Self Knowledge and Self Realization by Maharaj

[Guest guest]

This is from the website

 

http://itisnotreal.com/Self-Knowledge.html

 

Thanks

 

Rishi

 

------

 

 

 

Self Knowledge and Self Realization

 

by

 

Nissargadatta Maharj

 

Edited by

 

Jean Dunn

 

Intro by Ed Muzika

 

 

 

Below is the book I promised to publish written by Nisargadatta. It is the only

book ever

written by Nisargadatta in his own hand. As indicated by Jean in her editor's

notes, it was

published in 1963. There were 100 copies of this book printed by her. She gave

20 or so

copies to friends and students and one to me. For some reason she decided not to

give

any more out. It has never been published in the West. Therefore, you are among

the first

to see it. Jean was never able to find anyone who claimed ownership of the

copyrights.

Perhaps I should now and see who comes out of the woodwork.

 

Concerning copyrights, I am still amazed by the battles that have surrounded the

writings/

teachings of all the well-known spiritual teachers even while they were alive

let alone after

they were dead. Therefore, I have been scrupulous in only posting stuff on this

site that I

had long ago copyrighted, was written by me, was already in the public domain

such as

the Heart Sutra, or which is included by permission, such as the Ashtavakra

Gita.

 

Jean told me it is hard to recognize the later Nisargadatta in this book as the

style is so

devotional and traditional. True. But Maharaj is there.This book is copied

exactly as

printed with all the absent commas and spellings as found in the original. There

are

undoubtedly additional errors caused by my scanner and recognition software,

which

casual editing has not found. I thought it more important to get the information

out into

the public domain and worrie abowt spilling and gramer later.

 

Those accustomed to the bold pronouncements on the nature of reality found in

his later

talks might be surprised by the obvious bhaktic melody throughout this little

book. It is

also obvious that this is the autobiography of Maharaj's awakening, not his

early teaching.

It is a love song both to himself and to his guru.

 

One might ask, " What happened to the Bhakta? "

 

I have no idea of what Maharaj was like before he met his teacher. Perhaps he

was rude

and acerbic then, had a brief period of bhaktic immersion, then reverted to his

pre-

awakening personality. So, is his later public persona a teaching style, also

used by tons of

Zen masters (priests, rabbis, sheiks, sifu, etc.), or did he just have a raggedy

personality

which returned?

 

I don't know. If I were to guess, I would lean towards the latter view.

 

Everyone I know who has seen this book has a different theory; all are

speculative. I wish I

had had more time to talk to Jean about what he was like. In a larger sense, who

cares? His

personality is not important in a teaching sense, although this issue may be

very

important to someone who wants to understand the enlightenment process

clinically.

 

For most of us, it is what his words do to us and what they did to me that is

important.

This little book speaks to many who have been closed out by the content and

style of his

later talks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Editor's Notes

 

(Jean Dunn)

 

The original script for these writings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj was written

in the Marathi

language and called " Atmagnyana and Paramatmayoga " .

 

A translation in English by Vasudeo Madhav Kulkarni, at the time a Professor at

Elphinstone College, Bombay, India, was published on April 8, 1963, under

Maharaj's title,

translated as " Self Knowledge and Self Realization " .

 

Professor Kulkarni's adaptation was published with a foreword by Shree Ram

Narayan

Chavhan, at Shree Nisargadatta Ashram, Vanmali Bhavan, 10th Khetwadi, Bombay 4,

India.

 

Professor Kulkarni's translation was printed in India by J.D. Desai, Pashtra

Vaibhav Press,

273 Vithalbhai Patel Rd., Girgaon, Bombay 4, India.

 

 

 

 

FOREWORD

 

I first purchased this little book in Bombay in 1978, and while it was difficult

to read, it

was so very dear that I decided to edit it, making it easier to understand. I

did this for

myself, and just recently, after lending it to others, and on their insistence,

I decided to

print a few copies for those on the spiritual path. I tried and failed to trace

the original

publishers.

 

While Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, in his last few years, would not entertain any

questions

about experiences in this " dream world " , I feel that this book tells of his own

spiritual path

and experiences.

 

Nisargadatta Maharaj was from the spiritual lineage of the Navanathas.

 

He was born in Bombay in 1897, and was brought up on a farm in Kandalgaon, a

village

south of Bombay. He had an alert, inquisitive mind, and was deeply interested in

religious

and philosophical matters. After the death of his father, he moved to Bombay in

1918, and

in 1924 married Sumatibai, who bore him a son and three daughters.

 

Although he started life in Bombay as an office clerk, he soon went out on his

own and

started a small business, and in a few years he owned several small shops. A

hunger for

truth grew in him, and in 1933, due to a friend's urging, he approached the

great Saint, Sri

Siddharameshwar Maharaj, and was initiated by him.

 

After the death of his Guru in 1936, the urge for Self—realization reached its

zenith, and

in 1937 he abandoned his family and businesses and took to the life of a

wandering

monk. On his way to the Himalayas, where he intended to spend the rest of his

life, he met

a brother disciple who convinced him that a life of dispassion in action would

be more

spiritually fruitful.

 

Returning to Bombay, he found only one store remaining of his business ventures.

For the

sake of his family he conducted the business but devoted all his energy to

spiritual

sadhana. He built himself a mezzanine floor as a place for meditation (this is

the room

where we all used to gather to listen to him talk).

 

In his own words, " When I met my Guru, he told me, 'You are not what you take

yourself to

be. Find out what you are. Watch the sense I AM, find your real Self...' I did

as he told me.

All my spare time I would spend looking at myself in silence...and what a

difference it

made, and how soon! It took me only three years to realize my true nature. " His

message

to us was simple and direct with no propounding of scriptures or doctrines. " You

are the

Self here and now! Stop imagining yourself to be something else. Let go your

attachment

to the unreal. "

 

Maurice Frydman, a Polish devotee, often acted as translator and the questions

and

answers were so interesting that tape recordings were made, and in 1973 these

were

published under the title " I Am That " . . As a result, readers from many

different countries

came to Bombay seeking the spiritual guidance of Sri Maharaj.

 

From 1978 to 1981, when Sri Maharaj died from cancer of the throat, his talks

were so

much deeper than in the previous years that, with the help of a few other

devotees, the

tape recordings were again resumed and I transcribed and edited them, with the

blessings

of Sri Maharaj, and these were published under the titles of " Seeds of

Consciousness " and

" Prior to Consciousness " ; both titles were suggested by Sri Maharaj.

 

JEAN DUNN