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The sage Nisargadatta Maharaj taught that spirituality is very simple, that understanding life properly, is the essence. He said that everything else that we do in the name of spirituality is pure entertainment.
People make it very complicated. We engage in all sorts of external practices hoping to attain something, to reach some spiritual height, to become enlightened. But the sage taught us that all that is found is untruths. The Truth cannot be found in the external; it is only when we let go of everything, all concepts, all striving, when we rest in Beingness, in the sense of witnessing, we come to realize, “I am That.”
“That” is the root of all that is true and eternal. The realization of “I am That” is the foundation of spirituality. The feeling of “I am…” is the birth of ego. For example: I am a spiritual person. Identification with some name or form other than just “I am” sets us up for forgetting our true nature or pure Consciousness. Anything that comes after “I am” is ephemeral, it comes into manifestation and dissolves back into Consciousness. In his talks Nisargadatta Maharaj referred to ego consciousness or our normal state of awareness and differentiated it from pure Awareness which is Consciousness or the “hum of Beingness.”
“That” is pure Consciousness. Nisargatta Maharaj urged us, “Have a firm conviction that you are pure Consciousness…This should be done spontaneously; it is the only way.” In his talks he constantly emphasized that it is essential to make a firm, determined effort to realize that we are the formless, pure Consciousness. He said that spirituality is simple and easy if we hold on to the knowledge that we are the “self-luminous reality” or Consciousness.
The realization of “I am That” is reached through self-attentiveness, the meditation on one’s own nature. As we meditate on “I am that self-luminous reality,” slowly the mind will become quiet and the formless Consciousness that is at the root of all existence, will be uncovered. Then we will come to recognize that whatever exists is not separate from ourselves.
Nisargadatta Maharaj encapsulated the heart of spirituality in these words: Nothing has to be given up. Just realize that whatever you “know” is different from who you are.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a great lesson, maybe the greatest of lessons, thank-you for sharing.
Hi Miruh,
Though the truth cannot be found in the external, it is the dilapidation of the external that leads us to explore where it really lies – inside where all of the light is making its way out.
We let light out every time we move our consciousness.
Hello Mark.
I agree, this maybe the highest teaching on what spirituality really is. Simply being!
Deep peace to you!
Hello Alexys,
The spiritual journey is a paradoxical experience isn’t it? When everything on the outside which was full of promise for making us happy begins to come apart, then we turn inward where true joy resides.
And we begin to appreciate, as you say, “We let light out every time we move our consciousness.”
May you dance in de-light of consciousness.
Miruh, you offer a gentle reminder to readers: truth is not something that requires enormous physical exertion or what people are led to believe. Rediscovering what is requires that a human being be willing to let go of conditioned beliefs and open to possibilities. Ingrained ideas are often misunderstandings that need to be experienced in practice before a person finds reason within hmself to dissolve them. Consciousness or awakening is an intensely personal journey. The more one listens to the outside world, the more one gains insight into meaningful distraction. After all, as you rediscover you exist now to learn certain lessons, then you understand how selective amnesia and self-delusion is very useful in a given moment. Everything has purpose.
Hello Liara,
Nisargadatta Maharaj was asked if children should be taught the lessons of dispassion as he teaches. He said no, that would be interfering in the Play Of Consciousness.
As you said, we do have to go through this process of coming back to our Truth, “Everything has purpose.”
Thanks for your wise words!
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