The quintessence of what meditation means for us

The following anecdote by Ramana Maharishi explains, in a simple manner, the quintessence of what meditation means and thereby how to regulate the mind.

A devotee asked Ramana Maharishi: “Why do we need to meditate? I say it is “my mind” — then should it not listen to me and meditate by itself when I tell it to? Why does it keep running outside all the time?”

Ramana Maharishi kept silent at that time.

At about the same time, a squirrel gave birth in the ashram. Unfortunately, she was eaten by a cat a few days later. Ramana Maharishi took care of the baby squirrels by keeping them inside a cage in the mediation hall.

After a few days when everyone was sitting in the meditation hall, the same cat came inside. The baby squirrels immediately rushed out of the cage. Ramana Maharishi got up hurriedly, caught all the baby squirrels and put them back in the cage and locked it.

He then turned to the devotee who asked the question and said calmly, “These little squirrels do not have the maturity to know the dangers of the outside world, that if they go out, the cat will make a meal of them. When they get that maturity, they will go hide inside by themselves. Until they get the maturity, we have to keep putting them inside. It is the same thing with our mind. Our mind does not know that if it goes to the outside world, there is nothing but suffering. It keeps running out in ignorance. When it gets the maturity, it will go inside by itself. Until then, it is our job to put it inside with effort —which we do in meditation.”