a research engineer
in a large Paris manufacturing firm. It was during this period that a fateful encounter took place between Frydman and Sir Mirza Ismail, the Dewan of Mysore.
When Frydman began enthusiastically questioning the Dewan about India, Sir Mirza proposed that Frydman come to live in India to organise and manage the State
Government Electrical Factory in Bangalore. Frydman accepted this offer immediately and soon was in India as head the Mysore Electrical Industries, Ltd.

It was during this period of the early thirties that he met Gandhi-ji and began to visit Wardha. Frydman made use of his engineering genius to help the Mahatma create several new types of charkha (spinning wheel), in hopes of finding the most efficient and economical spinning wheel for India. It was Gandhi who gave Frydman the name Bharatananda (after Frydman took sannyas), the name by which he was known in Gandhian circles.

In September 1935, Frydman came to Tiruvannamalai to meet Bhagavan for the first time. Immediately taken with Bhagavan, he became a regular visitor and even took up residence in the Ashram for three years. Many of the questions published in Maharshi’s Gospel (some of which also appear in Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi) were posed by Frydman directly, and Bhagavan seems to have delighted in Frydman’s queries born of a penetrating insight into the teaching.

It was also during this period that a number of the younger Ashram inmates such as T. K. Sundaresa Iyer’s son, joined Frydman to work in his firm at Bangalore.On Saturdays Frydman would come to the Ashram and go back to Bangalore the following day in his jeep along with the Ashram youngsters who were working with him. When once asked why he spent so much money on weekly (instead of monthly) visits, he replied: “What
to do? My battery can only last a week, then it dries up. I have to come to Bhagavan to get it recharged!

Source: http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/pdf/Saranagathi_eNewsletter_November_2011.pdf