Nisargadatta Maharaj (born Maruti Shivrampant Kambli; 17 April 1897 – 8 September 1981) was an Indian

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan- Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

nondualism Nondualism, also called nonduality and nondual awareness, is a fuzzy concept originating in Indian philosophy and religion for which many definitions can be found, including: nondual awareness, the nonduality of seer and seen or nondiffe ...

, belonging to the

Inchagiri Sampradaya The Inchagiri Sampradaya, also known as Nimbargi Sampradaya, is a lineage of Hindu Navnath and Lingayat Guru, teachers from Maharashtra which was started by Bhausaheb Maharaj. It is inspired by Sant Mat teachers as Namdev, Ravidas, Raidas an ...

, a lineage of teachers from the

Navnath Sampradaya The Navanath (हिंदी - नवनाथ), also spelt as Navnatha in vernacular languages, are the nine saints, Masters or Naths on whom the Navnath Sampradaya, the lineage of the nine gurus, is based.

and

Lingayat Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as ''Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and '' Veerashaivism'' have bee ...

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

. The publication in 1973 of '' I Am That'', an English translation of his talks in Marathi by

Maurice Frydman Maurice Frydman (''Maurycy Frydman'' or ''Maurycy Frydman-Mor'' in Polish), aka ''Swami Bharatananda'' (20 October 1901 in Warsaw, Russian Empire – 9 March 1976 in Bombay, India), was an engineer and humanitarian who spent the later part of his ...

, brought him worldwide recognition and followers, especially from North America and Europe.

Biography

Early life

Nisargadatta was born on 17 April 1897 to Shivrampant Kambli and Parvati bai, in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

.Biography of Nisargadatta Maharaj
/ref> The day was also ''

Hanuman Jayanti Hanuman Jayanti () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of the Hindu deity, and one of the protagonists of the Ramayana, Hanuman. In most states of India, the festival is observed on the full-moon day of the Hindu month of Chait ...

'', the birthday of

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

, hence the boy was named 'Maruti', after him. His parents were followers of the

Varkari Warkari ( Marathi: वारकरी; Pronunciation: �aːɾkəɾiː Meaning: 'The one who performs the ''Wari) is a sampradaya (religious movement) within the bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, geographically associated with the I ...

sampradaya, an egalitarian

Vaishnavite Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as th ...

bhakti tradition which worships

Vithoba Vithoba, also known as Vi(t)thal(a) and Panduranga, is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian state of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is generally considered as a manifestation of the god Vishnu, or his avatar Krishna. Vithoba is of ...

. His father, Shivrampant, worked as a domestic servant in Mumbai and later became a petty farmer in Kandalgaon. Maruti Shivrampant Kambli was brought up in Kandalgaon, a small village in the Sindhudurga district of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

, with his two brothers, four sisters and deeply religious parents.Detailed Biography
/ref> In 1915, after his father died, he moved to Bombay to support his family back home, following his elder brother. Initially he worked as a junior clerk at an office but quickly he opened a small goods store, mainly selling

beedi A beedi (also spelled bidi or biri) is a thin cigarette or mini-cigar filled with tobacco flake and commonly wrapped in a tendu (''Diospyros melanoxylon'') or ''Piliostigma racemosum'' leaf tied with a string or adhesive at one end. It origi ...

s (leaf-rolled cigarettes) and soon owned a string of eight retail shops.Sri Nisagdatta bio at advait.org
In 1924 he married Sumatibai and they had three daughters and a son.

Sadhana

In 1933, he was introduced to his

Siddharameshwar Maharaj Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj (1888–1936) was a guru in the Inchagiri Sampradaya founded by his guru Bhausaheb Maharaj, a branch of the Navnath Sampradaya, the 'Nine Masters' tradition in India. His disciples included Nath teachers Nisargadat ...

, the head of the Inchegiri branch of the

, by his friend Yashwantrao Baagkar. His guru told him, "You are not what you take yourself to be...".Sri Nisargdatta Quote
Siddharameshwar initiated him into the Inchegiri Sampradaya, giving him meditation-instruction and a mantra, which he immediately began to recite. Siddharameshwar gave Nisargadatta instructions for self-enquiry which he followed verbatim, as he himself recounted later: Following his guru's instructions to concentrate on the feeling "I Am", he used all his spare time looking at himself in silence, and remained in that state for the coming years, practising meditation and singing devotional bhajans:
/ref> After an association that lasted hardly two and a half years,

died on 9 November 1936.Timothy Conway
''Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981), Life & Teachings of Bombay's Fiery Sage of Liberating Wisdom''
enlightened-spirituality.org In 1937, Maharaj left Mumbai and travelled across India.
/ref> After eight months he returned to his family in Mumbai in 1938. On the journey home his state of mind changed, realizing that "nothing was wrong anymore." He spent the rest of his life in Mumbai, maintaining one shop to earn an income.

