nisargadatta maharajย (photo from wikipedia, byย chraviteja)
nisargadatta maharaj (17 april 1897 โ 8 september 1981) was a popular advaita guru from mumbai, india. heย belonged to the inchagiri sampradaya, a lineage of teachers from the navnath sampradaya and lingayat shaivism.ย his guru siddharameshwar maharaj was the head of the inchegiri branch of the navnath sampradaya.
nisargadatta maharaj talks were published into many books. but the english translation of his book “i am that” by maurice frydman gave him worldwide recognition and many western seekers started visiting his place. however he never allowed any seeker to stay in his place for more than few days.
few of his popular disciples are ramesh balsekar,ย wayne dyer, sailor bob adamson, jean dunn, timothy conwayย and ramakant maharaj. his guru brother ranjeet maharaj was also revered very highly by seekers.
in his teachings he gave emphasis on meditation, devotion to guru, bhakti marg and to be sincere in the search. he had high regard for ramana maharshi teachings. in his talks, he used to often answer disciple questions. he was straight to the point in his answers and very strict in his approach. lets check few quotes of nisargadatta to understand his teachings.
nisargadatta maharaj quotes:
1. the very search for pleasure is the cause of pain.
2. freedom from desires is bliss.
3. true happiness cannot be found in things that change and pass away. pleasure and pain alternate inexorably. happiness comes from the self and can be found in the self only. find your real self (swarupa) and all else will come with it.
4.ย be fully aware of your own being and you will be in bliss consciously.
5. purify yourself by a well-ordered and useful life. watch over your thoughts, feelings, words and actions. this will clear your vision.
6. habit and passion blind and mislead. compassionate awareness heals and redeems.
7. desire is, of course, a state of mind. but the realization of unity is beyond mind
8. the sun is always there, there is no night to it; the mind blinded by the โi-am-the-bodyโ idea spins out endlessly its thread of illusion.
9. while looking with the mind, you cannot go beyond it. to go beyond, you must look away from the mind and its contents.
10. what you must witness is not your thoughts but the consciousness โI amโ.
11. god gives the body and the mind and the guru shows the way to use them. but returning to the source is your own task.
12.ย it is only your self-identification with your mind that makes you happy or unhappy. rebel against your slavery to your mind, see your bonds as self-created and break the chains of attachment and revulsion. keep in mind your goal of freedom, until it dawns on you that you are already free, that freedom is not something in the distant future to be earned with painful efforts, but perennially oneโs own, to be used!
13. all suffering is born of desire. true love is never frustrated.
14. the mind that projects the world, colours it its own way. when you meet a man, he is a stranger. when you marry him, he becomes your own self. when you quarrel, he becomes your enemy. it is your mindโs attitude that determines what he is to you.
15.ย as long as you have all sorts of ideas about yourself, you know yourself through the mist of these ideas; to know yourself as you are, give up all ideas. you cannot imagine the taste of pure water, you can only discover it by abandoning all flavourings.
16. whatever is conceived by the mind must be false, for it is bound to be relative and limited. the real is inconceivable.
17. it is your self-identification with the body, which, of course, is limited in space and time, that gives you the feeling of finiteness. in reality you are infinite and eternal.
18. there can be progress only in the preparation (sadhana). realization is sudden. the fruit ripens slowly, but falls suddenly and without return.
19.ย understand first that you are not the person you believe yourself to be. what you think yourself to be is mere suggestion or imagination. you have no parents, you were not born; nor will you die. either trust me when I tell you so, or arrive to it by study and investigation. the way of total faith is quick, the other is slow but steady. Both must be tested in action. act on what you think is true โ this is the way to truth.
20. to find a living guru is a rare opportunity and a great responsibility. one should not treat these matters lightly. you people are out to buy yourself the heaven and you imagine that the guru will supply it for a price. you seek to strike a bargain by offering little but asking much. you cheat nobody except yourselves.
21. in death only the body dies. life does not, consciousness does not, reality does not.