The Nisargadatta Gita
By Pradeep Apte
4.5/5
()
Spirituality
Self-Realization
Meditation
Self-Discovery
Illusion
Inner Journey
Spiritual Awakening
Mentor
Mentorship
Coming of Age
Journey
Power of Self-Discovery
Hero's Journey
Secret Identity
Chosen One
Devotion
Self-Awareness
Consciousness
Enlightenment
Writing
About this ebook
The Nisargadatta Gita was first released on the internet in February 2008; since then it has been acclaimed worldwide as one of the best expositions of the teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, and used as a meditation manual by many. The essence of the teaching has been expressed in a very clear and lucid style. The Nisargadatta Gita has only one chapter 'I AM', which consists of 231 condensed quotes of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj along with a short commentary on each quote. These quotes have been prepared from a collection of 572 'I AM' quotes compiled from 10 main books (Beginning with 'I Am That') which cover almost all the recorded dialogues of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. This third edition is the first official printed version and has an appendix titled I Am That - A Realization, which is a tribute to the Guru by his disciple.
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Reviews for The Nisargadatta Gita
3 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This explains a method of meditation from Hindu tradition that entails meditating on what all know or intuit: That "I am". The author explains the meditation technique (which is done in a precise way) in the book. The book should be read by any seeker to at least see how well suited he is to the teaching. I was stunned by the beauty and simplicity of the writing.
Book preview
The Nisargadatta Gita - Pradeep Apte
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THE
NISARGADATTA
GITA
PRADEEP APTE
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright page
Some comments on The Nisargadatta Gita:
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Editor's Testimonial
Dedication
Prologue
The Beginning
The Conditioning
The Wandering
The Genesis
I AM : THE FIRST AND THE LAST CHAPTER
Epilogue
Picture Gallery
I AM THAT – A REALIZATION
The First Narrative
The Second Narrative
The Third Narrative
The Fourth Narrative
The Fifth Narrative
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© Copyright by Pradeep Apte (2008, 2013)
First edition: February, 2008.
Second edition: October, 2008.
Third Edition: April, 2013
Third edition published by Sirius Productions, Wilsonville, Oregon, 97070, USA.
Cover and book design by Lila Sterling and Waldo Thompson.
Special thanks to Nisargadatta.org for the generous usage of their photographs.
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Some comments on The Nisargadatta Gita:
"My understanding and practice is much deeper since discovering The
Nisargadatta Gita"
- John
"I get centered reading The Nisargadatta Gita"
- Anne
"The Nisargadatta Gita is evidently the fully ripened fruit of much intense inquiry and reflection."
- John Wheeler
"I wish to thank you, on the way you have described the I AM. Your
description is like a painting or a piece of music, that touches the core of one’s being."
- Ramonde Bissett
"WONDERFUL - SOUL STIRRING !!!!! I have been reading your
Nisargadatta Gita. The lucid commentary you gave to the message of
Maharaj is really wonderful."
- Aditya
"Thank you for your extraordinary contributions to the teachings of Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj. Since my native language is Spanish, I have
translated a couple sections of your book, The Nisargadatta Gita, and posted them to my little blog."
- Clara
This valuable book will be of immense use to all readers.
- Laxmikant
"Thank you so much for compiling The Nisargadatta Gita. He (Maharaj) has had a great impact on me."
- Tim Rowe
This is an excellent insight into the teachings of Nisargadatta Maharaj and helps one get focused on the 'I AM'. This work would go a long way to help seekers understand his teaching. Pradeep's effort is indeed commendable.
- Hemant K
Thank you so much for you wonderful offering!
- Joe
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Acknowledgments
Any work when done for the love of it and with an enormous earnestness amounts to reverence. This reverence becomes even more pertinent when those doing it have a clear understanding of the subject matter and also realize its importance for mankind. These words rightly sum up the way in which Lila Sterling (Proof/Line editor and Art director) and Waldo Thompson (Cover design and Technical/Publishing details) have approached this work. Lila has been the primary initiator of this project and I have known Waldo since he had been following me on Facebook and the ‘Parabrahman Tweets’. I express my deep sense of gratitude towards both Lila and Waldo, with my blessings to them in all such endeavors they undertake in life.
Pradeep Apte
April, 2013
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About the Author
Pradeep Apte was born on the 26th of January 1954, in Indore, India. His father, Vasant, was a music teacher and his mother, Shobha, was also well versed in music. Pradeep did his schooling at the Yadavindra Public School Patiala, Punjab, where his father taught music.
Pradeep went on to become a Biochemist obtaining his Masters and Doctoral Degrees from Indore. He is married to Archana, who is a Software specialist and they have two children, Sanat and Aditi.
Presently, Pradeep, is in charge of the Laboratory and Director at Medicare Hospital and Research Center, Indore. He is a member of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry and has won many awards and certificates of recognition from them.
