"Once you realize that the road is the goal and that you are always on the road, not to reach a goal, but to enjoy its beauty and its wisdom, life ceases to be a task and becomes natural and simple, in itself an ecstasy."Text via Moon Child and Suddenly. Photo taken on the Heartland Trail near Walker, Minnesota. Reposted from 2014.~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Thank you! I plan to make this my "thought for the day" every day.
ReplyDeleteCould not agree more.
ReplyDeleteGreat !
ReplyDelete"You don't know from cosmic." This man Nisargadatta has to have been one of the most brilliant and incisive minds to have ever lived. The word profound doesn't touch how deep inside he goes. I'm so happy to have him as a companion as I face aging and mortality.
ReplyDeleteHe falls into the advaitist category, which means "not two" in Sanskrit. That is, our apparent existence as separate entities, operators of trillion-cell bio-machines is the primary illusion. Instead, we are existence itself in the form of people fussing around on planet Earth. Once you get past that, the fireworks really begin, and who better than Nissargadatta to guide you into the impossible miracle of existence... An identity adjustment is usually necessary to calm and pacify our relentless and brainwashed minds. I get no end of enjoyment trying to realize "where" he is (here), and if you start to connect with it, you may find yourself falling into bliss.
The man had terminal cancer and continued showing and sharing to whoever cared to visit, asking nothing. That said, there is a pretty steep learning curve if you want 200 proof Nisargadatta. You have to thread your way through Hindu cosmology. The book "I Am That" is a great introduction. Beyond that, the things he said at the end of his life when he was dying of cancer (he was a heavy smoker) are wonderful. I like listening to people read his material while I'm in the hypnopompic period between waking and sleep in the morning. It seems the leaps of understanding necessary are more accessible then, although unpredictably. There are several superb readers on Youtube. If you get drawn into the tractor beam, I would try Samaneri Jayasāra and Lomakayu. Samaneri Jayasara also reads really good pieces on Sam Harris's "Waking Up" app.
Somebody actually video'd this remarkable creature at work in Bombay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DOY5B-PH2Y&t=1963s You won't find him very accessible on that video and may well be put off by the strangeness of it if it's your first introduction!!
"I Am That" requested from the library. Thanks.
Delete