The Experience of Nothingness: Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj’s Talks on Realizing the Infinite

111 Pages·1996·0.54 MB·English

by  Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, Robert Powell

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Experience the Infinite

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj's Talks on

Realizing tbe Infinite

Edited by Robert Powell, Ph.D.

BLUE DovE PRESS

SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA -1996

SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ was born in Bombay in 1897. His

parents, who gave him the name Maruti. had a small farm at the village of
Kandalgaon and it was here that he spent his early years. In 1924 he married,
later becoming a cigarette trader in Bombay where he and his wife raised a
family. From early childhood he had taken a keen interest in spiritual matters.
his talks with holy men sharpening his inquisitive mind and kindling a spiritual
fire. At the age of 34 he met his Guru and three years later realized himself,
taking the name of Nisargadatta. He continued to live the life of an ordinary
Indian working-man but his teachings, which are set out in his master-work I
Am That and are rooted in the ancient Upanishadic tradition, made a significant
philosophical break from contemporary thought. Devotees traveled from all over
the world to hear Nisargadattas unique message until his death in 1981.

Robert Powell was born in 1918, After obtaining his doctorate in chemistry

from London University, he pursued a career first as an industrial chemist and
later as a science writer and editor in Britain and the United States. In 1968 and
1969, he published nine chemical engineering monographs in use by academic
and industrial libraries throughout the world.

Robert Powell's personal exploration of spirituality began in the 1960's and

his quest for self-discovery led him to study Zen and a number of spiritual
masters including J. Krishnamurti and Ramana Maharshi. His own spiritual
awakening coincided with his discovery of the teachings of Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj. He is also the author of a number of books on what he describes as
"human consciousness transformation." Powell lives a busy life with his wife
Gina in La Jolla, California.

***

Whatever is, is an expression of consciousness only. If consciousness is not

there, the expression of consciousness is not there either. Therefore, nothing is.
And this consciousness is an uncalled-for concept; it has appeared
spontaneously.

SR1 NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am grateful to Frank Anderson, of Huntington Beach, California, who

provided me with the original tapes of discourses for this book.

PREFACE

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj hardly needs an introduction any longer to lovers

of the highest wisdom. Known as a maverick Hindu sage. Nisargadatta is now
generally acknowledged to rank with the greatest masters of advaita teachings,
such as Sri Ramana Maharshi of Tiruvannamalai. Sri Atmananda of Trivandrum.
and the more recently known disciple of the Maharshi, Poonjaji of Lucknow.

In this latest work, the depth and subtlety of the treatment of the subject

combined with the closely reasoned approach (as marvelously exemplified in the
chapter “The Experience of Nothingness ”) make these dialogues virtually
unsurpassed in the spiritual literature. On a more mundane level, Maharaj
addresses two points many have always found intriguing. People have wondered,
and some even complained, about his apparently brusque manner with certain
visitors by not allowing them to stay with him for any extended length of time.
In this volume Maharaj for the first time reveals the rationale for his actions. It
occurred to me this might well have a bearing also on the way one reads these
discourses. Optimally, small portions of the text should be digested at any one
time, in order to let their significance sink in. Thus, one uses Maharaj more like
a catalyst in the flowering of one's own understanding and the consequent
development of one's convictions. In this way, the words acquire an
extraordinary vitality and there is a corresponding responsiveness in the listener
or reader.

The other point is that it is apparent in the discussions that Maharaj rarely

agrees with anyone. even if that person has made an apparently valid statement
or given a correct answer to his questions. Maharaj acknowledges this and
explains how and why he uses this particular approach as a subtle pedagogic
device. The possibility always exists to come up with a more or less correct
answer, on the intellectual level, yet be benefit of actual experience or deep
conviction. In such cases, to go along with the speaker would only encourage
him to believe he has achieved genuine transformation when in fact he is merely
repeating mechanically a verbal formula. It is as Maharaj once said: "The
realized man knows what others merely hear but do not experience.

Intellectually, they may seem convinced, but in action they betray their
bondage." And on another occasion he said: “Self-surrender is the surrender of
all self-concern. It cannot be done, it happens when you realize your true nature.
Verbal self-surrender, even accompanied by feeling, is of little value and breaks
down under stress.”

ROBERT POWELL

EDITOR'S NOTES

The basic truth of what the great advaita masters teach is essentially the

same, which is to be expected since there is only one Reality. However, different
teachers lay different emphasis on various aspects of this teaching and to this
purpose employ slightly different nomenclatures or use these terms in flexible
ways as it suits their purposes.

