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Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

BornMaruti Shivrampant Kambli
17 April 1897(1897-04-17)
Bombay (Mumbai), Maharashtra Flag of India India
Died8 September 1981 (aged 84)
Bombay (Mumbai), Flag of India India

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (birth name: Maruti Shivrampant Kambli) (April 17, 1897[1] – September 8, 1981) was an Indian spiritual teacher and philosopher of Advaita (Nondualism), and a Guru, belonging to the Ichegeri branch of the Navnath Sampradaya. Events 69 - After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor. Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial Maharashtra ( Marathi: mahārāṣṭra, IPA) is a state located on the western coast of India. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country SRi is a specification (spec badge given to mid-sized or larger cars which are fitted with performance engine suspension or other performance enhancements as standard Events 69 - After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor. Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Spirituality, in a narrow sense concerns itself with matters of the Spirit, a concept closely tied to religious belief and Faith, a transcendent reality Advaita Vedanta ( IAST Advaita Vedānta; Sanskrit अद्वैत वेदान्त əd̪vait̪ə veːd̪ɑːnt̪ə is a sub-school of the Nondualism implies that things appear distinct while not being separate A guru (गुरु গুরু is a person who is regarded as having great knowledge wisdom and authority in a certain area and uses it to guide others

One of the 20th century's exponents of the school of Advaita Vedanta philosophy (nondualism), Sri Nisargadatta, with his direct and minimalistic explanation of non-dualism, is considered the most famous teacher of Advaita since Ramana Maharshi [2]. Advaita Vedanta ( IAST Advaita Vedānta; Sanskrit अद्वैत वेदान्त əd̪vait̪ə veːd̪ɑːnt̪ə is a sub-school of the Nondualism implies that things appear distinct while not being separate Sri Ramana Maharshi ( December 30, 1879 – April 14, 1950) born Venkataraman Iyer, was an Indian sage

In 1973, the publication of his most famous and widely-translated book, I Am That, an English translation of his talks in Marathi by Maurice Frydman, brought him worldwide recognition and followers [3]. Marathi (mr मराठी Marāṭhī) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of what is considered western India. Maurice Frydman, aka Swami Bharatananda (born 1900 Poland - died 1976 India was an engineer and humanitarian who spent the later part of his life in India—living at the

Contents

Biography

Early life

Sri Nisargadatta was born on April 17, 1897, at break of dawn, the full moon in the month of Chaitra, to Shivrampant Kambli and Parvatibai, in Bombay[4]. Events 69 - After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor. Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Chaitra ( Hindi: चैत cait or चैत्र caitr) is a Month of the Hindu calendar. Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial The day was also the birthday of Lord Hanuman, hence the boy was named 'Maruti', after Lord Hanuman himself [5] [6]. Hanuman (हनुमत् sa-Latn '''Hanumat''' nominative singular sa हनुमान् sa-Latn ''Hanumān'' known also as ' Anjaneya' (son of Anjana is one of the Maruti Shivrampant Kambli was brought up in Kandalgaon, a small village in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, where he grew up amidst his family of six silblings, two brothers and four sisters, and deeply religious parents [7]. Ratnagiri (रत्नागिरी(رتناگری is a District in Maharashtra[[ ھاراشٹر]] India. Maharashtra ( Marathi: mahārāṣṭra, IPA) is a state located on the western coast of India. His father, Shivrampant, worked as a domestic servant in Mumbai and later became a petty farmer in Kandalgaon.

In 1915, after his father passed away, he moved to Bombay, to support his family back home, following his elder brother. Initially he worked as a junior clerk at an office, but quickly he opened a small, goods store, mainly selling bidis – leaf-rolled cigarettes, and soon owned a string of eight retail shops [8].

