The Setting
A cramped loft in Khetwadi, Mumbai, where Nisargadatta Maharaj, a simple bidi (Indian cigarette) seller, holds satsang. Visitors sit on the floor as the Maharaj speaks with brutal honesty, accepting no evasion, no spiritual pretense, no philosophical escape. Maurice Frydman, a Polish Jew who has lived in India for decades, serves as translator and questioner.
The Dialogue
The Foundation: ‘I Am’
QUESTIONER: Maharaj, I have studied many philosophies, practiced various meditations. Yet I still don’t know who I am. Can you tell me?
MAHARAJ: I can tell you, but what good will it do? You will just add it to your collection of concepts. Instead, I will show you how to find out for yourself.
Before anything else, before all your knowledge and confusion, there is one thing you know for certain. What is it?
QUESTIONER: I… exist?
MAHARAJ: Exactly. “I AM.” This you know with absolute certainty. You may doubt everything else—whether this world is real, whether God exists, whether your thoughts are true—but you cannot doubt that you are. Even to doubt requires that you are.
This sense of being, this “I am-ness,” this consciousness of existing—this is the foundation. Stay with it.
QUESTIONER: But Maharaj, everyone knows they exist. What’s special about this?
MAHARAJ: Everyone knows it superficially, but few investigate it deeply. You know you are, but you immediately add qualifications: “I am a person,” “I am a man,” “I am old,” “I am a seeker.” These are additions to the bare fact of being.
The pure “I AM” without any qualifications—this is what you must discover. This “I AM” before you became a person, before you had a name, before you had thoughts—this is the key.
The Illusion of the Person
QUESTIONER: Maharaj, you say I’m not a person. But I experience myself as Maurice, with a history, memories, personality. How can this be an illusion?
MAHARAJ: Let me ask you: When you say “I am Maurice,” what exactly is Maurice? Is it the body?
QUESTIONER: Partly, yes.
MAHARAJ: But the body you had as a child is completely gone. Not a single cell remains from that child’s body. The body changes constantly. How can the ever-changing body be “you”?
QUESTIONER: Then perhaps the mind, the personality?
MAHARAJ: The mind also changes. The thoughts you had yesterday are gone. The Maurice who was angry yesterday is different from the Maurice sitting here now. Memories fade, opinions change, personality shifts. Where is the permanent Maurice?
QUESTIONER: But there’s continuity, a sense of being the same person…
MAHARAJ: That’s the illusion! There is no continuous person, only the continuous sense of being—the “I AM”—around which changing experiences gather like clouds around the sky.
You are not Maurice. Maurice is a name given to a particular body-mind. But you—the real you—are the consciousness in which Maurice appears.
QUESTIONER: This is difficult to grasp.
MAHARAJ: Because you are looking for yourself among objects. You are looking for the seer among the seen. You cannot find yourself there. The eye cannot see itself. The subject cannot be made into an object.
You are not in the world; the world is in you. You are not a person in consciousness; you are the consciousness in which the person appears.
The Practice: Abiding in ‘I Am’
QUESTIONER: Maharaj, how do I realize this? What practice should I do?
MAHARAJ: The only practice is to abide in the “I AM.” Nothing else is needed.
Catch hold of the sense “I am” and don’t let go. Stay with it, cling to it. Not the “I am this” or “I am that,” but just the pure “I am.”
QUESTIONER: But thoughts keep arising. I get distracted.
MAHARAJ: Let them arise. You are not the thoughts. You are the awareness in which thoughts appear. Like clouds passing across the sky—the sky is not affected. Be the sky, not the clouds.
When you stay with “I am,” everything else takes care of itself. Thoughts come and go, but the “I am” remains. Feelings come and go, but the “I am” remains. The world appears and disappears (in sleep), but the “I am” remains.
QUESTIONER: How long should I practice this?
MAHARAJ: There is no “should.” Just do it. Make it your constant companion. While walking, “I am.” While eating, “I am.” While working, “I am.” Let this become as natural as breathing.
Not as a mantra, not as something you repeat mechanically, but as a living presence—the felt sense of being, the consciousness of existing.
QUESTIONER: And then?
MAHARAJ: And then, one day, you will realize: this “I am” which you have been attending to—it too is not you. It is the first illusion, the primary concept. Beyond even “I am” is THAT which you are—the Absolute, beyond being and non-being.
But this realization comes naturally. First, stabilize in “I am.” Don’t jump ahead.
