...........   

This lady here usually tells her husband what she has heard at these talks. Buttoday this is going to be very diffi¬cult for her. Because this knowledge isbeyond words. How can you put this into words?Normally the thought flow is continuous, always there. How much of that thoughtflow is useful to you? Of all these thoughts, take only those that are useful toyou. Sometimes, I command thoughts to get out: "I don't want to have anythingto do with you." Fewer than one in a thou¬sand people will ever wonder what isthe use of all these thoughts that are just flowing.V: Very few stop to think about thinking.M: When thought has no customers, thought vanishes; there is no thought.V: Yet, when he is teaching us, the thoughts are so clear and well defined. It is aparadox.M: I have no faith in any religion, including Hinduism.When you first come here, just listen to what is going on, try to understand it.Even if questions arise, don't ask them for the time being—just listen. For now Iwill be talk¬ing about that power which looks like an individual but because of whose presence the world is carrying on its busi¬ness. It may not be easilycomprehensible, but I can't be bothered to go into much detail and explaineverything at this stage. So try to understand as much as you can; other¬wise,let it go.I am talking about this power which is in the body, but which is the root of theexistence and maintenance of the entire universe. What there is in my body, is ineveryone else's body also. But everyone else is concerned more about this"corpse" that he is living with rather than that which lies within that corpse.Whatever upheavals occur in the world, they are movements in that power, for itis that which makes the world go around. And whatever events take place aremovements in that consciousness. Because we associate our¬selves with theevents, there is unhappiness. I see things from a different standpoint, from thepoint of view of the Absolute. So what is your query?V: Well, it is just the impersonality of this power, and how nobody seems to haveany capacity to control or manipulate it. Most us in the West think we canthough, which is the biggest part of the illusion. And sometimes, things seem togo one's way, but at other times they seem to go very much against what youbelieve to be right and proper.M: Whatever is happening is bound to happen. There is a series of events; ascenario is written down. So according to that scenario, things happen. If we areidentified with all sorts of things, we have certain hopes and aspirations; and if things turn out accordingly, we are happy. If the things that happen are notaccording to our wishes, we are unhap¬py. So we will continue to be happy andunhappy in an end¬less cycle, so long as we persist in this attitude. However,the moment we see things in proper perspective—that all we can do is to see

that witnessing happens, and that what¬ever happens is independent of ourthoughts—then there is a different state. There is no volition as far as anindividual is concerned; things happen on their own. When that is seen, there isalready a certain peace of mind.Whatever people complain about, the five elements are not bothered. So whyshould what happens in the five ele¬ments bother the individual? If the fiveelements themselves are not bothered by what people think and what they do ornot do, how is this source of those elements, upon which they depend,concerned? Why would it be concerned?Some time ago, I had suggested to you to read the Gita from the standpoint of Lord Krishna, not from that of Arju¬na. Now even when doing that, you mustunderstand what I meant by Lord Krishna. I did not mean Lord Krishna as anindividual personality. I meant by Lord Krishna that speck of consciousnesswithin you that I am, that "I-am-ness." That is Lord Krishna, this "I-am-ness," andyou should read the book from that viewpoint. As far as anybody is con¬cerned,could there be the world, could there be God, could there be anything at all inthe absence of that Krishna con¬sciousness?As Prescribed by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj • 97 V: No, I don't believe so.M: The moment this is clearly understood, that is it. There is nothing further tobe done. And whatever people contin¬ue to do or think they are doing, they arepurely a concept based on a certain image they have of themselves. And oncethey act according to that image, they will be susceptible to all kinds of unhappiness. Whatever happens is a mere movement in that consciousness.Once this is understood, nothing remains to be done: there is nothing you can orneed to do.V: There remains a kind of paradox in the sense that when one embarks on aconsideration of the spiritual life, certain decisions have to be made to minimize,or at least econo¬mize, one's worldly activities so that one may have more timeavailable for such consideration. There is also some sense of urgency involved inthis, probably still because of the illusion of being this person. But if in theenlightened state there is simply this posture of passive witnessing, how is it thatthese decisions get made and how is it that they are carried through?M: Only this concept that you have about yourself, that is what decides. Whetherhe be a big man, an important man, or a small man, whatever he decides, orthinks he decides, it is purely a concept. That is, the individual as an objectthinks he can decide, but in fact no object can decide. If he does not understand,then the whole thing is conceptual. It is to be understood that the body-mindcomplex is merely an object, a phenomenon; and no phenomenon can act. Sothe concept is very much involved in your body-mind complex. You will never be able to grasp your true nature; for this, the center of perceptionmust change. If that center of perception is a phenomenon, then whichever wayyou look, that looking is still from the center of the phenomenon. So unless that

