I is a Door

by Philip Renard

  “My guru told me that I am Para Brahman and nothing else. I have accepted that with great conviction.”18

  The connection between them only lasted two and a half years, because of Siddharameshwar’s death, in 1936.

  A year after his teacher died, Maruti wandered about India, but gradually it appeared to him that this couldn’t be of any use and he returned to his family in the city. Over the years, in which he meditated a lot and read texts from ancient teachers of Maharashtra like Jnaneshwar and Ramdas, the recognition of his true nature ripened into full Self-realisation.

  He was married, and a father of three children. He once told that his wife used to give him a very hard time. In the Forties his wife died, and later he commented on the proposed opportunity to marry again: “The day she died I married freedom.”19 In 1951 he started to initiate disciples, although many people already had come to visit him to receive teachings in the years before. He now was called Nisargadatta Maharaj [Nisargadatta means ‘Gift of the Natural (Nisarga) State’, and Maharaj is an honorific meaning literally ‘Great king’]. He gave up working in his little bidi shop in 1966.

  In later years he always showed an ambiguous attitude towards tradition. On the one hand he emphasized that all tradition is worthless, because only the present experience counts (the ‘I am’ doesn’t have any history), but on the other hand he regularly paid homage to the places of memorial of the teachers from his own tradition, in the border region of South Maharashtra and North Karnataka. As far as I know these were the only journeys he made.

  His teaching could not in every respect be called ‘Advaita Vedanta’. It was more a merger of several influences, especially a few regional ones in the Marathi language, such as Jnaneshwar and Ramdas; he also loved Tukaram.

  Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj died in Bombay on the 8th of September 1981.

  Several testimonials exist about meetings with Maharaj. There also exist a few film recordings, available on video and the internet, by which one can feel the power of his presence, even now. Everything points to him being hot-tempered, and he made no attempts to conceal it. In terms of the well-known three qualities (gunas) by which Ramana Maharshi could be called a classical example of sattva (clarity and quietude), one could call Maharaj’s appearance a manifestation of rajas (energy and excitement). Yet in essence there was no difference between the teachings of Maharaj and the Maharshi. Occasionally Maharaj did mention a difference, but that only pertained to the appearance:

  “The jnanis will have different ways of expressing. Ramana Maharshi used to wear only a loin cloth, just washed, not ironed – but here, I would like to see that there are no wrinkles, very neat. … I quarrel with my people if they don’t keep these utensils in proper and clean order. Suppose this towel is left unwashed – then I will play hell with whoever is responsible. All the dirt which is not the towel should be removed.”20

  According to Marathi speaking witnesses, Maharaj often spoke in a manner that sounded a bit vulgar to civilized people. A lot of his statements contained obscene expressions and occasionally he told dirty jokes – which the Indian translators found too embarrassing to translate into English.21

  Some of the visitors experienced the treatment they got as completely puzzling; sometimes one hears about people who were denied entrance without any explanation. His way of looking was once described as: “His eyes looked like headlights – he looked right through you, because he himself had nothing to hide or defend.”22 Many elements of his approach to visitors and devotees showed similarities of what in the West until then was only heard or read about Zen masters. Unpredictably and forcefully, but at the same time very lovingly, did Maharaj drag people out of their defence and virtual safety.

  Nisargadatta became known in the West by the book I am That, that was translated and edited by the Pole Maurice Frydman. Maurice had visited Ramana Maharshi in 1935, and after that Swami Ramdas, who initiated him as a sannyasi. Subsequently, he associated with J. Krishnamurti and Mahatma Gandhi. Maurice had made a compilation of some of Ramana’s answers to questions, which was published in 1939 as Maharshi’s Gospel. His compilation I am That appeared in 1973.

  I became familiar with the approach of Nisargadatta Maharaj thanks to my teacher Alexander Smit, a disciple of Maharaj. Like Wolter Keers, his first teacher, he did visit Maharaj several times. Alexander, whose meetings I attended for three years, did put the same emphasis on undermining all concepts. In my opinion, he transmitted the same essence as pointed to by Nisargadatta, so that in a way one could speak of a ‘Dutch lineage’ of Nisargadatta Maharaj. I feel myself being embedded in this lineage.

  NOTES*

  Introduction

  1. Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Carefree Dignity. Discourses on Training in the Nature of Mind. Kathmandu: Rangjung Yeshe, 1998; p. 31. Tsoknyi is a son of the great Dzogchen teacher Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (1920–1996).

