Spiritual insights from the life of Sri Nisargdatta Maharaj

 

The Real doesn't die, the Unreal never lived. The Real You is Timeless and beyond Birth & Death

Sri Nisargdatta Maharaj (birth name Maruti of year 1897) was a spiritually enlightened humble soul of Maharashtra. He acquired Vision, Cosmic Consciousness and a deeper meaning of Eternal life with spiritual blessings of His revered Guru Sri Sideharameshwar Maharaj of Navnath Sampradaya. Having gone beyond the I -AM-THE BODY idea, He acquired a joyful mental state, brimming with Peace and Glory while attaining Self Realization. He repeatedly asserted that our real identity is Birthless, Deathless, Timeless, Spaceless, Infinite, Eternal Absolute Witness.

 He adopted Question / Answer method of sharing His ideas and thoughts with scores of people including several Western and Indian luminaries and authors. A few of them namely Maurice Frydman, Bob Adamsons, Stephen Howard Wolinsky, Ramesh Balsekar and Sachin Kshirsagar authored outstanding books and writings based on their dialogues and conversations with Him over a period of time. Some of the key learnings from his life, picked up from the Spiritual Classic" I AM THAT" written by Maurice Frydman, are shared below.

• The" I Am" is certain while " I Am This" is not. Without the" I Am", which determine the Inner, there is nothing. False ideas about it lead to bondage, while right knowledge about it leads to freedom and happiness.
• Refuse all thoughts except one" I Am" beyond all perceivable & conceivable; the mind will rebel in beginning, but with patience & perseverance, it will yield & become quiet. Believe in " I Am", the Totality of our being, the ocean of consciousness with nothing to desire. With " I Am" into focus of attention, the unconscious will flow into the conscious without any extra effort. Watch yourself ceaselessly.
• Me and Mine are at the root of all conflict & misery. Be free of them. Study the prison you have built around yourself. Try to discover what You are not ( the body, the feelings, the thoughts, the desires, time, space,----) as well as what You are in Reality ( timeless, spaceless, causeless,---).
• Your " Pure Self" exists without the body and mind and your life goal should be to discover it, understand it & cherish it. Love your " Pure Self", which is universal and not personal. Do not pretend to be what You are not and never refuse to be what You are. Self Realization is the greatest virtue.
• Look at yourself, towards yourself and into yourself. By giving attention to your living, feeling & thinking, you free yourself from these and go beyond. Your personality dissolves & only Witness remains. This " Pure Self" is beyond both knowledge & power and its nature is Pure Awareness and Pure Witnessing. As Pure Witness, we feel no urge to interfere, making no choices, no decisions; only watch what is going on.
• There are no steps to Self Realization; nothing gradual, it happens suddenly and is irreversible. A Realized man thinks, feels and acts integrally for the entire universe.
• The world is full of desires-- holy or unholy. All  desires are bad, some are worse than others; yet these are expressions of our longing for happiness  These originate from self and are merely the fixation of mind on an idea. Get these out of its groove by denying them attention. Freedom from desire mean no urge to satisfy it; no action at our end.
• Leave the desirables to those who desire and change the current of your desire from Taking to Giving. The passion for Giving and Sharing will lead to pure radiance of Love and wash the idea of an external world out of your mind.
• Consciousness is like a cloud in the sky and the water drops are the Content. The cloud needs Sun ( akin to a Guru) to become visible and focused. While Consciousness comes and goes ( is in Time), Awareness shines immutably. Pure Awareness ( Reality) is beyond consciousness and is the Supreme Guru ( God).
• In Personality mode of consciousness, you desire and fear, while in Witness mode of consciousness, you are unaffected by pain or pleasure & hence not ruled by events.
• The words of a Guru ( a realized man) are a seed that can not perish. Guru is beyond the body and mind; beyond consciousness, space and time; beyond understanding and description.
• The greatest Guru is your Inner Self. He is the supreme teacher and He alone can take you to your goal. Confide in Him. 
• Make all efforts for a Truthful life. Truth is Loving and Lovable and includes all, accepts all and purifies all. It is Untruth , that is a source of trouble---, it always wants, expects, demands and is always in search  of confirmation and reassurance. Truth can only be experienced.
• Reality is neither subjective nor objective; neither mind nor matter. Reality is all & nothing, the totality & the exclusion, the fullness & the emptiness, fully consistent & paradoxical. One can not speak about it, one has to lose oneself in it and experience it.
• Real, steps into your life once you Let Go your attachments to the universe. It leads you to warmth & love for humanity and all other things in the universe. Be devoted to the Real which is  infinite, the eternal heart of Being. 
• Real Happiness is unselfishness and it can not be found in things of the world that change and pass away.. Pleasure and Pain alternate inexplorably. Find your Real Self and happiness will flow out of this Self.
• Inner Peace demands harmony between the inner and outer. Do what you believe in. मंत्र , as well as Meditation can help in realizing Inner Peace,
• A मंत्र  is primarily energy in action. It acts on you and your surroundings. It is like a road to walk on and the sound of मंत्र  creates the shape which embodies the Self. However, total benefits from recitation of मंत्र  or silent जाप  can be felt only by experience,
• The primary purpose of Meditation is to become conscious of and becoming familiar with our Inner life. It leads to quietening of mind and realization of Self as a pure Witness. It also aims at elimination of तमस and रजस . It is a सात्विक  activity. Pure सत्वा  is Harmony and leads to freedom from sloth and restlessness. In Meditation, try to watch your thoughts as you watch the street traffic-- people come and go and you register without any response. Meditation helps in untying your bonds and casting your moorings.
• Self Surrender is the surrender of all Self Concerns and it comes when you realize your true nature. Complete Self Surrender is liberation.
• Enlightenment is the highest goal; once you have it, nobody can take it away.
• Do Natural Things in natural way-- rejoicing, suffering ---, as life unfolds these.
• कर्मा  is the law that works for Righteousness in life. It is the healing hand of God.
• Make Humanity's desire your own and work for it. When you desire for common good, the whole world desires for you, it can not fail.

The views and thoughts of Sri Nisargdatta Maharaj demonstrate His deep belief in Non- Duality, underscoring that everything in the universe is an inseparable part of the Eternal Spirit. He had achieved a state of mind which believed that everything in the world is uncaused. Let Come what comes and Let Go what goes. Share willingly and gladly all you have with whoever needs.  Further, when you are no longer attached to anything, you have done your share and the rest will be done for you by that POWER which prompted your heart to desire TRUTH. Let me end the blog with a Quote from His thoughts.

To realize the Eternal is to become Eternal, the Whole, the Universe with all it contains. All responses from the Whole must be right, effortless and instantaneous.