center of perceiving itself is changed to the Noumenon, you will never get anidea of your true nature.Who has decided that I am the body? Purely a concept. This concept is, of course, on the level of the mind. So it is only a concept that I am the body. And itis equally a con¬cept that whatever action takes place, it is done by this body;that is, there has been an "objectivization," a concept that I am this object, thebody. From then on, it is the con¬cept that whatever the body does, is my doing.But once this concept is understood—that is, once the object is known as anobject, the false as the false—then you take the standpoint of the subject. Onceyou take that standpoint, the object disappears. And you view whatever takesplace as a happening in the condition, and you are not concerned with it; you aremerely viewing it. That I am the body and an individual personality means I am time-bound. Thereis a measure of time. That same concept which has taken to saying I am thebody, will say, I am born and will die. Who says, I will die? Only the con¬cept.Once you are away from the concept, the subject has no time in it. There is nospace-time concept as far as the subject is concerned.I repeat, not only is it this concept that says "I am the body," but it is alsoconscious of the fact that it is time- bound; thus, it says, I will die. But the onewho knows the concept is not time-bound; he is quite apart from the con¬cept. The body dies. This means what? It means only the thought "I am," that concept,has disappeared. Nothing has happened to the knower of the whole happening.One who knows that this is a concept and that the con¬cept will disappear, doesnot have the experience of either the birth, the happiness or unhappiness, or thedeath.V: Maharaj was saying that we are all subject to this power, and we can donothing over and against this power; it is really just a concept in our mind, and itnever works out. Well, in a sense, from the standpoint that we come to him, thearising of enlightenment in an individual would seem to be quite apart from anyvolitional activity.M: The whole object of the spiritual search or quest—there is no quest really, butwe just use that word here for the sake of communication—is to understand theconcept as a concept, the false as the false. There is nothing to be acquired. That I am God or that I am Christ, Allah, Muhammad, or whatever it is, is stillbased on the concept "I am." Because, unless that concept is reneged, all thatyou build on it will still be an illusion. So ultimately, only when this "I-am-ness"itself disappears, will you be free of the concept. So long as the basic concept "Iam" is there, the conceptual element cannot disappear. It is the concept itself that has given vari¬ous names to itself, but it is still the same concept."Without this basic concept "I am," where is the world, God, where is Ishwara,Christ, Allah, anyone? Before this concept of "I am" came on you, were you happy or unhappy? Was there even any feeling of happiness or unhappi- ness?Any of the dualities?

V: I don't know.M: I had no experience of happiness or unhappiness because this concept "I am"was not there.V: Nor was there any awareness of that fact.M: Whatever conceivable thing or feeling, or thought, it can come only whenthere is this basic "I-am-ness." The basic "I-am-ness" itself was not there. So,who was to know, who was to be aware? The very feeling of existence was notthere. That I am, that I exist, the feeling, the con¬cept itself was not there, sowho was to have any feeling? Who was to have any awareness, who was to haveany con¬sciousness?If I am a yogi, a king, or whatever, this consciousness that I am, this "I-am-ness,"imagination, mind, call it what you like, is only this concept. Before this conceptarose, was there anything? There was nothing. There was not even anyhappiness or unhappiness: the perfect state.V: I think the other thing that was absent and gives rise to so may of ourquestions is the sense of time. For example, why was I not aware in the past? If there is some understanding, there is no past.M: Exactly. When one talks of consciousness, one is likely to think in terms of anindividual. But understand that it is not really the individual that hasconsciousness, but it is the con-sciousness that assumes innumerable forms.I keep repeating that the average person will not under-stand this. Why?Because it is too simple! To grasp, one wants something, some form, someshape. That "something" is born, and is going to die or disappear is allimagination, all an illusion—nothing is born. It is the child born of a barrenwoman. Who calls it that? Even that is a concept. Because in the absence of thebasic concept "I am," there is no thought, no awareness, no consciousness of one's existence. [To one of the visitors in particular] What about that actor friendof yours? Will he reach the state of absorbing what has been said now?V: [To the interpreter] Tell him, he is at home licking his wounds. Another feelingor idea I just wanted to put to Maharaj, while on the subject of concepts,especially this fundamental concept "I am," is that we tend to confuse it with allthe crude, ill-formed thoughts that...but in a sense this concept is like the mostsubtle activity right at the very touchstone of consciousness; you can miss itsfundamental nature if you just consider it in the way that we ordinarily use theword "concept."M: One in ten million will grasp the subtle part of the whole thing.    ..................................

..............   

