Amazingly, when it appears, it is accepted as real. Understand this state of affairs the concept “I Am” comes spontaneously and goes spontaneously. M: You did not have this concept “I Am” in the course of the nine months in the womb. Who did it? Has it not happened spontaneously? M: How did you get this “I Amness”? Did it come spontaneously, or did you try for it? As the Absolute, you were free from all concepts, including the primary concept “I Am” suddenly you were caught up in the “I Amness”. These talks represent Maharaj fighting dwindling vitality and forgoing philosophic explanations, in order to directly speak his truth to any with the ears to hear: The stern, bare-bones talks of the last year of his life are collected in Consciousness and the Absolute. I Am That is a good introductory collection of Maharaj’s dialogues from the early 1970s. It is the primary, the unborn, the ancient source of all that is. M: Truth is not a reward for good behaviour, nor a prize for passing some tests. Does it mean that I am not eligible for truth? I know it and I can convey it, but only if you are open to it. M: Truth can be experienced, but it is not mere experience.

Q: Experience is subjective, it cannot be shared. Here are a few Nisargadatta Maharaj quotes: His style is straightforward with emphasis on the earnestness of the disciple. No ashram formed around him, and he appointed no successor, so his teaching is preserved in a series of dialogues collected into books. Nisargadatta Maharaj died on September 8, 1981. I could not forget his words and by not forgetting - I have realized. Don’t doubt my words, don’t disbelieve me. My guru, before he died, told me: Believe me, you are the Supreme Reality. Simply by following his guru’s advice, Nisargadatta discovered his true nature as described here: A giant among spiritual teachers, he was an uneducated shopkeeper when a friend introduced him to his guru. Nisargadatta Maharaj, like Ramana Maharshi, is often described as a simple, humble and enlightened man.

I Am That by Nisargadatta Maharaj