Nirupana 46
Sunday, July 23, 1978

As long as prana and the body are together, there is consciousness. When prana leaves the body, consciousness disappears.
What does one have to lose (by dying)?
First there is consciousness, and then the
body is sensed. One who knows consciousness is called a jnani. Your consciousness is the seed of the universe.

To be without words is to be in samadhi. You will not meet Parabrahman through intellect. What did you have before you were taught anything? Only wakefulness and sleep. The rest (all concepts) is based upon
what you have heard. Even the pride, ‘I am the seeker of Truth, I shall renounce’, etc., has to go. One who manages worldly activities is of universal nature.

The only purpose of the human body is to realize Brahman. That is the reason why all the idols we worship have a human form. The word and the existence of the word can be sensed only through the human body.
Word means Brahman (the manifest principle), existence means consciousness and, therefore, Brahman is sensed through the human body. But due to body-consciousness a man remains a man. If ‘I’ is taken aside from the body, it contains pure Brahman only. Brahman is consciousness and vice versa. The irony is that the ego that takes the body as itself is trying to know IT. Body-consciousness has to be dismissed. Nothing else has to be done.

Does your body know your consciousness? The body is a material object. Without prana, it is a corpse.
Consciousness in the Brahma-randhra knows pleasure and pain. Who is aware of consciousness? When this is clearly understood, the pleasure and the pain will go and there will be peace. In the body there is nothing else but pure Brahman. The one who knows consciousness, the feeling ‘I am’, is the knower. The knower cannot be described. Consciousness in the body is itself God. It naturally knows Brahman. It has the form of space, water, fire-luster, air, and earth; yet it is consciousness only. It is our consciousness that is acting through the five elements. It has no identification as a man or a woman.

The purpose of the body is to know Brahman. The mistake is that the same Brahman identifies itself with the body. It cannot know itself without the human body. However, it has accepted itself as body-consciousness.
The five characteristics of the body are based upon word (hearing), form (seeing), touch, taste and smell.
The vibration of Brahman in your body senses them. Therefore the human body has great importance. Do not waste a single moment without paying attention to your true nature.

The awakened consciousness is the image of Param-atman. It is easy for the one who recognizes it as God and becomes one with it. Catch hold of that Truth. Continuously remember that consciousness is your true
nature (the manifest Brahman). It has been praised with a million names.

When consciousness sprouted, it took the form of a child. What do you possess except for consciousness? It is the light. Always remember that this is your true nature. One who has this knowledge is Paramatman. It is the evidence that He is. If you understand this there is no need for austerities.

Identification with the body is the cause of turmoil. When there is no experience of a single word, while awake, it is your true nature. Your consciousness is the golden womb through which the world has been
created. Through conception the unmanifest becomes manifest. Your everyday life, wife, children are nothing but entertainment. The various spiritual methods are also entertainment.

Can anyone feel that his body is sacred?
If you do not feel sacred about yourself, then how can others feel it?
When you are convinced that you are pure ‘I am-ness’, people will come to have your holy sight. When you become convinced by the Guru-word that you are pure Brahman, pure consciousness, you will feel that your
body has become sacred. When you get realization, people will naturally want to have your darshan. One who is the ‘soul of death’ itself, how can he die?

The greatest negation of religion, the greatest sin, is to believe that the body is your true nature. Your religion is to remain as the Self. You must have the conviction of your true identity. You must recognize your relationship with your own Self. The mind gets modified and behavior changes with repetition of the mantra. The body serves as the food for this consciousness. The mind flows from prana, the vital force.
When you realize all this, at the last moment you will clearly witness that you do not die but prana leaves the body. The enlightened person has no hopes, no desires and no passions. Therefore he has no death. It is the most indescribable event when the manifest becomes unmanifest (at the time of so-called death). But the ignorant one says, ‘I am dying’, even before prana leaves the body. This is because he has not known his true nature.

The time of death of a sage is very sacred. It is more sacred than sunrise. This is the reason why their death anniversary is celebrated. Decide now who you are going to die as. The thought at the time of dying will decide the future. There should be no other thought except ‘I am perfect bliss’. Your state will be in accordance with what you take yourself to be. This is true now and it will be true then.

MEDITATIONS WITH SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