M: For meditation, you should sit with identification with the knowledge "I am"only and have confirmed to yourself that you are not the body. You must dwellonly in that knowledge "I am"—not merely the words "I am." The design of bodydoes not signify your identification. And also, the name which is given to you orto the body is not your cor¬rect identity. The name which is imposed on you, orthe name which you have heard about you—you have accepted that name asyourself. Similarly, since you have seen your body, you think you are the body.So you have to give up both these identities. And the indwelling knowledge thatyou are, without words, that itself you are. In that identity, you must stabilizeyourself. And then, whatever doubts you have, will be cleared by that veryknowledge, and everything will be opened up in you. The indwelling principle "you are" without words, let us call it atman, the self. You are that self, and you are not the body. With that conviction, you mustmeditate, that I am that self only. The self or the atman sheds the body, whichevent we normally call "death." But to the self there is no death.I repeat: The atman discards the body. It is the body's death, but the self or theatman does not die. But if one says, I am the body, then surely he is going tohave death.Who understands with the help of intelligence, hold on to that "who," not theintelligence. Catch that. Be that.V: My question is, is there a useful way for arriving at mok- sha and are thereparticular signs for distinguishing which paths are the best for us?M: You just listen to all this, whatever is being said here; follow that, abide in thatand he that. Don't ask me about other paths. The path I am expounding, youlisten to that, and abide in it.As Prescribed by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj • 139 V: How are we supposed tocome to know this?M: Can you not listen to the talk, can you hear it? So as you hear it, you be that.As I said earlier, time is moving fast. Can you stop all your questions? You startedvery well; you asked very rele¬vant questions.V: I am interested especially in practice, how to start it.M: Forget all about physical disciplines in this connection. I am telling you thatthe indwelling principle "I am," the knowledge that you are, you have to be that. Just be that.With that knowledge "I am," hold on to the knowledge "I»am.

V: It is difficult to abandon attachment to action; even in this way it is not easyalways to remember "I am," the truth of the atman.M: You know you are sitting here; you know you are, do you require any specialeffort to hold on to that "you are"? You know you are; abide only in that. The "Iam" principle without words, that itself is the God of all Ishwaras.V: Is devotion not useful as an initial step?M: First step or second step, I have the first and final step at the same time! Theknowledge "I am," without words, itself is the Ishwara. He, Ishwara, does notwant another (Maya) agent or intermediary. Direct.V: The problem we are falling into is weakness of mind sometimes. This dims theawareness.M: Who falls a prey to the weakness of the mind? You are talk¬ing from the bodyidentification point of view. The real "you" is not the body. It cannot be cut topieces by any weapon.V: It is always the false identification.M: If you identify yourself as the body, such an identity must be let go of,sacrificed. Your real identity has no body and no thought. And that self, thespontaneous knowledge "I am," you are. Since the self is not the body, the self isneither male nor female. Thus, to understand correctly, you must be bodiless. You must be bereft of thebody sense. It is no use trying to understand from the identity of body. You mustfulfill this vow, that you are not the body but solely that indwelling principle "Iam."V: So in staying with that principle, there is no effort involved?M: What do you mean by "effort"? And what would you like to have, to achieve?V: I am still trying to be "I am."M: You know that only, where is the question of any more effort? Effortlessly, youare that. Only you must stand for it with conviction.V: Effort then is only concerned with the sense of body consciousness? Becauseone is still clinging to a body. It is kind of a trap. Why can't one really be in thestate of "I am"? Because there is still some clinging and one wants to be freefrom that clinging.M: You need not try to get yourself detached from the bodily sense. Once youabide in this, that you are the indwelling principle only and you are not the body—that is enough. When you have developed this firm conviction, where is thequestion of trying to get detached from the body identity? [One of Maharaj'sclosest devotees, and also a relative of his, died a month back. So he gave thefollowing example.] That Mr. H. is no more. Now I know he is not. Similarly, you

