Thursday 26 March 2015

Direct understanding beyond which there is nothing


Nisargadatta Maharaj always laid great emphasis on the fact that a man with a dull intellect would never be able to understand even vaguely what he was talking about, and that he would ask such a person to do japa or some other Sadhana so that his psyche could gradually become purer and enable him, perhaps in due course, to get the necessary intellectual capacity that could lead to that direct understanding beyond which there was nothing to aspire for or work for. He also made it absolutely clear that the intellect he was talking about was not the kind of intellect that enabled people to pass examinations and earn university degrees but the kind of intellect that has a large content of intuitive insight. What Maharaj had in mind regarding the type of intellect that was necessary to absorb what he was trying to convey is beautifully illustrated by the well-known story of the Chinese sage Hui-Neng, who is said to have had his first enlightenment when, even as a boy, he happened to hear someone reading the Vajrachhedika. He felt so overwhelmed that almost without any further thought he set out for Hung-Jan’s monastery for a formal initiation and spiritual training. It would, therefore, seem that he had the original satori without the benefit of any formal teaching from any master, and, what is more, he is known to have been at that time an illiterate peasant. It may be recalled that Ramana Maharshi too had his awakening without the guidance of any specific Guru when one day without any warning, he was overtaken by a sudden violent fear of death; he laid himself down and intensely considered the phenomenon of death; what does death mean? What is it that is dying? Out of that intensity of concentration came with the deepest possible conviction that it was the body that dies and that he was the spirit transcending the body. In his own words, “From that moment onwards the “I” or Self focused attention on itself… Absorption in the self continued unbroken from that time on.”

excerpts from Explorations into the Eternal - 
 

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Consciousness also will leave - Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj

 

It is this conscious presence that you are, so long as the body is there. Once your body is gone, along with the vital breath, consciousness also will leave. Only that which was prior to the appearance of this body-cum-consciousness, the Absolute, the ever-present is your true identity. That is what we all really are. That is reality. It is here and now. Where is the question of anyone reaching for it?

~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

And liberation from which bondage? - Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj

 

You are that, which is prior to the arrival of I-am-ness. What has come upon your true nature is like an illness, or an eclipse for a certain duration, at the end of which the physical form will 'die' and will be buried or cremated and will thereafter mingle with the five elements of which it was made. The life-force of breath will disappear and mingle with the air outside the body; consciousness will be freed of the limitation of the body and the three Gunas. In other words, the process will have reached its allotted end. Now, let us come back to your problem: Who is it that needs the Guru's grace in order to attain 'liberation'? And liberation from which 'bondage'?

~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

In deep sleep, did the phenomenal world exist for you - Pointers from Nisargadatta

 

When you were in deep sleep, did the phenomenal world exist for you? Can you not intuitively and naturally visualize your pristine state - your original being - before this body-consciousness condition intruded upon you unasked, unaided? In that state, were you conscious of your 'existence'? Certainly not.

~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

Change your viewpoint - Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj

 

Ah! Now we shall come to the truth. Please understand as truth, that you are not an individual, a 'person'. The person, that one thinks one is, is only a product of imagination and the self is the victim of this illusion. 'Person' cannot exist in its own right. It is the self, consciousness, that mistakenly believes that there is a person and is conscious of being it. Change your viewpoint.

~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

See the transient as transient - Pointers from Nisargadatta

 

Just see the transient as transient, the unreal as unreal, the false as false, and you will realize your true nature. You have mentioned your grief. Have you ever looked at 'grief' in the face and tried to understand what it really is?

~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

Where is the question of your merging with the consciousness? - Experience of Nothingness

 

You are consciousness. Where is the question of your merging with the consciousness? Your consciousness means "you are". "You-are-ness" and consciousness are not separate. The "you are" state itself is the consciousness.

~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

For the jnani, there is no sense of knowledge - Experience of Nothingness

 

The ignorant one has to acquire knowledge, because knowledge is valid for the ignorant. For the jnani, there is no sense of knowledge because he dismisses knowledge as unreal. Therefore, he does not entertain knowledge. That is why he has no knowledge.

~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

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About Nisargadatta Maharaj

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj was an Indian spiritual teacher and philosopher of Advaita (Nondualism), and a Guru, belonging to the Navnath Sampradaya. Sri Nisargadatta, with his direct and minimalistic explanation of non-dualism, is considered the most famous teacher of Advaita since Ramana Maharshi. In 1973, the publication of his most famous and widely-translated book, "I AM THAT", an English translation of his talks in Marathi by Maurice Frydman, brought him worldwide recognition and followers.

According to Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, the purpose of spirituality is simply to know who you are. His discussions are not for academic scholars. He is a rebellious spirit, abrupt in his style of discussion, provocative, and immensely profound, cutting to the core and wasting little effort on inessentials. He talked about the 'direct way' of knowing the Final Reality, in which one becomes aware of one's original nature through mental discrimination, breaking the mind's false identification with the ego, knowing that "You are already That".

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