The Conscious Presence

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Once the knowledge has dawned in you, you are a jnani, you are no more a human person. You are the manifest Brahman, Chetana, the dynamic manifest Brahman.

Earlier your thoughts used to be connected with the body and the relatives of the body, but having gotten dissociated from the body-mind and established in the state of dynamic consciousness, what could be the quality of your thoughts? You thoughts will be more subtle, if there are any thoughts. Nevertheless, this dynamic consciousness is the quality of the food body. So long as the body is, the consciousness is. 

Whatever you talk and receive in the morning, you will continue repeating until you fall into sleep; nobody inquires at this level - all this functioning - how does it happen? What is the quality of this functioning and how does it occur? What are you? Inquire into it.

Only a few people are capable of understanding this. That is why I send people away - because it is of no use, just listening to words - but if that firm faith is there what I say will dawn in them. The inadequacies of the intellect should be made up by this very strong faith.

Beingness is there, the consciousness is there, and because it is there, the world is there. When the consciousness only prevails, when people talk, I don't understand; only the conscious presence is felt and not the details of what is happening. Because of the conscious presence you count me as present; if the consciousness is not there, you will say I am not present.