<>No book of spiritual teachings can replace the presence of a teacher. Only the word spoken directly by the Guru, loses its opacity completely. In the presence of a Guru, the last boundaries imagined by the mind disappear.
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj is indeed such a Guru. He is not a preacher, but he offers exactly what a seeker needs. The reality that emanates from his words is inalienable and absolute. It’s authentic. Those who experienced his words described in the book “I am the One”, were inspired and many found their way to Maharaj seeking enlightenment.
“He who dwells in all beings, and in whom all beings dwell, the grace-giver, the Supreme Self of the Universe, the being without limits – I am the One”
Amritbindu Upanishad
The seeker is the one who seeks himself.
Let go of all but one of the questions: Who am I? After all, the only fact you’re sure of is that you are. “ I am, “it’s safe.” “ I am this one” is not. Fight to find out what you really are. To know what you are, you must first investigate and know what you are not.
Discover everything that you are not – the body, the feelings, the thoughts, the time, the space, this or that – nothing concrete or abstract, which you perceive to be YOU. The act of perceiving, shows for yourself that you are not what you perceive. The more clearly you understand on the level of the mind, that you can only describe yourself in negative terms, the sooner you will reach the end of your search and you will realize that you are an unlimited being. […]
Your outer life is unimportant. You can become a night watchman and you will live happily ever after. What you are inside really matters. Your inner peace and joy are much harder to gain than money. No university in the world can teach you to be yourself. The only way to learn is through practice.
Immediately start being yourself. Throw away everything you no longer need and go deeper and deeper. Just as a man digs a well, throwing all the earth, until it reaches the water, so you must throw away everything that does not belong to you, until there is nothing that can be yours.
You will discover that what is left, can no longer be recognized by the mind. You are no longer even a human being. You just are – a point of awareness co-extended with time and space and beyond both, the ultimate cause, itself without cause. If you ask me “ Who are you?” my answer may be: “ Nothing in particular, yet I am!”
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj – excerpts from the work “I am the One”