Thursday, July 20, 2006

I am

"When I met my Guru, he told me: "You are not what you take yourself to be. Find out what you are. Watch the sense 'I am', find your real Self." I obeyed him, because I trusted him. I did as he told me. All my spare time I would spend looking at myself in silence. And what a difference it made, and how soon!

My teacher told me to hold on to the sense 'I am' tenaciously and not to swerve from it even for a moment. I did my best to follow his advice and in a comparatively short time I realized within myself the truth of his teaching. All I did was to remember his teaching, his face, his words constantly. This brought an end to the mind; in the stillness of the mind I saw myself as I am -- unbound.

I simply followed (my teacher's) instruction which was to focus the mind on pure being 'I am', and stay in it. I used to sit for hours together, with nothing but the 'I am' in my mind and soon peace and joy and a deep all-embracing love became my normal state. In it all disappeared -- myself, my Guru, the life I lived, the world around me. Only peace remained and unfathomable silence."

Source: Nisargadatta Maharaj

Note: This worked for me. Can it work for you? Perhaps. It's worth a try if you have not found a better way. Blessings, Don

11 comments:

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

I'm not sure that I want to know who I am. :)

Flea said...

So lovely and so true!
I have a poem on my blog in my archives (29/04/06) and it said also What ever I am, I am me!!

Kathleen said...

Yes....! Alright Don... Nisargadatta...! wonderful! Beautiful Advaita teachings....
wow...

for me it was beloved Ramana... and "Who am I"... same... same...

Lovely Don... Lovely... wonderful post!
Thank you....

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Hey Kathleen, James, and Hannelie...thank you all. You are!

James, we don't have to know ourselves if we don't want to, but...and there are different ways of getting acquainted.

Blessings!

Bob said...

This sounds good.
I have a teacher too. Teachers can be a great help of course. I would have lost the way without mine!

Dan said...

Thank you, Maharaj, and everyone else.

Mike said...

Great post Don, thanks. Quite similar to the Zen Buddhism practice of realizing one's true nature, seeing one's Original Face.

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thanks Rob, Dan, and Mike. All of you make good points. Rob...teachers are essential. Mike...it does sound similar. It is working for me...helps cut to the chase and get around a lot of the groping and grabbing at self.

Anonymous said...

Hey Dan,

This here is Harlan again. Coming here to your place is like eating potato chips. Can't stop. Did you read my other messages I left here yesterday? I never know aboiut these things. Like I said before these computers act up and don't do the thing you want all the time. Well, I been scratcjhing my head after reading this here message you posted. You know the one about I am. I just keep sayng to myself I am I am I am. Makes me sound like some kinda a nut or something. I can't figure this out. Is this some type of oriental poem or something? This Nagasaki guy seems real deep. I read this sucker three times and best I can figure he is saying that you can find your true self if you look without looking or something like that. Man this one stumps the heck outa me. Is that right or what. Maybe its worth keeping in mind what Jesus said

Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Hear what I'm saying Dan? Maybe this Nagasaki guy is a false prophet. Just a thought.

Well I better git. My dinner is smelling real good. Fried chicken, cole slaw, potato salad, and other goodies. What time you usually eat Dan?

Harlan C. Riebe

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Harlan,

Thank you for your comments. They are very much appreciated.

Regarding false prophets, at times all of us fit that description. If there is one lesson in life for me it is to pay attention. We miss the obvious all the time and spend our time trying to be prophets about everything else in the world.

Nisargadatta Maharaj's ideas (and they are only ideas) appeal to me because of their simplicity. Yet, that does not make them easy to apply to your own life and produce change.

Your dinner sounds wonderful. Reminds me of the old cast iron frying pan that my grandma used to make the world's best fried chicken. Nice memories. Thanks for triggering them.

You asked a question in your other comment today whether it is ok to send comments to the others coming here and commenting. Yes, by all means. You can locate their blogs by just clicking on their screen name in blue above. That will take you to their profile page where you can locate their blogs.

Blessings.

CE said...

When I am confused, I just keep telling myself that I am.
I guess when one does not do anything about being confused, confusion will dissolve by itself.

Friends' Blogs