Before You Think - You Are

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

March 23, 1981

Q: When I think I AM then immediately come thoughts of the things that I am. I know that comes from the mind.

M: Before you think - you are. In the space all movement happens, for any appearance or any movement, the space must be there.

For the question 'Who am I' there is no reply, but you may reply anyway you like, you can give it any name or title you like.

People do not go to the root-meaning of whatever is heard or read, they just repeat, parrot-like. I take a  serious objection to people just reciting the bhajans, parrot-like.

How many people have understood the meaning of certain couplets sung at bhajans? The sun and the moon are reflections of that very principle I AM.

Spirituality is open and at the same time it is a mystery. Because you are, all the worlds, the universe is; this is your reflection.

If you want to know what you are, that is all given in the bhajans. If you close your eyes and almost forget yourself, half-sleep, that is exactly what you are. But if you want to get a glimpse, the first vision that you get is that deep blue space, that is the very idol of beauty, the image of beauty. Very often I have elucidated this point but rarely has anybody been able to catch what I am driving at. At bhajans I used to stress certain couplets by shouting loudly but nobody understood what I was doing. I was stressing couplets so that people would go deeper into the meaning of it, but they were only shouting louder! Not only was I loudly stressing that particular line but I used to repeat it. I was inspired to shout those lines at the top of my voice, "You are that speck of consciousness and out of that the entire cosmos is created." I was deeply devoted to the singing of bhajans because it was providing all the spiritual nourishment. Whenever I used to strike the profound meaning of a particular bhajan I used to dance in the room. I have all the exuberance to dance and sing now, but there is no energy.

After that I never went to any Sage or Saint. However, many Sages and Saints have visited me, but unfortunately I did not meet anybody who considered the sun and the moon and the universe as their expression - such a Sage I did not come across.