Like the practice of breath control, meditation on the forms of God, repetition of mantras, food restrictions, etc., are but aids for rendering the mind quiescent.
Ramana MaharshiRead
Keep the remembrance of your real nature alive, even while working, and avoid haste which causes you to forget. Be deliberate. Practice meditation to still the mind and cause it to become aware of its true relationship to the Self which supports it. Do not imagine that it is you who are doing the work. Think that is the underlying current which is doing it. Identify yourself with the current.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and mindfulness in our actions.
Ramana Maharshi's quote highlights the significance of remaining conscious of one's true nature while engaging in daily activities. It suggests that by practicing mindfulness and meditation, individuals can connect with their deeper self and recognize the flow of life that guides their actions, rather than erroneously attributing the work solely to themselves.
Themes
Self-AwarenessMindfulnessMeditationTrue NatureWork
In practice
Example use cases
In a talk about mindfulness, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of self-awareness in daily life.
More from Ramana Maharshi
All quotes →Think of God; attachments will gradually drop away. If you wait till all desires disappear before starting your devotion and prayer, you will have to wait for a very long time indeed.
Ramana MaharshiRead
The mind of one meditating on a single object becomes one-pointed. And one-pointedness of mind leads to abidance in the self. Real attainment is to be fully conscious, to be aware of surroundings and the people around, to move among them all, but not to merge consciousness in the environment. One should remain in inner independent awareness.
Ramana MaharshiRead
You need not aspire for or get any new state. Get rid of your present thoughts, that is all.
Ramana MaharshiRead
Realisation is not acquisition of anything new nor is it a new faculty. It is only removal of all camouflage
Ramana MaharshiRead
Bliss is a thing which is always there and is not something which comes and goes. That which comes and goes is a creation of the mind.
Ramana MaharshiRead
Similar quotes
The most important thing to do is really listen.
Itzhak PerlmanRead
You know who the critics are? The men who have failed in literature and art.
Benjamin DisraeliRead
We are strong enough to bear the misfortunes of others.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.
Warren BuffettRead
Busy people all make the same mistake: they assume they are short on time, which of course, they are. But time is not their only scarce resource. They are also short on bandwidth. By bandwidth I mean basic cognitive resources - psychologists call them working memory and executive control - that we use in nearly every activity.
Sendhil MullainathanRead
To make a good salad is to be a brilliant diplomatist - the problem is entirely the same in both cases. To know exactly how much oil one must put with one's vinegar.
Oscar WildeRead