58.
Perfection, Destiny of All
Questioner:
When asked about the means for self-realisation, you
invariably stress the importance
of
the mind dwelling on the sense 'I am'. Where is the causal
factor? Why should this particular
thought
result in self-realisation? How does the contemplation of 'I
am' affect me?
Nisargadatta:
The very fact of observation alters the observer and the
observed. After all, what prevents
the
insight into one's true nature is the weakness and obtuseness
of the mind and its tendency to
skip
the subtle and focus on the gross only. When you follow my
advice and try to keep your mind
on
the notion of 'I am' only, you become fully aware of your mind
and its vagaries. Awareness,
being
lucid harmony (sattva) in action, dissolves dullness and
quietens the restlessness of the mind
and
gently, but steadily changes its very substance. This change
need not be spectacular; it may be
hardly
noticeable; yet it is a deep and fundamental shift from
darkness to light, from inadvertence to
awareness.
Questioner:
Must it be the 'I am' formula? Will not any other sentence do?
If I concentrate on 'there is a
table',
will it not serve the same purpose?
Nisargadatta:
As an exercise in concentration -- yes. But it will not take
you beyond the idea of a table. You
are
not interested in tables, you want to know yourself. For this
keep steadily in the focus of
consciousness
the only clue you have: your certainty of being. Be with it,
play with it, ponder over it,
delve
deeply into it, till the shell of ignorance breaks open and
you emerge into the realm of reality.
Questioner:
Is there any causal link between my focussing the 'I am' and
the breaking of the shell?
Nisargadatta:
The urge to find oneself is a sign that you are getting ready.
The impulse always comes from
within.
Unless your time has come, you will have neither the desire
nor the strength to go for self-
enquiry
whole-heartedly.
Questioner:
Is not the grace of the Guru responsible for the desire and
its fulfilment? Is not the Guru's
radiant
face the bait on which we are caught and pulled out of this
mire of sorrow?
Nisargadatta:
It is the Inner Guru (sadguru) who takes you to the Outer
Guru, as a mother takes her child to a
teacher.
Trust and obey your Guru, for he is the messenger of your Real
Self.
Questioner:
How do I find a Guru whom I can trust?
Nisargadatta:
Your own heart will tell you. There is no difficulty in
finding a Guru, because the Guru is in
search
of you. The Guru is always ready; you are not ready. You have
to be ready to learn; or you
may
meet your Guru and waste your chance by sheer inattentiveness
and obstinacy. Take my
example;
there was nothing in me of much promise, but when I met my
Guru, I listened, trusted and
obeyed.
Questioner:
Must I not examine the teacher before I put myself entirely
into his hands?
Nisargadatta:
By all means examine! But what can you find out? Only as he
appears to you on your own level.
Questioner:
I shall watch whether he is consistent, whether there is
harmony between his life and his
teaching.
Nisargadatta:
You may find plenty of disharmony -- so what? It proves
nothing. Only motives matter. How will
you
know his motives?
Questioner:
I should at least expect him to be a man of self-control who
lives a righteous life.
Nisargadatta:
Such you will find many -- and of no use to you. A Guru can
show the way back home, to your
real
self. What has this to do with the character, or temperament
of the person he appears to be?
Does
he not clearly tell you that he is not the person? The only
way you can judge is by the change
in
yourself when you are in his company. If you feel more at
peace and happy, if you understand
yourself
with more than usual clarity and depth, it means you have met
the right man. Take your
time,
but once you have made up your mind to trust him, trust him
absolutely and follow every
instruction
fully and faithfully. It does not matter much if you do not
accept him as your Guru and are
satisfied
with his company only. Satsang alone can also take you to your
goal, provided it is
unmixed
and undisturbed. But once you accept somebody as your Guru,
listen, remember and
obey.
Half-heartedness is a serious drawback and the cause of much
self-created sorrow. The
mistake
is never the Guru's; it is always the obtuseness and
cussedness of the discipline that is at
fault.
