Top 10 Quotes – Mind – Self – Happiness – Ego – Silence – Awareness – Takeaways – Further Readings
Here are 81 of the best Ramana Maharshi quotes.
But first, who was Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950)?
- He was a revered spiritual teacher from India
- From the age of 16, he lived in the holy mountain Arunachala
- He was teaching self-inquiry
- He was teaching largely through silence
You will learn:
- The value of living simply
- The importance of seeking answers internally
- The importance of silence for happiness
- How to quiet your mind
And many more insights.
So let Ramana Maharshi be your life guide.
Let yourself be inspired by these profound teachings.
I hope you’ll enjoy these powerful quotes as much as I did.
Top 10 Ramana Maharshi Quotes
Your own self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world. Ramana Maharshi
Let what comes come. Let what goes go. Find out what remains. Ramana Maharshi
The best way for one to serve the world is to win the egoless state. Ramana Maharshi
Knowing the Self, God is known. Ramana Maharshi
The state we call realization is simply being oneself, not knowing anything or becoming anything. Ramana Maharshi
Annihilation of thoughts is liberation. Ramana Maharshi
There is neither creation nor destruction, neither destiny nor free will, neither path nor achievement. This is the final truth. Ramana Maharshi
The end of all wisdom is love, love, love. Ramana Maharshi
If one’s mind has peace, the whole world will appear peaceful. Ramana Maharshi
As you are, so is the world. Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi Quotes About The Mind
When the mind is left without anything to cling to, it becomes still. Ramana Maharshi
Calmness is the criterion of spiritual progress. Plunge the purified mind into the Heart. Then the work is over. Ramana Maharshi
Through breath control, the movement of the mind is contained, just as a bird is restrained when caught in a net. Ramana Maharshi
Solitude is in the mind of man. One might be in the thick of the world and maintain serenity of mind. Such a one is in solitude. Ramana Maharshi
It is no help to change the environment. The one obstacle is the mind and it must be overcome whether in the home or in the forest. Ramana Maharshi
The inquiry “who am I” turns the mind inward and makes it calm. Ramana Maharshi
The mind is by nature restless. Begin liberating it from its restlessness; give it peace; make it free from distractions; train it to look inward; make this a habit. This is done by ignoring the external world and removing the obstacles to peace of mind. Ramana Maharshi
To ask the mind to kill itself is like making the thief the policeman. He will go with you and pretend to catch the thief, but nothing will be gained. So you must turn inward and see where the mind rises from, and then it will cease to exist. Ramana Maharshi
Desirelessness is wisdom. The two are not different; they are the same. Desirelessness is refraining from turning the mind towards any object. Wisdom means the appearance of no object. In other words, not seeking what is other than the Self is detachment or desirelessness; not leaving the Self is wisdom. Ramana Maharshi
There is nothing wrong with God’s creation. Mystery and suffering only exist in the mind. Ramana Maharshi
There is no difference between dream and the waking state except that the dream is short and the waking long. Both are the result of the mind. Because the waking state is long, we imagine that it is our real state. Ramana Maharshi
How to get rid of the mind? Is it the mind that wants to kill itself? The mind cannot kill itself. So your business is to find the real nature of the mind. Then you will know that there is no mind. When the Self is sought, the mind is nowhere. Abiding in the Self, one need not worry about the mind. Ramana Maharshi
Watch the mind. You must stand aloof from it. You are not the mind. And the Self will remain ever. Ramana Maharshi
Correcting oneself is correcting the whole world. The Sun is simply bright. It does not correct anyone. Because it shines, the whole world is full of light. Transforming yourself is a means of giving light to the whole world. Ramana Maharshi
When one makes the mind stick to one thought, the mind becomes rock-steady and the energy is conserved. Ramana Maharshi
Your true nature is that of infinite spirit. The feeling of limitation is the work of the mind. Ramana Maharshi
It is the human mind that creates its own difficulties and then cries for help. Ramana Maharshi
Peace is your natural state. It is the mind that obstructs the natural state. Ramana Maharshi
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Ramana Maharshi Quotes About The Self
You are already that which you seek. Ramana Maharshi
The solution to your problem is to see who has it. Ramana Maharshi
You and I are the same. What I have done is surely possible for all. You are the Self now and can never be anything else. Throw your worries to the wind, turn within and find Peace. Ramana Maharshi
The Self alone exists. When you try to trace the ego, which is the basis of the perception of the world and everything else, you find the ego does not exist at all and neither does all this creation that you see. Ramana Maharshi
The idea of time is only in your mind. It is not in the Self. There is no time for the Self. Time arises as an idea after the ego arises. But you are the Self beyond time and space. You exist even in the absence of time and space. Ramana Maharshi
The Self is always realised. It is not necessary to seek to realise what is already and always realised. Ramana Maharshi
A man should surrender the personal selfishness which binds him to this world. Giving up the false self is the true renunciation. Ramana Maharshi
The Self is already realised. Therefore the effort to realise results only in your realising your present mistake – that you have not realised your Self. There is no fresh realisation. The Self becomes revealed. Ramana Maharshi
Self-inquiry is the process and the goal also. ‘I am’ is the goal and the final reality. To hold to it with effort is self-inquiry. When spontaneous and natural it is realization. Ramana Maharshi
The world is not outside you. Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi Quotes About Happiness, Unhappiness
Complete surrender is another name for jnana or liberation. Ramana Maharshi
Liberation is not anywhere outside you. It is only within. Ramana Maharshi
Pleasure and pain are only aspects of the mind. Our essential nature is happiness. Ramana Maharshi
Questions are endless. Why worry oneself in so many ways? Does liberation consist in knowing these things? Ramana Maharshi
Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside. Ramana Maharshi
Realisation is nothing new to be acquired. It is already there, but obstructed by a screen of thoughts. All our attempts are directed to lifting this screen and then realisation is revealed. Ramana Maharshi
Work performed with attachment is a shackle, whereas work performed with detachment does not affect the doer. One who works like this is, even while working, in solitude. Ramana Maharshi
Why should you trouble yourself about the future? You do not even properly know about the present. Take care of the present, the future will take care of itself. Ramana Maharshi
Realisation is not acquisition of anything new nor is it a new faculty. It is only removal of all camouflage. Ramana Maharshi
Complete surrender does require that you have no desire of your own. You must be satisfied with whatever God gives you and that means having no desires of your own. Ramana Maharshi
Do not hurry, take your own time. Keep the remembrance of your real nature alive, even while working, and avoid haste which causes you to forget. Ramana Maharshi
Doubts arise because of an absence of surrender. Ramana Maharshi
You yourself impose limitations on your true nature of infinite being, and then weep that you are but a finite creature. Ramana Maharshi
Realisation is already there. The state free from thoughts is the only real state. There is no such action as realisation. Ramana Maharshi
Do what is right at a given moment and leave it behind. Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi Quotes About Ego, Thoughts
If the ego rises, all else will also rise; if it subsides, all else will also subside. Ramana Maharshi
Surrender means to be without any attachment to thoughts. Ramana Maharshi
Reality is simply the loss of ego. Destroy the ego by seeking its identity. Ramana Maharshi
Thoughts come and go. Feelings come and go. Find out what it is that remains. Ramana Maharshi
When there are thoughts, it is distraction: when there are no thoughts, it is meditation. Ramana Maharshi
As thoughts arise, destroying them utterly without any residue in the very place of their origin is non-attachment. Just as the pearl-diver ties a stone to his waist, sinks to the bottom of the sea and there takes the pearls, so each one of us should be endowed with non-attachment, dive within oneself and obtain the Self-Pearl. Ramana Maharshi
The degree of freedom from unwanted thoughts and the degree of concentration on a single thought are the measures to gauge spiritual progress. Ramana Maharshi
You can only stop the flow of thoughts by refusing to have any interest in it. Ramana Maharshi
The fact is that the mind is only a bundle of thoughts. The mind is fattened by new thoughts rising up. Therefore it is foolish to attempt to kill the mind by means of the mind. The only way of doing it is to find its source and hold on to it. The mind will then fade away of its own accord. Ramana Maharshi
The cause of your misery is not in the life outside you, it is in you as the ego. You impose limitations on yourself and then make a vain struggle to transcend them. All unhappiness is due to the ego; with it comes all your trouble. Ramana Maharshi
Complete effacement of the ego is necessary to conquer destiny. Ramana Maharshi
Correcting oneself is correcting the whole world. The Sun is simply bright. It does not correct anyone. Because it shines, the whole world is full of light. Transforming yourself is a means of giving light to the whole world. Ramana Maharshi
The question ‘Who am I?’ is not really meant to get an answer, the question ‘Who am I?’ is meant to dissolve the questioner. Ramana Maharshi
Eventually, all that one has learnt will have to be forgotten. Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi Quotes About Silence
Silence is truth. Silence is bliss. Silence is peace. And hence Silence is the Self. Ramana Maharshi
There is a state when words cease and silence prevails. Ramana Maharshi
The experience of silence alone is the real and perfect knowledge. Ramana Maharshi
You are all searching for the silence of the mountain. But you’re looking for something outside. This silence is accessible to you right now, inside the center of your own being. Ramana Maharshi
Silence is also conversation. Ramana Maharshi
Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it. This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent. Ramana Maharshi
Silence is most powerful. Speech is always less powerful than silence. Ramana Maharshi
Silence is the most potent form of work. Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi Quotes About Awareness, Consciousness
You are awareness. Awareness is another name for you. Since you are awareness there is no need to attain or cultivate it. Ramana Maharshi
To bring about peace means to be free from thoughts and to abide as pure consciousness. Ramana Maharshi
Peace is absence of disturbance. The disturbance is due to the arising of thoughts in the individual, which is only the ego rising up from pure consciousness. Ramana Maharshi
Consciousness is the screen on which all the pictures come and go. The screen is real, the pictures are mere shadows on it. Ramana Maharshi
The thing to do is to concentrate on the seer and not on the seen, not on the objects, but on the Light which reveals them. Ramana Maharshi
If you observe awareness steadily, this awareness itself becomes the Guru that will reveal the Truth. Ramana Maharshi
Key Takeaways From Ramana Maharshi’s Quotes
Here are 5 simple things you can learn from Ramana Maharshi:
- Practice self-inquiry: Instead of constantly chasing external answers, do like Ramana and turn inward and ask, “Who am I?”. This cultivates self-awareness and clarity in your daily life.
- Embrace silence: Not every situation needs words. By practicing silence (both outer and inner), you create space for peace and wisdom.
- Live simply: True contentment doesn’t require excess. Simplifying your lifestyle. Eat mindfully, reduce clutter, value the essentials. Nurture calm and freedom.
- Treat all beings equally: Like Ramana’s compassion for people, animals, and nature, practice kindness without discrimination. It deepens empathy and connectedness.
- Anchor in the present: Ramana’s presence was his teaching. By focusing on the here and now instead of the past or future, you can live with more peace and authenticity.
Further Readings
- Topic: Life
- 77 Life Lessons Quotes (To Learn And Grow)
- 63 Meaning Of Life Quotes
- 87 Deep Quotes That Will Make You Think
- Ramana Maharshi on Amazon
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