Robert Adams was an American Advaita teacher, born on January 21, 1928, in Manhattan.
He emphasized jñāna yoga and self-enquiry in his teachings, which were not well known during his lifetime but gained popularity posthumously among Advaita philosophy investigators and Western devotees of Sri Ramana Maharshi.
A book of his teachings, “Silence of the Heart,” was published in 1999.
As a child, Adams claimed to have visions of a man he later identified as his future guru, Sri Ramana Maharshi.
After his father’s death, the visions stopped, but he developed a siddhi, allowing him to manifest objects or knowledge by saying the object’s name or ‘God’ three times.
Robert Adams was a strong advocate of the path of jñāna yoga.
Below are the top quotes by Robert Adams.
Best Robert Adams Quotes
Dive into your heart centre. Sit in the silence. Everything will take care of itself. ~ Robert Adams.
Your job is to relax, to take it easy, to be peaceful. ~ Robert Adams.
When the mind is subdued there is only eternal peace. ~ Robert Adams.
The secret to peace-of-mind is to not identify with anything other than your true self. ~ Robert Adams.
How do you become happy? By not thinking. ~ Robert Adams.
The enlightened being knows only happiness. ~ Robert Adams.
Do not attach yourself to what your body is going through. Keep your mind above it, keep your head in heaven and your feet on the ground. ~ Robert Adams.
There is just nobody home. There never was a body, there is no body, and there never will be a body. There is only consciousness and you are that. ~ Robert Adams.
The reality in the back of the universe is pure awareness. It has no problems. And you are that. ~ Robert Adams.
Whatever is destined to happen is going to happen, no matter how you try to stop it. And whatever is destined not to happen will never happen, no matter how much you try to make it happen. ~ Robert Adams.
This (Spiritual practises) doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go anywhere or do something else. You can watch TV, you can go to a movie, you can go swimming, you can go play golf, you can go bowling but never forget who you are, that’s all. Always remember who you really are. ~ Robert Adams.
To feel God’s grace means you have to surrender completely, have a lot of humility. ~ Robert Adams.
The Universe is your friend. It’s on your side there’s nothing against you. The only thing against you are your thoughts. If you learn to quiet your mind you’ll have no problems. ~ Robert Adams.
Nobody can help but your Self. Know who you are. You are the power. All the power of the universe is within you. ~ Robert Adams Quotes.
You never were the body and you will never be a body. You are pure awareness, the absolute reality. ~ Robert Adams Quotes.
All is well. All is well. All is perfectly well. Never forget that. Do not think about it. Do not try to analyze it. Just accept it in your heart. ~ Robert Adams.
You’re born again, now, and all is glory and joy. This is what it means to be born again, to realize that you exist now, in this moment. ~ Robert Adams.
Famous Robert Adams Quotes
Whenever you think you stop the reality from flowing, by your thoughts. Whenever your mind is quiescent, calm, still like a motionless lake, then you reflect your own divinity. And you become pure and happy and all your problems melt away. ~ Robert Adams.
In the ultimate reality there’s nothing as we know it, as we conceive it. As long as you’re able to voice it, it’s false. As long as you able to think about it, it does not exist. Reality is silence, not words. ~ Robert Adams.
What is rightfully yours, no one can ever take away. ~ Robert Adams.
Top Robert Adams Quotes
As you observe the thoughts they disappear, but more come, more come, and even when you’re finished with them from this life, they’ll come to you from a previous life. It never stops. So you have to keep asking the question, ‘To whom do they come? To whom do they come?’ And keep observing and following the I thought, and doing nothing, and one day it will all be gone, and you’ll be free. But you have to have patience and persistence. Remember, it took us so many years to be the way we are, screwy, crazy, insane. So now it’s going to take a little time, perhaps, to get over it. ~ Robert Adams.
Leave your body alone. Take just enough care of it. Exercise it a little, feed it right foods, but don’t think about it too much. Keep your mind on reality. Merge your mind with reality, and you will experience reality. You will live in a world without problems. ~ Robert Adams.
Once you catch a glimpse of self-realization, you’ll never go back again. There’s no turning back. ~ Robert Adams.
Always remember deep in your heart that all is well and everything is unfolding as it should. There are no mistakes anywhere, at any time. What appears to be wrong is simply your own false imagination. That’s all. ~ Robert Adams.
Popular Robert Adams Quotes
When your mind is quiet, you find bliss. ~ Robert Adams.
It is the ego that keeps you in bondage. It is the ego that makes you believe you are what you are. It is the ego that causes all the problems to come into your life. The ego is your worst enemy. Therefore you have to do everything in life that you can do to annihilate the ego. The ego must be annihilated, totally removed, totally destroyed. ~ Robert Adams.
When you take refuge in your Self you become happy. When you take refuge in your Self you have peace. When you take refuge in your Self you have harmony, you have joy. ~ Robert Adams.
