Even the feeling of having understood is likely to lead one into a sense of illusion, because the individual thinks he has found something to impart to others, but there is no individual.
Give up all ideas about yourself and simply be.
Do not hear with your ear but let the consciousness listen; do not let the mind struggle with the words, let the consciousness absorb the true meaning behind the words that I want to convey.
Only the people who have gone beyond the world can change the world.
V: How to get rid of useless thoughts?
M: Like wrong telephonic calls, disconnect useless thoughts; don’t entertain them. Make use of useful ones and then be free of thoughts as far as possible. You get engrossed in memories, be attentive, say ‘go, I don’t want you’.
With practice it is possible to be free of thoughts; your own thoughts become an obstacle in your spiritual progress.
V: That is why we come here; it is easier to think of him then phones.
M: Whatever I say, I have practiced, I too used to get thoughts but I remembered what my Guru said, ‘you are, so Just be’. I am least worried about others, I am concerned with myself.
Treat thoughts like one would treat a person, ask them to go. When relaxed, the thoughts come and complain, who complains about others?
They are your own thoughts, just
kick them out!
~ I AM UNBORN
M: Like wrong telephonic calls, disconnect useless thoughts; don’t entertain them. Make use of useful ones and then be free of thoughts as far as possible. You get engrossed in memories, be attentive, say ‘go, I don’t want you’.
With practice it is possible to be free of thoughts; your own thoughts become an obstacle in your spiritual progress.
V: That is why we come here; it is easier to think of him then phones.
M: Whatever I say, I have practiced, I too used to get thoughts but I remembered what my Guru said, ‘you are, so Just be’. I am least worried about others, I am concerned with myself.
Treat thoughts like one would treat a person, ask them to go. When relaxed, the thoughts come and complain, who complains about others?
They are your own thoughts, just
kick them out!
~ I AM UNBORN
Question: Is there no salvation for the world?
Maharaj: What business have you saving the world, when all the world needs is to be saved from you? Get out of the picture and see whether there is anything left to save.
~ I AM THAT, Sec. 2:116
Maharaj: What business have you saving the world, when all the world needs is to be saved from you? Get out of the picture and see whether there is anything left to save.
~ I AM THAT, Sec. 2:116
The final talks of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj - Talk on June 16, 1981:
MAHARAJ: Beyond the realm of consciousness arising from the body, there is no experience of consciousness. I want to talk about that state beyond the realm of consciousness. There are millions of names, but all these names relate to the objective world. Even the title of "parents" is also due to the bodies; as a result of the body this title of "parents" has arisen. I want you to understand clearly that without the bodily consciousness there is no 'Brahman'; the 'Brahman' is because the consciousness is and consciousness is because the body is. The body consciousness is the result of the five elements. Body consciousness and the world are not different; they are identical. Ponder over this in this fashion.
Whatever is grasped by the mind and intellect is this objective world. Although you have heard these talks, still you will be carried away by your conceptual experiences.
This body is made of food, but what is your true identity? It is something like the body having completely adjusted, like the grains which you have stored being completely adjusted. This is food only. This is the food body and the consciousness. The Absolute is your true identity. I have given you some indication of the Absolute. You have not surpassed the consciousness, and consciousness is the first step. Total consciousness is not the end.
- from 'Consciousness and the Absolute'
MAHARAJ: Beyond the realm of consciousness arising from the body, there is no experience of consciousness. I want to talk about that state beyond the realm of consciousness. There are millions of names, but all these names relate to the objective world. Even the title of "parents" is also due to the bodies; as a result of the body this title of "parents" has arisen. I want you to understand clearly that without the bodily consciousness there is no 'Brahman'; the 'Brahman' is because the consciousness is and consciousness is because the body is. The body consciousness is the result of the five elements. Body consciousness and the world are not different; they are identical. Ponder over this in this fashion.
Whatever is grasped by the mind and intellect is this objective world. Although you have heard these talks, still you will be carried away by your conceptual experiences.
This body is made of food, but what is your true identity? It is something like the body having completely adjusted, like the grains which you have stored being completely adjusted. This is food only. This is the food body and the consciousness. The Absolute is your true identity. I have given you some indication of the Absolute. You have not surpassed the consciousness, and consciousness is the first step. Total consciousness is not the end.
