Effort to understand only, no other effort required

[Guest guest]

David Godman talking about Nisargadatta:

http://www.davidgodman.org/interviews/nis1.shtml

 

I remember one time trying to talk to him about effort. I think I was talking

about the various efforts I had made to realise the Self. This was soon after I

started going to see him. I didn't realise at the time that the word 'effort'

was a no-no in that room. He really didn't like anyone using it. The idea that

there was a person who did something to achieve some spiritual state was a

complete anathema to him. He seemed to feel that it showed a complete lack of

understanding of his teachings.

 

When he started to get annoyed with me for using the word, I just ploughed

ahead, thinking innocently that he probably hadn't understood what I was trying

to say. The more I attempted to describe my 'efforts' and justify them, the more

annoyed he got with me. I ended up getting an earful about my wrong

understanding and wrong attitude. I was quite taken aback at the time. I had

never come across a teacher before who disparaged hard work and effort on the

spiritual path. On the contrary, all the others I had encountered had heartily

endorsed such activities. That's why I initially thought that there must have

been some kind of misunderstanding. I realised later that when Maharaj spoke, he

wasn't giving instructions that he wanted you to act on. He was simply telling

you who and what you were. You were supposed to understand and experience what

he was talking about, not turn it into a practice. Making a practice out of it

simply confirmed for him that you hadn't really understood what he was saying.

One question that always rubbed him up the wrong way was, 'Yes, Maharaj, I

understand intellectually what you are saying, but what do I do to actually

experience it?' If you said that, you didn't understand him, or what he was

trying to do, at all.

[Guest guest]

Nisargadatta , Jan Sultan <swork@m...> wrote:

 

 

 

One question that always rubbed him up the wrong way was,

'Yes, Maharaj, I understand intellectually what you are saying,

but what do I do to actually experience it?' If you said that,

you didn't understand him, or what he was trying to do, at all.

 

 

 

 

KKT: If Maharaj was a Zen master

then you would receive 30 blows

with such question :-))

 

 

KKT