Ram's advice to quiet the Monkey Mind

The Great Seer's gained samadhi

(One Timeless Witness) Ramana Maharshi ("Great Seer" Ramana) was asked a question by a spiritual seeker trying to "meditate" (reach samadhi, stillness, unification of mind, coherence). Ramana answered him.

The mind may never stop thinking [except deep in the eight Buddhist meditative absorptions, in samadhi], but if we turn our attention to what or who [the Witness, the Watcher] is listening, suddenly the inner voice may pause or stop.

The method to follow, the practice

The voice doesn't bother me. I need stimulation!

"Bhagavan," he asked, "how do I remain as this Witness? The voice remains the moment I stop trying." The seeker expected a method, something to follow, something to practice.

Ramana's voice was gentle but firm, "You cannot remain as the Witness. You are already the Witness. The question itself comes from the mind. The seeker's face tightened, "I do not understand."

Overthinking: Why am I even alive?

(Keepswim) I don't understand what we're living for

"The mind wants a method, it wants a practice, it wants a way to achieve 'witnessing.' This is the trap. The mind cannot witness itself into existence. I can only dissolve.

More stimulation, more stimulation, more!!!

"The practice is simply to notice. When the voice speaks, what hears it? Do not fight the voice. This creates more noise: 'I should not be thinking this, I am failing at meditation, I must try harder!' More voices, more struggle."

A thought arose in the seeker right then, "This is too difficult." Instead of believing it or fighting it, he asked, 'What is aware of this thought?" The question itself dissolved the thought. For a moment, there was only silence, only presence.

So the method is not a method, not a practice?

"Do not try to become the witness," Ramana continued. "This creates a false 'doer.' 'I am witnessing now, I am doing it correctly, I am making progress.' This is still the mind wearing a spiritual mask. Simply rest in the question, 'Who is aware of this thought?'...

"In your relationships," Ramana said, "the voice says, 'They do not love you anymore.' Ask, 'Who is unloved?' The answer? 'I am.' Then ask, 'Who is this "I" that can be loved or unloved?' The story collapses."

He paused. "And [of] that shame, the sense that you have not progressed, that others have arrived somewhere you cannot reach, ask, 'Who is the one who has failed?' The answer? 'I am.'

"Then ask, 'Who is this "I" that can succeed or fail at [meditation] practice?' Its owner cannot be found. The shame does not to be argued away; it simply has no ground to stand on.

But "I am that I am," right?

(Buddhism Podcast) "I am nobody" - what it really means in Buddhism

"The witness is not cultivated," Ramana said, "it is uncovered. Every time you [mindfully] notice the voice, you are already the witness. You just have not recognized it yet."

Don't Feed the Monkey Mind

The seeker sat with this. It was so SIMPLE, it felt impossible. He had spent years trying to improve his mind, control his thoughts, become a better meditator.

And now Ramana was saying, "Just notice what is already aware [mindful]. Every example leads to the same place. The voice has an owner that cannot be found. And what remains when the owner [ego, atta, atman] disappears, that is what you are."

"Bhavagan," he said quietly, "what is the purpose of the question, 'Who am I?' if it cannot be answered?"

Ramana smiled. "The question, 'Who am I?' is not meant to be answered by the mind. It is meant to DISSOLVE the mind.

The seeker closed his eyes. The voice had nothing left to say.... He no longer needed the voice to stop.

(One Timeless Witness) Stop trying to silence the mind or stop thoughts

• Sage (philosophy)
• Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety (Daniel Smith)
• Ashtanga (The Eight Limbs of Yoga)