must have the conviction "I am not the body." Such type of conviction you musthave, that I am not the body-mind, but only that knowledge "I am." If it clicks, itwill click instant¬ly. You see, I am not attached to any of you. Why I feel likethat? Because I don't feel anything about my own self, and neither am Iinterested in this consciousness. Suppose that it quits. I am not the leastconcerned, because I am not that consciousness—a step beyond what I amtelling you to fol¬low. First of all, we are to abide in consciousness; that is thefirst step. Then I am not that consciousness either. And, this way of understanding should be shared in toto by everybody else. Even to say"understanding," is not the cor¬rect word—to abide in the truth. The way I do,the same applies to everyone else. There is a couplet that states the real sage instantly transforms any devotee intohimself, his true Self. The jnani—and he is at that highest stage—is stabilized inthe destination, in the terminus. He is already in his destina¬tion. And becausehe is firmly stabilized in the destination, there is no movement for him.We normally talk about various paths; paths are indica¬tive of movement. I donot accept paths. You are in the des¬tination itself. That is my teaching.V: Yet, at other times Maharaj has admitted that there is dis-cipline involved. Hesaid that in I Am That, for beginners.M: This also must be clearly understood that you are not a male nor a female. If at all you are going to say you are a male or a female, that means you are tryingto understand yourself as body. This happening is like an accident. Sup¬posethere is an accident and one limb is gone. You know the limb is gone; that is abodily expression. Similarly, to call yourself a male or a female, is a bodilyexpression; that is, with reference to body—identification with the body.With firm conviction, you abide in this knowledge "I am" only: bereft of body-mind sense, only "I am." If you dwell therein, if you be that only, in due course itwill get mature. And it will reveal to you all the knowledge. And you need not goto anybody else.V: Since I have been with Maharaj, this week and a half past, and through thisvery statement that he has just made, it has become very clear to me that it isthe sadhana that matters, not the gathering of concepts that mean nothing atall. They don't change anything, they don't serve your liberation in any way. They are just garbage. The only thing, I feel, you have to follow your profession;that is, what your body is destined to do. Meaning can happen there. Ever since IAm That came into my life, that is the only teacher I have ever gone to. Until Iwas blessed with this opportunity to be in Maharaj's compa¬ny. And I don'tintend to go anywhere else.M: Whatever you have said, I agree with; but why is it like that? It is because theSelf cannot have an image. You can¬not say I am like this.

V: Beyond any verbal formulation.

M: It cannot be consumed by the senses or the mind.V: Maharaj said previously that it is not a question of cleaning the mind, but onlyof abiding in the process that is "I am That." In the very moment, for example,that I feel a preoccupation with my work, my art, my son or with something, inthat very moment that preoccupation or that joy or that sorrow is disturbing myconsciousness, I am That. Even if I know I am That. This preoccupation is thesensation that I feel.M: Your consciousness is getting disturbed in you. Don't drag on, tell itsuccinctly. But you as consciousness should not get disturbed, because it cannotbe touched by any con¬clusion outside. Because that conclusion is notconscious¬ness. Let us suppose you have got a big bank balance, andsomething happens elsewhere. Your balance is not suddenly in debt, is it?Similarly, your consciousness cannot be dis¬turbed by any disturbances.    ...................

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[Addressing a new visitor, who announces he has practiced Patanjali Yoga fortwenty years] In your study of yoga over the past twenty years, what identityhave you found, what image have you formed about yourself? What is your truenature, have you come upon that? What do you earn your living by?V: Interior decorator. Furniture design.M: With all your study of yoga, Patanjali, and sutra for twenty years, have youachieved whatever you set out to achieve?V: I am enjoying permanent happiness, twenty-four hours, non-stop, since twentylong years.M: For what purpose have you come here?As Prescribed by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj . 179 V: Just to hear...[inaudible]...fortelling you of my experience.M: Those names that you mentioned, I have heard of them; I have not made astudy of them, and they are only names to me. You may have come having heard there is a jnani here. But I am telling you, Ihave no knowledge of any ancient texts, or anything. The only thing I know isthis conscious¬ness, this beingness, the knowledge that I am there. And I knowhow and why or in what circumstances it has come, and the value of thatconsciousness. That is all.I started from the fact that I had no knowledge of the birth and how I got thisbody and the consciousness. I was surprised that this body and theconsciousness should have come suddenly without my knowledge, without mypermis¬sion. So whatever my thought and my knowledge, it started from there,inquiry started from that point. But Patanjali and pranayama and kundalini, allthese are only names to me; I have never practiced anything of that sort.V: I also feel it is not necessary. This Patanjali system I also tried, studying itfrom 1973 to 1976 without the help of any books or anything. I was trying toachieve mental concen¬tration, since I felt most miserable; physically andmentally I was so disturbed that I wanted peace more than anything else. So thatwas my training. To achieve mental concentra¬tion, I went through a lot of trouble...went into seclusion, in one room, where I sat for about one and a half months.M: How am I concerned with your whole history? It is nobody's business.With all your study for twenty years, and having reached such a high standard,there was no need for you to come here.V: Maybe I'll come once or twice, that is all—three times, maximum, that isenough.

