Nisargadatta: You cannot look at yourself

[Guest guest]

February 8, 1981

 

 

 

Q: Sometimes I have a feeling of mindlessness I feel that only I

exist. There is only one thing in the world. I don't have to do

anything. I simply exist.

 

M: That state of being is common to all, that is the message "I Am"

without words.

 

Q: Is it possible to remain stable?

 

M: Change is only in the mind-flow. All the studies you are doing

are in the realm of the mind-flow. The sense of " I Am" is present

because of you birth, through which you encounter many thoughts and

concepts, always changing. Presently the message "I Am" is constant.

 

Q: How can one be in that no-mind state?

 

M: Prior to you birth and receiving the message " I Am", what were

you?

 

Q: That is a mystery.

 

M: It is open, very clear, but still it is a mystery. Subsequent to

that " I AM" and body-mind and in the realm of the mind, there occurs

what you call spiritual seeking, or spiritual knowledge. This is

nonsense. In due course this message " I Am" will disappear.

 

Q: How can you say that? What about rebirth?

 

M: There is no rebirth. In the case of a jnani, the disappearance

of the " I Am" will be termed as Niruta, free from the "I AM". In

the case of an ordinary person, involved in mind, the disappearance

of the message "I Am" will be expressed as " the person is dead and

has taken another birth." You can never undertake studies about that

no-message state; you are making studies in the mind zone.

 

Q So the witnessing is only possible when there are modifications of

the mind?

 

M: Witnessing happens. Remember one thing, I am addressing my talk

to the message "I Am".

 

Q: How can I communicate with the " I AM", how can I listen?

 

M: Listening will come spontaneously – just as you wake up

spontaneously and fall asleep spontaneously. Don't make any effort.

 

I did not extract my beingness from " there" and insert it

into "here". It is happening spontaneously, and therefore I am

experiencing it. During these talks you have gotten very angry; this

is in the zone of mind modifications- it is not a reflection of your

consciousness. The one who understands that anger is the message " I

Am". All your spiritual studies are conducted with you

identification with the body-mind.

 

Q: I think so, yes.

 

M: Unless you identify correctly who you are, how can you identify

others correctly? Recognize you real Self.

 

Q: How shall I start?

 

M: Faith in God is one of the sadhanas. The firm faith in the Self

is not a sadhana, it is abidance.

 

Q: I believe in God, or I do not believe in God – are these beliefs

the same?

 

M: Who is saying this"? What you say will be correct only when you

have the conviction that you and God are one, then you will recognize

that there cannot be a God without you. To know yourself is the real

knowledge, but you cannot LOOK at yourself, you can only ABIDE in

your Self. Give up your attachment to mind modifications.

 

Q: Sometimes it does happen. How can I transcend the mind?

 

M: Understand that you have no connection with this mind-flow; you

are apart from it. Be watchful, be alert. A century ago, were you

possessed by these mind-modifications?

 

Q: No:

 

M: Remain exactly like that.

 

Q: How can I remain in the " I Am"?

 

M: It is a stupid question. You are ALREADY that. Are you not

already the "I Amness"? A jnani has transcended the: I Amness" and

only witnesses it.

 

Q: What kind of rule should a man choose for conducting himself in

life?

 

M: This question emanates from your concepts. Throw out your

concepts. In the course of you study of spirituality, you have

acquired many concepts, which you call that knowledge. Do you want

me to be embroiled in your concepts?

 

That thought flow is always there, except in deep sleep. Even for a

jnani, the thought – flow is present but the thought has changed.

 

Most people are carried away by the thought-flow, but a rare person

turns around goes to the source and departs from the track of that

original thought-flow, saying, " I is not mine, not my affair This `I

Amness' is the product of objective material it is not me. I am out

of it."

 

The statements, which come out of here, will stick to you, and with

that sticking, your spiritual job will be done. When you do anything

it is for "me" but there is a limit to which that can go, isn't there?

 

Q: The needs are limitless.

 

M: I meet many people who, in the pursuit of happiness, are always

miserable. Rarely do I encounter someone who says, " I am content."

 

 

Consciousness and the Absolute... Jean Dunn