--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To ask the mind to kill itself is like…" description: "\"To ask the mind to kill itself is like making the thief the policeman. He will go with you and pretend to catch the thief, but nothing will be gained. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/ramana-maharshi-915_asks_to-ask-the-mind-to-kill-itself-is-like-m_2883219.jpg" --- # To ask the mind to kill itself is like making the thief… ![“To ask the mind to kill itself is like making the thief the policeman. He will go with you and pretend to catch the thief, but nothing will be gained. So you must turn inward and see where the mind rises from, and then it will cease to exist.” quote by Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/ramana-maharshi-915_asks_to-ask-the-mind-to-kill-itself-is-like-m_2883219.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/ramana-maharshi-915_asks_to-ask-the-mind-to-kill-itself-is-like-m_2883219.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/ramana-maharshi-915_asks_to-ask-the-mind-to-kill-itself-is-like-m_2883219.jpg) > “To ask the mind to kill itself is like making the thief the policeman. He will go with you and pretend to catch the thief, but nothing will be gained. So you must turn inward and see where the mind rises from, and then it will cease to exist.” [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. Self‑directed inquiry reveals the mind’s source, allowing it to dissolve. **In simple terms:** Look inside to end mental conflict. Key Takeaway Practice inward reflection to quiet the mind. Themes self‑inquiry mindfulness spirituality Mood contemplative serene Type spiritual instructional When to use this quote - meditation - stress reduction - creative problem solving Key Concepts non‑dualism consciousness Questions to Reflect On - Where does your mental chatter originate? - Can silence replace mental struggle? A Different Perspective Inner work can be challenging without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cease to exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cease-to-exist/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Policemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policemen/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thieves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thieves/) ## Related quotes > [“When the mind rises punned in the flames of self-realization, distance between human and human disappears as if it never existed in the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/when-the-mind-rises-punned-in-the-flames-of-self-realization-distance/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [How to get rid of the mind? Is it the mind that wants to kill itself? The mind cannot kill itself. So your business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/how-to-get-rid-of-the-mind-is-it-the-mind-that-wants-to-kill-itself/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [It appears to me impossible that I should cease to exist, or that this active, restless spirit, equally alive to joy and sorrow, should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/it-appears-to-me-impossible-that-i-should-cease-to-exist-or-that-this/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [Cease to exist and do not only dare to live, but actually live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanyengwa-ndapewoshali-shapwanale/cease-to-exist-and-do-not-only-dare-to-live-but-actually-live/) Mwanyengwa Ndapewoshali Shapwanale > [To lose faith in oneself is to cease to create; to cease to create is to cease to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-tisdale-hobart/to-lose-faith-in-oneself-is-to-cease-to-create-to-cease-to-create-is/) [Alice Tisdale Hobart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-tisdale-hobart/) > [“If your work is your self, when you cease to work, you cease to exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-soojung-kim-pang/if-your-work-is-your-self-when-you-cease-to-work-you-cease-to-exist/) Alex Soojung-Kim Pang > [We cease to exist every time we go to sleep. That break in awareness includes self-awareness. If you aren't there, you won't know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rock-cowles/we-cease-to-exist-every-time-we-go-to-sleep-that-break-in-awareness/) [Rock Cowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rock-cowles/) > [“Poetry will die when love and pain cease to exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/poetry-will-die-when-love-and-pain-cease-to-exist/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [Everything that is incomprehensible does not, however, cease to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/everything-that-is-incomprehensible-does-not-however-cease-to-exist/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [When you cease to exist, then who will you blame?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/when-you-cease-to-exist-then-who-will-you-blame/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Apart from pleasure, beauty also kindles imagination, hope and encouragement. 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Should you cease to exist, so would I.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-collins/juliana-should-you-cease-to-exist-so-would-i/) [Kathleen Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-collins/) > [If we one day cease to exist, what will be remarkable is that we were ever here at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/if-we-one-day-cease-to-exist-what-will-be-remarkable-is-that-we-were/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [The Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-democracy-will-cease-to-exist-when-you-take-away-from-those-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There has always been war. War is raging throughout the world at the present moment. And there is little reason to believe that war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/there-has-always-been-war-war-is-raging-throughout-the-world-at-the/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) ## 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 Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. 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