Realisation of the Self is the greatest help that can be rendered to humanity.

 

(from "Talks with Ramana Maharshi"):

Question: They say that there are many saints in Tibet who remain in solitude and are still very helpful to the world. How can it be?

Bhagavan: It can be so. Realisation of the Self is the greatest help that can be rendered to humanity. Therefore, the saints are said to be helpful, though they remain in forests. But it should not be forgotten that solitude is not in forests only. It can be had even in towns, in the thick of worldly occupations.

Question: It is not necessary that the saints should mix with people and be helpful to them?

Bhagavan: The Self alone is the Reality; the world and the rest of it are not. The realised being does not see the world as different from himself.

Question: Thus then, the saint’s realisation leads to the uplift of humanity without the latter being aware of it. Is it so?

Bhagavan: Yes. The help is imperceptible but is still there. A saint helps the whole of humanity, unknown to the latter.

Question: Would it not be better if he mixed with others?

Bhagavan: There are no others to mix with. The Self is the one and only Reality.