--- 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. We think that there is something hiding reality and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/ramana-maharshi-915_dawn_there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-th_1260157.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. We think that there is something hiding reality and that this must be destroyed before reality is gained. How ridiculous! A day will dawn when you will laugh ... at all your past efforts. That which…” quote by Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/ramana-maharshi-915_dawn_there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-th_1260157.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/ramana-maharshi-915_dawn_there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-th_1260157.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/ramana-maharshi-915_dawn_there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-th_1260157.jpg) > “There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep seeking reality though in fact we are reality. We think that there is something hiding reality and that this must be destroyed before reality is gained. How ridiculous! A day will dawn when you will laugh ... at all your past efforts. That which will be the day you laugh is also here and now.” [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. The quote points out that we mistakenly view reality as something external to discover, when in fact we are reality itself; the search for a separate truth is illusory. **In simple terms:** We are reality; searching for it outside is pointless. Key Takeaway Recognize your own reality now. Themes self‑realization illusion mindfulness Mood contemplative humorous insightful Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - meditation - personal growth - spiritual practice - psychotherapy Key Concepts non‑duality self‑inquiry Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions about "reality" are you holding? - How does seeing yourself as reality change your actions? A Different Perspective The insight can be hard to accept when conditioned by external goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dawn/) [Destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroyed/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Fact Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-reality-1266297/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Here and now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/here-and-now/) [Hiding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hiding/) [Hiding Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hiding-reality-1935388/) [Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Our past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-past/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-think-317926/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) [Ridiculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridiculous/) [Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking/) [Seeking Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking-reality-4003339/) [Self realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-realization/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Your past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-past/) ## Related quotes > [There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep seeking reality though in fact we are reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-that-we-keep-seeking-reality-2/) [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/) > [It's strange that so many people think it's glamorous and fun to be on a set, I guess it shows they do a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jeter/it-s-strange-that-so-many-people-think-it-s-glamorous-and-fun-to-be/) [Michael Jeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jeter/) > [“Was I hiding from reality, on the outside looking in? 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(p. 154)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/engage-yourself-in-the-living-present-the-future-will-take-care-of/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Whatever be the means adopted, you must at last return to the Self, so why not abide as the Self here and now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/whatever-be-the-means-adopted-you-must-at-last-return-to-the-self-so/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [The Self is here and now, it is the only Reality. There is nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-self-is-here-and-now-it-is-the-only-reality-there-is-nothing-else/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [There is no reaching the Self. If Self were to be reached, it would mean that the Self is not here and now but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/there-is-no-reaching-the-self-if-self-were-to-be-reached-it-would/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Instead of indulging in mere speculation, devote yourself here and now to the search for the Truth that is ever within you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/instead-of-indulging-in-mere-speculation-devote-yourself-here-and-now/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) ## 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. 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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 Dawn quotes > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. 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Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-j-beckwith/) [Browse all 1,500 Dawn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dawn/) ```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. We think that there is something hiding reality and that this must be destroyed before reality is gained. How ridiculous! A day will dawn when you will laugh ... at all your past efforts. 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