Ramana maharshi quotes

 कृतिमहोदधौ पतनकारणम् ।
फलमशाश्वतं गतिनिरोधकम् ॥ २॥

kṛti-maho-dadhau patana-kāraṇam
phalama-śaśvataṃ gati-nirodhakam

The results of actions are impermanent and pass away.  Yet, their seeds form an ocean of Karma which becomes a barrier in the progress of a seeker

Source: 30 Verses by Sri Ramana Maharshi – Updesa Saram – Essence of Teachings

Who is Ramana Maharshi?

Ramana Maharshi was a Hindu sage who advocated for self-inquiry and Bhakti (devotion) as the primary means of overcoming ignorance and achieving self-awareness.

Born in southern India in 1879, he had a near-death spiritual experience at the age of 16 that inspired him to dedicate his life to devotion and teaching. Ramana Maharshi, who died in 1950, is regarded as a Jivanmukti, or self-realized (liberated) human being by the devotees. 

Ramana Maharshi described his near-death experience that changed his life as “a sudden, violent fear of death” that prompted him to reflect internally. He realized that he was not his body but a spirit that existed outside of it. From that point forward, he remained focused on his true Self, which he later called Ishvara (often translated as “personal god”).

Ramana Maharshi quotes to live life courageously

The teachings of Ramana Maharshi to this world are precious. He says, “Know Thyself, and all else will be known to thee of its own accord.”

• “Discriminate between the undying, unchanging, all-pervading, infinite Atma and the ever-changing, phenomenal, and perishable universe and body. Enquire, “Who am I?” Make the mind calm. Free yourself from all thoughts other than the simple thought of the Self or Atma.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “No one succeeds without effort… Those who follow owe their success to perseverance.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Do what is right at a given moment and leave it behind.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Eventually, all that one has learned will have to be forgotten.” – Ramana Maharshi

Ramana maharshi quotes on Karma

• “Fixing the mind in the Heart (Source) is true Karma (action), Bhakti (devotion), Yoga (action), and Jnana (knowledge).” – Ramana Maharshi
• “By the law/will of the Creator, the fruits of actions are realised.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “The results of actions are impermanent and pass away. Yet, their seeds form an ocean of Karma which becomes a barrier to a seeker’s progress.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Work performed as an offering to the Almighty, and done without any expectation of the fruits thereof, helps in the purification of the mind and thereby leads one to Liberation or Realization.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Among the actions performed by the body, voice, and mind – puja (ritualistic worship), Japa (chanting), and contemplation (inner meditation) – each is superior to the other in ascending order.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “When there is no ‘I’ there is no karma.”
  ― Ramana Maharshi, Collected works of Ramana Maharshi

Ramana maharshi quotes on meditation and devotion

• “Ether, fire, air, water, earth, Sun, moon, and living beings. Worshipping any of these eight forms, thinking they are all forms of God, is good worship (puja) of God.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Singing the Lord’s praises is good, but better than that is the loud chanting of Japa, while superior to loud chanting is soft Japa. However, best of all is silent, mental Japa.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Like an unbroken flow of oil or a stream of water, continuous meditation is better than that which is interrupted.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Meditation without duality, that is, meditating as ‘I am HE’, is superior to meditation which assumes a separation between the Bhakta (devotee) and the beloved Lord.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “A state of void, free from thought, is gradually attained, making abidance in the background state of ‘I AM’ complete. This is supreme devotion.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Your concentration must come as easily as the breath. Fix yourself on one thing and try to hold onto it. All will come right. Meditation is sticking to one thought. That single thought keeps away other thoughts. The dissipated mind is a sign of its weakness. By constant meditation it gains strength.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Complete surrender does require that you have no desire of your own, that God’s desire alone is your desire and that you have no desire of your own.” – Ramana Maharshi

Ramana maharshi quotes on mind

• “Through breath control, the movement of the mind is contained, just as a bird is restrained when caught in a net.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “The mind and pranas, which carry out various thought processes and actions within the body, emerge from one common source (Sakti).” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Mind control can be achieved through two modes – either through absorption/abeyance or through complete destruction. In the case of the first mode, the mind emerges again as it is merely absorbed in the void and hence temporarily held in abeyance. In contrast, through the second mode, when the mind is destroyed, it can never emerge again.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “When the mind is suspended through breath control, it must then be completely destroyed through one-pointed attention to that one reality.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “The mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts. These thoughts depend upon the I-thought alone. Hence the reason is nothing but this I-thought.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “The pure mind is itself Brahman; it therefore follows that Brahman is not other than the mind of the sage.” – Ramana MaharshiRamana maharshi quotes on Guru and Spiritual Master
•  “Everything in the world was my Guru.” – Ramana Maharshi
•  “If you go on working with the light available, you will meet your Master, as he will be seeking you.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “The realization is the result of the Master’s grave more than teachings, lectures, meditation, etc. They are only secondary aids, whereas the former is the primary and the essential cause.”
  ― Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks with Ramana Maharshi: On Realizing Abiding Peace and Happiness
• “All are gurus to us, the wicked by their evil deeds say ‘do not come near me’. the good are always good, therefore all are like gurus to us.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Of all yogins, only he who rests his unwavering mind and love in me is dear to me.”
  ― Sri Ramana Maharshi, Collected works of Ramana Maharshi
• “I do not consider anyone to be my disciple. I have never sought upadesh from anyone nor do I give ceremonial upadesh. If the people call themselves my disciples I do not approve or disapprove.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “If you understand your own reality, then that of the rishis and Masters will be clear to you. There is only one Master and that is the Self […] The power is only one in all. (p. 110-111)”
  ― Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks with Ramana Maharshi: On Realizing Abiding Peace and Happiness

