Don't Be the Customer of Your Mind

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj:

Don't be the customer of your mind...

Now, you are trying to understand all this but you cannot, because you have on the swaddling clothes of 'I am this or that'. Remove them. 

The ultimate point of view is that there is nothing to understand. So, trying to understand is just indulging in mental acrobatics. Whatever you have understood you are not. Spit it all out. Whatever you understand is not the truth. Throw it overboard. Do not try to catch hold of any concepts and cling to them. Don't employ any words, but look at yourself as you are. 

Throw away every thought, every experience, everything that happens after the consciousness, the beingness comes. Other than  throwing it away as useless, there is nothing to be done beyond this firm understanding in which you become more and more absorbed. 

Before the beingness was there,  look at that, be in that state. Do not get lost in words and thoughts and ideas. Do  not crave for mind knowledge and concepts in the name of spirituality. 

Anything that is  seen and interpreted by the mind is only an appearance in consciousness, and, therefore, cannot be true. The knowledgeable one just witnesses whatever experiences are obtainable through the mind, viewing them as without substance. 

The mind may be sprouting,  expressing itself with various concepts. But, don't identify with that, let it go. Don't be a customer to your mind concepts. The knower of the mind is just a witness. He does not interfere in anything. All this world play is in the realm of the  mind. In your worldly work you can use the mind but don't get lost in the mind. Just observe the mind, be a witness to the mindflow. 

Once you understand that you are  not the mind then in what way are you concerned about all this? This is a temporary  phase, it is imperfect, inadequate. Your true nature is that which was there before the body and mind, and before the consciousness which has identified itself with  this bundle, came into being. 

Give up your fondness for this dwelling-place in the world, your body, and your fondness for this beingness state, your false concept of existing as an entity. In the world of beingness every worm, bird, being is taken care of; every species knows the art of living. But, why should that concern you? Lose your fascination for this ephemeral life, this burden; there is no truth at all in this fraud. Get stabilized in the eternal. Go to the state which is beyond all this, prior to all this, which is not affected by all this. Only when you have the firm conviction that you are the highest  will you be able to stabilize in the Ultimate. 

When you move from the deep sleep to the  waking state, the 'I am' with no words first appears. Later the words start flowing and you get involved with the words and carry-out your worldly life with the meaning  of those words - that is mind. But before this 'I am' and the word-flow of the waking  state, that borderline... there is where you have to be, without words, without concepts. 

When words emanate from the consciousness, don't embrace those words, don't champion the meaning of those words. You have a mountain of concepts and words. To get rid of these you use other concepts. But, when you throw out all concepts, including your primary concept, then whatever is, is. 

Stay put in that quietude. To abide in  that place, in that original state between deep sleep and waking before the 'I amness' comes, you must have an intensely peaceful state...!