Thus, I-am-ness and beingness in these conversations are generally used by

Maharaj as denoting limited states of understanding which are fundamentally
based on a sense of separate identity, resulting from taking oneself to be the
body. They are wholly conceptual. Often, Maharaj uses both terms
interchangeably. At other times, depending upon the emphasis he wishes to
convey, he denotes beingness as a somewhat superior state, which arises upon
transcendence of the “I-am-ness” and equates the manifest consciousness.
Maharaj also refers to beingness as consciousness or knowingness and according
to him it still is the product of the five elements (rooted in materiality), Thus, he
states: 'This knowledge 'I am' or the 'beingness' is a cloak of illusion over the
Absolute. Therefore, when Brahman is transcended only the Parabrahman is, in
which there is not even a trace of the knowledge 'I am'. The state of “beingness”
is clearly an incomplete. provisional state of understanding, as is also evinced
from Maharaj's following words: sages and prophets recognized the sense of
'being' initially. Then they meditated and abided in it and finally transcended it,
resulting in their ultimate realization.”

Whereas "I-am-ness," "beingness" or "knowingness" has a somatic basis,

which in turn arises from the physical elements. the Absolute lies beyond all
"physicality" and can no longer be described. In the Absolute one has no
instrument to make any statements. What I am in the absolute sense. it is not
possible to convey in any words. In that ultimate awareness, nobody has any
consciousness of being present. The presence itself is not there in the Absolute.

Maharaj teaches that upon transcendence of the individual consciousness

into the universal manifest consciousness, the latter rests upon and lies within
the Unmanifest or Parabrahman, where the latter denotes "that principle which

was unaffected by the dissolution of the universes" and is a non-state. He also
declares: "Please apprehend this clearly that You, the Absolute - bereft of any
body identity - are complete, perfect and the Unborn”. ln his teaching, you - as
the Absolute - never have or had any birth. All forms are a result of the five-
elemental play.

1 The term “state” implies a "condition," a modification of a more basic

reality, which concerns an unalterable and ineffable substrate. Therefore. it
would be more accurate to express this modification as a superimposition on the
“non-state" of the Parabrahman, somewhat analogous to the seeing of a snake in
the rope.

This Parabrahman lies beyond both duality and non-dua1ity, since it is prior

to space and time (we can only properly talk of duality or non-duality within the
physical-mental sphere. i.e, within consciousness.) It is the Absolute or the
Ultimate Subject, what one is, for there is no longer anyone or anything - not
even the consciousness - to experience it.

Finally. it must be noted here that other sages as well as classic Vedanta

scriptures are commonly using I-am-ness and Beingness (spelled with a capital
B) interchangeably with the Parabrahman or Absolute, and the Absolute is then
referred to as Consciousness (with a capital C) and consistently denoted by the
term “Self” (Sri Ramana Maharshi) and as the "I-Principle" (Sri Atmananda)

« Even this consciousness is not everything and it is not going to last for all

time. Find out how that consciousness has arisen. the source of the
consciousness... what is this body? The body is only an accumulation of food
and water. Therefore, you are something separate from either the body or the
consciousness. »

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

« jivatman is the one who identifies with the body-mind as an individual

separate from the world. The atman is only beingness, or the consciousness.
which is the world. The Ultimate principle which knows this beingness cannot
be named at all. It cannot be approached or conditioned by any words. That is
the Ultimate state. »

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

TO THE READER

We realize that many Western readers are not familiar with some of the

Indian words that appear in this book. While knowledge of these words or other
specialized jargon is in no way essential for the understanding of the teachings,
readers are encouraged to consult the Glossary in the back of this book when
such terms are not defined in a footnote or in the text.

These conversations with visitors of all kinds, which took place in the final

year of his life, were exclusively directed at the goal of awakening or self-
realization. Nisargadatta Maharaj talked with visitors until the very day of his
death of cancer. September 8th. 1981. at the age of 84.

