Give Up All Concepts

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

A hundred years back, what were you? At that time, you did not have the knowledge "you are". The memory that you are was missing. Presently, in the temporary phase, you have the knowledge "you are". But to have this knowledge, what are the prerequisites? The essence is required, sattva guna. This means the quintessence of the food essence is necessary to sustain the  I AM-ness or this beingness. And that essence in turn depends on the food body. But all these together - that is, food body quintessence, and the knowledge I AM, the vital breath and the mind - these are all a temporary phase only; so long as food essence is available, the knowingness will last.

Now how to escape from all this? This knowingness is to discover itself; it should realize itself. Then, in the process of its realization it is able to quit this state and abide in the Absolute, in the non-knowingness state. So one must abide in oneself first, in the knowingness state. 

Whenever you sit for meditation, you hold on to the form-concept that you are a male or a female. Give up these concepts! To do such meditation is almost impossible; only a rare one will do it, without that identification with the body-mind.