Later years

Between 1942 and 1948 he suffered two personal losses, first the death of his wife, Sumatibai, followed by the death of his daughter. He started to give initiations in 1951, after a personal revelation from his guru, Siddharameshwar Maharaj. After he retired from his shop in 1966, Nisargadatta Maharaj continued to receive and teach visitors in his home, giving discourses twice a day, until his death on 8 September 1981 at the age of 84, of

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

.It Is Not Real
/ref>

Teachings

Style of teaching

Nisargadatta gave talks and answered questions at his humble flat in Khetwadi,

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

, where a mezzanine room was created for him to receive disciples and visitors. This room was also used for daily

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of n ...

ings,

bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam ( Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

s (devotional songs), meditation sessions, and discourses. Cathy Boucher notes that the Inchagiri Sampradaya emphasized mantra meditation from its inception in the early 19th century, but that the emphasis shifted toward a form of

Self-enquiry Self-enquiry, also spelled self-inquiry (Sanskrit '' vichara'', also called '' jnana-vichara'' or '), is the constant attention to the inner awareness of "I" or "I am" recommended by Ramana Maharshi as the most efficient and direct way of disco ...

with Sri Siddharameshwar. Nevertheless, Boucher also notes that Nisargadatta adopted a different mode of instruction, through questions and answers, for his western disciples. Many of Nisargadatta Maharaj's talks were recorded, and formed the basis of '' I Am That'' as well as of the several other books attributed to him.

Awareness of true nature

According to Timothy Conway, Nisargadatta's only subject was Nisargadatta explains: In ''Consciousness and the Absolute'', Nisargadatta Maharaj further explains:

Self-enquiry

According to Conway, awareness of the Absolute could be regained by

Devotion and mantra repetition

Nisargadatta was critical of a merely intellectual approach to nondual Truth. He had a strong devotional zeal towards his own guru, and suggested the path of devotion,

Bhakti yoga Bhakti yoga ( sa, भक्ति योग), also called Bhakti marga (, literally the path of ''Bhakti''), is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards any personal deity.Karen Pechelis (2014 ...

, to some of his visitors, as he believed the path of knowledge,

Jnana yoga Jnana yoga (), also known as the jnana ''marga'' (), is one of the three classical paths ('' margas'') for moksha (liberation) in Hinduism, which emphasizes the "path of knowledge", also known as the "path of self-realization". The other two ...

was not the only approach to Truth. Nisargadatta also emphasized love of Guru and God, and the practice of mantra repetition and singing bhajans, devotional songs.

Scriptures

According to Timothy Conway, Nisargadatta often read Marathi scriptures: Nath saint Jnanesvar's Amritanubhava and Jnanesvari (Gita Commentary); Varkari Sants, namely Eknatha's Bhagavat (''Eknathi Bhagavata'', a rewrite of the ''Bhagavad Purana''), Ramdas'

Dasbodh ''Dāsbodh'', loosely meaning "advice to the disciple" in Marathi, is a 17th-century bhakti (devotion) and jnana (insight) spiritual text. It was orally narrated by the saint Samarth Ramdas to his disciple, Kalyan Swami. The ''Dāsbodh'' provid ...

a, and

Tukaram Sant Tukaram Maharaj (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ukaːɾam was a 17th-century Marathi poet, Hindu ''sant'' (saint), popularly known as Tuka, Tukobaraya, Tukoba in Maharashtra. He was a Sant of Varkari sampradaya (Marathi-Vaishnav tradition) - ...

's poems; but also the Yoga Vasistha,

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

's treatises, and some major

Upanishads The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

Nisarga Yoga

Nisargadatta taught what has been called ''Nisarga Yoga'' (Nisarga can be translated as "nature"). In ''I Am That'', Nisarga Yoga is defined as living life with "harmlessness," "friendliness," and "interest," abiding in "spontaneous awareness" while being "conscious of effortless living." The practice of this form of

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

involves

meditating Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

on one's sense of "I am", "being" or "consciousness" with the aim of reaching its ultimate source prior to this sense, which Nisargadatta called the "Self". The second edition of ''I Am That'' includes an epilogue titled Nisarga Yoga by Maurice Frydman which includes this passage:Nisargadatta did not prescribe a specific practice for self-knowledge but advised his disciples, "Don't pretend to be what you are not, don't refuse to be what you are." By means of

self-enquiry Self-enquiry, also spelled self-inquiry (Sanskrit '' vichara'', also called '' jnana-vichara'' or '), is the constant attention to the inner awareness of "I" or "I am" recommended by Ramana Maharshi as the most efficient and direct way of disco ...

