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Question: How to get rid of egoism?

Ramana: Just see it for what it really is, that will be enough. It is the ego itself which makes an effort to get rid of itself, so how can it die? If the ego is to go, then something else must kill it. Will it ever consent to commit suicide? So first realise what the true nature of the ego is and it will go of its own accord. Examine the nature of the ego: that is the process of realisation. If one sees what one’s real nature is, that itself will get rid of the ego. Until then is it just like chasing one’s own shadow; the more one advances the more distant is the shadow. If we leave our own Self, then the ego will manifest itself. If we seek our true nature, then ego dies. If we are in our own Reality, then we need not trouble about the ego.

Seek your Source. Find out where the thought “I” springs from. What object can we be surer of and know more certainly than our Self? This is direct experience and cannot be described further. If the present “I” goes, the mind is known for what it is – a myth. What remains is the pure Self. In deep sleep the Self exists without the perception of the body or the world, and happiness reigns.

Question: Once I was very self-reliant, but in old age I am afraid. People laugh at me.

Ramana: Even when you said you were self-reliant, it was not so – you were ego-reliant. If you let the ego go, you will achieve real Self-reliance. Your pride was merely the pride of the ego. So long as you identify yourself with the ego, you will perceive others as individuals too, and then there will be room for pride. Let that drop, and you will drop others’ egos too, leaving no more room for pride.

So long as there is a sense of separation, one will be afflicted by thoughts. If the original Source is regained and the sense of separation is ended, there will be peace. Consider what happens when a stone is thrown up: it leaves its source, is projected up, tries to come down and is always in motion until it regains its source where it is at rest. Or look at the waters of the ocean: they evaporate, form clouds which are blown about by winds, condense into water, and fall as rain. The waters roll down the hilltops in streams and rivers until they reach their original source, the ocean, at which point they are at peace. Thus you see that where there is a sense of separation from the Source, there is agitation and movement until the sense of separation is lost. So it is with yourself. Now you identify yourself with your body, and think that you are separate. You must regain your Source before this false identification can cease and you can be happy.

Question: What happens to the created ego after the body dies?

Ramana: Ego is the “I”-thought. In its subtle form it remains a thought, whereas in its gross aspect it embraces mind, senses and the body. They disappear in deep sleep along with the ego, but still the Self remains. It will be the same in death. Ego is not an entity independent of the Self in order that it might be created or destroyed by itself. It functions as an instrument of the Self and periodically ceases to function, i.e. it appears and disappears as birth and death.

Question: How can I control the mind?

Ramana: Seek the mind. On being sought, it will disappear. The mind is only a bundle of thoughts. The thoughts arise because there is a thinker. The thinker is the ego. The ego, if sought, will vanish automatically. The ego and the mind are the same. The ego is the root-thought from which all other thoughts arise. Dive within. You are now aware that the mind rises from within. So sink within and seek. You need not eliminate the wrong “I.” How can the “I” eliminate itself? All that you need do is to find its origin and abide there. That is as far as your efforts can extend. Then the Beyond will take care of itself. You are helpless there; no effort can reveal it.

Question: How can I develop?

Ramana: Why go on pruning the ego? That is just what it wants – to be the centre of attraction. The false ego is associated with objects; the subject alone is the Reality. The world is seen in the light reflected by the mind. The moon shines by the reflected light of the sun. When the sun has set, the moon is useful for seeing things, but when the sun rises no one needs the moon, even though it is visible in the sky. So it is with the mind and Heart. The mind is used for seeing objects.

The Self is there whether you search for it or not. The cessation of false identification reveals the Self which is eternally existing. This is called realisation. The blankness is the evil result of searching the mind. The mind must be erased out of existence. See who the thinker is, who the seeker is. Then abide as the thinker, the seeker, and all thoughts will then disappear. That ego is pure ego purged of thoughts. It is the same as the Self.

Question: How can I get rid of fear?

Ramana: What is fear? It is only a thought. When there is nothing besides the Self, there is no reason to fear. Who sees anything else? The ego arises first and sees an object; if the ego does not exist, then the Self alone does, and there cannot be a second. On finding the Source within, there will be no doubt, no fear, and all other thoughts centering around the ego will disappear along with the ego. Weakness or strength are in the mind. The Self is beyond mind.

Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950)