Experiencing the Teaching

by Ramesh S. Balsekar

'Light, if is goes in search of darkness will find its absence.'

Ramesh is truly a rare light. Rather than dispelling darkness he helps us awaken to understanding that darkness is merely an illusion...a mirage. With astonishing clarity he lifts us out of the morass that is our conditioned thinking and points us to the Truth that is masked by our ego.

Through 24 dialogues between the Jnani (Enlightened Master) and a disciple, we are allowed vivid insights into the nature of God, alienation, Love, Joy and BEING. This is a book for the serious spiritual seeker. it point to the most basic of all facts:

We are not what we think we are... we are much, much more.

140 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Ramesh S. Balsekar was a disciple of the late Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, a renowned Advaita master. From early childhood, Balsekar was drawn to Advaita, a nondual teaching, particularly the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and Wei Wu Wei. He wrote more than 20 books, was president of the Bank of India, and received guests daily in his home in Mumbai until shortly before his death.

Balsekar taught from the tradition of Advaita Vedanta nondualism. His teaching begins with the idea of an ultimate Source, Brahman, from which creation arises. Once creation has arisen, the world and life operate mechanistically according to both Divine and natural laws. While people believe that they are actually doing things and making choices, free will is in fact an illusion. All that happens is caused by this one source, and the actual identity of this source is pure Consciousness, which is incapable of choosing or doing.

Reviews

[Brono · Rating 5 out of 5]

For quite a while now I have been working on understanding the true nature of what we think we are (the physical body) to THAT what we are the unchangeable, immortal, formless and infinite reality. I can see your twisted face while reading this lines, and I can only see that because that was the same I've done myself once I heard the same affirmation.
So conditioned is our mind and so miserable ignorante most of us are (for mistaking our true Self with that which is perishable) that is hard to believe or even accept that we are not what we think we are.
To intellectually understand that is quite astonishing but to experience the true nature of ourselves can only happen when there's no intellectuality involved. The seeker comes to understand that what he's seeking is himself and that liberation, death, life, bondage are all concepts created by the conditioned mind...that can only thrive on these concepts.
Ramesh's plain and simple way of shinning some light on the true nature of ourselves does not give space for doubt and the slightest of apperception you have on the subject it brings about the annihilation of "me" and "you" phenomena that is only the manifestation of "I" - Consciousness - in its billions of forms.
Worth every single page.

[Thomas E. Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of difficult to follow philosophy regarding negation and double negation as a way to understand reality. However what I did get out of the book is that by purely understanding reality it brings you to the experience of peace, oneness, liberation. I did not understand that was possible before but apparently that is the way of the Jnauni. Little by little....

[Dean Paradiso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably not the best book of Balsekar's to start with, though a small and concise overview of his nondual philosophy and approach to non being.