Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
current suggested assesment
|Tradition||Navnath Sampradaya (Nath)/Advaita Vedanta|
|Guru||Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj|
|Critics||none (faultless/True Guru)|
Nisargadatta Maharaj (April 1897 – September 8, 1981) worked as a simple bidi seller in Mumbai (known formerly as Bombay) but was considered by many an enlightened being and a master of spirituality. Maharaj was world renowned and admired for his direct and informal teachings, a selection of which are in his most famous book I Am That: , which has been translated into many languages. Nisargadatta is widely considered to be one of the 20th century's most articulate communicators of the Hindu school of Advaita Vedanta or nondualism, uniquely successful in making such previously diffuse ideas accessible to both eastern and western minds.
Although he had a Hindu background and upbringing, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj's teachings have a universal appeal. His genius is in making abstract ideas clear to everyone. He explained that the purpose of advanced spirituality is to know who you are -- simply that. Through his many talks given in his humble flat in the slums of Bombay, he showed a direct way in which one could become aware of one's original nature. Many of these talks were recorded, and form the basis of I am That and his other books. His words are free from cultural and religious trappings, and the knowledge he expounds is stripped bare of all that is deemed unnecessary.
In the words of advaita scholar Dr Robert Powell, "Like the Zen masters of old, Nisargadatta's style is abrupt, provocative, and immensely profound -- cutting to the core and wasting little effort on inessentials. His terse but potent sayings are known for their ability to trigger shifts in consciousness, just by hearing, or even reading them."
Nisargadatta Maharaj - Website dedicated to Nisargadatta Maharaj ,also Discussion Group, quotations, etc
Realization.org: Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj - reference page with biography, teachings, and links.
Nisargadatta Maharaj - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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