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In 1924 he married Sumatibai and they had three daughters and a son. Hindu philosophy is divided into six Sanskrit ''{{IAST|āstika}}'') schools of thought or darshanas (literally "views" Sankhya Sankhya, also Samkhya, ( सांख्य, IAST: sānkhya - 'enumeration' is one of the six schools of classical Indian philosophy. Rāja Yoga ("royal Yoga " "royal union" also known as Classical Yoga or simply Yoga) is one of the six orthodox ( Astika) Nyāya ( Sanskrit ni-āyá, literally "recursion" used in the sense of " Syllogism, inference" is the name given to one of the six orthodox Vaisheshika, or Vaiśeṣika, (Sanskrit वैशॆषिक) is one of the six Hindu schools of Philosophy (orthodox Vedic systems Mīmāṃsā, a Sanskrit word meaning "investigation" (compare Greek ἱστορία) is the name of an Astika ("orthodox" school Vedanta ( Devanagari: sa वेदान्त Vedānta) is a spiritual tradition explained in the Upanishads that is concerned with the Self-realisation Advaita Vedanta ( IAST Advaita Vedānta; Sanskrit अद्वैत वेदान्त əd̪vait̪ə veːd̪ɑːnt̪ə is a sub-school of the VishishtAdvaita Vedanta ( IAST Viśishṭādvaita Vedanta; Sanskrit: विशिष्टाद्वैत is a sub-school of the Vedānta Dvaita ( Kannada: ದ್ವೈತ Devanagari:द्बैत is a dualist school of Vedanta Hindu philosophy. Achintya-Bheda-Abheda ( acintya bhedābheda in IAST) is a school of Vedanta representing the philosophy of inconceivable one-ness and difference Valmiki ( Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि vālmīki) (ca 400 BCE northern India is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature Patañjali ( Devanāgarī पतञ्जलि (fl 150 BCE or 2nd c For other uses see Gotama Gautama Maharishi ( Hindi: गौतम महर्षि is one of the Saptarishis (Seven Kanada ( Sanskrit: कणाद; also transliterated as Canada as well as other forms was a Hindu sage who founded the philosophical Jaimini was an ancient rishi (sage who was a great philosopher of the Mimansa school of Indian philosophy Vyāsa ( Devanāgarī: व्यास is a central and revered figure in the majority of Hindu traditions Markandeya ( Sanskrit: मार्कण्‍डेय is an ancient Rishi (sage from the Hindu tradition born in the clan of Brigu Rishi Adi Shankara ( Malayalam: ആദി ശങ്കരന്‍ Devanāgarī: आदि शङ्कर Ādi Śaṅkara, aːd̪i ɕaŋkərə (see below Ramanuja ( traditionally 1017&ndash1137 also known as Ramanujacharya, was a Theologian, Philosopher, and Scriptural Exegete. For Madhavacharya the Advaita saint see Madhava Vidyaranya. Shri Madhvacharya (ಶ್ರೀ ಮಧ್ವಾಚಾರ್ಯರು Nimbarka ( Sanskrit: श्री निम्बार्काचार्य Śrī Nimbārkācārya) is known for propagating the Vaishnava Theology Sri Vallabhacharya (1479 &ndash 1531 was a devotional Philosopher, who founded the Pushti sect in India, following the philosophy of Shuddha Madhusūdana Sarasvatī (c1540&ndash1640 was an Indian philosopher in the Advaita Vedānta tradition Nāmdev ( Nām Dev or Sant Nāmdev) (c1270-c1350 CE was a prominent religious poet of Maharashtra, India in the Hindu tradition Tukārām was a prominent Marathi Sant and religious poet in the Hindu tradition in India. Gosvāmī Tulsīdās (1532-1623 Devanāgarī: तुलसीदास may be written as Tulasī Dāsa depending on if the name is transcribed Al-Kabir "the Great" is also one of the 99 names of God in Islam Vasugupta (860&ndash925 was the author of the famous Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (also transliterated Caitanya, IAST caitanya mahāprabhu) ( Bengali চৈতন্য মহাপ্রভূ (1486 - Sri Ramana Maharshi ( December 30, 1879 – April 14, 1950) born Venkataraman Iyer, was an Indian sage Swami Vivekananda (স্বামী বিবেকানন্দ Shami Bibekānondo; स्वामी विवेकानन्द Svāmi Vivekānanda) ( Nārāyana Guru (नारायण गुरुനാരായണ ഗുരു (1855 - 1928 also known as Sree Nārāyana Guru Swami was a Saint, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ( Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી moɦən̪d̪äs kəɾəmʧən̪d̪ gän̪d̪ʱi (2 October 1869 – 30 January Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, OM ( Telugu:సర్వేపల్లి రాధాకృష్ణ Tamil:சர்வேபள்ளி Sri Aurobindo (শ্রী অরবিন্দ Sri Ôrobindo) ( August 15, 1872 – December 5, 1950) was an Indian Swami Sivananda Saraswati ( Sep 8, 1887 — Jul 14, 1963) was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a well known Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (ஆனந்த குமாரசுவாமி 22 August, 1877, Colombo - 9 September, 1947, Pandurang Shastri Vaijnath Athavale (પાંડુરંગ શાસ્ત્રી આઠવલે पांडुरंग शास्त्री आठवले ( October Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ( Sanskrit:, abhaya-caraṇāravinda bhakti-vedānta svāmī prabhupāda, Bangla: অভয়চরনাবিন্দ Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Awakening

In 1933, he was introduced to his guru, Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj, the head of the Inchegeri branch of the Navnath Sampradaya by his friend Yashwantrao Baagkar. A guru (गुरु গুরু is a person who is regarded as having great knowledge wisdom and authority in a certain area and uses it to guide others Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj (Kannada (1888 - 1936 was one of the head gurus of the Inchegeri Sampradaya founded by his guru Shri Bhauseheb Maharaj which is a branch of the His guru told him, "You are not what you take yourself to be. . . " [9]. He then gave Nisargdatta simple instructions, which he followed verbatim, as he himself recounted later:

