All images used with kind permission from sriramanamaharshi.org
“The world is so unhappy because it is ignorant of the true Self. Man’s real nature is happiness. Happiness is inborn in the true Self. Man’s search for happiness is an unconscious search for his true Self. The true Self is imperishable; therefore, when a man finds it, he finds a happiness which does not come to an end.”
– Ramana Maharshi Quote
In this article we’ll take a look at Ramana Maharshi quotes to inspire:
- Everyday contemplation
- Spiritual growth
- Community and Humanity
- Success
But first, what do we need to know about the man Ramana Maharshi?
Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879 – 1950) lived in southern India and was a spiritual teacher and guru who touched the lives of many through his approach to eliminating ignorance as a means of transformation.
Who am I? was the predominant teaching of Ramana Maharshi. Through practices of self-inquiry, surrender to “self” and bhakti (devotion) his approach to spiritual inquiry remains influential throughout the world.
Now let’s take a look at a Ramana Maharshi quote to suit every moment.
Ramana Maharshi Quotes for everyday contemplation
“Action and knowledge are not obstacles to each other.” – Ramana Maharshi
“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
“You can only stop the flow of thoughts by refusing to have any interest in it.” – Ramana Maharshi
“There is nothing like ‘within’ or ‘without.’ Both mean either the same thing or nothing.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Eventually, all that one has learnt will have to be forgotten.” – Ramana Maharshi
“When one remains without thinking one understands another by means of the universal language of silence.” – Ramana Maharshi
“When the mind that is subtle goes out through the brain and the sense-organs, the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the Heart, the names and forms disappear.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Remaining quiet is what is called wisdom-insight. To remain quiet is to resolve the mind in the Self.” – 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
“It will come all right in the end.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Let what comes come. Let what goes go. Find out what remains.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Pleasure and pain are only aspects of the mind. Our essential nature is happiness.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Remain still, with the conviction that the Self shines as everything yet nothing, within, without, and everywhere.” – Ramana Maharshi
“The purpose of all these illustrations is to direct the seeker’s mind towards the one Reality underlying them all.” – Ramana Maharshi
“The real is as it is always. We are not creating anything new or achieving something which we did not have before.” – Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi Quotes for spiritual growth
“All unhappiness is due to the ego. With it comes all your trouble. If you would deny the ego and scorch it by ignoring it you would be free.” – Ramana Maharshi
“All that is required to realize the Self is to “Be Still.” Ramana Maharshi
“You are awareness. Awareness is another name for you. Since you are awareness there is no need to attain or cultivate it. All that you have to do is to give up being aware of other things, that is of the not-Self. If one gives up being aware of them then pure awareness alone remains, and that is the Self.” – Ramana Maharshi
“The only useful purpose of the present birth is to turn within and realize the Self.” – Ramana Maharshi
“To perform one’s duty is the greatest service to God.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Your true nature is that of infinite spirit. The feeling of limitation is the work of the mind.” – Ramana Maharshi
“The inquiry ‘Who am I?’ is the principal means to the removal of all misery and the attainment of the supreme bliss.” – Ramana Maharshi
“The greatest obstacle to enlightenment is getting past your delusion that you are not already enlightened.” – Ramana Maharshi
“The man who prays, the prayer, and the God to whom he prays all have reality only as manifestations of the Self. – Ramana Maharshi
“The Power that created you has created the world as well. If it can take care of you, it can similarly take care of the world also. If God has created the world, it is His business to look after it, not yours.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Silence is truth. Silence is bliss. Silence is peace. And hence Silence is the Self.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Realisation is not acquisition of anything new nor is it a new faculty. It is only removal of all camouflage.” – Ramana Maharshi
“If you go on working with the light available, you will meet your Master, as he himself will be seeking you.” – 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
“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
“Finally there comes a stage when a person feels helpless notwithstanding the sadhanas. He is unable to pursue the much-cherished sadhana also. It is then that God’s power is realized. The self reveals itself.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Grace is ever present. All that is necessary is that you surrender to it.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Have faith in God and in yourself; that will cure all. Hope for the best, expect the best, toil for the best and everything will come right for you in the end.” – Ramana Maharshi
“He who has renounced (the ‘I-thought’) thus, remains the same whether he is alone or in the midst of the extensive samsara.” – 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
“In the middle of the Heart-cave the pure Brahman is directly manifest as the Self in the form of ‘I-I’.” – Ramana Maharshi
“When there is no ‘I’ there is no karma.” – Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi Quotes for community and humanity
“All that one gives to others one gives to one’s self. If this truth is understood, who will not give to others?” – 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
“As you are, so is the world.” – Ramana Maharshi
“When the men, the embodied beings treat each other with equal respect and have good brotherly feelings amongst themselves, great peace and harmony abound. Then all this earth shines like one house. The whole world shines like the one dwelling house of the entire human family.” – Ramana Maharshi
“You are the Supreme Being, and yet thinking yourself to be separate from it, you strive to become united with it.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Mind your business. Take care of what you came here for. Find the ‘I’ first and you may afterwards speak of other matters.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Peace is the inner nature of humankind. If you find it within yourself, you will then find it everywhere.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Unless one is happy, one cannot bestow happiness on others.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Wanting to reform the world without discovering one’s true self is like trying to cover the world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns.” – Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi Quotes for success
“If the light of the sun is invisible to the owl it is only the fault of that bird and not of the sun.” – Ramana Maharshi
“If the mind falls asleep, awaken it. Then if it starts wandering, make it quiet. If you reach the state where there is neither sleep nor movement of mind, stay still in that, the natural (real) state.” – Ramana Maharshi
“No one succeeds without effort… Those who succeed owe their success to perseverance.” – Ramana Maharshi
“The self cannot be found in books. You have to find it for yourself, within yourself.” – Ramana Maharshi
“Thoughts come and go. Feelings come and go. Find out what it is that remains.” – Ramana Maharshi
“The revelation or intuition arises in its own time and one must wait for it.” – Ramana Maharshi
“The ultimate truth is so simple; it is nothing more than being in one’s natural, original state.” – Ramana Maharshi
“The world is not outside you.” – Ramana Maharshi
“There is neither creation nor destruction, neither destiny nor free will, neither path nor achievement. This is the final truth.” – Ramana Maharshi
“There is neither Past nor Future. There is only the Present.” – 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
“You are already That which you seek.” - Ramana Maharshi
More Ramana Maharshi?
If you’re inspired by a Ramana Maharshi quote then you can find out more about his life and teachings.