, he advised, "Why don't you enquire how real are the world and the person?". Nisargadatta frequently spoke about the importance of having the "inner conviction" about one's true nature and without such Self-knowledge one would continue to suffer. Nisargadatta claimed that the names of the

Hindu deities Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavān and Bhagavati. The deities of Hinduism have evolved ...

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...

and

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

were the names of nature (Nisarga) personified, and that all of life arises from the same

non-dual Nondualism, also called nonduality and nondual awareness, is a fuzzy concept originating in Indian philosophy and religion for which many definitions can be found, including: nondual awareness, the nonduality of seer and seen or nondiffe ...

source or Self. Remembrance of this source was the core of Nisargadatta's message:The Seven Principles of Nisarga Yoga (As identified by Nic Higham, 2018) # Non-identification and right understanding # Interest and earnestness # Spontaneity and effortlessness # Attentiveness to being # Right action # Going within to go beyond # Awareness of Self

Lineage

Disciples

Among his best known disciples are

, Sailor Bob Adamson, Stephen Howard Wolinsky (born 31 January 1950), Jean Dunn, Alexander Smit (Sri Parabrahmadatta Maharaj) (1948-1998), Douwe Tiemersma (7 January 1945 – 3 January 2013), Robert Powell, Timothy Conway,

Wayne Dyer Wayne Walter Dyer (May 10, 1940 – August 29, 2015) was an American self-help author and a motivational speaker. Dyer completed a Ed.D. in guidance and counseling at Wayne State University in 1970. Early in his career, he worked as a high sch ...

and

Ramesh Balsekar Ramesh S. Balsekar (25 May 1917 – 27 September 2009) was a disciple and principle translator of the late Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, a renowned Advaita master. From early childhood, Balsekar was drawn to Advaita, a nondual teaching, particularl ...

(1917-2009). A less well known disciple is Sri Ramakant Maharaj (born 8 July 1941), who received the naam

mantra A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ...

from Nisargadatta in 1962, spent the next 19 years with the master.Interview with Ramakant maharaj
/ref>Shri Ramakant Maharaj
/ref> and claims to be "the only Indian direct disciple of Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj" who offers initiation into this lineage.Shri Ramakant Maharaj, ''Information''
/ref> Sachin Kshirsagar, who has published a series of books on Nisargadatta in the Marathi language
/ref> and also re-published ''Master of Self Realization'', says to have received the Naam (Mantra) in a dream from Shree Nisargadatta Maharaj on 17 Oct., 2011.

Successors

David Godman David Godman (born 1953) has written on the life, teachings and disciples of Ramana Maharshi, an Indian sage who lived and taught for more than fifty years at Arunachala, a sacred mountain in Tamil Nadu, India. In the last 30 years Godman has wr ...

gives the following account of an explanation by Nisargadatta of the succession of Gurus in the Inchagiri Sampradaya: According to David Godman, Nisargadatta was not allowed by Siddharameshwar to appoint a successor, because he "wasn't realised himself when Siddharameshwar passed away."David Godman, ''Remembering Nisargadatta Maharaj''
/ref> Nisargadatta started to initiate others in 1951, after receiving an inner revelation from Siddharamesvar. Nisargadatta himself explains:

Notes

References

Sources

''Printed sources * * * * * * *''Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj - Maurice Frydman - I am That'' - Tamil Translation - Year 2016 - title Naan Brammam - place =Chennai, India publisher =Kannadhasan Pathippagam

Web sources

DVDs

* Awaken to the Eternal, Nisargadatta Maharaj: A Journey of Self-Discovery. 1995.
''Tatvamasi – You Are That'' (2009), 87 min. Online

External links

;Nisargadatta websites
www.maharajnisargadatta.com – a Resource website

www.nisargadatta.co.uk – The essential message/teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Generic Web resources on Nisargadatta
Nisargadatta compilation of quotes from various books

Nisargadatta core teachings summarised from the book "The Essential Nisargadatta"
;Lineage

* ;Background and biography *
Remembering Nisargadatta Maharaj, reflections of David Godman

;Films * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160313043945/http://netinetifilms.com/ DVDs about Sri Nisargadatta Maharajbr>Videos about Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
;Publications by Nisargadatta Maharaj
I Am That pdf
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maharaj, Nisargadatta 1897 births 1981 deaths Advaitin philosophers Indian Hindu spiritual teachers 20th-century Indian philosophers Scholars from Mumbai Inchegeri Sampradaya Marathi Hindu saints