“"My Guru ordered me to attend to the sense 'I am' and to give attention to nothing else. I just obeyed. I did not follow any particular course of breathing, or meditation, or study of scriptures. Whatever happened, I would turn away my attention from it and remain with the sense 'I am'. It may look too simple, even crude. My only reason for doing it was that my Guru told me so. Yet it worked!" -- I Am That, Chapter 75, p. 375. ”

Following his guru's instructions to concentrate on the feeling "I Am", he utilized all his spare time looking at himself in silence, and remained in that state for the coming years, practising meditation and singing devotional bhajans [10].

After an association that lasted hardly two and a half years, Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj died on November 9, 1936 [11], though by that time he had done his task, Maruti had reached self-awareness. Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj (Kannada (1888 - 1936 was one of the head gurus of the Inchegeri Sampradaya founded by his guru Shri Bhauseheb Maharaj which is a branch of the Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Soon he adopted a new name, 'Nisargadatta' meaning the one who dwells in the natural state. [12] He was also appointed as the spritual head of the Inchegeri branch of Navnath Sampradaya, the 'Nine Masters’ tradition, a place he retained through his life [13].

In 1937, he left Mumbai and travelled across India [12]. Through realising the shortcomings of a totally unworldly life and the greater spiritual fruitfulness of dispassionate action, he eventually returned to his family in Mumbai in 1938 [14]. It was there that he spent the rest of his life, working as a bidi vendor at his nearby shop, and giving teachings in his spare time, at his home.

Later years

Between 1942-1948 he suffered two personal losses, first the death of his wife, Sumatibai, followed by the death of his daughter. He started taking disciples in 1951, only after a personal revelation from his Guru Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj [12].

Style of Teaching

According to Sri Nisargadatta the purpose of spirituality is to know who you are, a fact he verily spoke of, in his talks he gave at his humble flat in Khetwadi, Mumbai, where a mezzanine room had been created for him, to receive disciples and visitors alike, and also for daily chantings, bhajans (devotional songs), meditation sessions and discourses [15]. Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial Chant (from Old French chanter) is the Rhythmic speaking or Singing of Words or Sounds often primarily on one or two A Bhajan is a type of Hindu Devotional Song, often simple lyrical and expressing love for the Divine.

He talked about the 'direct way' of knowing the Final Reality, in which one becomes aware of one's original nature through mental discrimination, a method which is common to the teachers of the Navnath Sampradaya [16]. This mental discrimination or the Bird's way ('Vihangam Marg') was also presented by Nisargadatta's co-disciple, Sri Ranjit Maharaj; wherein Self-Knowledge is gained just as a bird flying in the sky, goes easily from branch to branch, instead of slowly crawling its way up the tree, like an ant, as in the 'Pipilika Marg'. Here the disciple reaches straight to truth, without wasting time in long drawn out practices, that would take him to the 'fruit' no doubt, only slowly. He proposed to use one's mental faculty to break from the unreal to the real, and the mind's false identification with the ego, simply by listening and constantly thinking over what the master has said, and knowing that "You are already That" [17].

Many of his talks were recorded, and these recordings form the basis of I Am That and all his other books. His words are free from cultural and religious trappings, and the knowledge he expounds is stripped bare of all that is unnecessary.

Summed up in the words of Advaita scholar and a disciple, Dr. Advaita Vedanta ( IAST Advaita Vedānta; Sanskrit अद्वैत वेदान्त əd̪vait̪ə veːd̪ɑːnt̪ə is a sub-school of the Robert Powell, "Like the Zen masters of old, Nisargadatta's style is abrupt, provocative, and immensely profound -- cutting to the core and wasting little effort on inessentials. Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. His terse but potent sayings are known for their ability to trigger shifts in consciousness, just by hearing, or even reading them. Consciousness has been defined loosely as a constellation of attributes of Mind such as Subjectivity, Self-awareness, Sentience, and the "

Teachings

I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargdatta Maharaj
I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargdatta Maharaj

Sri Nisargadatta's teachings are grounded in the Advaita Vedanta interpretation of the Hindu idea Tat Tvam Asi, literally "That Thou Art", meaning You are one with Divinity. Advaita Vedanta ( IAST Advaita Vedānta; Sanskrit अद्वैत वेदान्त əd̪vait̪ə veːd̪ɑːnt̪ə is a sub-school of the Tat Tvam Asi ( Sanskrit: तत् त्वम् असि or तत्त्वमसि a Sanskrit sentence translating variously to "Thou art that" "That Divinity and divine (sometimes 'the Divinity' or 'the Divine' are broadly applied but loosely defined terms used variously within different faiths and belief systems — He also had a strong devotional zeal towards his own guru [12].

