Early Buddhists tried not to describe this state
elaborately as it is beyond human conception.
The Jain tradition also adopted the word to
refer to the blissful, powerful, superconscious
state of liberation from birth and rebirth. In the
Brahminical tradition it came to mean union with
the ultimate reality. This implies a realization of
the infinite being, consciousness, and bliss of the
godhead.
Further reading: George S. Arundale, Nirvana: A Study
in Synthetic Consciousness (Adyar: Theosophical Pub-
lishing House, 1978); Muni Shivkumar, The Doctrine
of Liberation in Indian Religion: With Special Reference
to Jainism (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1984);
Heinrich Zimmer, Philosophies of India (Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1974).
Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897–1981)
advaita teacher
Maharaj Nisargadatta was a Bombay (Mum-
bai) merchant and householder, whose ADVAITA
VEDANTA teachings and JNANA YOGA practices drew
him a large following. His conversations, recorded
by disciples and translated into English, ensured
that his ideas would continue to spread after his
death.
Born in Bombay in March 1897, Maruti (his
birth name) was raised on a small family farm
near Kandalgaon in Maharashtra. As a boy he
became familiar with spiritual topics by listen-
ing to his parents discuss the spiritual life with a
BRAHMIN friend, Vishnu Haribha Gore. When his
father died in 1915, Maruti and his elder brother
became responsible for supporting the family.
They left home to seek employment in Bombay.
Here, Maruti opened a shop selling bidis, hand-
made cigarettes. He became prosperous in the
trade and established several more shops across
Bombay. In 1924, Maruti married Sumatibai, and
they later became the parents of a son and three
daughters.
At age 34, Maruti began to seek answers to
universal questions. His friend took him to Sri
Siddharameshwar Maharaj, a teacher in Bombay
in the Navnath Sampradaya, who gave Maruti a
MANTRA and instructions on MEDITATION. Maruti
quickly developed a practice, giving attention to
nothing else than the sense of “I am.” Soon, Maruti
began to have visions and to experience trance
states. Between 1933 and 1936, he experienced
SELF-REALIZATION and reported that he lived in full
awareness of the transcendent reality. He named
himself Nisargadatta (One Given True Being).
After Sri Siddharameshwar’s death in 1936,
Nisargadatta left his family and business to live
the renounced life of a SADHU, a wandering monk
who owns nothing and begs for food, in the HIMA-
LAYAS. His journey was short-lived, after a fellow
disciple convinced him that his spiritual inten-
tions would be more fruitful at home. Returning
to Bombay he found his business in shambles. He
reestablished one bidi shop, which sustained him
and his family. Nisargadatta spent the remain-
der of his life tending his business and devoting
himself to a strict discipline of daily observances
and veneration of his GURU. He meditated and dis-
cussed his master’s teachings with all who visited
his bidi shop and did not visit saints or temples.
As he began to speak to others, larger and larger
groups of inquirers and students went to his shop
to learn from his eloquence and wisdom.
Nisargadatta’s teachings are based on jnana
yoga and advaita Vedanta, a non-dualistic phi-
losophy. His teachings emphasize the individual’s
direct experience with the eternal in the here and
now. His typical recommendation to new students
was to practice with discipline and follow the
same instruction provided to him, which fostered
SELF-REALIZATION. Nisargadatta encouraged seek-
ers to draw attention to “I am.” In doing so, he
asserted that the practitioner’s mind would soon
gain self-realization in thought and feeling. Nisar-
gadatta died in Bombay on September 8, 1981.
Ramesh S. Balsekar became one of Nisarga-
datta’s closest disciples. Balsekar, a graduate ofK 314 Nisargadatta Maharaj