  2. These are two statements from the Kunjed Gyalpo, a very ancient tantra scripture that has been very influential in Dzogchen. They have been quoted by the great fourteenth-century teacher Longchenpa, and commented on in several of his own texts. The first quote is from his You Are the Eyes of the World, translated by Kennard Lipman and Merrill Peterson (Novato, CA: Lotsawa, 1987), p. 23. The second quote is from Longchenpa’s A Treasure Trove of Scriptural Transmission, translated by Richard Barron (Junction City, CA: Padma, 2001), p. 198. Two other examples of ancient tantra scriptures in Dzogchen in which the term ‘I’ has been emphatically used, are Rigpa Rangshar and Kuntu Zangpo Longtrub.

  3. Exodus / Shemoth 3:14.

  4. Talks, nr. 106.

  5. Talks, nr. 354.

  6. “The relationship to the Thou [You] is direct”, Martin Buber writes in I and Thou (originally in German: Ich und Du, 1923). In this book Buber stresses the profound difference between a relationship to ‘you’ and to ‘it’.

  7. Gospel, p. 55.

  8. Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad I.4.1. Translated by S. Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanisads. London: G. Allen & Unwin, 1953; p. 163.

  9. Respectively in Talks, nr. 518; and Day by Day with Bhagavan, p. 54. Also see Gospel, p. 81. He added: “ ‘I’ is the Name of God. It is the first and greatest of all mantras. Even OM is second to it”; in Day by Day with Bhagavan, p. 287. Confronted with the emphasis on Aha(m) I inadvertently have to think of the expression ‘Aha-Erlebnis’, by Karl Bühler (1879-1963, a contemporary of Ramana Maharshi). In the writing system in which Sanskrit is being written, the final-m (the last letter in Aham) is shown by a dot, placed above the letter which precedes the m. This final-m has been called anusvara, ‘that which follows the vowels’. See about A, Ha and-m also Mark Dyczkowski, The Doctrine of Vibration (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1987; p. 186–189). There Aham is shown as symbolizing the union of Shiva (A) and Shakti (Ha), with the final-m being the vibration and pure awareness of ‘I’, emanating from their union.

  10. Although these passages have not become as famous as the ones dedicated to Tat tvam asi (‘You are That’), they have been most influential just as well. Shankara did comment on the statement ‘I am the Absolute’ for instance in his Upadesha Sahasri (The Thousand Teachings); see there 6.6; 7.1; 8.2; 10.10; 11.6, 7, 8; 12.11; 13.18, 21; 14.12; 18.225, 226, 227. For translation see Anthony J. Alston, The Thousand Teachings (Upadesa Sahasri) of Sri Samkaracarya. London: Shanti Sadan, 1990.

  11. Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad I.4.10. In The Principal Upanisads (for details see note 8), p. 168.

  12. Talks, nr. 392; Guru Ramana, p. 58.

  13. Discourses, nr. 661; Vol. 2 p. 76 (1st ed. p. 235), and nr. 470; Vol. 1 p. 233 (1st ed. p. 177).

  1. Ramana Maharshi

  1. “He was the Sun, and we are its rays.” See in Dattatreya; Glory of the Divine in Man, the final page of chapter ‘The Descent of the Divine’ [no page numbers]. Vidyanagar 1981.

  2. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, nr. 197. As from here indicated as Talks.

  3. Talks, nr. 615.

  4. Talks, nr. 328.

  5. T
alks, nr. 286; also see the slightly deviating translation in Gospel, p. 26-27.

  6. Ulladu Narpadu (Forty Verses), Verse 24. Translated by Sri Sadhu Om, in his The Path of Sri Ramana; Part One. Tiruvannamalai: Sri Ramana Kshetra, 1971; p. 60. Capitals are added conform to the usage in the quote of note 8.

  7. Talks, nr. 612.

  8. Gospel, p. 82.

  9. See also the excellent article “‘I’ and ‘I-I’: a Reader’s Query” by David Godman in The Mountain Path; Vol. 28, nr. 1&2, June 1991; p. 79-88 (see p. 80 and 85 in particular). This is one of the best articles on the teaching of Ramana Maharshi I know.

  See for this article http://davidgodman.org/rteach/iandii1. shtml

  10. Talks, nr. 28.

  11. Talks, nr. 139.

  12. Talks, nr. 192.

  13. Talks, nr. 199; see also nr. 310.

  14. Talks, nr. 626.

  2. Atmananda

  1. Notes on Spiritual Discourses of Shri Atmananda, nr. 21; Vol. 1 p. 11 (1st ed. p. 9). As from here indicated as Discourses.

  2. Discourses, nr. 1323; Vol. 3 p. 94 (1st ed. p. 442).

  3. Discourses, nr. 17; Vol. 1 p. 9 (1st ed. p. 7).

  4. Discourses, nr. 22 and 21; Vol. 1 p. 12 and 11 (1st ed. p. 9 and 8).

  5. See the footnote on page 29, in which Atmananda connected the notion ‘subjective’ to his way of dealing with logic.

  6. Discourses, nr. 42; Vol. 1 p. 22 (1st ed. p. 18).

  7. Tattwa, p. 154 and 157; Discourses, nr. 600; Vol. 2 p. 54-55 (1st ed. p. 218); and nr. 496; Vol. 2 p. 9-10 (1st ed. p. 184).

