Quotes from Ramana Maharshi

What the mind has to do is not to suggest a reply, but to remain quiet so that the true reply can arise.

Surrender, and all will be well. Throw all responsibility onto God. Do not bear the burden yourself. (p. 158)

As all living beings desire to be happy always, without misery, as in the case of everyone there is observed supreme love for one's self, and as happiness alone is the cause for love, in order to gain that happiness which is one's nature and which is experienced in the state of deep sleep when there is no mind, one should know one's self. For that, the path of knowledge, the inquiry of the form "Who am I?", is the principal means.

All that is needed is that you give up your realisation of the not-true as true.

Ramana Maharshi's advice on depression) This depression must be traced to its origin. The origin is the wrong identification of the body with the Self. The disease is not of the Self. It is of the body. But the body does not come and tell you that it is possessed by the disease. It is you who say so. Why? Because you have wrongly identified yourself with the body. The body itself is a thought. Be as you really are. There is no reason to be depressed. (p. 360)

I Am is the name of God. Of all the definitions of God, none is indeed so well put as the Biblical statement "I Am that I Am" in Exodus (chap. 3). There are other statements, such as Brahmaivaham, Aham Brahmasmi, and Soham. But none is so direct as the name Jehovah = I Am. The Absolute Being is what is – it is the Self. It is God. Knowing the Self, God is known. In fact, God is none other than the Self. (p. 76)

The universe is only expanded Self. It is not different from the Self. (p. 77)

God never forsakes one who has surrendered (mam ekam saranam vraja)

When the I is divested of the I, only the I remains.

Of all yogins, only he who rests his unwavering mind and love in me is dear to me.

Note: Some aspirants indulge in severe austerities and arduous practices, mastering several techniques and incidentally attaining extraordinary supernatural powers as well. All these are to be shunned as they do not lead to ultimate peace and joy. On the other hand, the path of Kala Jnana described here is a direct path to mukti.

How can the intellect which can never reach the Self be competent to ascertain, and much less decide the nature of the final state of Realization? It is like trying to measure the sunlight at its source by the standard of the light given by a candle. The wax will melt down before the candle comes anywhere near

The srutis and the sages say that the objects are only mental creations. They have no substantive being. Investigate the matter and ascertain the truth of this statement. The result will be the conclusion that the objective world is in the subjective consciousness. The Self is thus the only Reality that permeates and also envelops the world. Since there is no duality, no thoughts will arise to disturb your peace. This is Realization of the Self. (p. 382)

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?

The seat of Realization is within and the seeker cannot find it as an object outside him. That seat is bliss and is the core of all beings; hence it is called the Heart. The only useful purpose of the present birth is to turn within and realize it. There is nothing else to do. (p. 146)

A Higher Power is leading you. Be led by the same. The Higher Power knows what to do and how to do it. Trust it. (p. 182)

Did you know your kinsmen before their birth that you should seek to know them after their death?

Realization is nothing to be gained afresh, it is already there. All that is necessary is to get rid of the thought 'I have not realised'.

If you take the appearance to be real you will never know the Real itself, although it is the Real alone that exists. This point is illustrated by the analogy of the 'snake in the rope'. As long as you see the snake you cannot see the rope as such. The non-existent snake becomes real to you, while the real rope seems wholly non-existent as such.

What he taught was the ultimate doctrine of non-duality, or advaita, in which all other doctrines are finally absorbed: that Being is One and is manifested in the universe and in all creatures without ever changing from its eternal, unmanifest Self, much as, in a dream, the mind creates all the people and events a man sees, without losing anything by their creation or gaining anything by their re-absorption, without ceasing to be itself.

The Master is the same as God and not different from him. (p. 27)

It is the realisation of, and firm adherence to, that which is ever existent that deserves the name siddhi or attainment. Attainment of miraculous powers, is like attaining them in dreams. When he wakes up what becomes of them? Will those who have brushed aside the unreal and got established in the Real be confounded by these?

Never mind the mind. If its source is sought, it will vanish leaving the Self unaffected.

The intricate maze of philosophy of the various schools is said to clarify matters and to reveal the Truth, but in fact it creates confusion where none need exist. To understand anything there must be the Self. The Self is obvious, so why not remain as the Self? What need to explain the non-self?