Ramana Maharshi was a well-known Hindu philosopher and yogi. His original name was Venkataraman Aiyer.
He was well-known for his maya and monism teachings which were modeled after those of Shankara an ancient philosopher.
Maharshi’s method of vichara or self-inquiry was his original contribution to yogic philosophy.
He was drawn to mystical literature and the legends of Mt. Arunachala a significant local pilgrimage site as a child of a southern Indian Brahman family.
Maharshi’s vichara technique was created at the age of 17 after which he gave up his possessions and settled on Mount Arunachala as a hermit.
Following the release of Paul Brunton’s book My Search in Secret India his teachings attracted well-known students and placed a strong emphasis on vichara and devotion.
Here are some of the best quotes by Ramana Maharshi.
Best Ramana Maharshi Quotes
1. “Thoughts come and go. Feelings come and go. Find out what it is that remains.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
2. “Silence is truth. Silence is bliss. Silence is peace. And hence Silence is the Self.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
3. The revelation or intuition arises in its own time and one must wait for it. ~ Ramana Maharshi.
4. Action and knowledge are not obstacles to each other. ~ Ramana Maharshi.
5. When we stop regarding the unreal as real, then Reality alone will remain, and we will be That. ~ Ramana Maharshi.
6. One should try to gain equipoise of mind under all circumstances. That is willpower. ~ Ramana Maharshi.
7. There is no greater mystery than this: being reality ourselves, we seek to gain Reality. ~ Ramana Maharshi.
8. “Engage yourself in the living present. The future will take care of itself.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
9. “You are already that which you seek.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
10. “Peace is your natural state. It is the mind that obstructs the natural state.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
11. “If one’s mind has peace, the whole world will appear peaceful.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
12. “Silence is most powerful. Speech is always less powerful than silence.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
13. “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).
Popular Ramana Maharshi Quotes
14. “Pleasure and pain are only aspects of the mind. Our essential nature is happiness.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
15. “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).
16. The only useful purpose of the present birth is to turn within and realize the Self. ~ Ramana Maharshi.
17. The Self cannot be found in books. You have to find it for yourself in yourself. ~ Ramana Maharshi.
18. All that is required to realize the Self is to be still. What can be easier than that? ~ Ramana Maharshi.
19. The real is as it is always. We are not creating anything new or achieving something which we did not have before. ~ Ramana Maharshi.
20. Solitude is a function of the mind. A man attached to desires cannot get solitude wherever he may be, whereas a detached man is always in solitude. ~ Ramana Maharshi.
21. The only freedom you have is to turn your mind inward and renounce activities there. ~ Ramana Maharshi.
22. “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).
23. “Realisation is not acquisition of anything new nor is it a new faculty. It is only removal of all camouflage.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
24. “Silence is also conversation.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
Top Ramana Maharshi Quotes
25. “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).
26. “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).
27. “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).
28. “The inquiry “who am I” turns the mind introvert and makes it calm.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
29. “There is nothing wrong with God’s creation. Mystery and Suffering only exist in the mind.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
30. “The world is not outside you.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
31. “When there are thoughts, it is distraction: when there are no thoughts, it is meditation.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
32. “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).
Famous Ramana Maharshi Quotes
33. “The end of all wisdom is love, love, love.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
34. “That which is not present in deep dreamless sleep is not real.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
35. “Calmness is the criterion of spiritual progress. Plunge the purified mind into the Heart. Then the work is over.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
36. “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).
37. “Your duty is to be, and not to be this or that. I Am That I Am sums up the whole truth; the method is summarized in Be Still.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
38. “I see only what you see, but I notice what I see.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
39. “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).
40. “In truth, you are spirit. The body has been projected by the mind, which itself originates from Spirit.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
Short Ramana Maharshi Quotes
41. “When the mind is left without anything to cling to, it becomes still.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
42. “Forgetfulness of your real nature is true death; remembrance of it is rebirth.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
43. “True Silence is really endless speech.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
44. “Reality is simply the loss of ego. Destroy the ego by seeking its identity. Because the ego is no entity it will automatically vanish and reality will shine forth by itself.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
45. “The ultimate truth is so simple. It is nothing more than being in the pristine state. This is all that needs to be said. Only mature minds can grasp the simple truth in all its nakedness.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
46. “There is neither creation nor destruction, neither destiny nor free will, neither path nor achievement. This is the final truth.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
47. “The state we call realization is simply being oneself, not knowing anything or becoming anything.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
48. “Doubts arise because of an absence of surrender.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
49. “The place where even the slightest trace of the ‘I’ does not exist, alone is Self.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
50. “The very fact that we wish for liberation shows that freedom from all bondage is our real nature. It is not to be freshly acquired. All that is necessary is to get rid of the false notion that we are bound.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
51. “As you are, so is the world.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
52. “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).
53. “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).
54. “Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
55. “If the ego rises, all else will also rise; if it subsides, all else will also subside.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
56. “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).
57. “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).
58. “When one makes the mind stick to one thought, the mind becomes rock-steady and the energy is conserved.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
59. “Grace is ever present. All that is necessary is that you surrender to it.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
60. “He who thinks he is the doer is also the sufferer.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
61. “Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.” ~ (Ramana Maharshi).
62. When we give up regarding the unreal as real, then the reality alone will remain and we will be that. ~ Ramana Maharshi.
63. In deep sleep mind is merged and not destroyed. That which merges reappears. ~ Ramana Maharshi.
So these were the 63 quotes by Ramana Maharshi.
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other popular blog posts on the topics of Yao Ming Quotes and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Quotes.