1. MAHARAJ SETS OUT THE BASICS

OE THE TEACHING

MAHARAJ : The nature of the consciousness has to be understood. This

consciousness can arise only in the physical body, and the physical body is the
essence of the five elements.(1) It is because of the association with the physical
body that there is suffering. Most people who come here will not be able to
accept this type of knowledge, because it is on a strictly fundamental level. But
some persons who apply themselves and can accept such a point of view, will
really understand. They will be totally free from the impact of pain and
unhappiness, if they understand that the latter can only result from the
consciousness which has identified itself with the physical body and suffers as
an individual. In that case, suffering must inevitably result. But, what is the
individual? There is a body created out of the five elements, and in that body
dwells the vital breath (prana) and the consciousness; it is a composite unity. All
living forms contain the vital breath and the consciousness. And. although the
forms are different, they all contain the same elements. So, I ask again: Where is
the question of an individual? Basically, there is none. And this is my basic
teaching which has to be grasped, but only very few will understand.

1 According to the Hindu cosmology, the “five elements” - earth, water. firs,

air and ether - are said to be the fundamental building blocks of the entire
physical universe.

VISITOR : Would you please repeat this ? There was so much disturbance

that I could not follow it.

M : Certainly. but not in the same words. Now what is it that we are

concerned with? We are dealing with the physical form which is made up of, and
fed by, the five elements. In that form are operating the life force (the vital
breath) and this consciousness - that is, the knowledge “I am” or the sense of
being, the sense of existence. The latter is the “sentience,” which is the gift of
the consciousness. This is the total that we can perceive: the body, the vital
breath and the consciousness. All forms are made of the same components. So

where is the question of an individual? Throughout all this, the individual as
such has never come into being. And for this reason there is no need to identify
oneself with anything. Yet one does: the consciousness identifies itself with the
body, and in this way the “individual” comes into being. So long as this is a fact,
that individual is bound to suffer. And what I am...I am neither the body, which
is merely the five elements, nor the life force (the breath) nor the consciousness
which comes into the body. I must identify with the consciousness as long as the
body is there, because it forms one unity with it. But in actuality. I am none of
these three things. While the body exists, I am the consciousness, which merely
witnesses whatever is going on. When the body dies, the life force leaves and
mingles with the air, and the consciousness mingles with the universal
consciousness. I am essentially nothing (identifiable) in this consciousness,
being only its witness. And, what I am in the absolute sense, it is not possible to
convey in any words. In that ultimate Awareness, nobody has any consciousness
of being present. The presence itself is not there in the Absolute.

No person not interested in the subject would want to come here. So one can

only assume that those who do attend are vitally interested in the subject and
have done their homework... thus, the people who come here are all jnanis. But,
how many amongst us know the nature and the basis of this consciousness that I
am, which exists so long as the body is there. Each of us must say “I am” and
realize it. There is no “you,” and there is no “me.” as individual entities.

When there is an imbalance in the body substance, illness comes about. But

when that material is in perfect balance, there is no illness. Now how is that?

The question was: Does the universal consciousness depend on the five

elements for its existence? The answer to this question is that the universal
consciousness and the total manifestation appear simultaneously. The
manifestation happens because consciousness is there. Until the “I am” thought
was there, there was no manifestation; both came about simultaneously. But
because we identify ourselves with the body in which the individual
consciousness manifests itself - and the consciousness in order to manifest itself
has to have a form - the “individual” is born and that individual suffers.

Earlier I had explained the question of the universal consciousness. The

universal consciousness is something like a name given to a city. Now there is
Bombay, for example. What do you mean by “Bombay”? Can you produce
Bombay? No! The totality of a particular thing is designated...So the universal
consciousness is merely a name given to that which is formless.

I use the word “city,” not particularly Bombay. I mean any city or place. If I

say Bombay, it means that I refer to a limited area.

V : A very important point here. To my mind, a city or a nation comprises

only the individuals who make it up.

M : A name may have been given by individuals; but that which has been

created, has man created it? Out of five elements, man is born. But has man
created the five elements? The five elements have been created out of that
consciousness, which is in the individual body.

V : The universal consciousness and this consciousness within me, are they

the same?

M : The light which is perceived by your eyes and the light which is

generally seen, as reflected in various manifestations, are they different?

To repeat: The Whole problem lies in identification with the individual body

and consequently with the individual. Therefore, the individual is ever afraid of
death - death of the individual.

Are there any questions on this subject?

You are this consciousness. And out of this consciousness is born the entire

universe. We consider ourselves as individuals; and that which is unlimited we
have limited to an insignificant thing. The infinite is narrowed down to a single
body. That is our whole problem.

