Greatest Help to Humanity
Mr. Evans-Wentz:
D.: They say that there are many saints in Tibet who remain in solitude and are still very helpful to the world. How can it be?
M.: It can be so. Realization of the Self is the greatest help that can be rendered to humanity. Therefore, the saints are said to be helpful, though they remain in forests. But it should not be forgotten that solitude is not in forests only. It can be had even in towns, in the thick of worldly occupations.
D.: It is not necessary that the saints should mix with people and be helpful to them?
M.: The Self alone is the Reality; the world and the rest of it are not. The realized being does not see the world as different from himself.
D.: Thus then, the saint’s realisation leads to the uplift of humanity without the latter being aware of it. Is it so?
M.: Yes. The help is imperceptible but is still there. A saint helps the whole of humanity, unknown to the latter.
D.: Would it not be better if he mixed with others?
M.: There are no others to mix with. The Self is the one and only Reality.
D.: If there be a hundred Self-realized men will it not be to the greater benefit of the world?
M.: When you say ‘Self’ you refer to the unlimited, but when you add ‘men’ to it, you limit the meaning. There is only one Infinite Self.
D.: Yes, yes, I see! Sri Krishna has said in the Gita that work must be performed without attachment and such work is better than idleness. Is it Karma Yoga?
M.: What is said is given out to suit the temperament of the hearers.
D.: In Europe it is not understood by the people that a man in solitude can be helpful. They imagine that men working in the world can alone be useful. When will this confusion cease? Will the European mind continue wading in the morass or will it realise the truth?
M.: Never mind Europe or America. Where are they except in your mind? Realize your Self and then all is realized. If you dream and see several men, and then wake up and recall your dream, do you try to ascertain if the persons of your dream creation are also awake?
Talks With Ramana Maharshi
30th January, 1935
Talk 20
