Mind Has No Independent Existence

Sri Ramana Maharshi

11-1-1946 Afternoon

Another visitor asked B, "What is the difference between the mind and the Self?"

B: There is no difference. The mind turned inwards is the Self; turned outwards, it becomes the ego and all the world. The cotton made into various clothes, we call by various names. the gold made into various ornaments, we call by various names. But all the clothes are cotton and all the ornaments gold. The one is real, the many are mere names and forms.

But the mind does not exist apart from the Self, i.e., it has no independent existence. The Self exists without the mind, never the mind without the Self.