Skip to main content

Musings on 'Never Mind the Mind' of Ramana Maharshi


The only burden that we have is the mind. Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi asks one to "Never mind the mind". This saying (Talks - 97) of Bhagavan Ramana is popular among devotees. The conversation between Bhagavan Ramana and the devotee goes thus:

D.: How to control the mind? 

M.: What is mind? Whose is the mind? 

D.: Mind always wanders. I cannot control it. 

M.: It is the nature of the mind to wander. You are not the mind. The mind springs up and sinks down. It is impermanent, transitory, whereas you are eternal. There is nothing but the Self. To inhere in the Self is the thing. Never mind the mind. If its source is sought, it will vanish leaving the Self unaffected.

D.: So one need not seek to control the mind? 

M.: There is no mind to control if you realise the Self. The mind vanishing, the Self shines forth. In the realised man the mind may be active or inactive, the Self alone remains for him. For the mind, the body and the world are not separate from the Self. They rise from and sink into the Self. They do not remain apart from the Self. Can they be different from the Self? Only be aware of the Self. Why worry about these shadows? How do they affect the Self?

In the normal sense, we think of mind control only to remove the negative traits, negative emotions in the form of worries etc in us. We also involve in mind control to check it from straying. Ramana says, "If the enquiry is made whether mind exists, it will be found that mind does not exist. That is control of mind. Otherwise, if the mind is taken to exist and one seeks to control it, it amounts to mind controlling the mind, just like a thief turning out to be a policeman to catch the thief, i.e., himself. Mind persists in that way alone, but eludes itself"- Sri Ramana Maharshi (Talk 43)

We also try to develop positive qualities in us like practising certain disciplines like Ahimsa, checking one's temper, quelling hatred, jealousy, inferiority and superiority complex etc etc... While they are good, the truth is that all our attempts to become noble is exercised within the ambit of the mind. This should be fine if we are into personality development. In the Ramana way we try to dissolve the personality, the individuality, in the pure being, which is our true nature. Bringing in good thoughts will purify the mind. However, in the direct path such as the Ramana way, we simply enquire to see if the mind exists and on finding it doesn't, one simply is in his natural state of being.

In the direct path, the focus is to find the source (the being or I AM)  of the 'individual I' or the ego (the mind) which is responsible for the rising of thoughts. With the practice of Self-enquiry, one stays in the Source. 

In the very beginning of sadhana, for some, it is natural to use “Never mind the mind" as a tool to stay at the source. It is only too natural for us to pacify ourselves when thoughts arise by saying "Oh it is only the mind". When clarity emerges with sadhana, we realise that even such reminders are basically thoughts. In the moment of such realisation, we experience the pure being, the peaceful state as thoughts dissolves in it. 

Sometimes thoughts spring up in a gush from past happenings that bog one down. The urge is to quell them immediately. The more we try to, the more they arise causing restlessness. Self-enquiry-'For whom are these thoughts?', 'Where-from do these thoughts arise?', 'Who am I', may also seem mechanical. It may seem as if we have lost all control. Ramana says 'never mind the mind' for its nature is to wander! We will have to inhere in the Self, which is the source. This becomes involuntary when practise becomes stable. We then focus directly on the source and not on thoughts.  The thoughts recede to a hazy background when the ever-present Self, the source takes over; stronger the attention on the source, dimmer the thoughts become. This may be true when we have considerably practised Self-enquiry that to shift the attention to the source in a moment becomes possible. 

Stray thoughts, worries of the future, thoughts arising from the past and other forms of thoughts as mere shadows of the ego ghost (I thought). Experiencing the source or staying centered  in it proves them non-existent.

'Never mind the mind' becomes natural, automatic and rather an involuntary process to stay in the source, to stay in peace with continuous practise by the Master’s Grace. 

By the way, why do we muse on "Never mind the mind", when the Master has said just that! lollll :) Lets not think, lets us just be!

Comments

cs said…
Helpfull Guidance

THEY ALSO READ

Waking Up To Reality From The Three States Of Consciousness

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya It is not some dry philosophy, but the day to day happening in each of our lives, from birth to death that we have missed to pay attention to- the waking state, the dream state and the deep sleep state. "The world is a changing phenomena, an illusion." A spiritual comrade uttered in the course of a casual conversation. The conversation drifted to the three states of consciousness-the waking, dreaming and the deep sleep states. They are alternating phases. A little scrutiny, and we can understand about these three states, which we experience every day from birth to death. By the term "Real", we mean "Original", in the things that we encounter in our day to day life. We call "Original" because there is no change in them ever. So are the three states of consciousness, the waking state, where we engage in day to day activities; and the dream state, where we move about in our dreams with a different set o...

Self-Reliant-Are We Really?

Om Namo Bhagavate Shri Ramanaya Self-Reliant-Are We Really?                            Self-reliance  would normally mean being reliant on work, wealth, intelligence, social strength, relationships etc. Are we really Self-reliant in the truest sense while basing our reliance on these? When one is reliant on the aforesaid aspects, one is indirectly reliant on the mind. They are based on intelligence and emotions which are thought forms which constitute the mind.  In all of these impermanence is engrained. Such reliance is simply attachment which causes pain when their life elapses, or when they fail, while monotony and discontent are unavoidable outcomes of a successful life at some point. The mind hunts for something new. We are reliant on them owing to the belief somewhere; deep down, that they are going to exist for ever. It is only on...

The Illusory World When It Becomes a Reality!

Just a shift in our perception of ourselves can bring about a change in how we look at the world. The Illusory nature of the world can be understood by first-hand experience from our day to day life  of  the waking state, dream state and the deep sleep state, the three states in Consciousness. We actually perceive and experience the world through the mind. Our mind is nothing but a collection of thoughts, which have the ‘I thought’ as the primary thought. The ‘I thought’ is an impostor that springs from Consciousness donning the appearance of Consciousness, which is the REAL I. If but for the thoughts, there is no such thing called the mind, states Ramana Maharshi. In deep sleep, the mind is lost along with the world, but when we wake up, the individual self (identification with the body and the mind), or the ‘I thought’ rises after which we begin to experience the world for the day. When we view the world as the individual self or the ‘I thought’ in th...