--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no greater mystery than this…" description: "\"There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep seeking reality though in fact we are reality.\" — Ramana Maharshi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/ramana-maharshi-915_facts_there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-th_3218552.jpg" --- # There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep… ![“There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep seeking reality though in fact we are reality.” quote by Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/ramana-maharshi-915_facts_there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-th_3218552.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/ramana-maharshi-915_facts_there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-th_3218552.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/ramana-maharshi-915_facts_there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-th_3218552.jpg) > “There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep seeking reality though in fact we are reality.” [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It points out that our search for an external reality is actually a search for the self, because we are the reality. **In simple terms:** We are the reality we seek. Key Takeaway Turn inward to discover truth. Themes self‑discovery spirituality philosophy Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - meditation - psychotherapy - creative work - conflict resolution Key Concepts non‑duality consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing yourself as reality change your actions? - What practices help you experience this insight? A Different Perspective The statement may overlook the value of external inquiry and empirical evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) [Self realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-realization/) ## Related quotes > [There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep seeking reality though in fact we are reality. We think that there is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-that-we-keep-seeking-reality/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [The primary cause of disorder in ourselves is the seeking of reality promised by another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-primary-cause-of-disorder-in-ourselves-is-the-seeking-of-reality-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No poetic phantasy but a biological reality, a fact: I am an entity like bird, insect, plant or sea-plant cell; I live; I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/no-poetic-phantasy-but-a-biological-reality-a-fact-i-am-an-entity/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) > [What we call reality is in fact nothing more than a culturally sanctioned and linguistically reinforced hallucination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing-more-than-a-culturally/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“What is comprehended is embedded into reality as fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/what-is-comprehended-is-embedded-into-reality-as-fact/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [The state of self-realization, as we call it, is not attaining something new or reaching some goal which is far away, but simply being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-state-of-self-realization-as-we-call-it-is-not-attaining/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [The 'I' casts off the illusion of the 'I' and yet remains 'I'. Such is the paradox of Self-realization. The Realized do not see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-i-casts-off-the-illusion-of-the-i-and-yet-remains-i-such-is-the/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [“Fact is reality. It is what happens to you and I. If I eat fat and I put on weight, then fat is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-graham/fact-is-reality-it-is-what-happens-to-you-and-i-if-i-eat-fat-and-i/) Patrick Graham > [It is a well known fact that reality has liberal bias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-is-a-well-known-fact-that-reality-has-liberal-bias/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“The idea of one's normality is delusional fact of the reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-limbu/the-idea-of-one-s-normality-is-delusional-fact-of-the-reality/) [J. Limbu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-limbu/) > [Love is a greater mystery than death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-greater-mystery-than-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no greater mystery to me than that of light traveling through darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-greater-mystery-to-me-than-that-of-light-traveling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Character is too deep to catch in a single storyline. What really moves us - what makes the great stories, and there aren't so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-scofield/character-is-too-deep-to-catch-in-a-single-storyline-what-really/) [Sandra Scofield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-scofield/) > [The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-mystery-of-love-is-greater-than-the-mystery-of-death/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The mystery in how little we know of other people is no greater than the mystery of how much, Laurel thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/the-mystery-in-how-little-we-know-of-other-people-is-no-greater-than/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) ## More by Ramana Maharshi > [Then all this earth shines like one house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/then-all-this-earth-shines-like-one-house/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Silence is most powerful. Speech is always less powerful than silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/silence-is-most-powerful-speech-is-always-less-powerful-than-silence/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Meditation is sticking to one thought. That single thought keeps away other thoughts; distraction of mind is a sign of its weakness; by constant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/meditation-is-sticking-to-one-thought-that-single-thought-keeps-away/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [The more you prune a plant, the more it grows. So too the more you seek to annihilate the ego, the more it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-more-you-prune-a-plant-the-more-it-grows-so-too-the-more-you-seek/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Think of God; attachments will gradually drop away. If you wait till all desires disappear before starting your devotion and prayer, you will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/think-of-god-attachments-will-gradually-drop-away-if-you-wait-till/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [That which rises and sinks is made up of what it rises from. The finality of the universe is the God Arunachala. Meditating on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/that-which-rises-and-sinks-is-made-up-of-what-it-rises-from-the/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Food affects the mind. For the practice of any kind of yoga, vegetarianism is absolutely necessary since it makes the mind more pure and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/food-affects-the-mind-for-the-practice-of-any-kind-of-yoga/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [The mind of one meditating on a single object becomes one-pointed. And one-pointedness of mind leads to abidance in the self. Real attainment is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-mind-of-one-meditating-on-a-single-object-becomes-one-pointed-and/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Eating, bathing, going to the toilet, talking, thinking, and many other activities related to the body are all work. How is it that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/eating-bathing-going-to-the-toilet-talking-thinking-and-many-other/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Knowing the Self, God is known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/knowing-the-self-god-is-known/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Every moment there is creation, every moment destruction. There is no absolute creation, no absolute destruction. Both are movement, and that is eternal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/every-moment-there-is-creation-every-moment-destruction-there-is-no/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [The entire Universe is condensed in the body, and the entire body in the Heart. Thus the Heart is the nucleus of the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-entire-universe-is-condensed-in-the-body-and-the-entire-body-in/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [The state of self-realization, as we call it, is not attaining something new or reaching some goal which is far away, but simply being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-state-of-self-realization-as-we-call-it-is-not-attaining/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [God illumines the mind and shines within it. One cannot know God by means of the mind. One can but turn the mind inwards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/god-illumines-the-mind-and-shines-within-it-one-cannot-know-god-by/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [We are so engrossed with the objects, or appearances revealed by the light, that we pay no attention to the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/we-are-so-engrossed-with-the-objects-or-appearances-revealed-by-the/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) [Explore all 329 Ramana Maharshi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) ## More Facts quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [He bombarded me with words, of all things, apparently clueless to the fact that the predawn hours rendered me incapable of coherent thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/he-bombarded-me-with-words-of-all-things-apparently-clueless-to-the/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [We did an episode where she goes out to get a job and she gets fired because she's not good. They hire a babysitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-heaton/we-did-an-episode-where-she-goes-out-to-get-a-job-and-she-gets-fired/) [Patricia Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-heaton/) > [Le biologiste passe, la grenouille reste. The biologist passes, the frog remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/le-biologiste-passe-la-grenouille-reste-the-biologist-passes-the-frog/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) [Browse all 19,906 Facts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep seeking reality though in fact we are reality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ramana Maharshi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-that-we-keep-seeking-reality-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Facts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-that-we-keep-seeking-reality-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/ramana-maharshi-915_facts_there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-th_3218552.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/ramana-maharshi-915_facts_there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-th_3218552.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/ramana-maharshi-915_facts_there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-th_3218552.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep seeking reality though in fact we are reality.” — Ramana Maharshi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ramana Maharshi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no greater mystery than...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-that-we-keep-seeking-reality-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-that-we-keep-seeking-reality-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```