Best Worship: Meditation on the Self

Sri Ramana Maharshi

15-4-1946 Morning

I said, “Bhagavan himself advises us to go round the Hill, for instance. I know Bhagavan is also not against going round the image in a temple. There are people here who have the faith that going round Bhagavan is as good as going round the temple-image or the Hill. How can we object to that?” Bhagavan said, “I don’t say such things should not be done. But the best going round is going round yourself, or the bhava expressed in the verse quoted. The other pradakshinams are not condemned. The jnani, though he knows that meditation on the Self is the best worship, will join in all the other kinds of worship for the good of others and as an example to them. In fact, he may observe all the other ways even more correctly and steadfastly than those who follow only those paths and know nothing of jnana. That is referred to in the following verse, also occurring in Ribhu Gita. The gist is, “If the Guru refers to dvaita when teaching advaita to the disciple, it is not to be regarded as his real teaching any more than one should regard as real the grief of one who weeps because he is paid to do so.”

When Bhagavan quoted the first verse above extracted, I went and brought the book for his reference. He took it in his hand and opened it. The book opened exactly where the passage is found. Such a thing has happened many others times too.