Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi Complete ... - BrahminVoice.org

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
theories? It is you. Find your Self. Then there is an end of these
vagaries of the mind.
D.: What is this mind?
M.: A bundle of thoughts.
D.: Wherefrom has it its origin?
M.: Consciousness of the Self.
D.: Then thoughts are not real.
M.: They are not: the only reality is the Self.
Talk 212.
Maharshi observed: Pradakshina (the Hindu rite of going round the
object of worship) is “All is within me.” The true significance of the
act of going round Arunachala is said to be as effective as circuit round
the world. That means that the whole world is condensed into this Hill.
The circuit round the temple of Arunachala is equally good; and selfcircuit
(i.e., turning round and round) is as good as the last. So all are
contained in the Self. Says the Ribhu Gita: “I remain fixed, whereas
innumerable universes becoming concepts within my mind, rotate
within me. This meditation is the highest circuit (pradakshina).”
20th June, 1936
Talk 213.
Mr. B. C. Das asked why the mind cannot be turned inward in spite
of repeated attempts.
M.: It is done by practice and dispassion and that succeeds only
gradually. The mind, having been so long a cow accustomed to
graze stealthily on others’ estates, is not easily confined to her
stall. However much her keeper tempts her with luscious grass
and fine fodder, she refuses the first time; then she takes a bit;
but her innate tendency to stray away asserts itself; and she slips
away; on being repeatedly tempted by the owner, she accustoms
herself to the stall; finally even if let loose she would not stray
away. Similarly with the mind. If once it finds its inner happiness
it will not wander outward.
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