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
“ Refuse all thoughts except one: the thought 'I am.' The mind will rebel in the beginning, but with patience and perseverance it will yield and keep quiet. Once you are quiet, things will begin to happen spontaneously and quite naturally, without any interference on your part. ”
“ To go beyond the mind, you must be silent and quiet. Peace and silence, silence and peace - this is the way beyond. Stop asking questions. ”
“ Don't you see that it is your very search for happiness that makes you feel miserable? Try the other way: indifferent to pain and pleasure, neither seeking, nor refusing, give all your attention to the level on which 'I am' is timelessly present. Soon you will realize that peace and happiness are in your very nature and it is only seeking them through some particular channels that disturbs. Avoid the disturbance, that is all. To seek there is no need; you would not seek what you already have. You yourself are God, the Supreme Reality. To begin with, trust me, trust the teacher. It enables you to make the first step — and then your trust is justified by your own experience. ”