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Ramana Maharshi’s highest teaching was silence.
Some people had trouble assimilating this silence, because they thought they needed to do something.
As long as people feel they need to do something, they will need something to do.
How do you help people not do anything, while making them feel like they’re doing something?
Meditation is a partial solution, because it gives the ego a limited task.
“Focus on the breath.”
This quiets the ego, but also keeps it on life-support, because you just gave it a job.
This is where a famous metaphor comes in:
Spiritual practice is like hiring a thief to catch himself.
“Being in the moment” has this limitation, assuming it’s directed toward objects.
The ego is encouraged to feel the warm, soapy water while mindfully washing the dishes.
The thief may never catch himself, but he will be squeaky clean.
Ramana Maharshi had two suggestions for people who feel they need to do something.
The first is self-inquiry, which means attending to the feeling of “I Am” that you mentioned.
Attending to “I Am” prevents you from attending to any other object.
This means you’re not doing anything, while feeling like you’re doing something, for as long as you need to feel useful.
This is very important, because it reveals the bliss that was present before you decided to do something.
The second is surrender to God.
In this approach, you surrender everything to God, including the urge to do something.
You don’t need to think about anything or do anything; God has taken care of it all.
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