Nothing too ethereal, steer clear of the Neo-Advaitins for now, perhaps Arthur Osbourne's Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-Knowledge, or any basic text on the life and teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi. If you are new to this way of thinking, and you wish to read I AM THAT, or are struggling to read it now, it would help tremendously to first read a friendly introduction to Advaita Vedanta. In fact, there appear to be a significant number of people who do nothing, except read this book, and then accost strangers in cafés to tell them about it. After all, this is the favorite book of many of the strangest people you will ever meet. You will find your own way, as many others have before you. For this reason, I thought I might give a little advice about how to keep company with this book, a very beautiful and peculiar one, and unlike any other. I was 18 the first time I bought I AM THAT, but I was 39 before I was able to read it. A simple man, Nisargadatta was a house-holder and a petty shop-keeper selling bidis - hand-made leaf-rolled cigarettes. The scene for these talks was a small upstairs room at his humble flat in Khetwadi, used for his own meditation and also for daily chantings. He talked about the 'direct way' of knowing the Final Reality, in which one becomes aware of one's original nature through mental discrimination, breaking the mind's false identification with the ego, knowing that "You are already That". His terse but potent sayings are known for their ability to trigger radical shifts from philosophical mind-games to the purity of consciousness, just by hearing or even reading them. He is a rebellious spirit, abrupt in his style of discussion, provocative, and immensely profound, cutting to the core and wasting little effort on inessentials. His discussions are not for academic scholars.
In 1973, the publication of his most famous and widely-translated book, "I AM THAT", an English translation of his talks in Marathi by Maurice Frydman, brought him worldwide recognition and followers.Īccording to Sri Nisargadatta, the purpose of spirituality is to know who you are. Sri Nisargadatta, with his direct and minimalistic explanation of non-dualism, is considered the most famous teacher of Advaita since Ramana Maharshi. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj was an Indian spiritual teacher and philosopher of Advaita (Nondualism), and a Guru, belonging to the Navnath Sampradaya.
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