The True Nature of Reality

This series is a collection of pointers or teaching aphorisms by  Nisargadatta  Maharaj on the theme of separation - uncluttered with words and explanations. Remember, to know Yourself, return to the silence before words. There is no chaos in the world, except the chaos which your mind creates. It is self-created in the sense that at its very centre is the false idea of oneself as a thing different and separate from other things. In reality you are not a thing, nor separate. – Nisargadatta Maharaj

This series is a collection of pointers or teaching aphorisms by  Nisargadatta  Maharaj on the theme of separation - uncluttered with words and explanations.  Remember, to know Yourself, return to the silence before words. In reality only the Ultimate is.  The rest is a matter of name and form. And as long as you cling to the idea that only what has name and shape exists, the Supreme will appear to you non-existing. When you understand that names and shapes are hollow shells without any content whatsoever, and what is real is nameless and formless, pure energy of life and light of consciousness, you will be at peace – immersed in the deep silence of reality. –       Nisargadatta Maharaj How to reflect on the pointers The sense of personal self is simply the result of conditioning. How did you form your ideas about yourself? If you reflect on this question, you will discover that your ideas of self-identity ...

The most striking shift in Advaita Vedanta is from viewing the world out there from the perspective of the individual self to identifying with the True Reality that is prior to the manifestation of the world.  As Nisargadatta says: Who was born first, you or the world? As long as you give first place to the world, you are bound by it; once you realize, beyond all trace of doubt, that the world is in you and not you in the world, you are out of it. Of course your body remains in the world and of the world, but you are not deluded by it. However, this shift in vantage point, while seemly simple and effortless, has a requirement – giving up all identification with the personal self and the network of desires and fears that fuel the sense of self.  For the individually bound seeker, this price can seem too high: What about my position on the mountain? What about my relationship with the pebbles nearby to me? What about my smooth edges and unique colours? What if I...