- from 'Consciousness and the Absolute'
What can you do on your own?
Can you sleep?
Can you wake up?
Can you excrete or urinate?
Then why is there pride of doership?
Can you sleep?
Can you wake up?
Can you excrete or urinate?
Then why is there pride of doership?
Live your life without hurting anybody. Harmlessness is a most powerful form of Yoga and it will take you speedily to your goal. This is what I call nisarga yoga, the Natural yoga. It is the art of living in peace and harmony, in friendliness and love. The fruit of it is happiness, uncaused and endless.
~ I AM THAT
~ I AM THAT
Reality is not the result of a process; it is an explosion. It is definitely beyond the mind, but all you can do is know your mind well. Not that the mind will help you, but by knowing your mind you may avoid your mind disabling you.
I AM THAT, Ch.42
I AM THAT, Ch.42
Whatever you do for the truth will take you to the truth.
Question: Are austerities and penances of any use?
Maharaj: To meet all the vicissitudes of life is penance enough! You need not invent trouble. To meet cheerfully whatever life brings is all the austerity you need.
Maharaj: To meet all the vicissitudes of life is penance enough! You need not invent trouble. To meet cheerfully whatever life brings is all the austerity you need.
Live your life without hurting anybody. Harmlessness is a most powerful form of Yoga and it will take you speedily to your goal... It is the art of living in peace and harmony, in friendliness and love. The fruit of it is happiness, uncaused and endless.
~ I AM THAT
~ I AM THAT
There are good people among your friends-
you can learn much from them. Running
after saints is merely another game to play.
Remember yourself instead and watch your
daily life relentlessly. Be earnest, and you
shall not fail to break the bonds of inattention
and imagination.
you can learn much from them. Running
after saints is merely another game to play.
Remember yourself instead and watch your
daily life relentlessly. Be earnest, and you
shall not fail to break the bonds of inattention
and imagination.
Keep quiet. Do your work in the world, but inwardly keep quiet.
Then all will come to you. Do not rely on your work for realization.
It may profit others, but not you. Your hope lies in keeping silent in your mind and quiet in your heart. Realized people are very quiet.
~ I AM THAT, Ch. 79
Then all will come to you. Do not rely on your work for realization.
It may profit others, but not you. Your hope lies in keeping silent in your mind and quiet in your heart. Realized people are very quiet.
~ I AM THAT, Ch. 79
Q: The fact is that here and now I am asking you: when did the feeling 'I am
the body' arise? At my birth? or this morning?
M: Now.
Q: But I remember having it yesterday too!
M: The memory of yesterday is now only.
Q: But surely I exist in time. I have a past and a future.
M: That is how you imagine -- now.
Q: There must have been a beginning.
M: Now.
Q: And what about ending?
M: What has no beginning cannot end.
Q: But I am conscious of my question.
M: A false question cannot be answered. It can only be seen as false.
Q: To me it is real.
M: When did it appear real to you? Now.
Q: Yes, it is quite real to me -- now.
M: What is real about your question? It is a state of mind. No state of mind
can be more real than the mind itself. Is the mind real? It is but a collection of states,
each of them transitory. How can a succession of transitory states be considered real?
Source: I Am That, Ch. 33
the body' arise? At my birth? or this morning?
M: Now.
Q: But I remember having it yesterday too!
M: The memory of yesterday is now only.
Q: But surely I exist in time. I have a past and a future.
M: That is how you imagine -- now.
Q: There must have been a beginning.
M: Now.
Q: And what about ending?
M: What has no beginning cannot end.
Q: But I am conscious of my question.
M: A false question cannot be answered. It can only be seen as false.
Q: To me it is real.
M: When did it appear real to you? Now.
Q: Yes, it is quite real to me -- now.
M: What is real about your question? It is a state of mind. No state of mind
can be more real than the mind itself. Is the mind real? It is but a collection of states,
each of them transitory. How can a succession of transitory states be considered real?
Source: I Am That, Ch. 33
RESPONSIBILITY FOR NOTHING, OR FOR ALL
M: There is a universal power which is in control and is responsible.
Q: And so, I can do as I like and put the blame on some universal power? How easy!