M: Everybody is equal here. We are not concerned with the knowledge that youhave acquired.V: This is my existence.INTERPRETER: Maharaj is speaking for himself. The other day, you mayremember, he was talking about the resolution of his original inquiry, when hereached the conclusion that whatever knowledge he had acquired was allignorance; then he got the final satisfaction and peace. A man with a keenintellect who comes here, within a very short time— say 10, 15 minutes—shouldbe able to arrive at the conclu¬sion that all knowledge is ignorance and that thepersonality is a fraud. But you are not accepting Maharaj's conclusion that allknowledge is ignorance. So Maharaj tells you to do a lot of meditation and findout: How did I get this first consciousness, this knowledge of existence? I did notask for it, but suddenly, automatically, spontaneously, it has come about withoutmy knowledge. How has it happened? Come to the solution of this mystery!V: Originally it is there, that is why it has come.M: When all the four Vedas ultimately came to the conclu¬sion that it wasbeyond their power, what will your words achieve?V: Nobody's words can achieve...No word can achieve this thing. When the wordstops, what state is there?M: If he thinks he is a jnani, he is wasting his time; only that person who thinkshe has no knowledge should come here. But people like you who think they haveknowledge, there is no use in your coming here; you are wasting your time.V: No, I don't think I have knowledge.As Prescribed by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj • 181 M: No use your coming here,you are wasting your time!V: I don't think anything like that. If somebody thinks it is a problem...I don'tthink...I: Please...we come here to listen to his words, and we don't intend to make anycomments that are irrelevant. Therefore, whatever he says and that is beingtranslated...if you have a question on that...M: What happens to the people who come here? They come because theyconsider themselves ignorant and want knowl¬edge. So when they listen, theyget knowledge and ultimate¬ly they give it up again as being unnecessary. Butthose who consider themselves to be a jnani, who consider that they haveknowledge, they are wasting their time by coming here. For a person who is a jnani to come here...no jnani will come here. For coming here itself is anadmission that he is not a jnani; therefore, it would be impossible for him tocome here. Only someone who is in need of knowledge will come here.

What is the extent of my knowledge? Nobody will ask: Bombay, where have youcome from and give me any details of it. Nor would Bombay ask anyone: Wherehave you come from and what are your antecedents? That is the extent of myknowledge. Advaita means unicity. In that, how can there be two: one askingabout another?I: Maharaj says his centre of seeing is no longer from the phenomenal; it lies inthe Noumenon. But persons come here and to that extent we are phenomena. Therefore, in dealing with Us he is forced to see and speak from the point of viewof the phenomenon. Otherwise, as far as he is con¬cerned, he is totally in theNoumenon. And so whatever happens in the phenomenal realm cannot and doesnot affect him.People call to invite him and he appreciates that, but he says: "What is the use? Idon't have an instrument with which to enjoy that hospitality or whatever isbeing offered. The instrument no longer functions. Anything consideredeminently acceptable cannot be accepted because it has no effect on me sincethere is nothing with which I can enjoy it. But that is a position which I am unableto express, or is not to be expressed to others. All worldly wisdom and activ¬itiesare directed toward acquiring worldly happiness. Whatever one sees, one gets interested in."        ...............

Consciousnessand the Absolute
The final talks of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Edited byJean Dunn

May 1, 1980
Questioner:
How does a jnani see the world?
Maharaj:
A jnani is aware of the origin and the value of consciousness, this beingness, which hasspontaneously dawned on him. This same consciousness plays a multitude of roles, some happy,some unhappy; but whatever the roles, the jnani is merely the seer of them. The roles have no effecton the jnani.All your problems are body-mind problems. Even so, you cling to that body. Since you identifywith the body-mind, you follow certain polite modes of expression when you talk. I do not. I mightembarrass you; you may not be able to take what I say. I have no sense of propriety.You are bound by your own concepts and notions. Actually, you love only this sense of "I";you do everything because of this. You are not working for anybody, nor for the nation, but only for this sense of "I" which you love so much.
Q:
But I like to act; I like to work.
M:
All these activities go on, but they are only entertainment. The waking and deep sleep statescome and go spontaneously. Through the sense of "I", you spontaneously feel like working. Butfind out if this sense of "I" is real or unreal, permanent or impermanent.The "I" which appears is unreal. How unreal it is I have proven. The moment the "I" is provenunreal, who is it who knows that the "I" is unreal? This knowledge within you that knows the "I" isunreal, that knowledge which knows change, must itself be changeless, permanent.You are an illusion,
Maya,
an imagination. It is only because I know that I'm unreal that I knowyou also are unreal. It is not like this: Because I am real, you are unreal. It is like this: Because I amunreal, everything is unreal.Consciousness depends on the body; the body depends on the essence of food. It is theConsciousness which is speaking now. If the food-essence is not present, the body cannot exist.Without the body, would I be able to talk?Can you do anything to retain this sense of "I"? As it came spontaneously, so will it go. It willnot forewarn you by announcing, "I am going tomorrow."A doubt has arisen and you are trying to find the solution, but who is it who has this doubt?Find out for yourself.