Love everything because it’s all part of the Self. ~ Robert Adams.
If you have Jnana, you are at peace with yourself and the world, for all the happiness that exists, all the joy that exists, all the peace that exists, all the love that exists, is another name for Jnana. Therefore to the extent that you awaken, to that extent do you find that all is well, wherever you are. ~ Robert Adams.
Wise Robert Adams Quotes
Everything that is happening, is happening now. Not tomorrow or yesterday. It’s all happening in the moment. So where is there to go? ~ Robert Adams.
We cannot empty the mind by thinking. Only by observation. ~ Robert Adams.
When the mind is still and quiet, everything will take care of itself. ~ Robert Adams.
For most people to be happy, there has to be a person, place, or thing involved in their happiness. In true happiness, there are no things involved. It’s a natural state. You will abide in that state forever. ~ Robert Adams.
Every position that you find yourself in, every situation that you find yourself in, with whomever you find yourself with, the positions that you have or don’t have, wherever you may be in this world, is your right place at this moment. Bless this. Love it. ~ Robert Adams.
When you awaken, you appear the same as you are right now, only you’re totally free. That’s all. You’re completely, totally free. Your people will still see you the same way you are now. They will not see any difference. If they stay with you twenty-four hours a day, they will notice you do not react to things any longer. They will notice you’ve become an embodiment of peace, that you’re always happy, nothing disturbs you. There’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of. It’s a wonderful experience. ~ Robert Adams.
All of the solutions, all of the wisdom, all of the happiness and bliss you’ve been searching for, it’s within you. ~ Robert Adams.
Thought-Provoking Robert Adams Quotes
The secret is to quiet the mind. Your real nature is self-realization. When the mind is stilled, you just return to your real nature, to what you always were. ~ Robert Adams.
The turmoil, the chaos that appears to be in this world, is not the truth. It is not reality. It is something that comes and goes. This too shall pass. But your center is God, consciousness, absolute reality, Brahman. That is the peace that exists. ~ Robert Adams.
We become so enmeshed in the world. We think things are real. Everything bothers us. We become angry. We become upset. But the truth is you are not maya. You are absolute reality. You are total awareness. You are the Self. Know who you are and wake up. Awaken and be free. ~ Robert Adams.
Really the only thing you have to do is quiet your mind. ~ Robert Adams.
Begin to spend more time diving within yourself, watching, witnessing. When thoughts pop up, simply ask yourself, ‘To whom do these thoughts come? To me. I think them. Who am I? What is the source of the I?’ As you do this, my friends, I can assure you a marvelous change will take place in your life, sooner or later, and you will become free. ~ Robert Adams.
Sitting in the silence is more potent than any words you can ever hear. ~ Robert Adams.
When you stop searching and you calm down and you put your books away, and you confront yourself and see what you are all about, that will bring about bliss faster than anything you can ever imagine or ever do. ~ Robert Adams.
There’s always happiness. There’s always peace. There’s always love. It’s not something you have to acquire. It is your real nature. ~ Robert Adams.
There is only one decision you need to make: You are either working at your Freedom or you are accepting your bondage. ~ Robert Adams.
So these were the 43 top Robert Adams quotes and sayings.
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Walker Evans quotes and Smith Wigglesworth quotes.
Short Biography of Robert Adams
Robert Adams, an American teacher of Advaita, shared his spiritual insights in California, emphasizing self-enquiry and jnana yoga.
Despite his low profile during his lifetime, his teachings gained posthumous recognition.
Born in New York, Adams experienced early visions and miraculous occurrences, leading to a profound awakening at 14.
Influenced by Joel S. Goldsmith and guided by Paramahansa Yogananda, he sought his guru, Sri Ramana Maharshi, in India.
Adams’ teachings, focused on the non-dual Self and the power of silence, were captured in “Silence of the Heart.”
| Full Name | Robert Adams |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | 21 January 1928, New York, New York, United States |
| Died | 2 March 1997 (age 69 years), Sedona, Arizona, United States |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Philosophy | Advaita Vedanta |
| Guru | Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi |
| Literary works | Silence of the Heart: Dialogues with Robert Adams |
His later years were spent in the US, where he continued to share his insights until his death in 1997.
Despite controversies surrounding his claims, Adams’ teachings continue to influence seekers of non-dual reality.
Quick Facts about Robert Adams
- Robert Adams was an American Advaita teacher born on January 21, 1928, in Manhattan, New York.
- In childhood, Adams claimed to have visions of a white-haired, bearded man who he later identified as his future guru, Sri Ramana Maharshi.
- Adams experienced the sudden cessation of these visitations at age seven following his father’s death.
- He reported a unique ability in childhood to materialize desired objects or answers to questions by invoking them verbally.