M: Yes, very easy. Just realize the One Mover behind all that moves and leave all to Him. If you do not hesitate, or cheat, this is the shortest way to reality. Stand without desire and fear, relinquishing all control and all responsibility.
Q: What madness!
M: Yes, divine madness. What is wrong in letting go the illusion of personal control and personal responsibility? Both are in the mind only. Of course, as long as you imagine yourself to be in control, you should also imagine yourself to be responsible. One implies the other.
Q: How can the universal be responsible for the particular?
M: All life on earth depends on the sun. Yet you cannot blame the sun for all that happens, though it is the ultimate cause. Light causes the color of the flower, but it neither controls, nor is responsible for it directly. It makes it possible, that is all.
Q: What I do not like in all this is taking refuge in some universal power.
M: You cannot quarrel with facts.
Q: Whose facts? Yours or mine?
M: Yours. You cannot deny my facts, for you do not know them. Could you know them you would not deny them. Here lies the trouble. You take your imagining for facts and my facts for imagination.
I know for certain that all is one. Differences do not separate. Either you are responsible for nothing, or for everything. To imagine that you are in control and responsible for one body only is the aberration of the body-mind.
I AM THAT ch. 35
M: There is a universal power which is in control and is responsible.
Q: And so, I can do as I like and put the blame on some universal power? How easy!
M: Yes, very easy. Just realize the One Mover behind all that moves and leave all to Him. If you do not hesitate, or cheat, this is the shortest way to reality. Stand without desire and fear, relinquishing all control and all responsibility.
Q: What madness!
M: Yes, divine madness. What is wrong in letting go the illusion of personal control and personal responsibility? Both are in the mind only. Of course, as long as you imagine yourself to be in control, you should also imagine yourself to be responsible. One implies the other.
Q: How can the universal be responsible for the particular?
M: All life on earth depends on the sun. Yet you cannot blame the sun for all that happens, though it is the ultimate cause. Light causes the color of the flower, but it neither controls, nor is responsible for it directly. It makes it possible, that is all.
Q: What I do not like in all this is taking refuge in some universal power.
M: You cannot quarrel with facts.
Q: Whose facts? Yours or mine?
M: Yours. You cannot deny my facts, for you do not know them. Could you know them you would not deny them. Here lies the trouble. You take your imagining for facts and my facts for imagination.
I know for certain that all is one. Differences do not separate. Either you are responsible for nothing, or for everything. To imagine that you are in control and responsible for one body only is the aberration of the body-mind.
I AM THAT ch. 35
Don't ask the mind to confirm what is beyond the mind.
Direct experience is the only valid confirmation.
Direct experience is the only valid confirmation.
Q: God has created me, he will look after me.
M: There are innumerable gods, each in his own universe. They create and re-create eternally. Are
you going to wait for them to save you? What you need for salvation is already within your reach. Use it. Investigate what you know to its very end and you will reach the unknown layers of your being. Go further and the unexpected will explode in you and shatter all.
Q: Does it mean death?
M: It means life -- at last.
Source: I AM THAT
M: There are innumerable gods, each in his own universe. They create and re-create eternally. Are
you going to wait for them to save you? What you need for salvation is already within your reach. Use it. Investigate what you know to its very end and you will reach the unknown layers of your being. Go further and the unexpected will explode in you and shatter all.
Q: Does it mean death?
M: It means life -- at last.
Source: I AM THAT
Being and not-being alternate and their reality is momentary. The Immutable Reality lies beyond space and time. Realize the momentariness of being and non-being and be free from both.
Source: 'I AM THAT', Ch. 88
Source: 'I AM THAT', Ch. 88
Please remember, objects are really the perceiving of them. Conversely, therefore, the perceiving of them is what the objects are. Try to understand.
When an object is seen as an object, there would have to be a subject other than the object. As the Jnani perceives, there is neither the subject that sees nor the object that is seen; only the 'seeing'.
In other words, the Jnani's perception is prior to any interpretation by the sensory faculties. Even if the normal process of objectification has taken place, the Jnani, in his perspective, has taken note of
this fact and seen the false as false. The Jnani in his undivided vision, has perceived that physically both the seer and the seen are objects, and that the functioning of consciousness itself merely produces effects in consciousness. Both the producing and the perceiving are done by
consciousness, in consciousness. Try to understand this.
