When you look at spiritual literature, it seems to me that, even though the message may be the same, different books seem to work for different people. ‘I Am That, Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj’ worked for me when I came across it many years ago. Even today, when I browse through it I get startling new insights. I am posting the front and back covers and some quotes (although, to me every page seems quotable) from the book to give you a flavor of the wisdom hidden inside.

“Yes, I appear to hear and see and talk and act, but to me it just happens, as to you digestion or perspiration happens. The body-mind machine looks after it, but leaves me out of it. Just as you do not need to worry about growing hair, so I need not worry about words and actions. They just happen and leave me unconcerned, for in my world nothing ever goes wrong.” (Page 16)

“Your difficulty lies in your wanting reality and being afraid of it at the same time. You are afraid of it because you do not know it. The familiar things are known, you feel secure with them. The unknown is uncertain and therefore dangerous. But to know reality is to be in harmony with it. And in harmony there is no place for fear.” (Page 206)

“To deal with things, knowledge of things is required. To deal with people you need insight, sympathy. To deal with yourself, you need nothing. Be what you are: conscious being, and don’t stray away from yourself.” (Page 303)

“Real communication between people is not verbal. For establishing and maintaining relationship, affectionate awareness expressed in direct action is required. Not what you say, but what you do is what matters. . . . Words have their limited usefulness, but we put no limits to them and bring ourselves to the brink of disaster. We talk of God, Truth and Love, but instead of direct experience we have definitions. Instead of enlarging and deepening action we chisel our definitions. And we imagine that we know what we can define!” (Page 491)