The Witness
QUESTIONER: Maharaj, you often speak of the witness. What is this witness?
MAHARAJ: The witness is the consciousness that observes all. It sees the body but is not the body. It sees thoughts but is not the thoughts. It sees the world but is not the world.
Right now, you are aware that you are sitting here. Who is aware? The body is not aware—it is the object of awareness. The thoughts are not aware—they too are objects of awareness. There is an awareness that is prior to all experience—this is the witness.
QUESTIONER: Am I the witness, then?
MAHARAJ: In a sense, yes. But the ultimate truth is even beyond this. The witness still implies duality—a witness and something witnessed. Beyond the witness is pure non-dual awareness.
But as a practice, yes, be the witness. Observe everything—body sensations, emotions, thoughts, the world—without identifying with anything. Just observe, like watching a movie. You are not the characters on the screen; you are the one watching.
QUESTIONER: But if I’m just witnessing, won’t I become passive, uninvolved in life?
MAHARAJ: This is a common misunderstanding. The witness is not passive. From the witness position, action continues, but without the burden of doership.
The body acts, thoughts occur, words are spoken—but you know you are not the doer. You are the space in which all this happens. This brings tremendous freedom. You can engage fully with life without being bound by it.
The Teacher and the Teaching
QUESTIONER: Maharaj, you are my teacher. How important is the guru?
MAHARAJ: The guru is essential and not essential.
Essential because: without the guru pointing out the truth, you would remain caught in the dream, seeking everywhere except where you should look—within.
Not essential because: the guru cannot give you what you don’t already have. He can only show you what you are. The real guru is inside you—your own awareness.
QUESTIONER: But I need guidance, instruction…
MAHARAJ: Yes, and I give it: attend to the sense “I am.” What more instruction do you need? It’s simple, direct, immediate. You don’t need to go to the Himalayas, you don’t need to practice austerities, you don’t need years of study. Just turn attention to the primary fact of your existence—“I am”—and stay there.
QUESTIONER: Is that all?
MAHARAJ: That IS all! But people don’t want it to be simple. They want elaborate practices, complex philosophies, impressive experiences. The ego wants to do something spectacular. But truth is simple, available, here and now.
My guru, Siddharameshwar Maharaj, told me: “You are not what you think you are. You are the witness of what you think you are.” This simple statement, truly understood, is complete.
On Time and Liberation
QUESTIONER: Maharaj, how long will it take for me to realize the truth?
MAHARAJ: It has already happened. There is nothing to achieve, nowhere to go, no time required. You ARE the truth already. The question itself comes from the illusion that you are a person in time who must achieve something in the future.
QUESTIONER: But I don’t feel liberated. I still suffer.
MAHARAJ: Because you believe you are Maurice, a person with problems. Maurice suffers, yes. But are you Maurice? Investigate!
When you deeply see that you are not the person, how can there be suffering? Suffering happens to the body-mind. But you are the witnessing consciousness, untouched by anything.
QUESTIONER: It seems too easy.
MAHARAJ: It IS easy, but the mind makes it difficult. The mind wants to complicate, wants to postpone: “I need more practice,” “I’m not ready,” “Maybe next year.” These are tricks of the ego to maintain itself.
I’m telling you now: you are free now. Not in some future time after years of practice, but NOW. You have always been free. You just don’t know it because you believe the thoughts that say you’re bound.
The Nature of Reality
QUESTIONER: Maharaj, is this world real or illusion?
MAHARAJ: From the absolute standpoint, the world is unreal—it appears in consciousness like a dream and has no independent existence. From the relative standpoint, the world is real as long as you take yourself to be a person.
But these are just words. What is important is: who is asking? Who wants to know if the world is real?
QUESTIONER: I am asking.
MAHARAJ: And who are you? Find this out, and the question about the world’s reality will disappear.
QUESTIONER: But practically, how should I relate to the world?
MAHARAJ: Live in it, but don’t be of it. Engage fully, but without attachment. See it as a play, a divine game (lila). You are the audience watching the play, not a character in it.
The world appears, changes, disappears (in sleep, in death). But you—the awareness—remain constant. Be interested in what remains, not in what changes.
On Effort and Grace
QUESTIONER: Maharaj, you say realization is immediate, yet you also say to practice attending to “I am.” Isn’t this a contradiction?
MAHARAJ: There is no contradiction. From the ultimate standpoint, you are already That—no effort needed. But from the standpoint of one who believes himself to be a person, effort is needed to break this belief.