May 10, 1980
Maharaj:
How did I get to the truth that I prevail everlastingly? By meditating on the meditator, by"I Amness" merging into "I Airiness". Only then did I understand what my true nature is. The greatSages meditated in the same way. Nobody had told me how to do it. I did not seek this knowledgeexternally. It sprouted within me.I meditated like the Sages and saw a vision. Initially, there was space, and in the space I sawthe principles embodied. Actually, they have no bodies, but in my vision they had bodies. I calledthem
Prakriti
and
Purusha,
the male and female aspects of cosmic consciousness.Until the union of
Prakriti
and
Purusha,
the dynamic, all-pervading consciousness lay in adormant state. In the union of the male and female aspects, emissions were planted in the female of these figures. When these emissions merged in the womb they started taking form. After ninemonths of gestation, an infant was delivered.That consciousness which was planted in the womb was the causal body, the
"lingadeha".
Inthat
"lingadeha",
the knowledge "I Am" was in a dormant condition. This is what I saw inmeditation.
Questioner:
How did we lose this pure consciousness state?
M:
Every being experiences the
Isvara
state, either directly or potentially, but he is so wrapped upin this objective world that he loses his identity. You must know what this "I Am" principle is. Itappears spontaneously and with its appearance begins the riddle of conceptual life.
Q:
How do I start this search for my Self?
M:
Start from the very beginning. In this gross world I began with my parents, because I knew fullwell that my principle was already dwelling there in the collection of their bodily elements out of which I emanated. But I came to the conclusion that I could not be that principle which came fromthe mother's body.There is nobody here who is 100 years old. Does that mean that 100 years ago you did notexist?
Q:
I don't know.
M:
The one who said, "I don't know" must have been there; in short, you were not like this, but youmust have been something. You must comprehend this correctly. 100 years back I was not like this;so, the one pointing this out must have been there. You did, and do, exist unto eternity.What I am expounding does not relate to worldly knowledge. You do not want to give upeither worldly knowledge or so-called spiritual knowledge, and yet, through these worldly concepts,you want to understand the riddle of your existence, and that is precisely why you are not able tounderstand.In truth, your state is one of Absolute bliss, not this phenomenal state. In that non-phenomenalstate you are full of bliss but there is no experience of its presence. In that state there is no trace of misery or unhappiness, only unalloyed bliss. What am I talking about?
Q:
Ananda (bliss).
M:
Because you want some satisfaction according to your own concepts, you try to qualifyunalloyed bliss. The term
"ananda"
has significance only when it signifies that the bodily beingnessis available to experience it. When you are in deep sleep and you start to see forms, you are actually  dreaming. Aren't those dream forms coming from your own beingness? Whatever you see, even inthe waking state, doesn't it come from your own beingness which is dwelling within the body?In deep sleep, consciousness was in a dormant condition; there were no bodies, no concepts, noencumbrances. Upon the arrival of this apparently wakeful state, with the arrival of the concept "IAm", the love of "I Am" woke up. That itself is
Maya,
illusion.
Q:
Does Maharaj mean that the experiencer of the three states is the Self?
M:
That is the
Saguna Brahman
state; because of your beingness the other states are. The dreamworld is very old, it is not new. You see old monuments in your dreams. Your beingness is very powerful.The emergence of this beingness itself constitutes time. Everything is beingness, but I, theAbsolute, am not that. In meditation, there was space, when suddenly two forms appeared out of no-form,
Prakriti
and
Purusha,
and the quintessence of these forms was the knowledge "I Am".There were no forms, then suddenly forms appeared, just as in the dream world.You as a dreamer are sleeping on the bed, but in your dream world you see a body and youthink it is you, and you are doing everything through this dream body. In that same way, bodies arecreated in the so-called waking state.The
Prakriti
and
Purusha
state has no form and is eternal, having neither a beginning nor anend. But from it come the five elements, and with them, simultaneously, the body is formed at themoment that time is first experienced. This process is ever continuing, with the body-form merelyindicative of the opportunity to experience time. This explanation will not reach home to everyone.At the moment of so-called death, with what identity would you like to depart?
Q:
As Parabrahman.
M:
The Absolute, which I call
Parabrahman,
what is it like? What you are doing is multiplyingwords with more words, concepts with more concepts.
Q:
Maharaj must take me out of this.
M:
Can you define what you are?
Q:
I must have your blessing to understand what I am.
M:
You are very adept at word-games. While I am talking about knowledge that is beyond this phenomenal world, you are trying to understand through worldly concepts and words. Give up allthese concepts and inquire into the nature of your beingness. How did you happen to be? Ponder it!The real blessing of the Guru comes when your knowledge itself sprouts inside you.

