What is the exact meaning of the two words "I am" that Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj refer

[losnosuy]

What is the exact meaning of the two words "I am" that Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj refers to?
Is it the "sense of me" or the "sense of presence, being, existance"?
I am a sincere seeker. I very hope to understand that!

[Miss Hepburn]

Oh, this oughtta be good! Good question!

[HITESH SHAH]

Originally Posted by losnosuy

What is the exact meaning of the two words "I am" that Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj refers to?
Is it the "sense of me" or the "sense of presence, being, existance"?
I am a sincere seeker. I very hope to understand that!

I personally have not heard Nisargadatta maharaj . However based on the way the religions interpret it is like
1. I (personal physical self ) and the God (Source) are same of same substance viz matter and spirit. So in that sense i am no less than anybody and i have no reason whatsoever to feel diffident/ lowly / down even if we low compared to others worldly standards of money,power,status , learning , education etc . Of course that does not entitle one to insubordinate/insult/humiliate others who are superior by worldly standards .

2. I recognized the way I am same God , others in the universe too are same as God and that calls for equitable ,respectful ,honest relationships with utmost care . There can be no false sense of arrogance due to identification God source.

3. I (personal self ) is on a path to become like Super Spirit genuinely though at physical level that is simply impossible .

So your answer is marked bold in your question itself .Hope this helps.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by losnosuy

Is it the "sense of me" or the "sense of presence, being, existence"?
I am a sincere seeker. I very hope to understand that!

Yeah;
The One, The One Creator of All That Is that is everywhere and everything.
I think that about covers it.

Hitesh - My best buddy has Nisarg's I AM THAT book ---marked up, bookmarked, bent up like an old lady's
Baptist Bible, held together with rubber band! Very funny.

May I suggest to the new op, the book - The Direct Means to Eternal Bliss ---boy does it explain a lot -from Nisarg to Ramana Maharshi, etc.
(Careful - not "The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss"...not that one!)
You'll probably get a headache, tho -it's not so much for beginners, imo.
(And yet, it is.)

[Still_Waters]

QUOTE 1 EXCERPT:

Originally Posted by losnosuy

What is the exact meaning of the two words "I am" that Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj refers to?

I have a friend who actually spent time with Nisargadatta in India and we have had extensive discussions on the efficacy of the "I AM" mantra (with no other thoughts whatsoever). It is experiential. One must JUST DO IT and observe what happens.

Based on my experience with "I AM", it gives one a glimpse of unity consciousness (non-duality). The following relatively brief article presents a very good take on what happens when one practices the "I AM" mantra.

https://acharyaprashant.medium.com/o...a-ee62bd3c1722

EXCERPT (one line only as we are asked here to limit the amount of information that we quote):

The ‘I am’ method is a way to check the tendency of the mind to create separations, to create dualistic separations.

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

May I suggest to the new op, the book - The Direct Means to Eternal Bliss ---boy does it explain a lot -from Nisarg to Ramana Maharshi, etc.
(Careful - not "The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss"...not that one!)

Just to clarify - these are both books by Michael Langford but The Direct Means to Eternal Bliss is the latest 2015 edition. There are various earlier editions. I notice that with each edition the title becomes shorter. Perhaps the 2030 edition will simply be called Eternal Bliss.

I cannot comment further as I have not read any of them - they are not available in Kindle.

Peace

[Volman]

I feel "I am" refers to everything that's non physical, ie energy, consciousness etc. But it can equally mean I am that, the body and I live on planet earth. Everything depends on what dimensional aspect you are dwelling in :)

I love all dimensions and I connect to as many as possibly practical and "I am" in all of them :)

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by losnosuy

What is the exact meaning of the two words "I am" that Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj refers to?
Is it the "sense of me" or the "sense of presence, being, existance"?

One thing to bear in mind is that Nisargadatta did not speak English, so perhaps "I am" is the closest English translation from the original Marathi. Maybe the original had subtle meanings which cannot be conveyed in the simple English translation. I really do not know, but it seems worth mentioning.

Nisargadatta said about the I am meditation: For meditation you should sit with identification with the knowledge "I am" only and have confirmed to yourself that you are not the body. You must dwell only in that knowledge "I am"--not merely the words "I am."

'I am' is surely not referring to the small personal self, but rather to the limitless impersonal Self, omnipresent Being. The difficulty is the use of the word "I", which suggests a separate identity. Yet the omnipresent impersonal Self is our true nature, so this is the real "I".

I appreciate that this is about Nisargadatta, but Ramana Maharshi may provide some guidance. Self-enquiry is the constant attention to the inner awareness of "I" or "I am". Beginners in self-enquiry were advised by Ramana to put their attention on the inner feeling of 'I' and to hold that feeling as long as possible.

As Ramana Maharshi said: The Truth is that Self is constant and unintermittent Awareness. The object of enquiry is to find the true nature of the Self as Awareness. Let one practise enquiry so long as separateness is perceived.

Peace

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by iamthat

...Nisargadatta said ... You must dwell only in that knowledge "I am"--not merely the words "I am."

That's a good one!

Hi Volman, welcome to the gang!

[psychoslice]

There is no such thing a an exact meaning for that which is beyond, there are only pointers that point one to that which IS, pointers are like a boat we use to cross the river to get to the other side, when we are on the other side we drop the pointers, we don't carry them as we don't carry the boat that we used to get to the other side.......unless of course you want to get back to where you started, as most do.