Consciousness Forgotten

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

March 9, 1981

This sense of entity that one has, which has been created by the mind, when the consciousness itself disappears, what happens to that sense of entity? Is there anyone who knows that he is dead? It is only the others who say that he is dead.

If the consciousness and the mind were the ultimate truth, then all those millions of forms which have been created and destroyed would have the knowledge of their existence.

In this country, in this life, you acquire something, but the rule of the land is that whatever has been acquired cannot be taken out of the country. Whatever you acquire is because of consciousness, but the law of the land of this life is that nothing can be taken away, once consciousness disappears, everything is gone.

How does man behave in the world? He forgets what it is that is really functioning. He forgets that the forms are only instruments for the functioning of consciousness. He considers himself an entity and spends his whole life working hard, trying to achieve something. The motivation for all this is the sense of me and mine. All kinds of forms are being created and destroyed continuously - that is part of the functioning.

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From Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2

Whoever has abandoned desires, and moves about without attachments and the sense of 'I' and 'mine' - he attains to peace.

This, O son of Pritha, is the state of dwelling in Brahman. Having attained it, one is no more deluded. By abiding in that state even by the time of death, one is united with Brahman.