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[book] Consciousness and the Absolute by Nisargadatta Maharaj

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I got this book for Christmas and finished it just now. That's right, it's August. It was not the length of the book that kept me at it so long, it's a very short one. It was the profundity. Sometimes a chapter or just a sentence would leave me staggering, gasping for my breath, trying to hold on to existence somehow! In short, it's one of the most powerful books I ever read.

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj was an Indian sage, who's primary message could be summed up in these words- "The important thing is the consciousness. You must give your full attention to the consciousness itself. That is the process of meditation; then all the secrets will be revealed to you by the consciousness." 

This book is a transcript of the conversation he had during the last year of his life. He (or as he always said, the body) was very sick with cancer by that point. The incredible value here is that we can see how a jnani (a liberated one) approaches death. As he describes it, he lets go beyond consciousness into the Absolute, leaving everything behind. 

The last words of the book: 

"I am not able to talk any longer—the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Previously I used to welcome people but now I am not in a position to welcome them. They come, they sit and they go by themselves. I cannot even extend my hospitality.

All my knowledge has gone into liquidation. I am unconcerned."

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Title: Consciousness and the Absolute : the Final Talks of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Author: Nisargadatta Maharaj, Jean Dunn (Editor)

Number of pages: 118

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