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
Because truth is exceedingly subtle and serene, the bliss of the Self can manifest only in a mind rendered subtle and steady by assiduous meditation.
Interpretation
True happiness comes from a calm and focused mind achieved through dedicated meditation.
Ramana Maharshi's quote emphasizes the importance of a subtle and steady mind, which can be achieved through consistent meditation. It suggests that only when the mind is calm and refined can the bliss of one's true self be experienced, highlighting the connection between mental discipline and inner peace.
In practice
In a yoga workshop, to inspire attendees about the importance of meditation.
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.
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.
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.
You need not aspire for or get any new state. Get rid of your present thoughts, that is all.
Realisation is not acquisition of anything new nor is it a new faculty. It is only removal of all camouflage
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.
I found I wasn't asking good enough questions because I assumed I knew something.
Those writers who lie on the watch for novelty can have little hope of greatness; for great things cannot have escaped former observation.
Merely to resist evil with evil by hating those who hate us and seeking to destroy them, is actually no resistance at all. It is active and purposeful collaboration in evil that brings the Christian into direct and intimate contact with the same source of evil and hatred which inspires the acts of his enemy. It leads in practice to a denial of Christ and to the service of hatred rather than love.
The smallest minds and the selfishest souls and the cowardliest hearts that God makes.
If desire causes suffering, it may be because we do not desire wisely, or that we are inexpert at obtaining what we desire. Instead of hiding our heads in a prayer cloth and building walls against temptation, why not get better at fulfilling desire? Salvation is for the feeble, that's what I think. I don't want salvation, I want life, all of life, the miserable as well as the superb.
Meditation is not about getting out of ourselves or achieving something better. It is about getting in touch with what you already are.
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