Now there is also this question: If it is the same universal consciousness that

appears in millions of human beings, why do they act in such contrary manners,
creating all kinds of chaos? If one woman has ten children, they are all born
from the same parents, but do they not act in remarkably contrary ways? Why is
that? Because, although constituted from the same basic five elements, the
composition of each individual, resulting from different proportions -
permutations and combinations - of these elements, is quite different. Thus, each
person acts in a different way. Or. to use a different analogy, the metal may be
the same but the purposes for which that metal has been converted into different
instruments are widely different - each instrument may be used for a particular
purpose. So the ingredients are the five elements, but the eventual object created
from different combinations of those ingredients is bound to act uniquely
according to its composition.

V : Whose purpose is it, Maharaj?

M : The purpose is the addition of all these millions of combinations. Until I

know... that is why I asked earlier when do we first know the nature and basis of
this composition, which we identify as ourselves... Unless I first thoroughly
know its nature, how can I know the purpose and basis of the entire universe?

INTERPRETER : Maharaj is asking you, have you realized the nature of

the Consciousness?

Now he gives an example, as is his wont, of country, homely nature. In the

country they make a pancake. There is a fire, they put a pan on it, and then the
dough is poured on it. Finally, the pancake comes into being and is removed.
When the next one is put into the pan, when it is formed, it will generally appear
like the previous one, but the number of dents and holes in the two will not be
exactly the same. You may have dozens of these pancakes, but each one is
bound to be different. That is the nature of creation itself, to have variety, So he
says. understand the nature and basis of that which is created as the
manifestation, and that is the consciousness. Unless you understand this
consciousness, no other way of realizing Paramatman exists. It cannot be
attained other than by understanding.

M : The mystery of the hypnotic power of this maya is that one identifies

oneself with the body. And the mechanism of this kind of identification does not
differ in any way from identification of a chunk of stone. or something created
out of stone, as God, and the wholehearted worshiping of it. So far as that goes,
it is all right, and this kind of worship will have its normal effects in
consciousness. But unless the nature of the consciousness is understood, one will
not be able to understand one's true identity. Then. having understood the nature
of the consciousness, you will also understand that you are not the
consciousness. Anything that you have seen and understood, you cannot be; you,
as a subject, can only understand something which is an object, and you are
bound to accept it as such.

If you discuss things with me. based on the traditional literature and the

traditional knowledge... there will be so many pundits who are so
knowledgeable, they will eat me alive. And yet, where the basic knowledge is
concerned. which I deal with, why do these people remain speechless? Because
it is something totally different from anything that can be understood. Whatever
is understood. whatever is seen, is not true.

Any questions?

V : There is a Hymn to Creation; it is well known to people who have read

the translations. At the end of that, the poem goes something like this (I can only
vaguely reproduce it): He, the Ultimate Knower, the jnani... the question now is
who said this whole thing, who caused him? It is about the jnani's origin, how
did that happen? And in the last line, the poem reads: He, the jnani, he knows it.
Or perhaps, he knows not. In other words. you are left in doubt at the end
whether he really knows the Ultimate. Is that true?

M : Would you repeat it, please.

V : Well. it is difficult to do so without repeating the actual text. In other

words, it is an ultimate question about so to speak the origin of the jnani. He
says it in the last line...

M : But how does it start, this Hymn to Creation?

V : It is a very well known Hymn. What about the origin of the jnani himself?

You can imagine the jnani asking himself: How did I come to be here? The
answer he gives is: He knows. Or perhaps. he does not know it either.

M : He cannot be called a jnani', since the very question is not answered, the

problem is still incomplete, unsolved. The mystery remains. The sick man is still
a sick man. Whatever he says is an echo of illness. And the one who wrote it, is
still ill.

V : [Asks a question in Marathi which is not translated.]

M : Consciousness itself is the screen. This is the realm of consciousness and

all creations are in the consciousness.

I : The question was: Could we conceive of consciousness as a screen on

which the entire creation is like a moving picture? So Maharaj said initially,
there is no screen, there is nothing. Whatever is, is wide open. Then. Mr. P.
explained that what the lady probably intended to convey is that anything that
can happen - all thoughts, all action - are only appearances in that
consciousness. So Maharaj said: Undoubtedly.

The session is nearly over. Are there any questions? Maharaj wants

questions; he thrives on them.

V : A difficulty in our understanding is that consciousness itself is the object

of the Knower. right? This consciousness can eventually be understood by the
jnani. Unfortunately, the opposite of consciousness is unconsciousness. So in the
language, so to speak, there is an inbuilt tendency to make this division -
consciousness and unconsciousness. Consciousness is being understood; and