In short, the Jnani's seeing is the whole-seeing, or in-seeing, or intuitive seeing, seeing without any objective quality — and that is freedom from bondage. That is what I mean when I say: "I see,
but I do not see."
When an object is seen as an object, there would have to be a subject other than the object. As the Jnani perceives, there is neither the subject that sees nor the object that is seen; only the 'seeing'.
In other words, the Jnani's perception is prior to any interpretation by the sensory faculties. Even if the normal process of objectification has taken place, the Jnani, in his perspective, has taken note of
this fact and seen the false as false. The Jnani in his undivided vision, has perceived that physically both the seer and the seen are objects, and that the functioning of consciousness itself merely produces effects in consciousness. Both the producing and the perceiving are done by
consciousness, in consciousness. Try to understand this.
In short, the Jnani's seeing is the whole-seeing, or in-seeing, or intuitive seeing, seeing without any objective quality — and that is freedom from bondage. That is what I mean when I say: "I see,
but I do not see."
The person is merely the result of misunderstanding.
In reality, there is no such thing.
Feelings, thoughts and actions race
before the watcher in endless succession,
leaving traces in the brain and
creating an illusion of continuity.
A reflection of the watcher in the mind
creates the sense of 'I am'
and the person acquires an apparently
independent existence.
In reality there is no person,
only the watcher identifying himself
with the 'I' and the 'mine'.
The teacher tells the watcher:
you are not this, there is nothing
of yours in this,
except the little point of 'I am',
which is the bridge between
the watcher and his dream.
I am this, I am that' is dream,
while pure 'I am' has the stamp
of reality on it.
You have tasted so many things
- all came to naught.
Only the sense 'I am' persisted - unchanged.
Stay with the changeless
among the changeful,
until you are able to go beyond.
Source: I AM THAT
In reality, there is no such thing.
Feelings, thoughts and actions race
before the watcher in endless succession,
leaving traces in the brain and
creating an illusion of continuity.
A reflection of the watcher in the mind
creates the sense of 'I am'
and the person acquires an apparently
independent existence.
In reality there is no person,
only the watcher identifying himself
with the 'I' and the 'mine'.
The teacher tells the watcher:
you are not this, there is nothing
of yours in this,
except the little point of 'I am',
which is the bridge between
the watcher and his dream.
I am this, I am that' is dream,
while pure 'I am' has the stamp
of reality on it.
You have tasted so many things
- all came to naught.
Only the sense 'I am' persisted - unchanged.
Stay with the changeless
among the changeful,
until you are able to go beyond.
Source: I AM THAT
Sitting quietly,
being one with the knowledge ‘I am’,
you will lose all concern with the world,
then the ‘I am’ will also go,
leaving you as the Absolute.
The ‘I am’ is the awareness before thoughts,
it cannot be put into words;
you have to ‘just be’.
being one with the knowledge ‘I am’,
you will lose all concern with the world,
then the ‘I am’ will also go,
leaving you as the Absolute.
The ‘I am’ is the awareness before thoughts,
it cannot be put into words;
you have to ‘just be’.
BE AWARE OF YOUR RICHES
Q: If a sinner, a breaker of the law, comes before you and asks for your grace, what will be your response?
M: He will get what he asks for.
Q: In spite of being a very bad man?
M: I know no bad people - I only know myself. I see no saints nor sinners, only living beings. I do not hand out grace. There is nothing I can give, or deny, which you do not have already in equal measure. Just be aware of your riches and make full use of them. As long as you imagine that you need my grace, you will be at my door begging for it.
Source: I AM THAT ch. 97
Q: If a sinner, a breaker of the law, comes before you and asks for your grace, what will be your response?
M: He will get what he asks for.
Q: In spite of being a very bad man?
M: I know no bad people - I only know myself. I see no saints nor sinners, only living beings. I do not hand out grace. There is nothing I can give, or deny, which you do not have already in equal measure. Just be aware of your riches and make full use of them. As long as you imagine that you need my grace, you will be at my door begging for it.
Source: I AM THAT ch. 97
You want peace and harmony in the world but refuse to have them in yourself.
Beings
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