May 14, 1980
Maharaj:
Doctors have diagnosed that this body has cancer. Would anyone else be as joyful as Iam, with such a serious diagnosis? The world is your direct experience, your own observation. Allthat is happening is happening at this level, but I am not at this level. I have dissociated myself from
Sattva Guna,
beingness.The Ultimate state in spirituality is that state where no needs are felt at any time, where nothingis useful for anything. That state is called
Nirvana, Nirguna,
that which is the Eternal and UltimateTruth. The essence and sum total of this whole talk is called
Sat-guru Parabrahman,
that state inwhich there are no requirements.After the dissolution of the universe, when no further vestige of creation was apparent, whatremained is my perfect state. All through the creation and dissolution of the universe, I remain ever untouched. I have not expounded this part: my state never felt the creation and dissolution of theuniverse. I am the principle which survives all the creations, all the dissolutions. This is my state,and yours, too, but you don't realize it because you are embracing your beingness. Realizing it isonly possible when one gets support from invincible faith, from that eternal
Sat-guru Parabrahman.
This state, this
Parabrahman
principle, is eternal and is also the
Sat-guru.
It is theeternal property of any devotee of a Guru.

July 29, 1980
Questioner:
Why did this consciousness arise?
Maharaj:
You are both the question and the answer. All your questions come from your identification with the body. How can any questions relating to that which was prior to the body andconsciousness be answered? There are yogis who have sat in meditation for many, many yearsseeking answers to this question, but even they haven't understood it. And yet you are complaining.
Q:
It is a great mystery.
M:
It's a mystery only to the ignorant. To the one not identified with the body, it is no longer amystery.
Q:
Maharaj cannot convey it to us?
M:
I keep telling you but you don't listen.
Q:
Does Maharaj see us as individuals?
M:
There are no individuals; there are only food bodies with the knowledge "I Am". There is nodifference between an ant, a human being, and
Isvara;
they are of the same quality. The body of anant is small, an elephant's is large. The strength is different, because of size, but the life-force is thesame. For knowledge the body is necessary.
Q:
How did Maharaj get the name Nisargadatta?
M:
At one time I was composing poems. Poems used to flow out of me and, in this flow, I justadded Nisargadatta. I was reveling in composing poems until my Guru cautioned me, "You areenjoying composing these poems too much; give them up!"What was he driving at? His objective was for me to merge in the Absolute state instead of reveling in my beingness.This was the way I realized knowledge, not through mental manipulation. My Guru said, "Thisis so," and for me, it was finished! If you continue in the realm of intellect you will becomeentangled and lost in more and more concepts.Consciousness is time flowing continuously. But I, the Absolute, will not have its companyeternally because consciousness is time bound. When this beingness goes, the Absolute will notknow "I Am". Appearance and disappearance, birth and death, these are the qualities of beingness;they are not your qualities. You have urinated and odor is coming from that - are you that odor?
Q:
No, I am not.
M:
This beingness is like that urine. Can you be that beingness?
Q:
Absolutely not!
M:
You require no more
sadhana.
For you, the words of the Guru are final.

October 5, 1980
Maharaj:
I have no individuality. I have assumed no pose as a person. Whatever happens in themanifest consciousness happens.People identify me with their concepts and they do what their concepts tell them. It isconsciousness which is manifest, nothing else. Who is talking, who is walking, who is sitting?These are the expressions of that chemical "I Am". Are you that chemical? You talk about heavenand hell, this Mahatma or that one, but how about you? Who are you?In meditation, one sees a lot of visions. They are in the chemical, the realm of your consciousness, are they not? All these things are connected only to that birth-chemical. You are notthis chemical "I Am"!Spiritual knowledge should not be studied; it is knowledge derived from listening. When thelistener hears it, and accepts it, something clicks in him.This "I Amness" is otherness; it is an expression of duality.

November 8, 1980
Questioner:
Why is it that we naturally seem to think of ourselves as separate individuals?
Maharaj:
Your thoughts about individuality are really not your own thoughts; they are allcollective thoughts. You think that you are the one who has the thoughts; in fact thoughts arise inconsciousness.As our spiritual knowledge grows, our identification with an individual body-mind diminishes,and our consciousness expands into universal consciousness. The life force continues to act, but itsthoughts and actions are no longer limited to an individual. They become the total manifestation. Itis like the action of the wind - the wind doesn't blow for any particular individual, but for the totalmanifestation.
Q:
As an individual can we go back to the source?
M:
Not as an individual; the knowledge "I Am" must go back to its own source. Now, consciousness has identified with a form. Later, it understands that it is not that form andgoes further. In a few cases it may reach the space, and very often, there it stops. In a very fewcases, it reaches its real source, beyond all conditioning.It is difficult to give up that inclination of identifying the body as the self. I am not talking toan individual, I am talking to the consciousness. It is consciousness which must seek its source.