  8. Atma Nirvriti, Chapter 20; p. 25.

  9. Discourses, nr. 790; Vol. 2 p. 122 (1st ed. p. 270). Also see Discourses, nr. 713; Vol. 2 p. 98 (1st ed. p. 251). Ramana Maharshi has also emphasized this repeatedly. See Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham, nr. 39 (Collected Works, p. 128), and Talks, nr. 458.

  10. Discourses, nr. 466; Vol. 1 p. 230-231 (1st ed. p. 176).

  11. Discourses, Vol. 1 p. xx (1st ed. p. 16). The expression ‘name and form’ (nama-rupa) is a classic expression in Advaita Vedanta for all manifestation, but also for the ‘seed of the world’ not yet manifested.

  12. Discourses, Vol. 3 p. 216 and 215 (1st ed. p. 545 and 544).

  13. Rays, p. 53-54; and Tattwa, p. 45-50.

  14. Atma Darshan, Chapter 16 (p. 23) and 17 (p. 24).

  15. Atma Nirvriti, Chapter 1 (p. 1) and 11 (p. 12).

  16. Atma Nirvriti, Chapter 19 (p. 22-23). See also Discourses, nr. 476; Vol. 2 p. 2 (1st ed. p. 179).

  17. Rays, p. 125 and 126.

  3. Nisargadatta Maharaj

  1. Prior, p. 12-13.

  2. Chandi (=Devi-mahatmya; this is part of the Markandeya Purana), I.57; also IV.9. Quoted by Vivekananda in The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. VII. Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1986 (10th ed.); p. 216.

  3. Experience, p. 51-52.

  4. Prior, p. 21; and Medicine, p. 10, combined (same original text).

  5. Consciousness, p. 78.

  6. Self-knowledge and Self-realisation (Adaptation of the book Atmajnana Ani Paramatma Yoga). Translated by V.M. Kulkarni. Bombay: Ram Narayan Chavhan, 1963; p. 35. To be downloaded as pdf: http://www.wearesentience.com/ uploads/7/2/9/3/7293936/_____self_knowledge.pdf

  7. Prior, p. 54.

  8. Prior, p. 103.

  9. Experience, p. 86.

  10. Prior, p. 42.

  11. Prior, p. 25. Translator S.K. Mullarpattan adds to this, in a personal letter, the definition “the very spirit of being Sentience”.

  12. Nectar, p. 91. See also the very clarifying description by Michael Comans on ‘Experience Itself’ in texts of early Advaita: The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta. Delhi: M. Banarsidass, 2000; p. 141, 300-311, 351.

  13. I am That, p. 317.

  14. I am That, p. 334. Italics mine, PhR.

  15. Medicine, p. 22.

  16. Prior, p. 27, and many other places.

  17. Prior, p. 114.

  18. Medicine, p. 29.

  19. Nectar, p. 43.

  20. Nectar, p. 57.

  4. The Medicine

  1. I am That, p. 323-324 and 442. Incidentally he called it the door, not a door.

  2. Talks, nr. 503. The hyphen Ramana is emphasizing here is maybe a remnant of his combination ‘I-am-I’, which was a sort of elucidation on his ‘I-I’. See the aforementioned article by David Godman in The Mountain Path, June 1991, p. 82.

  3. Prior, p. 13.

  4. For instance: Seeds, p. 83 and 98; Prior, p. 76; Consciousness, p. 9.

  5. “The point at which everything rises; the source and the end is the same point.” Prior, p. 27.

  6. Prior, p. 62.

  7. Seeds, p. 135.

  8. In this context Ramana says: “All scriptures are only for the purpose of investigating if there are two consciousnesses.” Talks, nr. 199.

  9. See for instance Prior, p. 19 and 47.

  10. On the example of the telescope, see Seeds, p. 193; and Nectar, p. 10-11.

  11. On the term ‘medicine’, see Experience, p. 35; and Medicine, p. 31.

  12. Atma Darshan, Chapter 12 (p. 20-21). Initial capitals inserted on the basis of the quote of note 13. See also Atma Darshan, Chapter 19, on the two aspects of Consciousness.

  13. Tattwa, p. 157.

  14. Tattwa, p. 15 and 17. These are sentences which form the close of a beautiful passage on the cause of diversity. Initial capitals are inserted on the basis of the quote of note 13.

  15. Atma Darshan, Chapter 12 (p. 20).

  16. I am That, p. 14.

  17. Viveka Chudamani, verse 279; see also verses 176 and 362. The Crest Jewel of Wisdom (Viveka-Cudamani). Translated by Anthony J. Alston; London: Shanti Sadan, 1997, p. 167. Italics mine, PhR.

