See yourself first and then see the whole world as the Self

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The Teachings of BhagavanSri Ramana Maharshiin His Own WordsCHAPTER ONESUFFERINGNow, the visitor comes to the practical point: outer activityinstead of inner quest; and Bhagavan rejects that viewpointno less categorically.Visitor: What can we do to ameliorate the condition of theworld?Bhagavan: If you remain free from pain there will be no painanywhere. The trouble now is due to your seeing the worldoutside yourself and thinking there is pain in it. But both theworld and the pain are within you. If you turn inwards therewill be no pain.V.: God is perfect. Why did he create the world imperfect?A work partakes of the nature of its author, but in this case it isnot so.B.: Are you something separate from God that you shouldask this question? So long as you consider yourself the body,you see the world as external to you. It is to you that theimperfection appears. God is perfection and his work is alsoperfection, but you see it as imperfect because of your wrongidentification with the body or the ego.V.: Why did the Self manifest as this miserable world?B.: In order that you might seek it. Your eyes cannot seethemselves but if you hold a mirror in front of them they seethemselves. Creation is the mirror. See yourself first and thensee the whole world as the Self.V.: Then what it amounts to is that I should always turninwards?B.: Yes.V.: Shouldn't I see the world at all?B.: You are not told to shut your eyes to the world, but onlyto see yourself first and then see the whole world as the Self. Ifyou consider yourself as the body, the world appears to be external;if you are the Self, the world appears as Brahman manifested.11 Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, 272.