He has written books on spirituality in English, Hindi and Marathi. The spiritual quest of the author is briefly described in the Prologue of The Nisargadatta Gita. Most of his writings on the teachings of his Guru, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, are also available to be viewed on his blog: thenisargadattasadhana.blogspot.in. Many of his videos can be viewed on You Tube, the most popular ones being ‘I am Unborn: Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj’ and ‘The Essential Teaching of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj’.
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Editor's Testimonial
It has been such a high honor to labor in giving birth to this third edition of The Nisargadatta Gita. The hours that I spent with it was like taking a stroll through fiery flames...so much was and continues to be burned away.
From the first time that I read this Gita over two years ago, I have not been able to leave it, or rather it has not been able to leave me.
If one has faith in these words of the guru and approaches this practice with earnestness and devotion...then he or she will NOT know failure.
A time will surely come when 'Pure Beingness/Self/Shakti' begins to shine forth in ordinary life...splattering itself on the walls of existence...penetrating everything with Itself. That which was ordinary and mundane takes on a liveliness and joy unspeakable begins to emerge.
At this point a milestone has been reached...one feels as if they are no longer a 'seeker' but rather are being sought after. That which was longed for is now longing for you. Surrender and devotion become effortless; the seeker and the sought for begin to merge: true meditation begins to flower.
The fruit of my own dedication to this Sadhana (practice) compels me to applaud it.
If your inherent nature draws you to such a simple practice...it gets no better than this.
I bow in honor of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and his devotee Pradeep Apte.
Lila Sterling
Virginia, May 2013
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Dedicated to the Great Master
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
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Prologue
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The Beginning
What I am trying to recapture took place fifty years back, many aspects are quite vague and hazy but some of them are very distinct and clear. The first thing that I can recollect is that a complete blank prevailed; I did not know anything at all. I cannot describe that state except for saying that it was total oblivion, no sound, no light, no colors, nothing!
From conception to that stage it was almost three years and till then everything went along on its own, there was no question of any volition on my part. I was told that during this period I had some illnesses, mishaps and injuries; they must have been troublesome and painful as they are now, but at that time, I did know at all.
Then quite suddenly, quite spontaneously, without any effort on my part, one day I instantaneously came to know ‘I am’. I had a sense of ‘being’. I felt that ‘I am’. All that I knew was that ‘I am’. When? Where? How? All this I did not know. Quite simultaneously along with this feeling there was space as well, it was indoors, probably a room. There was a side platform, some sort of settee, above which was a large rectangular space, a window from which light was coming in. Probably the time was somewhere around eight or nine in the morning. All this I can describe now, at that moment I did not know anything apart from seeing only light, space and objects. That was my first ‘knowing’ and soon I was back into ‘not-knowing’. These two states, that of knowing, or ‘I am’ and not-knowing or ‘I am not’ was all there was. There weren’t the waking, deep sleep or dreaming states which I acquired much later.
The descriptions that follow are now of this state only, which is ‘I am’ and ‘I am not’ and I do not know exactly how long this period lasted, probably a year or so. Please remember, I can make these descriptions now with my sense of language well developed and of course, my memory which I feel is reasonably good.
To begin with, I remember this girl and that small boy who was always dressed up like a girl. I played a lot with the girl; we ran and ran and laughed a lot. We were probably of the same age and we were living in a valley where there were lots of hills around. We ran along the streams and then there was this bridge over a stream; we used to go below the bridge and play.
One day we were running around completely naked, splashing water in the stream which was rather shallow. All this never made any sense then but still it was a carefree life with great fun and there were no demands or desires whatsoever.
Once while running around the lanes on the small hillocks that were closer to us, we encountered a not very old man strolling around in a pyjama-kurta and a jacket. He gazed at us intensely and then gave a broad smile, just patted our heads and went on.
Then there was this large banyan tree where lots and lots people used to come and make a lot of noise. When we went there these people would catch us, cuddle us, kiss us and there was a lot of laughter.
I used to go to a hall where other children came as well. A dark, bald man in a white lungi and shirt used to take us to the banks of small streams and tell us to gather pebbles of different shapes. A fat lady was in charge of serving food to us in a dining hall that was behind our house.
Large groups of us children were taken to the top of a hill and made to watch the sunset in complete silence, here sometimes I again saw the same pleasant looking not so old man whom we had met on the hillocks. His silence appeared quite different and he was unusually calm.
I remember once, the girl and I managed to enter a big hall where a lot of people were listening to a man who was talking softly on the platform. We were very restless and began fidgeting, giggling and creating quite a commotion. I ran towards the man and stood looking at him; the girl poking me from behind made me laugh. The audience was distracted, the talk disturbed, and there was an Englishman