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Q: When a man comes to you for advice and you give him advice, wherefrom does it come and by what power does it help?
Nisargadatta: His own being affects his mind and induces a response.
Q: And what is your role?
N: In me the man and his self come together.
Q: Why does not the self help the man without you?
N: But I am the self! You imagine me as separate, hence your question. There is no ‘my self’ and ‘his self’. There is the Self, the only Self of all. Misled by the diversity of names and shapes, minds and bodies, you imagine multiple selves. We both are the self, but you seem to be unconvinced.
This talk of personal self and universal self is the learner’s stage; go beyond, don’t be stuck in duality.
Q: Let us come back to the man in need of help. He comes to you.
N: If he comes, he is sure to get help. Because he was destined to get help, he came. There is nothing fanciful about it. I cannot help some and refuse others. All who come are helped, for such is the law. Only the shape help takes varies according to the need.
Q: Why must he come here to get advice? Can’t he get it from within?
N: He will not listen. His mind is turned outward. But in fact all experience is in the mind, and even his coming to me and getting help is all within himself. Instead of finding an answer within himself, he imagines an answer from without. To me there is no me, no man and no giving. All this is merely a flicker in the mind. I am infinite peace and silence in which nothing appears, for all that appears — disappears. Nobody comes for help, nobody offers help, and nobody gets help. It is all but a display in consciousness.
Q: Yet the power to help is there and there is somebody or something that displays that power, call it God or Self or the Universal Mind. The name does not matter, but the fact does.
N: This is the stand the body-mind takes. The pure mind sees things as they are — bubbles in consciousness. These bubbles are appearing, disappearing and reappearing — without having real being. No particular cause can be ascribed to them, for each is caused by all and affects all. Each bubble is a body and all these bodies are mine.
Q: Do you mean to say, that you have the power to do everything rightly?
N: There is no power as separate from me. It is inherent in my very nature. Call it creativity. Out of a lump of gold you can make many ornaments — each will remain gold. Similarly, in whatever role I may appear and whatever function I may perform — I remain what I am: the ‘I am’ immovable, unshakable, independent. What you call the universe, nature, is my spontaneous creativity.
Whatever happens — happens. But such is my nature that all ends in joy.
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Q: Is there no need of effort then?
N: When effort is needed, effort will appear. When effortlessness becomes essential, it will assert itself. You need not push life about. Just flow with it and give yourself completely to the task of the present moment, which is the dying now to the now. For living is dying. Without death life cannot be.
Get hold of the main thing that the world and the self are one and perfect. Only your attitude is faulty and needs readjustment.
This process or readjustment is what you call sadhana. You come to it by putting an end to indolence and using all your energy to clear the way for clarity and charity. But in reality, these all are signs of inevitable growth. Don’t be afraid, don’t resist, don’t delay. Be what you are. There is nothing to be afraid of. Trust and try. Experiment honestly. Give your real being a chance to shape your life. You will not regret.
source: Nisargadatta, I Am That, Ch 33
New Earth Heartbeat 