Nisarga Yoga: The Natural Path to Self-Realisation
“A life lived thoughtfully, in full awareness, is by itself Nisarga Yoga… being fully interested in one’s life – all this is implied.”
“Meet your own self. Be with your own self, listen to it, obey it, cherish it, keep it in mind ceaselessly. You need no other guide. As long as your urge for truth affects your daily life, all is well with you.” – Nisargadatta Maharaj
Nisarga Yoga is a practical and accessible path for people from all walks of life. It does not require adherence to any dogma or belief system, but rather encourages individuals to explore their own inner experience and discover the truth for themselves. Through self-inquiry and mindful living, we can unravel the layers of conditioning and realize our true nature as the boundless awareness that pervades all things.
Born Maruti Shivrampant Kambli on April 17, 1897, in Bombay, India, Nisargadatta Maharaj led a humble life as a beedi shopkeeper. His early life was steeped in religious tradition, and he always had an inclination towards spirituality. After his father’s death, he moved to Bombay to support his family, eventually establishing a successful business. Despite his material success, Nisargadatta felt a deep longing for truth and liberation.
In 1933, he met his guru, Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj, who introduced him to the Inchegeri Sampradaya, a lineage within the Navnath Sampradaya, a tradition of nine gurus originating from Lord Dattatreya. Under his guru’s guidance, Nisargadatta attained self-realisation in just three years. He adopted the name “Nisargadatta,” meaning “giver of the natural state,” reflecting his newfound understanding.
Following his realisation, Nisargadatta Maharaj began sharing his insights with others, attracting seekers from all walks of life. He held daily gatherings at his humble flat in Mumbai, where he gave talks, answered questions, and guided disciples on the path of self-inquiry. His teachings were recorded and compiled into the book “I Am That,” which became a cornerstone of his legacy.
An Overview of Nisarga Yoga
Nisargadatta’s teaching became known as Nisarga Yoga, which means “natural unity,” and is a direct and simple pathless route to self-realisation. Unlike many traditional yogic systems, it does not rely on elaborate rituals, postures, or prescribed meditations. Instead, it centres on a fundamental principle: the earnest and persistent investigation into the nature of one’s being, starting with the undeniable feeling of “I am.” Nisarga Yoga offers a way to live thoughtfully, in full awareness, with one’s attention focused on reality itself. It is a process of disillusionment – recognising the fabricated nature of our habitual self-identification – leading to self-realisation through accurate self-understanding.
Nisarga Yoga involves recognising what we are not in order to abide in what we truly are: pure awareness and conscious being. Our everyday experience is often clouded by a strong identification with the body, mind, memories, habits, and the constant stream of thoughts and feelings. This self-identification with the impermanent leads to cycles of pleasure and pain, desire and fear, causing us to seek externally for a sense of completeness that is inherently our own. This search is futile because the very essence of what we seek – our true Self – is the foundational awareness that underlies all experience.
Sri Nisargadatta did not base his teachings on any specific theology, cosmology, psychology, or even philosophy, although they share common ground with Advaita Vedanta, the philosophy of non-duality. He emphasised that everyone has their own unique path to truth and realisation, and therefore, there are no rigid “one-size-fits-all” techniques. His guidance was often direct and seemingly simple, urging visitors to remain attentive to their own beingness. He suggested that the difficulty lies not in remembering that you are, as this is a constant and self-evident truth, but in the subsequent assumptions and identifications we layer upon this basic awareness – “I am something”, “I am someone”.
Nisarga Yoga encourages a shift in focus from fleeting thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions to consciousness itself, the consciousness that animates and underlies all these forms. By steadily refusing the inessential and maintaining an earnest interest in our own being, we can dismantle the conceptual constructions built by conditioning and recognise our unlimited Self. The aim is to become conscious and active in what we always were unconsciously and passively.
How to Practice Nisarga Yoga
The central practice of Nisarga Yoga revolves around the direct and persistent attention to the feeling of “I am”. This simple yet profound practice involves the following:
The starting point is to grasp the ever-present sense of “I am. ” This is not merely a thought but a primal feeling of being, the fundamental awareness of existence. Dwell on this feeling diligently and patiently. Allow your attention to remain with this simple, undeniable awareness of “I am” without adding any qualifications or further distinctions descriptions.
Once established in the feeling of “I am, ” the next step is to inquire into its source. Ask yourself: “Who am I?” or “Where does this ‘I’ arise from?” However, this enquiry is not merely intellectual pondering. It is a deep and experiential investigation, a turning of attention inward to the very root of the sense of self.
Significantly, Nisarga Yoga emphasises non-identification with anything that is not the pure “I am”. This involves observing thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions as they arise and pass, recognising that you are the awareness of them, not the content itself.
Consciously shift your interest from the objects of experience to the experience itself, from the fleeting forms of consciousness to the underlying consciousness. Be interested in consciousness, rather than merely its transient forms, and you will be led to the eternal formless.
Nisarga Yoga is not confined to formal sitting meditation. It is about living life meditatively, in all-inclusive awareness. Maintain a constant undercurrent of self-awareness throughout your daily activities, remembering your true nature as pure being.
The yoga naturally leads to disillusionment with the fabricated nature of the ego and its attachments. Through persistent enquiry, the mind begins to see through its own illusions and the limitations it has imposed.
The Seven Principles of Nisarga Yoga
While Nisargadatta Maharaj did not prescribe a rigid set of practices, his teachings highlight seven key principles that guide the journey of self-discovery in Nisarga Yoga:
- Non-identification and right understanding: Recognizing the true nature of the self as distinct from the body and mind.
- Interest and earnestness: Cultivating a genuine interest in self-inquiry and pursuing it with sincerity and dedication.
- Spontaneity and effortlessness: Allowing life to unfold naturally, without forcing or striving for a particular outcome.
- Attentiveness to being: Paying close attention to the sense of “I am” and its source.
- Right action: Acting in harmony with the understanding of the true self, with compassion and integrity.
- Going within to go beyond: Turning inward to explore the depths of consciousness and transcend the limitations of the ego.
- Awareness of Self: Cultivating a constant awareness of the true self as the unchanging witness of all experiences.
Nisarga Yoga provides a refreshingly direct and accessible route to self-realisation. By diligently focusing on the fundamental feeling of “I am” and persistently enquiring into its source while disidentifying from the transient aspects of our being, we can naturally awaken to our true nature as limitless awareness, unveiling a lasting peace and freedom. It is a yoga of simply being, consciously and attentively, in the natural state that is our inherent reality.
