I just finished reading this wonderful book on the life of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi – “The Mind of Ramana Maharishi” written by Arthur Osborne.

The book spans the entire life of Sri Bhagavan starting from his early life as Venkatraman and ending with his Mahasamadhi.  Illustrations are drawn from various devotees to give a broader picture of Sri Bhagavan’s magnanimity.

Here are some of lines I like from the book which also highlight my takeaways.  For a complete experience, please grab a copy and enjoy the read.

The explanation that Sri Bhagavan most frequently gave was that true renunciation is in the mind and is neither achieved by physical renunciation nor by the lack of it.

Mind of Gnani is like the moon in the sky at midday – it is illuminated but its light is not needed in the greater radiance of the sun which illuminates it.

Until one sees the formless Self, one cannot see the formless God.

One’s true birthday is when he enters That which transcends birth and death – the Eternal Being.  At least on one’s birthday one should mourn one’s entry into this world (samsara).  To glory in it and celebrate it is like delighting in and decorating a corpse.

There are two ways (to Gnana): either ask yourself ‘Who am I?’ (vichara) or surrender to the Guru.

The purpose of Self-enquiry is to focus the entire mind at its Source.  It is not, therefore, a case of one ‘I’ search for another ‘I’.

Sadhana clears out the filth from the subconscious brings it up to the light of day and destroy it.

He compared a person who thought he was bearing his own burdens and responsibilities to a passenger in the train who insists on carrying his luggage even though the train is taking it along just the same and a wiser passenger puts it on the rack and sits back comfortably.

First find out the Truth behind yourself, then you will be in a better position to understand the Truth behind the world of which yourself is part.

The real mouna (silence) is in the heart.  It is possible to remain silent in the midst of speech just as it is to remain solitary in the midst of people.

He who asks ‘Who am I?’ although existing as the Self, is like a drunken man who asks about his own identity and whereabouts.

The body is like a banana-leaf on which all kinds of delicious food have been served.  It is thrown away after it served its purpose.

While looking for the image for this post, I came across this wonderful website with various resources on Sri Bhagavan.  I am sure you will find it useful.

Image credit: Prahlad on Sri Ramana Maharishi