It’s like a man who dreams he’s imprisoned. In the dream, he must make effort to escape. But from the waking state, we see he was never imprisoned—it was just a dream. The effort to escape the dream prison helps him wake up.
Similarly, your practice is not to become something you’re not, but to realize what you already are.
QUESTIONER: And grace? Does God’s grace play a role?
MAHARAJ: Grace is always present. Grace is your true nature. The very fact that you’re asking these questions, that you’re drawn to truth—this is grace.
But don’t wait passively for grace to “descend.” Grace is already here. Your job is to be available to it, which means: get out of the way. Drop your ideas about yourself, your spiritual achievements, your past and future. Be empty, available, open—and grace, which was always there, becomes obvious.
The Direct Approach
QUESTIONER: Maharaj, other teachers speak of stages of development, levels of consciousness, progressive paths. You seem to bypass all this.
MAHARAJ: Yes, because I’m not interested in feeding the spiritual ego. “I’ve reached this level,” “I’ve had that experience,” “I’m progressing”—all this is still the person, the ego, claiming spiritual achievement.
I’m pointing beyond all this. You are not a person on a spiritual journey. You are the destination itself, pretending to be a traveler.
QUESTIONER: But surely there is a process of purification, preparation…
MAHARAJ: For whom? For the person? Let the person purify itself if it wants. But you are not the person! Why should you wait for the person to be perfect before you realize your true nature?
Right now, this moment, you are the pure awareness beyond all persons, all experiences, all time. Why wait? Why postpone?
QUESTIONER: Because I don’t feel like pure awareness. I feel like Maurice with problems.
MAHARAJ: And what is aware of Maurice with problems? Is Maurice aware of Maurice? No! You—the awareness—are aware of Maurice. You are looking AT Maurice from beyond Maurice.
This awareness that you are—it has no problems. Maurice has problems. Let Maurice deal with them. You remain as the witness, untouched.
The Final Understanding
QUESTIONER: Maharaj, I think I’m beginning to understand. But how do I stabilize this understanding?
MAHARAJ: By not allowing attention to wander away from “I am.” By staying with the sense of presence, the consciousness of being.
And by understanding that you are not trying to achieve a special state. Right now, the ordinary awareness with which you hear these words, see this room, feel this body—this very awareness is IT. Nothing special, nothing mystical, just this obvious, ever-present consciousness.
QUESTIONER: It seems too ordinary.
MAHARAJ: Because you’re looking for something extraordinary! The ego wants spiritual experiences, cosmic visions, altered states. But the truth is the most obvious thing—so obvious you overlook it.
You ARE, and you know that you are. This knowing, this consciousness—investigate it, abide in it, and you will discover it is infinite, eternal, not bound by the body or mind.
QUESTIONER: Maharaj, I’m grateful for these teachings.
MAHARAJ: Don’t be grateful to me. I’m not giving you anything you don’t already have. I’m only pointing out what you’ve overlooked.
And don’t make me into an authority, a special being. I’m just consciousness, same as you. The difference is, I know I’m consciousness, and you still think you’re a person.
When you know yourself as I know myself, you’ll see: there is only One, appearing as many. There is only consciousness, playing all the roles—guru, disciple, world, everything.
QUESTIONER: Thank you, Maharaj.
MAHARAJ: Drop the “you” and the “I,” and only the “thank” remains—the gratitude of Being for its own existence. This is the real thanksgiving.
Now go. Don’t collect my words as spiritual knowledge. Put them into practice. Attend to “I am” constantly, and see what happens. The rest will take care of itself.
The Teaching
Core Insights
The Primacy of ‘I Am’:
- The fundamental certainty: “I exist”
- Before all concepts, before all experience: bare awareness
- The gateway to ultimate realization
The Person is an Illusion:
- No permanent, continuous entity called “person”
- Only the continuous sense of being (“I am”) around which experiences gather
- The person is a concept, not a reality
You Are Consciousness:
- Not a person having consciousness
- But consciousness in which the person appears
- The witness of all experience
Liberation is Immediate:
- Not in time, not after years of practice
- Already the case, only needs recognition
- The seeker and the sought are one
The Practice
Abiding in ‘I Am’:
- Turn attention to the sense of being
- The felt awareness “I exist”
- Stay with it without qualification
- Make it constant companion
Witnessing:
- Observe body, thoughts, emotions without identification
- Know yourself as the awareness of these, not as these
- Like watching a movie—you’re not the screen or the images
Direct Investigation:
- Question all assumptions about yourself
- Who am I before thoughts arise?
