Biography
Nisargadatta Maharaj was an Indian spiritual teacher who lived and taught in the bustling city of Mumbai. A simple shopkeeper who sold bidis (Indian cigarettes), he received initiation from his guru Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj and attained realization within three years of dedicated practice.
Unlike many teachers who withdrew from worldly life, Nisargadatta continued running his small shop while receiving seekers in his modest apartment. His teachings were recorded in the book "I Am That," which has become one of the most influential spiritual texts of the modern era, introducing countless Western seekers to non-dual wisdom.
His teaching style was direct and uncompromising, often challenging students' assumptions and pointing relentlessly to that which exists prior to consciousness itself. He emphasized the importance of staying with the sense "I Am" as the gateway to recognizing one's true nature beyond all states and experiences.
Teaching and methods
Abidance in "I Am": Nisargadatta taught seekers to hold onto the pure sense of being—the feeling "I Am" before it becomes "I am this" or "I am that." Through sustained attention to this primal sense of existence, one eventually recognizes what lies beyond even this sense. He emphasized understanding over practice, urging students to investigate their assumptions about reality and identity until the truth becomes self-evident.
Selected quotes
“ One has to work in the world; naturally, carry on your worldly affairs, but understand that which has come about by itself — that is, this body, mind and consciousness — has appeared in spite of the fact that nobody has asked for it. I did not ask for it; it has come upon my original state which is timeless, spaceless and without attributes. So that whatever has happened is doing this business in the world. The life force and the mind are operating, but the mind will tempt you to believe that it is 'you.' Even if the mind tells you that you are the one who is acting, do not believe the mind. ”
“ You must come to a firm decision. You must forget the thought that you are a body and be only the knowledge 'I Am,' which has no form, no name. Just be. ”
“ Be friendly with your undifferentiated state, your true Self. There was never any division, but you are under the delusion that you are not one with it. I have understood my true nature: it is always alive, but not in the way everybody thinks. ”