Maharaj (1897-1981) was an Indian philosopher, guru and one of the main scholars of Advaita Vedanta philosophy, a philosophical system that sustains “non-reality”, that is, everything that is illusory in people's lives, with the aim of searching and discovering the supreme truth of life.
His thinking about the living beings around him has always been that spirituality itself is that each living being is fully aware of his life and of his power to change reality, that is, what is our true nature and seek to develop from there.
In 1933, he was introduced by his friend Yashwantrao Baagkar to whom he would become his mentor and guru, Siddharameshwar Maharaj, the head of the Inchegiri branch of the Navnath Sampradaya. At the time, his guru told him, “You are not what you think you are…” He then guided Nisagardatta in a simple and straightforward way on how to live a righteous life. Maharaj comments: “My guru ordered me to persist in the thought 'I am' and not pay attention to anything else. I just obeyed, such was his conviction in what he said. I did not follow any particular course of breathing, or meditation, or scripture study. What happened, I took my attention away from everything and remained with the feeling 'I am'. It may seem too simple, even raw, at first. My only reason for doing it was that he told me so and told me to do it. However, it worked! Following the instructions to focus on the feeling of 'I am', he spent all his free time looking for himself in silence."
After almost 3 years, his teacher, Siddharameshwar Maharaj died on November 9, 1936. In 1937, Nisargadatta left Mumbai and traveled all over India with the aim of spreading the teachings to whoever he wanted. In 1938, he returned to his family in Mumbai, where he spent the rest of his life writing. On the journey home, he arrived at Kebangunan, upon awakening, reaching his Divine Self after deep reflection. All the effects of heavy karma had disappeared like sand in the wind. He finally awakened to his Absolute Reality, state of fulfillment. All attachment, aversion and delusion had abandoned consciousness of him.
His famous book entitled “I Am That” (I Am That, 1973) teaches the way people seek the innate truth in their lives through their experiences. He does this directly with impact phrases like “nothing you do will change yourself” and “stop your mind and just be”. The interesting thing is that they are phrases from a type of philosophy that Western society is not used to following. People are used to doing, running after goals, always being on the move and Maharaj's philosophy proposes other paths.
An excerpt from his book that elucidates this teaching highlights:
“Where is the need to change anything? The mind is changing somehow all the time. Look at your mind dispassionately; that's enough to calm her down. When she is quiet, you can go beyond her. Don't keep her busy all the time. Stop it, and just be. If you give the mind rest, it will center and regain its purity and strength. Constant thinking makes you decay.
Nothing you do will change yourself, for you don't need any change. You can change your mind or your body, but it is always something external to you that has been changed, not yourself. Why bother with all this change stuff? Realize once and for all that neither your body nor your mind nor even your consciousness is you and stand alone in your true nature beyond consciousness and unconsciousness. No effort can get you there, only clarity of understanding. Don't try to reform yourself, just see the futility of all change. The mutable keeps mutating while the immutable waits. Don't wait for the mutable to lead you to the immutable - that will never happen. Only when the very idea of ​​change is seen as false and abandoned can the unchangeable emerge.
Most people's activities are worthless, if not destructive. Overwhelmed by desire and fear, they cannot do any good.
You can't do anything. What time brings, time will take away. This is the end of Yoga, to realize independence. Everything that happens happens in and for the mind, not the source of the "I am". Once you realize that everything happens of its own accord (call it fate or God's will, or mere accident), you remain a witness only, understanding and appreciating, but never disturbed. You are only responsible for what you can change. All you can change is your attitude. Therein lies your responsibility.”
We can see how blunt and critical Nisagardatta was when it came to radical change in life. He also preached about the importance of devotion to a righteous life and to spirituality, in this case, God.
Nisagardatta Maharaj passed away peacefully at his home in his sleep on September 8, 1981.
- Text written by Bruno da Silva Melo from the Eu Sem Fronteiras Team.