Questioner:
Does the Guru then dismiss, or disqualify a disciple?
Nisargadatta:
He would not be a Guru if he did! He bides his time and waits
till the disciple, chastened and
sobered,
comes back to him in a more receptive mood.
Questioner:
What is the motive? Why does the Guru take so much trouble?
Nisargadatta:
Sorrow and the ending of sorrow. He sees people suffering in
their dreams and he wants them
to
wake up. Love is intolerant of pain and suffering. The
patience of a Guru has no limits and,
therefore,
it cannot be defeated. The Guru never fails.
Questioner:
Is my first Guru also my last, or do I have to pass from Guru
to Guru?
Nisargadatta:
The entire universe is your Guru. You learn from everything,
if you are alert and intelligent.
Were
your mind clear and your heart clean, you would learn from
every passer-by;. It is because
you
are indolent or restless, that your inner Self manifests as
the outer Guru and makes you trust
him
and obey.
Questioner:
Is a Guru inevitable?
Nisargadatta:
It is like asking 'Is a mother inevitable?' To rise in
consciousness from one dimension to
another,
you need help. The help may not always be in the shape of a
human person, it may be a
subtle
presence, or a spark of intuition, but help must come. The
inner Self is watching and waiting
for
the son to return to his father. At the right time he arranges
everything affectionately and
effectively.
Where a messenger is needed, or a guide, he sends the Guru to
do the needful.
Questioner:
There is one thing I cannot grasp. You speak of the inner self
as wise and good and beautiful
and
in every way perfect, and of the person as mere reflection
without a being of its own. On the
other
hand you take so much trouble in helping the person to realise
itself. If the person is so
unimportant,
why be so concerned with its welfare? Who cares for a shadow?
Nisargadatta:
You have brought in duality where there is none. There is the
body and there is the Self.
Between
them is the mind, in which the Self is reflected as 'I am'.
Because of the imperfections of
the
mind, its crudity and restlessness, lack of discernment and
insight, it takes itself to be the body,
not
the Self. All that is needed is to purify the mind so that it
can realise its identity with the Self.
When
the mind merges in the Self, the body presents no problems. It
remains what it is, an
instrument
of cognition and action, the tool and the expression of the
creative fire within: The
ultimate
value of the body is that it serves to discover the cosmic
body, which is the universe in its
entirety.
As you realise yourself in manifestation, you keep on
discovering that you are ever more
than
what you have imagined.
Questioner:
Is there no end to self-discovery?
Nisargadatta:
As there is no beginning, there is no end. But what I have
discovered by the grace of my Guru
is:
I am nothing that can be pointed at. I am neither a 'this' nor
a 'that'. This holds absolutely.
Questioner:
Then, where comes in the never-ending discovery, the endless
transcending oneself into hew
dimensions?
Nisargadatta:
All this belongs to the realm of manifestation; it is in the
very structure of the universe, that the
higher
can be had only through the freedom from the lower.
Questioner:
What is lower and what is higher?
Nisargadatta:
Look at it in terms of awareness. Wider and deeper
consciousness is higher. All that lives,
works
for protecting, perpetuating and expanding consciousness. This
is the world's sole meaning
and
purpose. It is the very essence of Yoga-- ever raising the
level of consciousness, discovery of
new
dimensions, with their properties, qualities and powers. In
that sense the entire universe
becomes
a school of Yoga (yogakshetra).
Questioner:
Is perfection the destiny of all human beings?
Nisargadatta:
Of all living beings -- ultimately. The possibility becomes a
certainty when the notion of
enlightenment
appears in the mind. Once a living being has heard and
understood that deliverance
is
within his reach, he will never forget, for it is the first
message from within. It will take roots and
grow
and in due course take the blessed shape of the Guru.
Questioner:
So all we are concerned with is the redemption of the mind?
Nisargadatta:
What else? The mind goes astray, the mind returns home. Even
the word 'astray' is not proper.
The
mind must know itself in every mood. Nothing is a mistake
unless repeated.