Ramana maharshi quotes on self realization

• “All that is required to realise the Self is to “Be Still.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Realisation is not acquisition of anything new nor is it a new faculty. It is only removal of all camouflage” – Ramana Maharshi
• “The only useful purpose of the present birth is to turn within and realize the Self.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Remain still, with the conviction that the Self shines as everything yet nothing, within, without, and everywhere.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “The pure mind is itself Brahman; it therefore follows that Brahman is not other than the mind of the sage.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Realisation is not acquisition of anything new nor is it a new faculty. It is only removal of all camouflage” – Ramana Maharshi
• “When the various conditionings of body-mind and identifications with name and form are shed, the Self is realized. The vision of the Lord as Self is the actual Self Realization.” – Ramana Maharshi

Ramana maharshi quotes on self-enquiry

• “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 summed up in the words ‘Be still’. What does stillness mean? It means destroy yourself. Because any form or shape is the cause for trouble. Give up the notion that ‘I am so and so’. All that is required to realize the Self is to be still. What can be easier than that?” – Ramana Maharshi
• “The greatest error of a man is to think that he is weak by nature, evil by nature. Every man is divine and strong in his real nature. What are weak and evil are his habits, his desires and thoughts, but not himself.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “If you hold this feeling of ‘I’ long enough and strongly enough, the false ‘I’ will vanish leaving only the unbroken awareness of the real, immanent ‘I’, consciousness itself” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Know that the eradication of the identification with the body is charity, spiritual austerity and ritual sacrifice; it is virtue, divine union and devotion; it is heaven, wealth, peace and truth; it is grace; it is the state of divine silence; it is the deathless death; it is jnana, renunciation, final liberation and bliss.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Self-Inquiry, which is devoid of ego, is a great penance. ” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Mind your business. Take care of what you came here for. Find the ‘I’ first, and you may speak of other matters afterward.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Is there any other thing apart from Consciousness that illumines existence? Indeed, existence itself is Consciousness, and Consciousness is ‘I AM.’ – Ramana Maharshi
• “When the I-thought or Ego is destroyed, the real I springs forth on its own in the spiritual Heart and shines as ‘I-I’, in all its fullness.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Ask the question: “From where does this I-thought arise?” On inquiring sincerely, the I-thought will vanish. This is Self-Inquiry.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Truth is revealed when attention is withdrawn from objects and focused exclusively on the Self.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Whatever burdens are thrown on God, He bears them. Since the supreme power of God makes all things move, why should we, without submitting ourselves to it, constantly worry ourselves with thoughts as to what should be done and how, and what should not be done and how not? We know that the train carries all loads, so after getting on it why should we carry our small luggage on our head to our discomfort, instead of putting it down in the train and feeling at ease?”
  ― Sri Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I?
• “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

Ramana maharshi quotes on happiness

• “Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is, seeking it outside when it is inside.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “The individual who has realized the Divine State (his real nature) gains supreme happiness and bliss, beyond bondage and freedom, here, in this very world.” – Ramana Maharshi
• “Real peace is happiness. Pleasures do not form happiness.”
  ― Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks with Ramana Maharshi: On Realizing Abiding Peace and Happiness
• “If a person overlooks the faults of others, and sees only their merits, and thus keeps his mind serene, his whole life will be happy. To be unconcerned in all things, with the mind cool, free of desires and without hate, is beautiful in a seeker.” – Ramana Maharshi

Trending conversations on Ramana maharshi in os.me community

How is one spiritual master better than the other, if at all? Does it matter?

I think spiritual masters may have different paths to the same truth and have different personalities and ways. I think the question of who is better than the other is kind of “achintya”. There are some whom I connect more than others for example Ramana Maharshi teachings have a focus on silence and his words struck a chord with me. Swami Vivekananda’s courage and boldness helped me grow in that aspect of my life. 

I think of few of the masters that come to my mind.

Ramana Maharshi

Ramakrishna Paramhansa

Swami Vivekananda

Osho – probably bit controversial

Om Swami

Amritananda Nath Saraswati

I see them as being different from whom I have learnt and gained a lot. And then of course there is the one with whom you feel connected , in my case it was Swami Ji and it grew on me with time.  Read this thread of conversation, or share your experience.

Relationship between dropping/reducing your ego and getting detached?

I have been reading on detachment, and thinking about it, and had a question for OS.me fellow travelers.

If one is working on reducing or dropping the Ego, in which way does it impact one becoming detached.  Does it impact in a big way, small way?

One point I could think was – If I drop/reduce my Ego, I am not at the center of the world, and attachment needs a center. If there is nothing in the center,  who will have attached, what will it attach to? Read this thread of conversation, share your experience.

How can i connect my mind to formless god.

I have always been confused in forms of God. But formless God is easy for me. But I don’t know how to do bhakti Or any other things that connect my mind to formless God.So, provide methods.If it is possible for you to answer in hindi, it will be very useful for me. Read this thread of conversation, or share your experience.