- At fourteen, Adams had a profound spiritual awakening during a school exam, leading to an experience of radiant consciousness and bliss.
- His early spiritual guide was Joel S. Goldsmith, a Christian mystic in Manhattan.
- Encouraged by Goldsmith, Adams visited Paramahansa Yogananda, who directed him to seek out Sri Ramana Maharshi in India.
- With inheritance money, Adams traveled to India at eighteen to meet his guru, Sri Ramana Maharshi, bringing offerings to him upon arrival.
- Adams spent the final three years of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s life in his presence, deepening his spiritual understanding.
- He was told by Sri Ramana Maharshi that they had been together in a previous life.
- After Sri Ramana Maharshi’s death, Adams spent seventeen years traveling and learning from other spiritual teachers in India.
- In his later years, Adams settled in the United States due to Parkinson’s disease and held satsangs for a small group of followers.
- Adams passed away on March 2, 1997, in Sedona, Arizona, surrounded by family and devotees.
- His teachings emphasized jñāna yoga and self-enquiry, inspired by the philosophy of Advaita and Sri Ramana Maharshi.
- Adams’ teachings gained posthumous recognition through the circulation of his satsang recordings and transcripts.
- “Silence of the Heart: Dialogues with Robert Adams” was published in 1999, encapsulating his spiritual dialogues.
- Despite controversies over the veracity of some of his claims, Adams’ teachings continue to influence seekers of non-dual truth.
- Adams described his enlightenment experience as a shift to a state where he was not his body, but pure consciousness.
- He encountered his first spiritual mentor, Joel S. Goldsmith, at sixteen and was advised to meet Yogananda for further guidance.
- Adams’ visit to Yogananda led to the pivotal advice to find Sri Ramana Maharshi in India.
- His time in India included stays with renowned spiritual figures such as Nisargadatta Maharaj and Anandamayi Ma.
- Adams’ return to the U.S. marked the beginning of his more public teachings through satsangs, despite his health challenges.
- His philosophy centered on the non-duality of Advaita Vedanta, emphasizing the inner realization of one’s true nature.
- Adams advocated for the practice of self-enquiry as a means to transcend ego and realize one’s inherent blissful nature.
- He seldom prescribed specific practices but shared insights from visions, including the Four Principles of Self-Realization.
- Adams stressed that everything in existence emanates from the mind, highlighting the illusory nature of the material world.
- He reiterated the concept of being unborn, transcending life and death, and existing as pure consciousness.
- The egolessness of all entities was a key aspect of his teachings, promoting a view of universal divinity and interconnectedness.
- True self-realization, according to Adams, involves discerning what one is not, leading to the recognition of the self as emptiness or ultimate oneness.
- Despite skepticism about some of his accounts, Adams’ teachings and humor left a lasting impact on many, fostering a legacy of spiritual inquiry.
Top Questions about Robert Adams
A: Robert Adams primarily advocated the path of jñāna yoga, focusing on self-enquiry practice.
A: Later in life, Robert Adams held satsangs with a small group of devotees in California, US.
A: Although not widely known during his lifetime, Robert Adams’ teachings were circulated posthumously, particularly among Western devotees of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.
A: As a child, Robert Adams had visions of a white-haired, bearded man speaking an unknown language to him, later identified as Sri Ramana Maharshi.
A: Adams claimed he could manifest desires, from candy bars to violins, by saying the name of the object three times, and it would appear or be given to him.
A: At 14, during a math test, Adams experienced a room filled with brilliant light, leading to a deep realization of his true, non-physical nature and merging into pure radiant consciousness.
A: Joel S. Goldsmith, a Christian mystic, was Adams’ first mentor, who advised him to meet Paramahansa Yogananda, leading to a suggestion to find his true guru in India.
A: Encouraged by Paramahansa Yogananda to find his satguru, Adams traveled to India with inheritance money and met Sri Ramana Maharshi at Sri Ramanasramam.
A: Adams had many conversations with Sri Ramana Maharshi, confirming and deepening his understanding of non-dual Self through the guru’s presence.
A: After Sri Ramana Maharshi’s passing, Adams spent 17 years traveling in India, meeting various spiritual figures, and deepening his spiritual understanding.
A: In his later years, Adams settled in Sedona, Arizona, where he held weekly satsangs and attracted a small group of devotees.
A: Adams’ teachings were recorded and transcribed during his satsangs, leading to the posthumous publication of “Silence of the Heart: Dialogues with Robert Adams.”
A: Some of Adams’ claims, such as his visits to India and interactions with Ramana Maharshi, have been questioned and not verified by external sources.
A: Adams believed the teacher is an inner creation of the student’s mind, designed to awaken oneself to the realization of no teacher, world, or self.
A: Adams considered silence as the highest spiritual teaching, where one transcends thoughts and experiences pure being in deep inner silence.