- What remains when all concepts are dropped?
- Stay with the not-knowing
Progressive Understanding
Stage 1: Identification with Person
- I am the body-mind
- I am Maurice with problems
- Seeking liberation
Stage 2: Identification with ‘I Am’
- I am consciousness
- I am the witness
- Experiencing presence
Stage 3: Beyond ‘I Am’
- Even “I am” is a concept
- The Absolute: beyond being and non-being
- No separation between knower and known
Practical Application
Daily Practice
Morning:
- Upon waking, before thought arises, feel the sense “I am”
- Don’t rush into thoughts of the day
- Rest in pure presence for a few moments
Throughout the day:
- Regularly return to “I am”
- Witness activities without identification
- Remember: “I am the awareness, not the actor”
Evening:
- Review day as witness, not as doer
- See how experiences came and went
- Recognize: you remained throughout
In difficulty:
- Ask: “To whom is this happening?”
- Answer: “To the person, not to me”
- Rest as witness of difficulty, not victim
Meditation
Simple Sitting:
- Sit comfortably
- No special technique needed
- Just be aware that you are
- Rest in this awareness
- When thoughts arise, let them
- You are the space in which they appear
Throughout:
- No goal, no achievement
- Just being what you already are
- Relaxation into your true nature
Questions and Answers
Q: How is Nisargadatta’s teaching different from traditional Advaita?
A: More direct, cutting through traditional stages and preparations. Emphasizes immediate recognition rather than gradual purification. Uses “I Am” as primary focus rather than “Brahman” or “Ātman.”
Q: Why does he say even “I Am” must be transcended?
A: “I Am” is still a subtle concept, the first arising in consciousness. The Absolute is prior even to the sense of being. But stabilize in “I Am” first before going beyond.
Q: Can anyone follow this teaching or is it only for advanced seekers?
A: Nisargadatta taught everyone who came, regardless of background. But the teaching is radical—it may not resonate with those seeking gradual paths. Earnestness matters more than preparation.
Q: What about karma, rebirth, spiritual experiences?
A: All these are for the person. When you realize you’re not the person, these questions become irrelevant. Don’t get caught in spiritual philosophy—stay with direct realization.
Q: How do I know if I’m making progress?
A: There is no “you” to make progress. Progress is a concept of the mind. Instead: Are you more aware? Is identification with person loosening? Is peace increasing? These indicate ripening understanding.
The Significance
Revolutionary Simplicity
Cutting through traditions:
- No need for years of study
- No need for complex practices
- No need for preparation
Direct transmission:
- Pointing to immediate awareness
- Using simple, non-technical language
- Speaking from realization, not learning
Influence on Western Non-Duality
The book “I Am That”:
- Introduced thousands to Advaita
- Influenced modern non-dual teachers
- Made Eastern wisdom accessible
Key impact:
- Emphasis on consciousness over concepts
- Direct recognition over gradual attainment
- Simplicity over complexity
Universal Accessibility
No religious requirements:
- No need to be Hindu
- No need for Sanskrit knowledge
- No need for Indian culture
Psychological precision:
- Clear distinction between awareness and content
- Understanding of identification mechanisms
- Practical investigation methods
Contemplation
*In a small room in Mumbai,
Above a bidi shop,
An old man speaks:
“You are not what you think you are.”
Sixty years of being a person—
All those memories, all that history—
Not you.
The seeker seeking,
The practitioner practicing,
The knower knowing—
Not you.
Just this: I AM.
Before Maurice, before memory, before mind—
The bare fact of being.
Stay here.
Don’t wander into thoughts of past and future.
Don’t build castles of spiritual achievement.
Don’t wait for some special state.
Right now, you ARE.
This knowing that you are—
This is it.
Not something mystical,
Not something far away,
Not something you’ll achieve—
But this,
Here,
Now.
The ordinary awareness
With which you read these words—
That’s it.
So obvious you missed it.
So simple you disbelieved it.
So immediate you looked elsewhere.
But now you know:
You are That
Which you’ve been seeking.
The seeker is the sought.
The questioner is the answer.
The “I” that asks “Who am I?”
Is already the answer.*
May you, like those who sat in Maharaj’s loft, realize the obvious truth: You are not what you think you are. You are the awareness in which all thoughts appear. You are THAT. 🙏✨