Outof that no-being state comes the beingness. It comes as quietly as twilight, with just a feel of "I Am"and then suddenly the space is there. In the space, movement starts with the air, the fire, the water,and the earth. All these five elements are you only. Out of your consciousness all this has happened.There is no individual. There is only you, the total functioning is you, the consciousness is you.You are the consciousness, all the titles of the Gods are your names, but by clinging to the body you hand yourself over to time and death—you are imposing it on yourself.I am the total universe. When I am the total universe I am in need of nothing because I ameverything. But I cramped myself into a small thing, a body; I made myself a fragment and becameneedful. I need so many things as a body.In the absence of a body, do you, and did you, exist? Are you, and were you, there or not?Attain that state which is and was prior to the body. Your true nature is open and free, but you cover it up, you give it various designs.

November 9, 1980
Questioner:
Should the type of dispassion which Maharaj is teaching us be taught to children?
Maharaj:
No. If that's done, they'll have no ambition to grow further; they must have certainambitions, certain desires, for their proper growth.The one who has fully investigated himself, the one who has come to understand, will never tryto interfere in the playof consciousness. There is no creator with a vast intellect as such; all this play is going onspontaneously. There's no intellect behind it, so don't try to impose yours to bring about any change;leave it alone. Your intellect is a subsequent product of this process, so how can your intellect takecharge of or even evaluate, the whole creation? Investigate your self; this is the purpose of your  being.Spirituality is nothing more than understanding this play of consciousness—try to find outwhat this fraud is by seeking its source.

November 12, 1980
Maharaj:
The "I

Amness", the manifest
Brahman,
and
Isvara
are all only one; ponder over this andrealize it. This is a rare opportunity, one where all has been explained in great detail, so take fulladvantage of it.You are the manifest
Brahman.
I have told you many times what your true state is, but, throughforce of habit, you again descend into body identification. A stage has now arrived at which youmust give up this bodily identification. The bodily activities will continue until the body drops off, but you should not identify with them.
Questioner:
How are we to do this?
M:
You can watch the body, so you are not the body. You can watch the breath, so you are not thevital breath. In the same way, you are not the consciousness; but you have to become one with theconsciousness. As you stabilize in the consciousness, dispassion for the body and for theexpressions through the body occurs spontaneously. It is a natural renunciation, not a deliberateone.It does not mean that you should neglect your worldly duties; carry these out with full zest.
Q:
Shouldn't we rediscover the freedom of the little baby from the body?
M:
Understand the source of child. The child is a product of the sperm of the father and the ovumof the mother. Consciousness is there in the child as it is in the parents; it is always the sameconsciousness whether in the child or the adult. There is only one consciousness. You must becomeone with and stabilize in that consciousness, then you transcend it. That consciousness is your onlycapital. Understand it.To what extent do you know yourself?
Q:
I have held the feet of Sat-guru, beyond that I don't know anything.
M:
You must do that, but you should understand the meaning of "feet of
Sat-guru."
Understandthat, as movement begins with the feet, so movement begins from no-knowingness to knowingness.When the knowingness occurs, that is
Sat-guru
movement. Go to the source for that movementwhere the "I Amness" begins. The effort of the one who has arrested that movement will not go towaste. Holding the feet of the
Sat-guru
is the boderline between knowingness and no-knowingness.

November 17, 1980
Questioner:
Don't we have to discard all knowledge?
Maharaj:
You must have a thorough knowledge of this consciousness, and having knowneverything about the consciousness you come to the conclusion that it is all unreal, and then itshould drop off. Having listened to these talks, sit and meditate, "That which I have heard, is it trueor not?" Then you will understand that this is also to be discarded.The principle which can pass judgment on whether the world is or is not, that principleantedates the world. That by which everything is known, whether it is or is not - who knows this?When I say
Parabrahman,
then you say that you understand. Names are merely an instrumentfor communicating. Do you understand what I am driving at?
Q:
The jnani knows that this is all an illusion, that there is no path; but if from within the illusion,one is convinced that there is a path, and there's somewhere to go, does it make sense to usetechniques to get to that further illusion?
M:
Illusion - is it a word or not?
Q:
It's a word that relates to a concept.
M:
That is also a name only, is it not?
Q:
Yes.
M:
So what illusory word do you want that will satisfy you?...........................