  18. See Ramana’s translation in The Collected Works of Sri Ramana Maharshi, p. 238; see also Talks, nr. 73.

  19. ‘Sri Bhagavan’s Letter to Ganapati Muni’, The Mountain Path, 1982, p. 95-101; quoted by David Godman in the article mentioned before, The Mountain Path, June 1991, p. 82. By “the Heart itself” Ramana did not mean sattva is already the Ultimate; for instance in Talks, nr. 497 he says “Even the sattva light is only reflected light.”

  20. Talks, nr. 314.

  21. Discourses, nr. 410.

  22. I am That, p. 199.

  23. Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Carefree Dignity. Discourses on Training in the Nature of Mind. Kathmandu: Rangjung Yeshe, 1998, p. 65.

  24. Prior, p. 21; and Medicine, p. 10. Italics mine, PhR.

  25. I am That, p. 12.

  26. Day by Day with Bhagavan, p. 6.

  27. Talks, nr. 488.

  28. Prior, p. 42 and 45.

  29. Shvetashvatara Upanishad IV.3. Translated by Swami Gambhirananda, Svetasvatara Upanisad. Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1986, p. 143.

  30. I am That, p. 157.

  31. Seeds, p. 42. “Ishvaro gurur-atma iti”; translated by Ramana in Talks, nr. 496 as “Isvara, Guru and the Self are synonymous.”

  Short Biographies

  1. B.V. Narasimha Swami, Self-Realisation. Tiruvannamalai: Ramanasramam, 1931. 4th edition (1944), p. 19.

  2. Wolter Keers, Jnana yoga – advait vedanta. De weg naar de herkenning. Hilversum and Amsterdam, 1972; p. 9. Republished in 2006 in Amsterdam.

  3. Day by Day, p. 286; see about this true seeing also p. 222 and 358.

  4. Paul Brunton [ps. for H. Raphael Hurst, and probably Hermann Hirsch at birth], A Search in Secret India. London: Rider, no year [1934].

  5. This is not the yogi Yogananda who became well-known in the West (from his Autobiography of a Yogi), nor the Swami Yogananda who was one of the direct disciples of Shri Ramakrishna.

  6. See for instance nr. 369 of Discourses (Vol. 1 p. 181; first Indian edition p. 139-140). Here Atmananda uses the word ‘obstacle’ for the yoga approach.

  7. Discourses, Vol. 3 p. 214 (1st ed. p. 544).

  8. Rays, p. 55.

  9. Discourses, Vol. 3 p. 212-213 (1st ed. p. 542-543).

  10. Discourses, Vol. 3 p. 226 (1st ed.
p. 554).

  11. Discourses, Vol. 3 p. 230 (1st ed. p. 557).

  12. Arthur Koestler, The Lotus and the Robot. London: Hutchinson, 1960.

  13. This year is according to a little text about Thompson himself. Some indirect sources mention 1937. See about Thompson: Mirror to the Light. Reflections on Consciousness and Experience (London: Coventure, 1984; edited by Richard Lannoy); for instance p. 24-34.

  14. See Joseph Campbell’s Baksheesh and Brahman, p. 241-254 (New York: Harper Collins, 1995), about his short meeting with Atmananda. In The Lotus and the Robot Arthur Koestler did, after meeting Atmananda, write very critically about him and his teaching. The book included rather extensive passages from Atma Darshan and Atma Nirvriti, but in Koestler’s commentary he was really outraged about Atmananda’s specific ‘subjective’ use of logic.

  15. See about this logic also the footnote on page 29. John Levy, The Nature of Man According to the Vedanta. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1956. See for John Levy also the article by Hans Heimer in The Mountain Path, Deepam 2004; p. 29-42.

  16. Until recently this date was rather vague, most often the month of March being mentioned. Wikipedia (the Free Encyclopedia) shows the birthday of Hanuman in 1897 as having been at the 17th of April.

  17. ‘Nav Nath’ is a designation for any of the many traditions and societies which refer to some legendary Nine Masters (Naths) ‘from primeval ages’. The names of these nine tantric teachers are different in almost all statements, especially in different regions. In Northern India this tradition is considered to be connected with Shiva, and in Maharashtra particularly with Dattatreya, the deity who completely unites in Himself the well known triad Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. For the Naths see David G. White, The Alchemical Body. Siddha Traditions in Medieval India. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. And also: Shankar Mokashi-Punekar, ‘An Introduction to Shri Purohit Swami and the Avadhoota Gita’. In Avadhoota Gita. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1979; p. 1-73. In this extensive introduction Mokashi-Punekar in a clear way enters at length into the many vaguenesses and misunderstandings about the Naths.