Nisargadatta Maharaj

[maestro]

A rare man with deep insight and free from the (guru) power games. Spent his life in a slum and sold cigarettes from a shanty. Does anybody else know about him.

Information:
Nisargadatta is widely considered to be one of the 20th century's greatest master of the school of Advaita Vedanta or nondualism, successful in his direct explanation of non-dualism to both easterners and westerners. Maharaj was world-renowned and admired for his direct and informal teachings, a selection of which are in his most famous and widely-translated book I Am That.
His genius is in making abstract ideas clear to everyone. Through his many talks given in his humble flat in the slums of Bombay, he showed a direct way in which one could become aware of one's original nature. Many of these talks were recorded, and these recordings form the basis of I Am That and his other books. His words are free from cultural and religious trappings, and the knowledge he expounds is stripped bare of all that is unnecessary.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... &plindex=0

[Diebert van Rhijn]

Yeah, "I Am That" inspired me quite a bit in the time I started reading Eastern philosophy. Actually I only exposed myself to Nisargadatta and Osho at the time before returning to more Western sources for a while and let myself develop a bit in life. I returned to Nisargadatta later a few times because I didn't grasp much the first time while it still had profound effects nevertheless. Like a bell ringing.

I see it's online now here: i am that.

[keenobserver]

Who posted this thing?
Is this loud emotional clown supposed to be enlightened?

Show me.

hahah

[maestro]

Who posted this thing?
Is this loud emotional clown supposed to be enlightened?

Not only enlightened, but widely regarded one of the foremost nondual (advaita) masters along with Ramana (though I think reaches to the core faster than Ramana).

Yeah, "I Am That" inspired me quite a bit in the time I started reading Eastern philosophy. Actually I only exposed myself to Nisargadatta and Osho at the time before returning to more Western sources for a while and let myself develop a bit in life. I returned to Nisargadatta later a few times because I didn't grasp much the first time while it still had profound effects nevertheless. Like a bell ringing.

The approach taken by Maharaj towards enlightenment is dispassionate awareness of phenomena in consciousness to discover/uncover yourself. This board insists that enlightenment can be attained by logic. Advaita philosophy would vehemently disagree as logic works on the level of mind which is again a phenomena in consciousness.

Diebert, don't you think that the nondual approach as in "I Am That" and western philosophy which is mostly logical analysis of phenomena are on two different tracks?

Here is the book in a beter pdf format
http://home.earthlink.net/~grharmon/I_Am_That.pdf

[Diebert van Rhijn]

Advaita philosophy would vehemently disagree as logic works on the level of mind which is again a phenomena in consciousness.

On a deeper level logic is not just another phenomenon, like a tree or a bird; it's part of the 'fabric' of our consciousness. So it's certainly another category than any thought or feeling you can come up with.

This board insists that enlightenment can be attained by logic.

This board gets its inspiration from Eastern just as easily as Western sources. That's because many Buddhist notions, many Hindu teachings and as well the Zen approach are relying on logic and sharp, trained reasoning combined with the ongoing experiencing. Thinking otherwise is severely underestimating these teachings and possibly not understanding what they are pointing to.

Diebert, don't you think that the nondual approach as in "I Am That" and western philosophy which is mostly logical analysis of phenomena are on two different tracks?

You're talking about academic or formal philosophy here, or perhaps even science. Who has said they would be on the same track, or do they themselves claim to be? Their purposes are differently stated from the get-go.

But if you ever want to get a grip on the idea of non-dualism, which might prevent you from embracing something that isn't non-dual at all while you might think it is, you cannot leave behind logic so quickly. Buddha didn't, Lao-Tzu didn't, Kierkegaard didn't, no teacher who spoke out ever did.

[keenobserver]

Not only enlightened, but widely regarded one of the foremost nondual (advaita) masters along with Ramana (though I think reaches to the core faster than Ramana).

The approach taken by Maharaj towards enlightenment is dispassionate awareness of phenomena in consciousness to discover/uncover yourself

They say it takes one to know one. So tell me master, what do you mean "phenomena in consciousness"?
Teach me to do it.

[maestro]

They say it takes one to know one. So tell me master, what do you mean "phenomena in consciousness"?

Phenomena in consciousness: Thoughts emotions and their casual connection with each other and the outside circumstances/world.

Teach me to do it.

Simply observe it carefully, dispassionately.
Though it is very hard!!

[keenobserver]

Hate to clue you master stro, but that is merely introspection and quite obvious. Is that all your teacher had to suggest.
Did you not gather anything else of worth from him? This is a genius list - we dont begin with baby steps here.

[Manu Namasivayam]

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Nisargadatta Maharaj

Manu Namasivayam