According to Sri Nisargadatta, our true nature is perpetually free peaceful awareness, in Hinduism referred to as Brahman. In Biological psychology, awareness comprises a human's or an animal's perception and Cognitive reaction to a condition or event Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Brahman ( bráhman-, Nominative bráhma sa ब्रह्म is a concept of Hinduism. Awareness is the source of, but different from, the personal, individual consciousness, which is related to the body. Consciousness has been defined loosely as a constellation of attributes of Mind such as Subjectivity, Self-awareness, Sentience, and the With regard to living things, a body is the integral physical material of an individual The mind and memory are responsible for association with a particular body; awareness exists prior to both mind and memory. It is only the idea that we are the body that keeps us from living what he calls our "original essence", the True Self, in Hinduism referred to as Atman. In Philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is and which it has by necessity The Ātman ( IAST: Ātman Sanskrit: आत्मन्‍ is a philosophical term used within Hinduism and Vedanta to identify the Soul

He describes this essence as pure, free, and unaffected by anything that occurs. He likens it to a silent witness that watches through the body's senses, yet is not moved, either to happiness or sadness, based on what it sees.

For Nisargadatta, the Self is not one super-entity which knows independently, regardless of things; there is no such super-entity, no Creator with infinite intellect. An entity is something that has a distinct separate Existence, though it need not be a material existence A creator deity is a Deity in a Creation myth responsible for the creation of the World (or Universe) God does not exist independently from creation. What does exist is the "total acting" (or functioning) of the Ultimate or Absolute Reality along the infinite varying forms in manifestation. Absolute may mean Philosophy Absolute (philosophy, a concept in philosophy Moral absolutes, the belief that there are absolute Reality, in everyday usage means "the state of things as they actually exist" This Absolute Reality is identical to The Self.

Nisargadatta also predicates the radical idea that there is no such thing as a "doer". According to him and other teachers of Vedanta, since our true nature or identity is not the mind, is not the body, but the witness of the mind and body, we, as pure awareness, do nothing. The mind and body act of their own accord, and we are the witness of them, though the mind often believes it is the doer. This false idea (that the mind is the self and responsible for actions) is what keeps us from recognizing our Self. Nisargadatta cautions:

'"The life force [prana] and the mind are operating [of their own accord], but the mind will tempt you to believe that it is "you". Therefore understand always that you are the timeless spaceless witness. A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about a Crime or dramatic event through their Senses (e And even if the mind tells you that you are the one who is acting, don't believe the mind. [. . . ] The apparatus [mind, body] which is functioning has come upon your original essence, but you are not that apparatus. " - The Ultimate Medicine, (pp. 54 - 70)

Among his most known disciples are Bob Adamson [18][19]. , Stephen Wolinsky [20], Jean Dunn, Robert Powell, and Ramesh Balsekar

Quotes of Nisargdatta Maharaj

Books

Further reading

DVDs

Footnotes

  1. ^ Bodhisattva Nisargdatta He was born in Hanuman's birthday, first full moon of Chaitra, and in 1897 it occurred on April 17, at 11:46 a. Chaitra ( Hindi: चैत cait or चैत्र caitr) is a Month of the Hindu calendar. m. LMT of Bombay
  2. ^ Intro to I am That
  3. ^ Nisargdatta profile at realization.org
  4. ^ S. Gogate & P.T. Phadol, Meet the Sage: Shri Nisargadatta (1972)
  5. ^ I Am That, pp. 6, Who is Nisargadatta Maharaj.
  6. ^ S. Gogate & P.T. Phadol, Meet the Sage: Shri Nisargadatta, p. 5 (1972)
  7. ^ Detailed Biography
  8. ^ Sri Nisagdatta bio at advait.org
  9. ^ Sri Nisargdatta Quote
  10. ^ Guru's teachings
  11. ^ Prior to Consciousness, pp. 1-2, April 4, 1980
  12. ^ a b c d Nisargadatta Maharaj Biography enlightened-spirituality. org
  13. ^ I Am That, Page 271 Part II, chapter 97
  14. ^ I Am That p. xxviii
  15. ^ Spiritual Masters at lifepositive.com
  16. ^ Ranjit Maharaj at lifepositive.com
  17. ^ Navnath Sampradaya
  18. ^ Sailor Bob website
  19. ^ 'Sailor' Bob Adamson
  20. ^ Stephen Wolinsky films
  21. ^ I Am That I Am, Three part series
  22. ^ Nisargadatta Maharaj interview at spiritual teachers.org
  23. ^ Quotes from I Am That
  24. ^ Quotes by Sri Nisagdatta Maharaj
  25. ^ Self Knowledge Introduction at itisnotreal.com
  26. ^ 'Self Knowledge and Self Realization', Book
  27. ^ Chetna Publishing Bombay

External links

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