Ramana Maharshi: On Non-Doership

‘The greatest mental tapas is to give up one’s sense of Doership with the firm conviction that not even a leaf moves except by His Will…’
– BhagavanRamanaMaharshi

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi’s teaching focusses on identifying one’s true nature by answering the query ‘Who am I?’ His core message emphasizes the importance of annihilating one’s false sense of individuality and volition. The sage recommends either the path of unconditional and total surrender to the will of the Divine or a relentless enquiry into the source of one’s thoughts to subsume and merge it in the Self or Consciousness. While Sri Ramana’s method is uncompromising in directing one’s attention to the unchanging Reality on which life as we see it appears and disappears, he categorically states that all events that a body has to go through or experience are predestined.

This book collates the sayings of Ramana Maharshi on the importance of relinquishing one’s sense of doership (kartitva) intellectually and more importantly in day-to-day living. This, according to Bhagavan Ramana, is a prerequisite to progressing on the spiritual path.